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Lesson 26 — Allô ! Tu es où ? 📱🚗

"Hi! Where are you?" — phoning at the wheel
Unit 7 · L'air du temps · Signs of the times 🚦 Road safety · Phone at the wheel The infinitive (present & past) · avant de / après
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Goals What you'll be able to do

By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to…

  • 🚦 Talk about road safety, risky behaviours and using the phone at the wheel.
  • 📜 Understand and describe a public-awareness poster (a public-service ad).
  • 💡 Give advice and make recommendations.
  • ⏱️ Express sequence with avant de + present infinitive and après + past infinitive.
  • 🔄 Master the past infinitive (avoir / être + p.p.).
  • 🎵 Tell apart, by ear, an order, a piece of advice, a warning and an invitation.
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Discover 📱 Getting in

⚠️ Risky behaviour

Here is an official poster from the French Road Safety agency (Sécurité routière). It reconstructs an ordinary phone conversation — that ends very badly.

On raccroche ?

Non, toi.

Vas-y, toi.

Non, toi.

Je raccroche.

À samedi.

Je t'embrasse.

Dis-le moi.

Moi aussi.

Oui, ce week-end.

Tu m'entends ?

Allô…Allô ?Allô !Allô !!Allô !!!
⚠️ Téléphoner au volant
augmente le risque d'accident
📖 English translation

"Shall we hang up?"
"No, you go first."
"Go on, you."
"No, you."
"I'm hanging up."
"See you Saturday."
"Love you / kisses."
"Tell me."
"Me too."
"Yes, this weekend."
"Can you hear me?"

"Hello…? Hello? Hello! Hello!! Hello!!!"

⚠️ Using a phone at the wheel raises the risk of an accident.

Note: « Je t'embrasse » is the standard French sign-off for close friends and family — it doesn't imply romance. Closer to "love you" or "xx" than to a literal kiss.

Exercise 1 — Describe the poster

a. What does this conversation tell us about the two people talking?

b. What is the goal of this poster?

🎙️ Interview with Patrick Talverdin · Road safety

🎧 Listen to the interview
50 %
of drivers pick up
in < 2 s
+38 %
accident risk
when on the phone
12,000
people surveyed
in Quebec
0 %
benefit from
"hands-free" kits

Exercise 2 — Topics in the interview

Listen again and tick the topics Patrick Talverdin discusses.

Exercise 3 — Advice for drivers

Based on the interview, write the two main pieces of advice Patrick Talverdin gives for using the phone safely.

  1. Avant de prendre la route :
  2. Pendant la route, si on reçoit un appel :
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Vocabulary Words to remember

🚗 The road & drivers

un(e) automobilistemotorist, car driver
un conducteur / une conductricedriver
au volant loc.at the wheel
doubler v.t.to overtake (US: pass)
ralentir v.i.to slow down
la sécurité routièreroad safety
un accident (de la route)a (road) accident
respecter v.t.to respect, to obey (a rule) — ⚠ wider than English "respect"

📱 The phone

décrocher v.i.to pick up (the phone)
raccrocher v.t.to hang up
un kit « mains libres »a "hands-free" kit
éteindre / allumer v.t.to switch off / on
Allô ?Hello? (phone only — not face-to-face!)
Tu es où ?Where are you? (colloquial)
À samedi ! / À bientôt !See you Saturday! / See you soon!
Je t'embrassesign-off ≈ "love you / xx" (not literal)

⚠️ Advising & warning

un conseila piece of advice (⚠ false friend — NOT "council")
conseiller v.t.to advise, to recommend
une mise en gardea warning
choquer v.t.to shock / offend (stronger than English "shock")
convaincre v.t.to convince
réduire v.t.to reduce
servir (de / à) v.t.to serve as / to be used for
la prioritépriority / right of way

🔤 3 irregular verbs to know

éteindre 👇 réduire 📉 servir 🍽️
j'éteins je réduis je sers
tu éteins tu réduis tu sers
il/elle éteint il/elle réduit il/elle sert
nous éteignons nous réduisons nous servons
vous éteignez vous réduisez vous servez
ils éteignent ils réduisent ils servent
PC: éteint PC: réduit PC: servi
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Grammar — The infinitive How French works

The infinitive is the "base" form of the verb (parler, finir, faire…) — the dictionary form, the equivalent of English "to speak, to finish, to do". In French, it appears in many constructions, especially to express sequence (before / after).

StructureUseExample
verb + infinitive After vouloir, pouvoir, savoir, devoir, aimer, préférer, espérer, aller, venir de… — just like English modal/aspectual verbs (I want to go, I'm going to leave). Je voudrais sortir.
Il commence à pleuvoir.
preposition + infinitive After pour, sans, avant de, afin de, au lieu de…. ⚠️ Where French has infinitive, English usually has -ing: without hanging up, before answering. Je pars pour acheter du pain.
Sans raccrocher, il a continué à conduire.
negative infinitive ne… pas / plus / rien / jamais sit together, in front of the infinitive (English splits them: "not to understand"). Excuse-moi de ne pas comprendre.
Je préfère ne rien dire.
2 verbs, same subject The second clause can be replaced by an infinitive (just like English: "I hope to succeed" rather than "I hope that I will succeed"). J'espère que je vais réussir.
→ J'espère réussir.

⏪ The past infinitive (avoir / être + p.p.) — French's "having done"

The past infinitive expresses an action completed before another one. It's built with avoir or être in the infinitive + past participle. English equivalent: having eaten, having seen, after having arrived (or just after arriving).

avoir + p.p. avoir mangé · avoir vu · avoir compris · avoir reçu
être + p.p. être venu(e) · être parti(e) · être tombé(e)
reflexive s'être levé(e) · s'être endormi(e)

Note: the past participle agrees just as in the passé composé — « Excuse-moi d'être venue en retard. » (feminine speaker).

⏰ Before or after? Sequencing actions

StructureMeaningExample
avant de + present inf. Before doing… (English: before + -ing) Réfléchissez bien avant de vous décider.
avant + noun Before (an event) Je veux manger avant la réunion.
avant d'avoir + p.p. One action must be completed first ("before having + p.p.") Ne faites rien avant d'avoir reçu ma lettre.
après + noun After (an event) Vous pouvez venir après votre cours ?
après + past inf. After doing… (English: after + -ing, or having + p.p.) Après avoir vu le film, il est rentré.
Après être arrivée, elle a appelé.

⚠️ Anglophone trap — same subject required

• With avant de + inf., the two subjects must be the same. Avant de partir, je téléphone. (I leave + I call)
• Same constraint for après + past inf.: Après être arrivée, elle a appelé. (she arrives + she calls)
• If the two subjects differ, French switches to avant que + subjunctive or après que + indicative. English happily allows either subject ("before I leave" / "before he leaves"), so this is a structural difference you have to remember.

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Practice Try it out

Exercise 4 — The accident 🚨

Fill in with a present infinitive or a past infinitive as the context requires. Verbs: déjeuner, traverser, tourner, ralentir, ne pas comprendre, arriver.

Ce matin, après à la maison, je suis parti au marché, comme d'habitude. Juste avant de la rue à l'hôtel de ville, j'ai vu arriver une moto. Beaucoup trop vite, à mon avis ! Après au coin de la rue, le conducteur a voulu freiner, et il a percuté deux voitures sur le côté, sans du tout. Croyez-moi, ça fait bizarre ! J'ai mis une heure avant de ce qui s'était passé.

Exercise 5 — Good mobile-phone etiquette 📱

Give advice on how to use a mobile phone properly. Use avant de + inf. or après + past inf.

🎯 Example: On the road → stop the car.
→ Arrêtez votre voiture avant de téléphoner. / Répondez au téléphone après avoir arrêté votre voiture.

  1. In a meeting → ask permission.
    → .
  2. On the train → step out of the compartment.
    → .
  3. At the cinema → switch off your phone.
    → .
  4. On a guided tour → leave the group.
    → .
  5. At friends' place → go to another room.
    → .

Exercise 6 — My morning yesterday ⏰

Describe yesterday morning using at least 3 sequencing structures (avant de + inf., après + past inf., sans + inf., etc.). 80-120 words. AI will check your work 🤖.

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Communicate Real-world tasks

😤 7. What's your reaction?

With a partner, answer the question. Which of the following behaviours annoy you 😡 or shock you 😠?

  1. 📱 Using a mobile phone in a public space (train, restaurant, cinema…).
  2. 🚗 Not stopping the car to let an elderly person cross.
  3. ⏰ Showing up late to an appointment.
  4. 🚶 Cutting in front of everyone in a queue / line.
  5. 🔊 Making noise in a residential building at night.
  6. 🚌 Not giving up your seat on the bus to an elderly person.
  7. 🚬 Smoking right next to a café terrace.
  8. 📸 Taking pictures of people without asking permission.

🚨 8. Witness statement at the police station

You saw the accident shown on the opening poster. You tell the police what happened. Act out the scene with a partner.

👮 The police officer

  • Ask for the witness's ID
  • Ask where and when it happened
  • Ask for a detailed account
  • Ask questions about the driver
  • Thank them for their statement

👤 You · the witness

  • Describe what you saw
  • Use avant de / après + inf. for the sequence
  • Mention the driver's behaviour (the phone)
  • Give your opinion on the cause
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Pronounce · Order or advice? Listening for intent

The same sentence can express different intentions depending on the intonation: an order (authoritative), a piece of advice (gentle), a warning (alarmed), or an invitation (friendly).

🎧 Listen · Order, advice, warning, or invitation?

The 4 intentions and their prosodic markers:

  • ORDER Falling intonation, loud voice, clipped. « Arrête ! »
  • ADVICE Soft intonation, calmer voice. « Écoute votre frère, il a raison. »
  • WARNING Tense intonation, stress on the keyword. « Regarde ! » « Attention ! »
  • INVITATION Rising intonation, warm voice. « Viens, on y va ! »

Identify the intention

Listen to each sentence and mark whether it is an Order, C (conseil = advice), M (mise en garde = warning), or Invitation.

  1. « Regarde bien la route ! »
  2. « Reprenez votre téléphone, vous allez l'oublier ! »
  3. « Reprenez le travail, ça suffit ! »
  4. « Écoute votre frère, il a raison. »
  5. « Écoute votre musique… »
  6. « Arrêtez là, on ne voit plus rien ! »
  7. « Arrêtez cette conversation, passons à autre chose ! »
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Road safety in France 🚦 Context

📜 Phone at the wheel — French law

In France, holding a phone while driving has been banned since 2003 and carries a fine of €135 + 3 points off your licence (France uses a points system: you start with 12 points and lose them for offences — same idea as the UK system, but reversed in direction from the US "demerit points"). In 2020 the law was tightened: if you commit another offence at the same time (speeding, crossing a solid white line, etc.), your licence can be suspended immediately.

🎧 What about the "hands-free" kit?

You read the interview correctly: even with a Bluetooth or "hands-free" kit, accident risk is not reduced. Studies (Université Laval, Quebec 2008; INSERM 2018) show the danger comes from mental distraction, not from holding the device. Driving and phoning are two cognitive tasks that interfere with each other.

📊 Road safety in France (2024 figures)

3,200
road deaths
in 2024 (vs 14,000 in 1972)
10 %
of fatal accidents
linked to the phone
30 %
of accidents involve
alcohol
80 km/h
limit on secondary
roads (since 2018)

🇺🇸🇬🇧 vs 🇫🇷

In the UK, using a handheld phone while driving carries a £200 fine and 6 points on your licence (12-point system, but you accumulate up to a ban) — and new drivers can lose their licence after a single offence. In most US states, handheld phoning is banned (the rules vary by state) with fines from roughly $20 to several hundred dollars. In France, enforcement leans on roadside police checks (contrôles routiers) and very public, often graphic awareness campaigns — like the poster above. Speed cameras (radars) are dense and unpopular but very effective.