What do I do?

Buy a satnav, that will solve one problem. If you are living permanently in France you need to change your driving licence from a UK to a French one, you should be legally resident, and use a French insurer, especially as the Brexit transition is looming. Maybe you need to consult your solicitor or Mayor for clarification.
www.gov.uk also has very useful information for British citizens living abroad
Good luck

It is illegal Oopsadaisy4.
The police say that you are not in full control of a vehicle if you hands are not on the steering wheel and eyes are not on the road.
And you are right TwinLolly,he is endangering your life.
I would start learning to drive on the right as fast as possible as you suggest.

Is it illegal where you are? If so, threaten to tell the police.

Just a thought. In the UK you can be fined in the same way as using a phone if you touch your sat nav to alter etc.

I feel for you, my daughters do the same, either in their French cars driving in France or English cars in England, as did my ex looking at maps many years ago. They seem oblivious to the dangers, to either map reading or finding the radio channel they want to listen to. I feel I am a comptant driver, last year I drove from Paris, round Scotland to the south west of England and back home but some people seem to a feel their devises have to be operated while they drive. I always want them to stop but they think I am undermining their competence. I hate it when they answer the phones. When at home and I do a call if I know they are driving I say I will call later. I never understand why they call me while their are driving. What are they trying to prove?

Refuse to go in car with him. Put your foot down oh and definitely change your will. He is stupid. I use sat nav on my phone. It goes on seat next to me and I just listen. I never ever look at it...no need

All the best TwinLolly.

Thanks for all your suggestions and advice. We bought a satnav to use with our last car (TomTom again) but he ditched it after we bought this newer car which has an inbuilt satnav.

DH (age 60) prefers to use his phone's TomTom app to navigate because the maps are more up to date than that of the car (we tried update the car's satnav map system but can't - so it is basic). I agree wholeheartedly that all he needs to do is follow the audio instructions and nothing more.

I will definitely be having a conversation with him and will do it when he's relaxed. I've also started to make enquiries about having a few driving lessons to make me feel more at ease about driving in France.

Thanks again everyone!

Witzend I am just the same as your DH and can find my way around somewhere if I have visited it once! Many years ago we had a holiday in the Black Forest visiting several towns. a few years later we took a coach holiday which en route travelled through that part of Germany. The driver got lost in one town, but I was able to guide him back to the correct road, just by memory from the holiday 5 years before from spending a day walking around town. Everyone on the coach was impressed even my children?

Don’t get in the car with him.

If you are living in France you should be changing to French driving licences because a UK licence can only be registered to a UK address. This is especially important with Brexit coming up. Also if you wish to keep your car in France it should be matriculated to French number plates within a certain period or you can be fined. It's the same in Portugal where I live.
You should certainly be firmer with your husband about his use of his mobile phone as it may not just be you who is killed by his stupidity. Take courage and start driving yourself. Its not difficult driving on the righthand side of the road except when wanting to overtake sometimes.

Delete the TomTom app from his phone.
If your car has a built in SatNav insist that he uses that, and that you and only you make any adjustments to it while he is driving. Once a route has been set there should be no need to zoom in, just listen to the instructions.

Buy him a proper sat nav large size with audio instruction so he doesn’t need to use his phone. Sounds much too dangerous what he’s doing, putting the lives of others at risk too.

How old is your husband?

I had exactly the same problem and no amount of asking/pleading had any effect. I eventually refused to let him drive when I was in the car. I drove or I didn't go or he didn't go...!!! He got the message very quickly after this because he likes to be in charge of everything....No longer any problems now.....

Please stay in France. It is people like your husband who total ruin and devastate people's lives. At least while you are over there it is one less driver I need to be terrified of.

an accident waiting to happen.. dont get in the car ...refuse to go anywhere .get yourself a bicycle....thats bad what he is doing ,refuse to go anywhere with him..

I was terrified of my husbands driving not because of this but because of speed / closeness to traffic / general risk taking .. whenever I spoke to him about it his response was “ I’ve been drinking for a living for over 40 years and have never had an accident. A few weeks ago during a journey I actually screamed at him to stop the car and then told him in no uncertain terms that every time I go in the car with him I have to take into account that today may be the day that he kills me... dramatic but my goodness it had the desired effect and he literally changed overnight !! I’m not sure what he’s like driving alone but he’s near on perfect with me now.... can still see a flight gnashing of teeth when others irritate him but nothing more ??

Do not go in the car with him. Take responsibility for your own welfare and safety

The bottom line is that he is risking your life as well as your own. Have the conversation out of the car about how you cannot allow him to keep risking your life even if he is not prepared to value his own and other people's. Point out that this is not a request but is a deal breaker. I assume there are other areas of your relationship where he doesn't listen to you but you accept as part of the give and take. Point this out to him and, if you aren't someone to make demands, explain how important this is to you. Can he say the same about being able to fiddle on the move?
Getting driving lessons to help you drive safely on the other side of the road would be good so you aren't abandoned if he can't fight the urge to fiddle.
All SatNav software asks you to agree that you will not make adjustments on whilst you are in motion. The reasoning behind this is well researched. Would your husband text whilst driving? I assume not but what he is doing is equally distracting and dangerous.

I regret to say this is not just a male thing. My late H fiddled with the radio while driving, my daughter fiddles with her hands free mobile. It is indeed terrifying! From my prospective all this "stuff" should be an offence unless stationary. It does not matter how much you tell/ask them to desist it falls on deaf ears.

If making a journey to a unknown place, before leaving, I check a map and set Google Maps "emergency only mobile". It isn't necessary or safe to look at Google Maps/GPS while driving. Simply listen to instructions when necessary otherwise "tell it to shut up" and close my ears.

I sympathise with you and agree with all the sensible suggestions others have made. I find driving in France in our right hand drive car more natural than driving in the UK the only problem is overtaking tractors! I was scared but had to drive when hubby was hospitalised. Your hubby absolutely must stop. Yesterday afternoon I was pegging out my washing in my garden in France and heard something I will never ever forget; a major accident where our lane joins the B road. We heard the breaking, swerving, impact and a car barrel rolling down the road. A collision between a car and a lorry. The worst was the screaming of a woman and children. The road was closed for over an hour as ambulances, medics, fire crews worked at the scene. An hour after the accident we could still hear the hydraulic cutting equipment. Roads are dangerous and we must all do everything we can to minimise the dangers.

If you live in France ,have you changed your license etc? I've driven in lhd and rhd in France, Spain and the UK. It just needs a little confidence and practise. Id go down the route of making a huge fuss, refusing to get in the car, or driving yourself. Its worth it to save lives.

TwinLolly As you are registered in France you should get your car re-registered. It is a legal requirement after a period - I think 6 months but I could be wrong on that.

I've lived in France for 10 years and regret to say that I have been whinging about having to switch to a LHD car. But now I have to because our RHD Citroen bit the dust and has to be scrapped and we have bought another car which is LHD. I came up with a variety of reasons for going back to the UK to buy another RHD. It didn't work.

I did find that driving our car was helpful because I could see the edge of the road and stay there because the French drivers have a tendency to hurtle along the middle of roads, even when they can't see what's around the bend. Generally the rural roads are quiet, especially at night. It's quite common to do a 30 - 40 minute journey after about 9.00pm and not see another car.

Good luck

Athenia wrote -
I have just moved back from living in France, and there it is an offense to have a mobile phone working in your car, even when the car is at standstill.

So your husband is committing an offence, even if he wasn't fiddling with the phone.

Be firm TwinLolly and refuse to let him put you both in danger with this.