This is a fairly busy commercial road, and is full of holiday makers on the weekends and in July and August. There are at least two speed cameras I can recall, and it's common to see gendarmes on it. All that said, the scenery is great, the road is nicely laid out, the surface is pretty good, and it's a fine place to have some fun riding.
For each of the past two summers we have based near Briancon for our Alps riding vacation, so pretty much any ride north or west begins and ends on the Col du Lauteret. It's always a good warm up before heading up to the higher passes, or a bit of romp to end our day. Not challenging like the high passes, more playful in nature.
Once you leave Grenoble on the N85, take the left fork onto the N91 and head eastwards. The route is well marked and is generally well surfaced and wide. On the way you will pass a glacier (La Meije) and excellent scenery plus a chance to go over the Col du Lautaret (2058m) and the option to take a side run up to the Col de Galibier (2646m). I didn't see any cameras but have been told the local Gendarmerie have open season on bikes on holiday weekends in the summer.
PaulDevall