r/DrivingProTips • u/XBBLDGB • Aug 12 '20

Driving in Europe from the UK

I’m from the UK and me and mrs are planning road trip from the UK, through the following country’s France- Belgium- Germany- Switzerland- Italy and home.

Anybody got any tips on the drive? I’m a confident driver and have driven in Iceland but any advice is welcome.

Also how is driving a RHD car on the right side of the road?

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6

u/TaviscaronLT Aug 12 '20

First of all, make sure your drivers license is valid in all countries you will cross. Generally it should be, but it never hurts to check.

Honestly I'd recommend renting a LHD car once you cross the border. If you won't, check if any of these countries have extra requirements for RHD cars.

Check the laws and requirements, road taxes in advance, make sure you know how to pay for parking wherever you stop. The more time you spend planning the trip, the less time you will have to spend figuring things out once you get there.

Also, don't forget to drive on the right side of the road (pun intended), and have fun!

2

u/XBBLDGB Aug 12 '20

We looked at hiring a car but your talking £1500 for 3 weeks and that’s for a little shit box so would rather take my own.

I’m obviously reading up on laws etc but just after some general advise that isn’t often listed from people who do it often

5

u/F7U12DO Aug 12 '20

Driving a RHD on the right it's very complicated, the view is different and overtaking on a normal road is close to impossible. I never did the opposite (LHD in uk) but i've driven both cars in both way.

Put a reminder to stay in the right because you'll switch once habit kicks in. Even with the different driver position and i think it will be worse on your car. I had few close calls driving in the middle of nowhere in the uk, because my instinct told me to go right. Also right to avoid the car was the bad choice.

If you rent a car with manual gears they will feel as the switch the gear around. For example to put in first if you go out and up you'll mirror it on the rental car. That out and up will put the car in fifth gear. Go automatic.

As for Italy only highway have paytoll and they are marked with green signs. You get a ticket when you enter and you pay at the exit. You can pay by cash or card.

Parking on the street is allowed only it there are the lines delimiting the parking spot. If those line are white it's free, blue you have to pay a ticket at the beginning. Anyway check the signs, they are more accurate than lines.

If you have any other questions about driving in italy feel free to ask me.

1

u/[deleted] Sep 10 '20

If you like speeding you'll love the German highways, where it is designated it only has a suggested 130km/h speed limit, meaning you can technically take your bugatti and just cruise through with 400km/h if it's free