What Americans Need To Know About Driving in Europe
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ม.ค. 2023
- Driving in Europe is a little different than driving in America, but if you can drive at home, you can drive in Europe! Here are some of the things you need to know to get started to rent a car. Get off the beaten path and really see the beauty of Europe in your own car. See France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and more with the freedom to go where you please!
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Worth noting that Amex cards are not accepted in a lot of places in Europe due to the fees they charge. Debit cards with chip and pin or contactless are normal; many people on Europe do not own a credit card.
Also many European countries consider cars, bicycles and pedestrians to all be important, and so road design is different. The "no turn on red" makes roads vastly safer for pedestrians crossing the road.
That #5 one is really important.
If you don't move over after you've overtaken someone, you're going to annoy people to the point of roadrage.
Can be illegal too
@@Eurotruckpro technically yes, I've never heard of anyone getting a ticket for it though. But yes, it is just good etiquette, since overtaking on the right (or left in Britain) is against the rules, so by sticking to the left lane, you're basically blocking anyone from overtaking you legally. So it's just etiquette that everyone learns from the first driving lesson on a 2 or more lane road to do, and probably already knew before that form just being in a car sometimes. You stick to the right most lane, unless you have a good reason to be anywhere else (like overtaking another car).
@@jaspermooren5883IN Sweden i could be written a ticket if you say in the left lane for more than 1 minute at a time. (on some roads)
In Germany there actually is a rather obscure sign, that does indeed allow right turn on red (but you need to stop first and give way to everyone else) but it is extremely rare, at least in my region.
In a way, this exists everywhere. While the light is red, there would be a orange blinking right arrow allowing you to turn right if it's activated. The blinking orange doesn't guarantee you the priority so you have to check that you don't cross the trajectory of a car, a pedestrian or a bike.
By the way, pedestrian safety is one of the main reasons why right on red is so rare.
Yeah it's not a 'great' rule at all like the video said. Being allowed to go on a red light only makes sense if cars is the only type of traffic that exists. Which is an extremely American thing. If it's a road, unless it's a highway (which doesn't have traffic lights anyway) or extremely remote, which also never has traffic lights, it's a road that people walk and cycle on. And the ability to go right on a red light is just straight up dangerous for bike and foot traffic. It's a stupid rule that in the US is already dangerous and kills quite a lot of people every year, and in most European cities it would be even more dangerous.
@@jaspermooren5883in just once small city more pedestrians die every year in the us than in the whole as Netherlands which makes even more worse than this fact is, than barealy anyone walks there in the us and in the netherlands its pretty much the oppsite so i think its says a lot about prioritys in both countrys, so you absoluetely right
2:47 plus: Also, you have to be aware of the whole situation including limitations due to weather/obstacles/errors of others... and act accordingly reasoable, e.g. wait, slow down, yield... The mentalities of the regions are also reflected in driving styles, so, don't be surprised.
The local word for diesel in.....the whole of Europe is......: Surprisingly - diesel. As from Rudolf Diesel. The inventor of diesel engine!!!!
This is not true. Diesel is known by another different name at least in Spain, Portugal and a some Eastern European countries.
Nope. Gazole in France. People know what you mean when you say diesel, though. But at gas stations it's still listed as Gazole.
@@Kivikesku Hello, I am Spanish, we have two words for diesel.
Diesel and "gasoil"
Some brands have proprietary names like "ultimate diesel" but you will always find one of these two words "diesel" or "gasoil".
Gasoline only has one name "gasolina"
In Romania it is called "motorină", but all the pumps with diesel fuel carry the word "DIESEL" on the handle and above the hose and are usually black, as opposed to the gasoline ("benzină") pumps that are usually green. You can find older pumps in remote areas at no-brand gas station, but those are rare and generally with no self service, so you can ask the guy there what you need. Also, all cars sold in Europe carry on the inside of their fuel cap cover the type of fuel they use at least in English and in the local language of the country the car was sold. So you can find there the message "Diesel only" or "Unleaded gasoline 95 or 98". Legally, in EU+SEE+CH you can't sell gasoline with octane number lower than 95 (I think this would be "Premium Unleaded" for Americans).
If you rent the car, you'll get its papers and fuel is mentioned in the papers.
@@transportromania In Slovakia on pumps is everywhere written DIESEL(for visitors) but colloquialy it's called NAFTA.
Chip and signature. Wow, Archaic!. I haven't signed for anything for what must be at least 30 years. I live in the UK and found driving in Europe relatively easy, even though they drive on the other side. No different really to driving in the US and SE Asia.
Be careful with speed tickets in the Netherlands, in most of Europe they're not so bad but in NL you pay €90 for 10km/h over, €240 for 20km/h over, which is a simple mistake to make on the highway if you miss a sign for a local speed restriction below the default speed. These fines keep rising too, because they "didn't bring in enough money".
And even more so in Norway, really expensive, but very seldom you get "pulled over". Speed cams exist, but there is always a sign telling you that a speed cam exist a few hundred meters ahead.
Speed limit is shown everywhere so pay attention and you're fine.
Yeah just adhere to the speed limit and you're fine. You should do that anyway, fine or not. There's a good reason these speed limits exist. There's just no circumstance except for the most extreme of emergencies (in which case you probably just should have called 112) in which going 20 km/h over the speed limit is justified. Additionally it's pretty clear what the speed limit is. Just drive safely, and you're fine. I've never had a single speed ticket in 10 years of driving in the Netherlands, it's not that hard.
Ive been looking for a video like this for a while! The tip about Wiki was worth buying you a beer if I could!
Thanks for sharing! Im a bit nervous to drive for the first time in Europe, mainly Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Italy. But your video has calmed me a bit and I think I might do it for the freedom and to avoid flights and train schedules :)
It’s so nice to be able to set your own schedule and visit out-of-the-way places. I hope you have a wonderful trip!
In italy it really depends on the region. Driving in Naples is … well, one has to get used to it. Switzerland has really expensive speeding tickets, so everyone drives very civilised there.
@@XramDivad thanks! Not doing Italy this time. Only driving from Amsterdam to Paris(not in the city, only for getting there). And later Amsterdam to Switzerland. Will keep to speed limits. Any other tips are welcome :)
Avoiding train schedules of certain 300+ km/h trains by driving a car on roads with (mostly) a 130 km/h speed limit may not be a huge win. Just saying.
Not sure if you’ve already went but: I live in Amsterdam and driving from amsterdam to Paris and amsterdam to Switzerland are two really easy routes to drive, if not the easiest. There’s no need to worry. I hope you’ll have a great time! :) it might be good to remember that on mondays and fridays (I think) there are usually a lot of trucks that can slow you down, which can be annoying though
Wow, America doesn't have Chip & Pin? Can't remember the last time I used cash, all contactless either on my watch/phone/card. If you are driving slow, please do pull over - it's seen as polite. Here in Scotland it's encouraged on our smaller, rural, roads - it's a no if you just form up a queue behind you.
American banks were slow to go to the chip cards until fraud became totally crazy. They went half ass with the signature thing because they think their customers are too stupid to remember a pin, but everyone has a debit card with a pin. I just use Apple Pay.
In Estonia, default speed limit is 90 km/h while on dual carriageways, speed limits are between 100-120km/h
Then comes along crazy person on Tartu - Tallinn road at 250 kph zooms past while going 130 myself .... fuuuuuuuuuuuck.
I'll say this, Right turn on red is a health hazard. it's why pedestrians and cyclists are not safe even in an american "protected intersection"
How is it more of a heath hazard than any other rule everyone follows and understands?
@@huskytail because right turn on red means there is no such thing as a safe time for traffic to the right of a car lane to cross.
@@shadeblackwolf1508 you don't seem to understand how the turn on red rule is applied in most cases. It comes in general with the condition of doing it after a complete stop and passing only if the passage is clear, and often in the presence of additional signalisation, whether we are talking about the US States using this rule, European or others.
@@huskytail what percentage of cars stop at a stop sign? do you think this will be better or worse for a right turn on red lane?
@@shadeblackwolf1508 and you know how many people don't stop even at straight red lights? And let's not start counting how many people don't even slow down at "yeld" signs.
If not following the rules is your problem why highlight a particular one as health hazard as the very reason why pedestrians and cyclists are not safe?
I will just remind you that right turn on green is incredibly dangerous for cyclists and pedestrians going forward if the turning car doesn't yeld but you don't seem to think that's a health hazard and at least one of the reasons why pedestrians and cyclists are in danger 😋.
Interesting video, however I must point out that even if it is true that we tend to drive fast on small roads, in the countryside we adapt to the mountains an unspoken rule is that we stop and let drivers pass more faster than us.
Driving on your US licensee is a little tricky. It depends on your state in the US. Some states have deals, others don't.
Right turn on red exists in some places in Europe but then it is regulated by traffic lights, but it is not default rule that you can do it
2:55 In general the type of road is indicated by a sign, be it a city limits signs or one indicating its' a motorway (100km/hr) or a highway (120km/hr).
This will imply the default max-speed, unless a sign tells you otherwise. A country road in the netherlands is usually 80km/hr (indicated by the (end of) city limits sign), but could be reduced to 60 when nearing crossing, or when bicylces have to share the road
one more thing, I don't know about other countries but in Slovakia, every intersection overrides posted speed limit, so if you are in a city and there is 70 km/h posted speed limit, the intersection changes it to the default 50 km/h
That’s good to know! I don’t see that rule in the countries we’ve driven in, so this is a good example of why you need to check the laws of the country you’re visiting, they’re all slightly different. Thank you!
@@aroundtheworldwitherin in fact, I think that everywhere in Europe, a restriction (such as a speed limit) is valid from the sign to the first intersection, if that's what the guy was saying
Thats everywhere in Europe. But almost in all cases it’s a lower speed limit being cancelled by any intersection (except dirt roads). I can’t think of any places without a sign lowering the speedlimit that would cause way too much discussion with police etc (and also be super unsafe since it’s easy to miss for new drivers). In practice student drivers are at worst a nuisance for driving slower since they did not notice the speed limit going up.
@@Thomas-yo2zu In Germany intersections dont cancel preverious sign
@@TecSolemioare you sure? I think they actually do. It doesn’t really matter though, because all the restrictions have to be repeated after every intersection anyway for the cars that might pull out of the side road and don’t know about them yet.
Speed tickets in Denmark can ruin you, the lowest price is around 180$ but server violations can give you up to 2500$ they can even take your car, doesn't matter if it is a Ford Focus or a Ferrari, if pulled over under the influence, they can take a percentage of your income, multiplied with how much you are under the influence, so be careful in Denmark
What about parking for hotels ? Is there usually a parking lot or do you have to find one on the street? Valet parking?
That’s a great question! We always book hotels that have their own parking lot, or apartments or houses that have a parking space. We’ve never stayed anywhere with valet parking, I think you’ll only find that in major cities.
Most hotels have a lot or a parking garage nearby, valet parking, never seen it. Doesn't mean it's not a thing but if it is a thing it's probably at hotels that are way outside of my budget :D
That depends massively on where you go. Most hotels yes, probably even a parking garage owned by the hotel. If you're going for a hotel right in the middle of a historical city centre, the closest parking garage might be 5 to 10 min walk. It just depends, but I've never seen a hotel website that doesn't list it somewhere. In city centres parking can be pretty expensive though, but again, that heavily depends in where you go. If you want to park your car in front of your hotel in the middle of Amsterdam the whole day, expect the parking to be as expensive as the hotel. But usually there's a much cheaper parking solution somewhere relatively close.
Valet parking is very much a 5-star luxury, it exists in Europe, but is very much reserved for the most famous, and expensive, hotels. If you're booking a night for less than something crazy like 500 euros, don't expect valet parking.
On modern roundabouts generally the vehicle on the roundabout has priority over vehicles joining the roundabout. You are only likely to come across priority to the right with some French roundabouts.
Since it was a British territory until 1960 Cyprus drives on the left same as in the UK. The same is true for Malta with independence in 1964.
There are also average speed cameras. These have automatic number plate recognition and note the time you pass them. Further along the road is another camera that does the same then a calculation is made of your average speed between the cameras. This means it is no good slowing down at the camera and speeding up between them, if you do you may get a ticket. They also come in stretches of more than 2, so if you see one and then a second it does not mean you are out of the average speed measured section of the road. If the speed limit is 80 for example just stay at or below 80 and you will be fine, hitting 90 then slowing back down to 80 may be enough to trigger a ticket.
I've never seen any roundabout in France that gives priority to people joining it and I've been living here for 6 years now...
Rumor has it that the average speed cameras generate some sort of awards or medals for the fastest average speed of the year, so make sure you try hard!
In general just stick to the speed limit. They are there for a reason (and it's not even always safety, sometimes it's noise pollution for example, or reducing the likelihood of traffic jams). Also if everyone just drives the same speed that also massively reduces the likelihood of traffic jams in general, don't drive too fast, but don't drive too slow either, just do what everyone else does. Potential traffic tickets shouldn't really be the reason to stick to the speed limit, just do it because that is the safe and social way to drive. Don't be that dickhead on the road.
@@gfimadcatArc the Triomphe has priority to the right, but that is technically also not a roundabout (exactly because you don't have the right of way on the 'roundabout'). There are a few like that (not just in France), but are exceedingly rare and most are taken down in favour of a normal roundabout, since it almost never works to have priority on the right on a roundabout (or left in the UK). If it has the roundabout symbol (the arrows going around in a circle on a blue board), it is an actual roundabout and you have to yield to traffic already on the roundabout, which is indeed true for like 99.99% of all short roads that go in a circle.
You state that people drive on the right and this is true for nearly everywhere in Europe. But they drive on the left in the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Malta and the United Kingdom.
Also the no speed limit thing is limited to only certain sections of the German autobahn. Most of it has a speed limit.
Another thing is most cars are manual transmission in Europe right? A lot of Americans don't know how to drive even normal synchromesh manual transmissions. Also what happens if you don't pay a ticket? I assume you get a warrant but would this matter if you don't intend to go back?
These days many cars are automatic even in Europe. However if you rent a car (especially a cheap one) more likely than not it will be manual.
Most cars are still manual indeed, but usually it is listed when you hire a car, so if you're not comfortable with a manual, just get an automatic one (or electric, which are of course always automatic, they don't have a traditional transmission the way a combustion engine has). Non-synchronous transmissions are something that hasn't really been put in cars for like the last 60 years or so, so unless you're specifically renting a very old car, you don't have to worry about that at all. The vast majority of Europeans would have no idea how to drive one (I've never tried one either). But it is absolutely still the standard to at least learn how to drive in a manual, automatic cars tend to be the more expensive cars on the market, and getting an automatic in the car is usually a pretty expensive upgrade (several 1000 euros), so people really choose to drive automatic if they do and are willing to pay for it. Most people simply just don't, since they learned it in a manual anyway and it's not that big of a deal.
Although this video is of course already for the more car focussed people, you can easily go on vacation almost anywhere in Europe without renting a car at all, particularly if you go on a city trip (rural areas, like everywhere in the world, of course have significantly worse public transport connections). I don't believe there's a single international airport in Europe that doesn't have good public transport connections to the city they are close to.
True. The point being that when you book a hire car check carefully. If it doesn’t specifically state that it is automatic, it will be manual.
right on red is actually a thing but only in some countries like poland and ukraine
You do not actually need a sticker for Switzerland. It is just difficult (but not impossible) to travel in Swizerland on roads that do not require a vignette.
You really want to have one though. It's very annoying if you can't use the highways, so if you're there for more than a few hours (just crossing the border and back) you really want one.
where is this? exact location pls 2:40
Grotte du Grand Roc, Les Eyzies de Tayac, France.
"especially for roundabouts !" 😅🤣 Americans and roundabouts ! 🤔😱 😅
How simple a roundabout can be ..
The 'coming from right has priority' vs 4-way stop junctions is more complicated , i'd say ..
also stop signs mean you need to give way to all other traffic.
1:40 dude starts going through the cod 4 final mission
😂😂😂😂😂😂
@@subhaanraza5611 thank god someone noticed
In France we have all had chip cards since 1986. Magnetic stripe cards are no longer accepted. You guys are late.
Not only for gas filling and paying highway tolls, you'll be in trouble in many places in Europe if you don't have a chip and pin card - such as withdrawing money at ATM's. And not all places accept American Express - the reason apparently being that American Express charges higher transactions fees than its competitors.
@@jfrancobelge It's true that the USA is still using cards with a magnetic strip, or even irons in deep America...
I'm in my late 20s (so not that old, but it's not like I have no life experience either) and I have literally never seen anyone use a magnetic strip to pay ever in Europe (I've lived in the Netherlands my whole life and travelled through Europe quite a bit). It just isn't a thing and hasn't been a thing for several decades at least. The cards still have them for intercontinental travel, but for security reasons in Europe it isn't accepted basically anywhere. Also important to note is that credit cards don't always work either. People in Europe use debit cards, so you need a specific type of credit card that can do direct payments for a lot of places in Europe (you'd have to google how it exactly works), or just have a debit card or course. Most people don't even have a credit card over here. Whereas, at least in Western Europe (been a while since I've been Eastern Europe), debit cards are completely ubiquitous. In the Netherlands nowadays you often can't even pay with cash, only debit cards, although I believe the Netherlands is the exception in this, in most of Europe cash is still king. In the Netherlands everyone just has a card and cash is just too much of a hassle for most companies, and most people don't have it on hand anyway. Even a random market stall is likely to only accept debit cards these days. If you only accept cash as a company in the Netherlands, people literally will just walk away because they don't have enough cash on hand. And then of course there's all the self check out places where you pay a machine, and that just doesn't work with cash at all (this is common in supermarkets and fast food chains).
lol in the UK I was at a train station about a year ago and went to pay for something at the store. My card declined and the lady completely nonchalantly asked me to swipe my card and sign a receipt. Ngl I was surprised it actually worked.
I did a video on the European road signs recently just for this purpose! th-cam.com/video/jqV5fCmFED0/w-d-xo.html
Right on red is a terrible thing in Europe, due to all the cyclists and mopeds. It will become a bloodbath.
What are you talking about? It’s a lot more safer
@@nufcjoker9057 Are you Russian?
@@Gert-DK no the guy is just talking crap read right it’s just logical It’s just that Americans are too dumb to understand it.
sorry they don't drive on the RIGHT side in Europe. They drive on the WRONG side..
Explain how it’s the wrong side oh you can’t you’re just wrong
Right turn on red is one of the best things you can imagine ! For healthy drivers of course....In Slovenia is such a law accepted by authority, BUT they will need another 50 years to categorize which 8ntersection is good, which is not so good for right turn on red ! So as a result, we dont have nothing......but bumpy roads.