The French are a strange people and many things different to the rest of Europe just like their cars once were, some brilliant and quirky at the same time.
Well, it's pretty similar in all the EU. Since decades the road "things" are unifying inside the EU. We have an European license, an European standard of signes, an European road safety policy etc. The EU has the aim to halves the fatal road accidents by 2030 and reduce them to 0 by 2050. Today, EU roads are the safest in the world, also thanks to EU policies.
@@nicoladc89 Yeah you've clearly never driven from the Netherlands to Belgium or the other way around. There's no such thing as EU roads. The road signs are also not a Europe thing. They differ from country to country, most differences are small enough so you could easily tell what they're meant to explain. If you go to Japan, most road signs look similar as well. So definitely not a Europe thing.
@@dirksplithof3174 the Road signs are very very very very very similar in all the EU countries that follow the Vienna convention on Road Traffic: Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary and Ukraine.
Hello, I'm from Poland, here the police still use speed cameras, placed in civilian versions of police cars, to catch people breaking the rules. They immediately write tickets.
I think they do in the Netherlands as well. At least I'm still cautious when passing by a civilian car parked in a suspicious spot, or a typical spot where an incognito police car would be parked with a camera.
I was on vacation in Poland last week and saw a lot of police hand radars, but this was on weekend, on weekdays did not see any, but still Poland is the king of static radar cameras, You cannot drive through it without having a speed camera in every village 😂.
@@marisjansons5022I'm just glad they're all bright colored and announced with a street sign, in Poland. In the Netherlands there's some that are literally hidden within guard rails 😅
@@BobWitlox The Netherlands spent part of government funding to upgrade traffic cameras in order to increase GDP, the cabinet called this 'milk cow' an oversight.. Not a single sausage about road safety in the mean time..
3:48 To clarify, those cars are NOT parked on the sidewalk (that is not allowed in France, 135€ fine if you do park on sidewalk). They are parked on parking spots, that are alongside the sidewalk. 5:18 The no-license cars are cars with extremely small engines (think the same engine as a moped, under 50cc). Since they have the same engine as those smallest motorbikes (that can be driven starting at 14 without a license), they are under the same rule, you can drive them without a license (but still need to follow a quick formation, so it's a kind of license...). The "Smart" car is NOT a no-license car, the Smart is heavier and with a bigger engine than those no-license cars. 7:30 For more up-to-date data, in september 2023, there were 42.986 roundabouts in France. Nice to see that you like them, they are indeed very nice and avoid putting a lot of traffic lights, so the traffic is more fluid with them. 11:55 Why would it be weird for the speedometer to only show km/h, and not mph? US is one of the only countries in the world still using miles, so unless it is a car meant to be sold in that specific foreign market, there is no point putting mph on the speedometer, it would only confuse drivers
These mini cars even have motorcycle license plates. They are vehicles for cities. They have very small displacements, I think they can go up to 125 CC, but I'm not sure. In Portugal we call "they eat reform". Many retirees who, after a certain age, have difficulty renewing their license, buy this type of car for their day-to-day use. These cars have circulation restrictions, they are only for cities.
@@linabmoniz In Spain they are limited to 49 CC engines and i think people needs a permit to drive them so is still necessary to do a test but can be driven by people over 15, cars needs to be older than 18
Eating burgers. 🤔But I think they would be over the look of the burgers, though. J/K Americans, its the same for everyone, but with different things of course.
In France, the sidewalk parking is usually found in smaller cities, villages etc. They are still defined parking bays, but you are meant to park half the car on the road and half on the sidewalk. However, as soon as there is enough space, regular on-street parking is normal.
Don't forget, you're prohibited from parking in front of an entrance or a fire hydrant or if there is a yellow line next to the sidewalk, or if there is a bus stop or a no parking sign... which means that sometimes car are far more spaced than in the video
In the Netherlands, speed cameras have a error margin of 4 km/h. This is intended to reduce unjustified fines for speed fluctuations and any calibration deviations in the speedometer. And yes, the cameras are always on, so it's important to pay attention to your speed, especially if you know that a speed camera is coming based on signs, your navigation or personal experience. Although it's often already clear because all the traffic suddenly starts driving suspiciously calm and neatly below the speed limit.😂 PS: If you were wondering how that works with emergency vehicles, since they obviously have to be able to drive above the speed limit. Well that's pretty simple. The control room knows when an emergency service vehicle is on its way to an urgent report. If an emergency service vehicle is automaticly ticketed during the period in which it is registered as "on route to an urgent call" (Code A0/U0 (CPR) or A1/U1 (Acute Life Threat)), the ticket will be waived. If the emergency service vehicle isn't registered at dispatch with an emergency call and is instead registered as "on route to a 'non-life-threatening' call" (Code A2/U2, B1/U3, B2/U4 or C1-2/U5) and therefore has to apply "appropriate urgency" (no flashing lights and sirens, but usually still as quick as safely and lawfully posible), a potential fine is simply for the driver. So even emergency services have to watch out. Although in many cases these tickets can still be waived, as long as your supervisor likes you.😂 And the regular police would almost never give another emergency service vehicle a ticket, unless you really messed up for no good reason. Keep in mind that there are many more rules and many nuances to those rules, emergency services have to follow, much much more than I can explain here. Also I'm an "Emergency-Doctors Ambulance" driver in the Netherlands, hence why I know this. ;)
Yeah I always laugh about the fact that people whine about the fact that they got fined for 2 km over the limit while they drove in reality 6 km too fast with an error margin of a small percentage. In reality with the deviation of their own speedometer they would have done well over 60 on it to get a ticket😂
@@AngelinaJolie734There is accually a 5km/h margin in France, there was a time where I drove at 53km/h instead of 50km/h in front of a speed camera and nothing happend.
In Germany, for example, you are required to use official number plates on your car (front and back). This also has to do with the fact that the vehicle can be recorded by the radar camera. This means that the number plate is always included in the "speed camera photos" and a good picture of the driver so that he cannot deny having driven. The number plate is then used to officially register the owner of the vehicle, and this is how you get the ticket...The tolerance for speed cameras is three km/h, and everything is measured at all times.
Many of these videos having a "Europe vs US" theme are actually more "some country in Europe vs USA". For example: sidewalk parking is a bit of a French thing I think. Here in The Netherlands and in Germany, most parking spaces are on the side of the road. We even have a sign that states that you have to park on the sidewalk. We also have small cars where you don't need a car driver's licence. Here in NL, you need a moped license to drive one, and you have to follow moped rules in general. France has the most roundabouts per kilometer of road of all European countries, maybe even the world. And there are a lot more differences like this. Of course, general rules like roundabouts, traffic signs, yielding etc. are very different compared to the US, but more specific rules exist for different countries in Europe.
In Germany there are many streets where you can park half or even full on sidewalks. It`s signposted,, also. Cars driven without licence go max. 45kmh and are forbidden on all Autobahns and other freeways. This also applies to mopeds that do not go faster than 60 km/h.
Well, TBH the street rules are pretty similar in all the EU, also because it would be stupid to have very different rules and habits with the European driving licence.
Even in France, cars are not parked "onto the sidewalk", but on dedicated places along the street like in many EU countries. If you park onto the sidewalk, you get a fine. I think she misexplained.
I totally agree with the laws that say your not allowed to hold or touch your phone whilst driving, yet authorities allow car makers to put so many of a cars features on a touch screen - where with some cars you literally have to look at the screen and scroll to do simple things like change the fan speed on the hvac. (No wonder modern cars have to have stuff like lane assist and automatic braking built in!).
There was a case in Germany in 2020 where a Tesla driver triggered an accident in rain - while trying to adjust the speed of the swipe intervals via the touchscreen. The courts final instance found him guilty of being distracted by an electronic device which lead to the accident. The court also noted that the car manufacturer shouldn't have hidden this setting somewhere in the touchscreen menues in the first place and is basicly to blame. But this didn't help the drivers case of being distracted while driving. Vital functions need to be easy accessible via switches or levers - which is more important than a good looking aesthetic of the interior (Tesla's comment to the matter).
@@jjosz9565 As far as I know, many car manufacturers have corresponding switches on the steering wheel , apart from the standard settings, such as lights, indicators, all windshield wipers(+volume, station search, telephone connection, etc.) However, this often depends on the desired equipment.
Hi. Eastern European here, i'm driving trucks (lorries) in UK. It's funny with miles/kilometers. Let me explain. Speedometers are in miles, some of them use both mph and km/h. Tachograps (similar to ELD's) are in km/h and because EU domestic laws, trucks are limited to 90 km/h, 56 mph. However, UK motorway speed limit it's 60 mph, around 96 km/h. I like to put my satnav in km and meters because i don't like guidance in yards. Then when i'm completing my shift documents they ask for "start kilometers" then "finnish kilometers" and then next box it's "mileage" so we reffer to how much we drive as mileage but we write the distance in kilometers. 😅 Also about speed cameras. In UK rarely i saw speed traps, like cops holding the radar. We got camera vans and another following cop come after you or you just get photos and fine at your address the following weeks. Also the motorways got fixed speed cameras and average speed cameras. On smart motorway the speed limit it's announced on the displays from the gantries. If you speeding let's say 76 mph in a 70 mph limit, you might do one speed awarness course, you pay for it. If you do more you get points and fine. Every offence it's 3 points. They stay on your license 3 years. At 12 points or more you are disqualified. If you are a new driver and in your first 2 years you get 6 points you lose your licence. Also we got some codes like "DD" and this means "dangerous driving". You don't want this on your license. Your insurance get more expensive. Also with 6 points or more it's very hard to get accepted as a truck driver at most of the companies. Also speaking about pickups, in UK at least they become more and more used as a daily car. Ford Ranger it's very popular. Also imported F150 or similar. I see at least1-2 each week. Damn, that's was a long comment. 😂
In Europe you can't turn right on a red light, but in some places there's an additional "always blinking yellow" traffic light on the right side, so you CAN turn right there because technically it's not a red light.
That's not true, in Sweden it's 15 and I'm sure other countries have different rules too. Edit: I guess the moped licence might but correct, but at the very least the age is not universial.
Those vehicles have small engine (only 50 cm^3) and they are limited to 45 km/h. But I know a guy who tuned one and who was able to reach 100 km/h with it.
Speed cameras are not just there to punish people for speeding, they definitely do, but just having speed cameras everywhere prevents speeding in the first place (at least too some degree) especially on unfamiliar roads. I often see them right before schools or other places where a lot of pedestrians might be to simply slow down traffic and make it safer environment for everyone. You know: The speedlimit drops down to like 30kmph and then you get a speedcamera to ensure everyone is slowing down because there is a high school or whatever.
Initially that was the plan. Now they are just there to make money. They are actually lowering the speed, taking away speed bumps and bend to slow down traffic and put up average speed camera’s. And with the new rule the fines go to the issuing towns and their partners). The real speeders/criminals tend to drive with cloned license plates…
I'm all for preventing people from speeding... but what makes most people uncomfortable about this here is France is that a lot of these speed cameras are very poorly placed. They are in safe areas with no history of accidents or anything... So you get a police officer looking at a picture of your car speeding at the other side of the country and handing tickets left and right without ever talking to you. It's a system ripe for abuse imo and it can easily be transformed in a scheme to just collect money. To be clear many speed cameras are useful. But if they are placed in the middle of nowhere on a straight line where no accidents ever happen, I can understand people will question the motives.
Cops do set up speed traps but mobile vans and static cameras are far more common. Average speed cameras are getting more common too, especially in the uk The only country that uses miles per hr is the UK and they drive on the left, so there isn't much cross-over and remembering that 30mph-50kph, 40-60, 50-80, 60-100, 75-120 isn't too hard(not exact but close enough).
the small cars are 50cc you need, like a scooter license. In Portugal you need to have the insurance and the inspection of the car on the windshield. until 2023
@@module79l28 here in Portugal they are 50cc because if they have more then that is considered a normal car and you need the same type of driving license. exists 500cc but i don´t know very much about them.
As far as I know, they are not usually 50cc, but quite a lot more. Like 2 cylinder 400cc diesel for example. However, they do fall under the same rules as 50cc "mopeds" in most places for what speed and roads they can do and use.
You missed the white lines forming a rectangle on the sidewalks where cars can park. Or the are signs to show it’s permitted. The Netherlands has almost 4000 roundabouts
Speed cameras are easy. you speed 5+ over the limit and get your photo in the mail/e-mail with the amount you have to pay. Up to 20km over is just a fine you have to pay, above that things start to get more criminal.
I’m from Portugal, window sticker for the insurance its not mandatory for a year or two, police cars can scan your plate and know all the details, including if it has an insurance. But you must have an insurance proof in the car. One thing not mentioned in the video is that in Europe you must drive on the right on hygways, no matter the number of lanes. This makes transit flow more easily, in the US it seems that everybody drives were it wants.
11:53 not really weird as the entire world (except USA, UK, Myanmar and Liberia) uses metric, mph being the odd ones out lol. That being said, newer cars such as my c7 a6 with digital displays usually do have the option to switch to mph on the digital speedo if you so desire.
Here in the UK the police know if you are insured, road taxed, etc. Their patrol cars are fitted with ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) systems. Their cameras are linked to a central computer system that will instantly flag any vehicle that it passes if there is something amiss. They really are sneaky bastards. Happy 4th of July Ian.
In Slovakia they automatically fine you when your STK (MOT/TÜV) expires, they don't even have to see you on the road. If you need to be without one for some time (e.g. you had a crash and want to keep it in your yard until you have money for repairs), you need to submit a request to temporarily suspend the registration.
@@kepanoid same in Italy, well to be honest the data are public, everybody can know the status of a car (insurance, car inspections, taxes, km at the last car inspections, emission standard etc.) just checking online.
On the sidewalk if you're gonna be in traffic you can park on the sidewalk. Doesn't matter anyways cuz people will hit you anyways. My car has been hit like 5x parked by my apartment building in the street.
There is currently a huge issue around where I live. The cars are being parked at least with 2 wheels on the side walk. And there was just recently a court decision that municipallities have to actually enforce the law when it comes to parking on the sidewalk. The law requires about 5 feet of sidewalk being available to pedestrians and currently, with all the cars being parked on the sidewalk it sometimes is just about 2 feet. So, technically it's OK to park on the sidewalk, but not when blocking the sideways or reducing the space available below 5 feet. And of course, the car owners are up in rage, because they might loose 'their' free parking space.
Hi! Italian girl here! Those really small cars at 5:19 exist in Italy as well, but we DO need a license to drive them, license AM (we have different "levels" of licenses). It's the same one you must have to drive 50 cc scooters (not standard cars, those require a license B) and you can get it once you turn 14 😜 also they are small but they are different from Smart cars which are standard, normal cars, they are a different category
In Germany, if you pass your drivers license practical exam on an automatic shifted car, you get a remark in your drivers license "Is only allowed to drive automatic shifted cars". Therefore, everybody learns driving on a manual, to avoid this restriction. And if you've learned how to, and the manual ones are cheaper, ...
Cops do actually mobile radar as well here in France, but less often. Risk points are usually covered by either fixed cameras (well advertised) or a section of road is marked as "frequently controlled" (for example a 30km section) in which case they either have semi-mobile cameras in place or cops with vehicle mounted cameras (we don't really do speed guns here AFAIK).
it's strictly speaking not allowed in Germany either, except where it is explicitly authorized by a traffic sign. But it is often tolerated. I suspect the exact same is true for France.
It's illegal in France too (except explicit signage), people just do it sometimes (not that frequent though), usually it's a local thing like everyone parks on the sidewaly on THAT specific street because God knows why
in germany, you need to watch your speed and never go over the limit. "accidentally" speeding up (eg downhill) is your own fault and no excuse. on measurements, there is a tolarance of 3% for 100+ km/h, and 3 km/h for speeds below 100 km/h. (radar can be set to some lower cap to not get too many minor violations which cause more administration than fines earn, but don't count on it: i once got a ticket for driving 1 km/h too fast; measured 54 minus 3 tolarance, limit in towns is 50) fines: up to "10 over" costs 20€ out of town and 30€ in town, up to "15 over" is 40€/50€, and up to "20 over" is 60€/70€. it starts getting really bad for "21+ over": then you also get 1-2 penalty points (towards losing the license), and for "31+ over" you get a driving prohibition of 1-3 months, and the fines increase too, eg 700€/800€ for "70+ over" which would be 121+ in town, 171+ on country roads, or 201+ in a 130 zone on the Autobahn. special rule : intentionally speeding (racing or driving 40% over the limit) can double or even triple these fines. summary: with bad luck you get a fine already for "1 over", but for up to "20 over" there are only "cheap" fines without points/prohibition, unless you have an accident, drive drunk, or are a repeat offender. _(disclaimer: not an attorney, and circumstances may cause variations)_
In Finland the speed cameras only "catch" you if you are going over the speed limit by about 5-10kph (depending on the speed limit) because of the tolerances in speedometers and the radar systems, but our fines are much bigger. Our fining systems is income baced and the more you earn the more you pay. Even then the minimum fine in up to 60kph zone is 100€ and in zones above 60 kph the minimum fine is 70€.
That registration and insurance was interesting and quite different than here in Norway. You need the registration certificate in the car, but you can't get the plates and the registration unless the car is insured. Reason is its all tied into each other so its impossible to get one without the other. They have cameras that read plates and automatically flag a car if something is missing. Even the bi-annual inspection that is required in Europe.
Hi Ian, I am Australian and recently returned from a 1-month road trip in France, which was awesome. I noticed a few other differences. The streaming of lanes on the freeways/motorways is different to what I am used to in Australia (which I think is similar to the USA). In Australia, everyone drives at more or less the same speeds in the different lanes and sometimes the outside lane can move faster than the inside lane. In France, the slow traffic is in the outside lane, faster traffic in the middle lane and fastest traffic in the inside lane. They are pretty courteous and will move from the inside lane to the middle lane if a faster car is coming up behind them. Another difference relates to giving way. The give way or stop line is much further from the intersection than in Australia, where it is basically at the intersection. I think thus is because often the sightline are obscured by buildings that go right up to the intersection, so more room is needed for safe viewing. Sometimes, what seems to be obviously the main road in a town has give way or stop signs and a tiny cross road has priority. I think this also relates to difficulty seeing around the corner when there are lots of buildings crowded on the intersection. They also have intersections that don't have a stop or give way side but have a sign with an X on it and I think it means give way to the right. We have not had physical toll booths in most of Australia for many years now; it is all electronically monitored and paid automatically, so it was surprising that they still have toll lanes where you pay with cash or a credit card. There were lanes for cars with electronic monitoring but they still had to drive through a physical toll structure. The speed cameras were interesting. In Australia, they are often hidden behind bridges or even rubbish bins but in France, there are signs announcing that there will be a speed ce=amera in 46 km or whatever and then a reminder when it is coming up, so there is no excuse for getting pinged.
Hi. You’re right about signs (and the rest^^). Fist, it’s a triangle sign, meaning the driver’s specific attention is required right now (I believe it to be an international standard). Second, this cross sign indeed warns of a standard crossing ahead (so where the default rule of priority on the right applies). They are only used where, for whatever reason, the driver might think they have priority. Last, there’s also a triangle sign with a very thick vertical line (that’s the road you’re driving on) crossed by a much lighter horizontal line, I’m sure you’ve seen quite a lot of these. It warns of a “protected crossing” where you have priority over cars coming from the right. Consistently, drivers coming from the right will always have a stop sign and a continuous white line on the road. Cheers😉
@@tixien I do remember seeing those priority road signs. We used to have them in Australia, maybe in the 1970s but they no longer exist here. Here, if you have no sign facing you at an intersection, you have the right of way and there will always be a control sign (most commonly give way, less often a stop sign) on the intersecting road.
@@michaelfink64 Oh… So there’s no priority by default for people coming from the right? But then, you need to have signs at every crossing in the country, right? It’s a insane amount to install and maintain…?
In the UK a few things are similar. Your registration, insurance and mot is all digital mostly now and the police just need the licence plate to check and cameras use anpr to check vehicles that have been flagged and at petrol stations. You used to have to show a tax disc in the windscreen but this was abolished a while ago now. Roundabout are everywhere. Manual is more common typically, and if you pass your test on automatic you cannot drive Manual. There are very few toll roads. There are scars that you just need a motorcycle licence for. Typically unless it is a pushbike you need a licence for everything that goes on the the road, which some exceptions.
You should look for a video of why trucks and large suv's are so popular over there.. hint, it's not cos they are "cool", more like taxes are lower. Add to that why they are so much worse for the roads (unsafe, large, inefficient) and why they are treated differently to normal cars(lobbying).. Aaand then why there is mandated so much parking and that public transit is so looked down on I know someone that was fired for not having a car to get to work when there was a bus. (More lobbying) Sooo strange.
French guy here. In France, you can phone (respond and call) from your car when driving as long as you do it via the bluetooth system of the car. As this reduces your attention, however, it is not recommanded. Opposedly, I agree, it is forbiden ot hold a phone while driving, even if you do jnot phone or text...Car insurance is mandatory in France, at least to protect third party. You may add protection of the car (broken glass, thief, fire, etc.), protection of the driver, or full coverage but of course your insurance fee will grow as the number of options increase. Regardin rada, in France, the radar have roughly a 5 kmh margin, as a rule. This is why you'll be fined only if you go over 135 kmh on an highway (speed is limited to 130 kmh on these roads). This adds to the margin of error of the speedometer, e.g. when my Scenic III Renault speed indicator indicates 130 kmh, my real speed is around 127/128 kmh. Some people complain that the radar caught them for only 1 kmh, but this is not true. Thus, if you get a ticket for driving at 136 on highways, it means that you indeed drived at 136 kmh, i.e. 139 kmh on the car speedometer...
9:00 they still do speed manual radar from time to time, but they have automatic radar at “dangerous” places, to make sure drivers will slow down… not only when there are cops
In Finland, you don't need registration, insurance, or inspection papers in your car. The police have this information already. Police cars have automatic license plate scanners also.
These "sans permis" cars are pretty much a french thing. They are not registered as a car, it's a "quadricyle". Funfact : because of regulations on engine capacity, they usually run on diesel. And no, the smart car isn't one of them. One car that proved popular in this segment us the Citroën Ami, which is electric and cheaper than the diesel cars already for sale. About the "carte grise" and "vignette verte" it was unclear on the video. "Vignette verte" it's an insurance proof that is no longer mandatory because it's now linked to the number plate, just like in other countries. There's another "vignette", it's for the technical inspection. The "carte grise" is simply the "id" of the vehicle. In france it looks like a piece of paper but it's more "adhanced" in other countries. Also, it's been said in a lot of other comments, but it's France, not Europe. (And yes, parking on the sidewalk is strictly forbidden, but on specific streets, we do it, when there's enough room) About speed cameras : their presence depends of the kind of road and the region you're in. If you're on a quiet road in a rich "département" (county), there can be one, it's much less probable in a poorer one. But it really depends. (Of course on bigger roads there are more speed cameras). We have a little tolerance of like 5 km/h, because your speedometer can be a little off.
Things you need to do as a European when driving abroad 1. Speed limits in your guest country 2. the meaning of certain road markings (some countries have special markings for no parking zones, being igorant of those can be expensive) 3. "environment zones" or "low emission zones" or things like those. Do you need a sticker when entering certain cities (the sticker may differ by country, France requires a different one than Germany, for example) or if your car is old do you even need to keep out. 4. are there road tolls and if so, how to pay them and when? 5. any special rules that differ from your country's? (how to navigate a multilane roundabout, who has priority on a grade, does the driver with the obstacle on their side have to wait or does the descending driver generally have to yield to the one driving upwards, is driving with the lights on mandatory even during the day, etc If you know all these, you should generally be fine in any country.
And parking regulations for each town you will be parking in. Some places make it really complicated with about 7 or 8 different zones with different allowed parking hours, days and tariffs.
The speed cameras in the Netherlands measure the speed of all vehicles. Then they subtract 3% off for 'measuring errors' with a minimum of 3km. If you then are 4km or more over the speed limit you'll get a fine. So on your speedo you'd be well over the limit by then. This process is fully automatic. Fines are about 10 euros per km over (give or take). It can be higher if you pass roadworks for instance. There are mobile checks where a camera on a tripod is used for instance to measure speed. Laser check are pretty rare.
Here in the UK there are 'instantaneous' speed cameras at certain spots and Average Speed Cameras on motorways. All are indicated by signs at the road side and are painted yellow for recognition, you can't really miss them. Also a GPS Satnav will indicated where they are, which, I believe is illegal in France.
In the UK we don't need the discs in the window any more. Now everything is linked to your plate. The ANPR cars can detect if everything is in place automatically just by driving past. If you get stopped by a non-ANPR car they just check it on the computer. Means you don't need to bring important documents out with you. As for the speed cameras, you just need to pay attention
Here in New Zealand the vehicle registration is a printed sheet the size/shape of a business card. We also have what is called a W.O.F (Warrant Of Fitness) sticker which shows that the vehicle has passed vehicle inspections and is road legal. Both the registration and W.O.F are displayed on the windshield. Vehicle insurance is also not mandatory over here.
Spain (Catalonia in particular, in Spain there are diferences between regions): - Park on the sidewalks is not legal, on small towns and narrow streets, police may look the other way if is just momentary and safe. I'm almost sure that's also the case in France, but yeah it seems to be more common there. - Small no license cars, yes, they exist. But they don't have the popularity of france. They are classified as "4 wheel mopeds". Almost all brands are French. - Speed cameras, absolutelly the same. And growing. Now we have the "average speed ones" which are trickier. They read you plates at the start and end of a sector of road, they calculate the time you took and with that, the average speed. If it's above the road speed limit, they send you a fine. - Roundabouts: The default on intersections for all new roads from the last 20 years, and already popular before that. Lots and lots of them. - I think only France in EU uses the green vignette. In Spain you need to have in the car the receipt of the last payment of the insurance. Is a strange method, not sure how it works but you could get an insurance, obtain the green card, and then cancel it... Which defeats all the purpose of having it on the windshield as they will have to check it. - Toll roads? Catalonia is the pay-to-drive king of Spain, we have all kinds of them, normal ones, hidden ones (The government pay from the taxes) old ones, new ones, and removed ones.
You do know about those microcars for which you don't need a car driving license. You did a reaction video on the Citroën Ami! French cops also have mobile speed cameras and you can talk on the phone while driving as long as you have a hands-free set up. The insurance sticker is a French thing and doesn't apply across Europe.
If you look cloesly in the video, you will see there is a white line marked on the sidewalk where the cars are parked. These parking spots are outlined to be half on/half off. In general it is not something you can do anywhere, but these do occur, especially ,as you said, in narrow streets where there is still need for parcking.
In the uk police cars are fitted with ANPR cameras meaning Automatic Number Plate Recognition that can get you from the Front or rear and let police officers know if your speeding or car has a MOT and Insurance and name of ownership
In UK we have ALOT of speed cameras. We have something called the smart motorways which have variable speed limits depending on traffic and cameras that adjust with it. We usually are allowed 10% over the speed limit to account for mistakes and bad speedometers on older cars but usually if you aren’t being extremely silly you can get away with more.
There is two parts in the french driving license: the "code" which is theoretical part common to all type of vehicule, and the license itself which is the practical part that is separated in different type of vehicules: A1 for light motorcycle between 4 and 11 kW of power, A2 for light motorcycle between 11 and 35 kW of power, A for motorcycle (automatically gives the A1 and A2 licenses), B1 for heavy quad, B for car (automatically gives the A1 and B1 licenses), C1 for light truck, C for truck (automatically gives the C1), D1 for minibus, D for bus (automatically gives the D1), E for trailer. Note that the E are additional licenses and are separate for each primary license (BE, C1E, CE, D1E and DE). Also, the C1, C, D1 and D require the B license to be delivered and have a mandatory renewal every 5 years. All require the driver to be over 18yo to be delivered, except the A1 (16 yo). A special temporary B license for supervised driving in France (the AAC license) can be delivered once the driver reach 16yo, the supervisor is required to have their B license for more than 5 years. Each of those licenses can be confiscated by the authorities. Additionally, since 2013, the AM license is delivered at 14 after a formation done by every school, it has a mandatory renewal every 15 years and can't be confiscated and allow anyone to drive light motorcycle under 4kW of power and light quad under 6kW of power clamped at 45km/h of maximum speed everywhere in Europe. The AM license replaced a similar formation (the BSR) that allowed to drive the same vehicule but was lifelong and only for France, and technically didn't deliver a license. The name "licenseless car" is an artifact of what was done before, and because a lot a people over 25 (in 2024) driving those cars can be licenseless (but with the BSR). Every person under 25 (in 2024) that drive those vehicule required an AM license.
In The Netherlands, you need a moped or higher license to drive a 45km/h car iirc. They’re usually driven by people who for some reason don’t/can’t drive a regular car (often a disability or something) or people not old enough for a drivers license (16 - 18). There are also people who live in big cities and when most of their travels are within the city, they get one of those instead of a normal car.
On the speed cameras, most in-car navigation systems have a notification system for speed cameras, or you can use apps like “Flits Meister”. Also most speed cameras are quite visible, or sometimes there are signs that indicate there are speed cameras ahead. But mostly the area you live in or routes you travel often, you’ll know where they are after a while. The mobile ones are tricky though, but if you see one, you can report it’s location in an app like Flits Meister, and then other users will be notified when they’re near the one you (or someone else) reported.
In the UK, we used to have Tax discs on the car windscreen. To make it cheaper, it’s ALL digital now. Most speed cameras allow 10 percent margin of error as the speedos, apart from lorries aren’t calibrated. Lorries are limited to 56 mph.
The cars without license are basically 50cc scooters with 4 wheels and a car body. In Italy the insurance certificate was abolished 10 years ago, the police know if you are insured simply by checking your license plate (well, everybody can know if a car is insured by checking the license plate online).
In The Netherlands there's a mixture of fixed speed cameras, usually on roads where many people start speeding when there's no camera. Then there's the mobile speed cameras which are mounted in unmarked vans on side roads. You get a ticket if you're speeding, and the amount depends on how much you've been speeding. They default substract 4 km/h from the observed speed. If you go twic the speedlimit they will come to your house and depending on the court trial (no, no ticket...), will impound your car and take in your driver's license so you can't drive until the trial date. It's then up to the judge how long to suspend your driver's license. Gross violations can lead to permanent suspensions and forfeiting your car so you can't drive at all, in combination with prison sentence. The small cars you don't need a license for are technically mopeds. They have at best a small cylinder two-stroke engine and were developed from mopeds with a cover. They are basically 1-seater vehicle or very tight-fitting two-seater vehicle, and are mostly used by people with mobility impairments and elderly people, at least in The Netherlands. They are not comparable to a Smart as a Smart is complete car with a far higher speed limit. In The Netherlands slow-moving traffic has a different ruleset and access than fast-moving traffic. bicycles, mopeds, 45 km/h vehicles, agricultural traffic, pedestrians on one hand, and cars, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles / semi-trucks on the other hand. Notice that difference is speed, not mass. For the fast moving vehicles you need driver's licenses which come in different types. There's one for motorcycles, one for cars and motorcycles, one for busses, one for trucks. These types will be notified on your driver's license, so when a cop asks for your license they can immediately see what vehicles you are allowed to drive. Having a fast-speed driver's license automatically entitles you to drive all the slow-moving vehicles. So if you have a driver's license for a motorcycle or car, you can drive any agricultural vehicle that is roadworthy, on the road without an additional driver's license. for some of the slow moving vehicles a driver's license is required. There's one for mopeds over 25 but under 45 and one for agricultural machinery. Here you need both licenses if you want to drive both on the road. The moped one also covers the 45 km/h cars and mobility scooters that can go over 25 km/h. Bicycles (so main propulsion is your legs) don't require licenses, even if you can get your bicycle to go past 25 km/h. So a bicycle that you can pedal but has electrical assist: no license. An electric moped with the pedals on for show that can go faster than 25 km/h: license. I know from some vids that there's a lot of discussion in the USA and the UK on what is a bicycle and what isn't. The Netherlands has always had the speed limit as divider for taking licenses, except for bicycles where the main propulsion is pedalling. The way our trafffic law functions is to make the roads as safe as possible for all users, which is why we tend to differentiate roads in speed rather than type of vehicle. Say there's a road in a build-up area and a bicycle path along side side. In build-up areas the max seed limit for fast-moving vehicles is 30 km/h unless otherwise specified. So it makes much more sense to put the 25 km/h - 45 km/h mopeds on the road, instead of on the bicycle path (where they go outside build-up areas, when the road speed changes to 60 km/h unless otherwise specified). The speed difference between them and the cars is far less than between them and the cyclists. Note: In The Netherlands road racing cycling is an exception, most cyclists go at a far more sedately pace than the men in lycra.
14:31 Here in Norway, we carry any proof of ownership or proof of insurance. Heck, even our drivers license can be found in the DMV's app on our phone! The cops just scan a dynamic QR code to verify that the license is valid on our phone. The proof of ownership and insurance is in a central government system. If you own a car and you don't have an insurance AND you haven't turned your license plates in to the DMV, you'll get fined about $14USD PER DAY until you either turn your plates in or get an insurance. It's also not possible to transfer a car's ownership during a sale without the buyer having a valid insurance ready to take over from the previous owners insurance (if the car has license plates). The daily fine of $14 will be sent from the DMV and if you don't pay, it may end up to be automatically deducted from your pay check (before you get your pay check money in your back account). This goes for every governmental fine you wind up getting (speeding, etc).
I don't know if you're gonna read this, but as 32 year old french, here are some insight about the video : About cars parking on the side walk, you have to remember that most french cities are much older than the car invention, older than horse carriage even sometimes, so they're not made to facilitate the circulation of such vehicules. And the result is there is no room for cars to park on the side of the road, or even to create a parking lot, so the parking situation here can be pretty bad, it's not uncommon to drive for 15 minutes looking for a spot to park when you're in a big city center. About the "voiture sans permis", without license cars, when I was little, they were almost only drove by very old people and alcoholics who lost their license and couldn't drive anything else. Now they're becoming more popular, especially amongs teenagers since you can drive them at 16 years old. About the green card on the windshield for insurance, they're gonna remove it because it's no longer necessary, everything is now logged on some network and police can easily access all the informations about your car just by flashing your license plate.
Czech here. 6:00 These cars also do exist in Czechia, you can drive those from the age of 15 but you need a licence for a small motorcycle, since these cars are legally a motorcycle. There are some other limitations, too. Beside the max speed of 45 km/h, the power must not exceed 6 kW (8 HP) and the total mass of the car (including the driver) must not exceed 425 kg (about 940 lbs). 17:00 And regarding the speed cameras in Czechia, they are always managed by the town council where they are located. They usually have the tolerance of 5-10 km/h, but some towns/cities started to use them as their source of income so in some towns, you can get fined even for doing 53 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. How that works legally, is quite funny. You are being fined not as a driver, but as a vehicle owner, because we have a law stating something alog the lines that as a vehicle owner, you must ensure that your vehicle won't be used for breaking the laws of the road. The speed cameras are usually visible from far enough that you can slow down to the limit. During the 12 years I have had my driver's licence, I got four fines from the speed cameras in the mail, the largest of them being 1500 CZK (about 65 USD) for going 72 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.
Not sure about France, but in the Czech Republic, you're certainly not allowed to park on the sidewalk even partially unless it is specifically allowed by a traffic sign (which is certainly fairly common due to there not being enough parking space, but usually in places where it is still fairly reasonable to do so). Unfortunately that often doesn't stop people from doing it, especially in larger cities (and pedestrians being angry about it, rightfully so). Also, since you mention you hate stopping at traffic lights, fairly often, our traffic lights tend to be synchronized in a way so that if you drive at the expected speed, you'll get a green light on each traffic light on that street, aka "the green wave". It doesn't always work great, but when it does, it's nice. Also some traffic lights do base their red/green timing based on how many cars are currently there to optimize the waiting time for everyone on the intersection. And of course late at night, quite a few traffic lights just turn off (they are blinking yellow), in which case you're supposed to follow the traffic signs and right of way. Also, why have miles on speedometers in Europe? Every single country in Europe uses the metric system except for the UK, and their cars have to be made different anyway, given the right hand drive requirement. I guess it would be somewhat convenient for Americans visiting Europe, but is it really needed? Speed signs and speed limits are in kilometers per hour only, so why use miles per hour? BTW, regarding the general differences of traffic and city layout and such between the US and Europe, there's a channel called Not Just Bikes that explores the concept of "walkable cities" and points out the differences in city planning in the US vs in Europe.
In Poland, you can park with two wheels on the sidewalk, but the condition is that the sidewalk must be at least 150 cm wide . Typically, this means that the car takes up 50 cm of the width of the sidewalk and 1 meter of width is left for pedestrian traffic. The Road Traffic Law clearly states that parking on a pedestrian road is permissible, but provided that the sidewalk is at least 150 cm wide and the car does not obstruct pedestrian traffic.
For Belgium some things are different. There are speed cameras all over Like the closest town close to where I live I easely count 39 speed cameras for a city of 100k people. Yes they are always on and will send you violation digitally to the police. And they have like a 6km/h margin under 100km/h and 6% over 100 km/h we have traffic lights on both side of the intersections close by and also across the intersection. If there is a specific turning lane that passes right of the traffic light and it has no extra light on that lane you can turn right on red but you have to yield offcourse. Only the right lane is for cruising (minimum speed needs to be 75 kh/h) the lanes to the left of that are passing lanes and need to be cleared after overtaking. Those small 25km/h cars need a drivers license here but one for mopeds. So you need to know the traffic rules and pass a written exam and a practical exam. Police still do random speed tests they can use a car with a build in speed cam in the front bumper so you can not see it when you pass or a tripod that is hidden behind a bridge pillar or guard rail. We also have speed enforcement zones where a camera registers you when going in and out of a zone and calculates your average speed. So slowing down for just the camera is no option there. There is offcourse the yearly car inspection for cars older than 4 years. Your car has to be safe to drive on the road so brakes,lights, horn ,tires, .. are annually checked.
More details on speed cameras : Many of them are automated and on motorways. They do get most people they are quite reliable to the despair of many. It is mandatory to have signage to warn drivers of an upcoming radar. All pics taken of speeding vehicles are sent to one big special facility in France where officers are basically doing tickets all day. I agree that most people will speed at some point. I lived closed to an airport in France and we have very very low speed limits around them. Something like 50 Km/h instead of the usual 90 on that type of road. So I got a ticket this way by an automated radar because I didn't notice that the limit was much lower than usual. There was/is a lot of anger toward automated radars because many of them are in spots that are often considered as safe. You still should never speed but at least if you did in these areas, you could talk to the officer and sometimes get just a warning. You can contest an automated ticket and ask for the picture to be sent to you. Sometimes you can argue that you were not driving the vehicle that day or the picture is just not clear enough. Most of the time you just pay quickly because it's very hard to contest such tickets. It's a good idea but the way it was put in practice in France is not that great in my opinion. I also think that speed radars are important but that sometimes we would be better off with a stop light radar or something like that. Speeding a bit inadvertently on an empty motorway is not as dangerous as running a stop light. With dumb automated radars you get dumb automated tickets that are not really helping people understand why all of this matters.
In Sweden and Norway fixed speedcameras always have a warning sign about 100-200 meters before the actual camera. The idea is to prevent people from panicking and hitting the breaks, causing accidents.
About stationary speed cameras : I live in south eastern France, there are lots of them here. They are put on straight roads where they can easily calculate speed. How they work is that when you drive above speed limit, they will take a picture. It will then take your registration plate, find out who owns the vehicle and send a ticket to your house. The problem with this is that, 80% of the time, the picture does not show who's driving, so technically you can go to court and have it removed if the picture does not show the driver properly. Police using speed camera is still pretty common because you can't put stationary cameras everywhere, as they tend to be expensive. Right now, it is seen as a massive scam as some places where they put cameras are not dangerous at all or have very few accidents. Patrols and routine checks have become rarer in the last decade, with speeding being the main focus instead of actually stopping cars and seeing if the driver is not drunk and has his license etc...
in Latvia parking on sidewalk is allowed if a sign allows it. We have few signs that tell if you should park fully on sidewalk or only partially (one side on road and one higher like they did in video), but overall its allowed only if a roadsign has the symbol for it. the car without licence legally is in a scooter class, which is why you dont need full car licence, and you can drive it from maybe 14-16years. One of the popular brands is Aixam, they can't go on high speed roads, they are in some cases very plasticy. Car registration paper for me is arougly 8x15cm big and laminated, and has user/owner name, year, model, color, gas type etc. It has somesafety features. and on the corner of windshield you must have a sticker that is shiny, which you get for passing the inspecion every year (or two, depending on country), it contains the date until the next inspection (or date until which your car is allowed legally on road)
I'm from Latvia, the speed radar limit error is about 5km, if it is above that You pay depending on how fast You were going. Also our car registration as a laminated little plastic card, but now everything is in centralized database, so it is checked electronically, which speed cameras also do - so if You forget to pay for Your car insurance or do not have yearly inspections done, You get 500€ fine, max up to 5 times.
In Italy there are the traditional speed cameras more common in urban centers but there are also average speed cameras too. The latter are installed in many highway sections even tens of kilometers long (about 40% of all highways is covered) and these take the time of entry and exit in each section and if the time interval is shorter than what is needed to drive that section at the limit speed you get a sanction, or more if your average speed is over the limit in more than 3 sections
Speed cameras in finland are set so they subtract 4km/h and 3% of the speed limit from your speed, and if you are still going above limit, you get a speeding ticket or a warning if you were only a bit above the limit. For example on 100km/h highway, you can theoretically drive 107 km/h before a warning. The speeding tickets are also dependant on your income, so high income = high speeding tickets, low income = small speeding tickets. We also have to have signs on the road, warning about speedcams ahead, and they are pretty common on the larger roads
6:02 My son has that kind of moped car (mopoauto in Finnish). It is 500cc 4-stroke 2 cylinder diesel (Kubota in our case). Maximum speed is limited to 45km/h. Requires 15 year age and passing a test (both theory and driving test) to have licence. That licence is only valid for that kind of car, it doesn't allow you to drive moped (2/3 wheel) nor ATV. Classification in EU is; "L6e" for that type of light four wheel vehicle. Most common is diesel version, but there are electric versions available. One electric version is Citroen Ami. Prices are high (new ones easily up to 20k euros, used less but too often "wild mad pack of monkeys rip the interrior" state due mostly being used by teenagers...). And speaking about insurance, basic insurance (the legal required one) is 400-600e/year easily, taking full coverage (fire, stole, crash...) goes easily 4000e per year... These are from Finnish insurance companies, other countries will be different.
About speed control: there are two kinds of speed cameras. One checks the 'instant speed' of the vehicle and takes you a nice picture you receive at home together with the fine for you to pay throu home banking or ATM. The othe system is 'mean speed' meaning then the camera takes you a picture (a virtual one) as you pass the first check point and at a second check point the same procedure. Then the system verifies if your speed is lower/equal than the max speed for the area. If you exceed that limit, as I told before, you will get a nice pic and the fine. The procedure is full automatic and you will have no officer at place to blame or cry for mercy. About where you will be controlled: there are two options. the radars can be installed in a known place (you can see where they are installed, using google maps) or by road signs (as the one you saw) or mobile ones installed randomly and lasting one or two days in place. Nowadays the places where the mobile units are installed are publicised.
Here in Belgium the speed cameras have an 8 km/h tolerance margin above the speed limit. So if you get flashed at 130 km/h, while the speed limit on the highway is 120 km/h, the speed is adjusted to 122 km/h. That is a 60.00 € fine which is sent straight to the licence plate owner.
The insurance "vignette verte" (green patch) is no more needed in France as police cameras can read your plate and know instantly if your insurance is still valid. In Paris at least, these cameras can send you speed or other tickets at your home and you don't even notice you did something wrong (some times, there is not even a flash lightning to warn you).
About the stickers: at this moment there is no need to have stickers at the windshield. Both the insurance and the technical check are available to the control authority via internet. It happens the same for your driving license, car ownership certificate, plate, etc. You can present those documents in your phone and they have the same value as the physical counterparts.
You do need to have licence for thoes little cars. Here in Europe we have licence categories like A: only for 50cc mopeds B: passenger cars and small vans. C:trucks, buses etc. Those little cars called moped cars and they falling into the same category like the mopeds. The newest regulations will also requiring category A drivers licence for rental electric scooters. So there is no such thing like driving anything here without licence. Never was.
@@elisouille_buscarscamions Here in Hungary you can’t drive bigger then a 50cc with a regular a category you have to have another licence for 125cc or bigger motorcycles.
the video does not talk about the point system for driving licenses. In France, we have a capital of 12 points. In addition to the fine in euros, we lose points depending on the severity of the offense. For example, 1 point for a small speeding offense, 4 points for running a red light, etc. No more points = losing your driving license, but we have the right to drive the cars without a license mentioned in the video. The point capital is replenished if we stay long enough without an offense, or if we pay for a road safety course(max 2points bonus). There are many automated radars (discreet but effective). A photo is taken by the device and the fine arrives quickly at home, with a loss of points. There are also automatic systems for checking compliance with red lights.
About your comment at 11:46, and I'm not trying to sound toxic, it's just my personal belief, but, why would cars here in the EU show mps in their speedometers when we have, and use the superior metric system in every single country for speed and distance?(I know the UK also uses imperial for speed sometimes, but come on, it's the UK, they don't know how to cook properly, why would they measure things properly?) In the US and Canada, speedometers have both because, in the US case, if you go down to Mexico, you'll be unable to follow road guidelines and speed limits if you only had mph to measure your speed, while in Canada's case, well, Canadians are just weird in the way they measure distances, using both imperial and metric.
For the roundabouts - in some european countries you have to use your blinkers to show when you're going out, (don't get me wrong, you always have to indicate at "your" exit) when you're out at the first exit, indicate right immediately, when you get out at the second, only indicate at the exit and when leaving at the 3rd exit, indicate left when going in and indicate right when leaving. That's not in every country
In most of European countries it is allowed to park car partially or entirely on most of sidewalks, but you have leave some space for pedestrians (like 1,5 meters or 2 yards).
I don't think that's quite true. There are lots of EU countrys that don't allow it in any way and some have some specified areas where you can and those are not common at all.
Hey Ian, we used to have registration stickers in Australia but it’s all online now so you don’t have to display, but you do have to remember yourself when it expires. This lead to some issues at first but most people are used to it now. Also, our third party insurance is part of our registration so it’s compulsory. Further insurance cover like third party property or comprehensive is up to the owner. Most people have at least third party property.. Thanks as always 👍
So in Portugal, last year, they installed 16 new speed cameras and on the first day, those 16 cameras caught drivers worth 1M € in citations (~ 50€ - 120€ each). This year there will be 25 new speed cameras. Most of them are in highways and they introduced a few years ago average speed cameras that track your speed in a section of 2Km or so.
Here in Spain at least, apart from the fixed radars, when there is a mobile one (in a vehicle) it is usually a camouflaged vehicle or one that has no external signs of being a police vehicle and usually has the radar installed on the front of the car, practically integrated into the bodywork, in many cases
Those are not cars are considered quadricycles and their speed is limited to 50km/h. Famous brands are Aixam and Ligier. For instance, the electric Citroën AMI is not a car.
No vehicles can be registered for road traffic in Europe unless they have third party insurance! This is a law of the European Union and therefore applies in all countries of the Schengen Agreement.
When I travelled through Italy, I noticed they use a huge amount of traffic cops during rush hour rather than traffic lights. It's ridiculously efficient. Just think of all the times that a turn signal has been too long or too short, the time you've spent at a red light when no one was on the crossing road, the tens of pedestrians waiting for only a few cars to drive past. Traffic cops eliminate much of that wasted time and make the roads SO much more efficient. It also causes drivers to be cognizant of their surroundings and drive safely around the police officer, instead of just blasting through an intersection obliviously. Traffic cops are amazing. A hell of a lot more useful than having an officer stand by the highway with a radar gun.
The 45 km/h "cars" are considered a moped in The Netherlands and can be driven with a moped license. You are required to have insurance and are not allowed on motorways or highways. Inside city limits they are allowed on the road. Outside city limits they have to drive on the bicycle path.
In Germany, you can turn right on red only when a small green arrow sign next to the red light allows you to. But even then, you have to stop and yield first.
Hello Ian, Yeah, almost all the cars that are produced in Europe at this time, are manuals, but, on the other side, autos are taking over slowly, mainly because the electrification. Autos are a bit expensive than a manual, though I don't know why it is like that, I guess that it's because an auto transmission is more complex than a manual one. I think that manual vs auto transmissions should be a thing regarding need vs confort, or both in some cases, which the latter is my case actually. I'm a disabled person, that have problems in the legs, and even a few years ago, when I was healthier, I had a lot of problems using the clutch. So, when I tried it getting the license again, a few years later, and being worse phisically (can't use safely the pedals anymore), I have an automatic 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage (though, here is called "Space Star"), adapted to use it all with my hands, and as I said, automatic. That little one is awesome to drive, very comfy. Regarding to the parking over the sidewalk, here in Spain isn't allowed and you'll be fined for obvious reasons, especially if you parked when there's a continous yellow line at the side. Oh, yes, the microcars are vehicles that you can drive w/out license, but they're hella expensive compared with a normal car, and, if you ask me, they don't seem very safe, even if they're slow. In the case of the stickers on the windows, we don't use that here, but it'd be nice, since there's people that do hits and runs, when nobody is watching, but they don't leave a note in the windshield, if you suffered an accident. With this, I guess you'd be able to have the necessary data to give a call to the insurance of the other guy. What we use, however is a couple of stickers that inform of the emissions of the vehicle (EURO 6/7 laws, in my case, it has a green C, meaning, very low emissions), and the one that informs the authorities that your vehicle passed the technical inspection, which is mandatory, and you'd be fined if you use it w/out having it. Take care.
In germany there are two types of speed cameras. Stationaries and mobiles. The stationaries are most likely installed at intersections, because they oversee red light infringements as well as speed infringements. They take a photo from the front, because it´s mandatory to identify the driver as well as the license plate. And then there are the mobile ones. Same technology as the stationay ones. Radar based measurements. Usually the change location once or twice a day, sometimes they stay at the same place for days in areas where overspeed is an all day problem. Some areistalled inside of police vehicles, marked or unmarked, the trend is going towards a trailer solution. Small, heavily fortified trailers that are left at stategic locations. These trailers could withstand a bomb attack, given how unpopular they are with certain groups of traffic idiots. In Berlin alone during the lats 3 years, we had 12 devastating attacs on traffic cameras. 3 times explosives where used to destroy those stationary columns, 2 times chainsaws where used, 4 times cars where used tearing them down with tow straps. The most common way to disarm both, stationary and mobile units is spraypaint. Radar guns are getting more scarse every year. Measurements can be objected because of user error. So, it´s not a valid enough method to pass in a court. Berlin has currently allmost 250 stationary and around 400 mobile units, soon to be upped to 500/750 units. And yes, i got a handfull of picturese taken of me during the last 37 years of driving. Nothing big, just minor offenses. Except one, when the got me at 165 km/h on the GDR transit way. The GDR had a max speed of 100 km/h. I think, because that funny little car the GDR police, the Volkspolizei (poeple´s police), the "trabant" only managed to do 100 km/h downhil with tailwind (2 stroke with 27 hp, which was a governement given max power for every car engine).
Here in Brazil speed traps have a 10% tolerance, so if you’re over by a little bit it would not affect you. But you are expected to drive at the speed limit, or at least 50% of the speed limit. Driving slower can also get you a ticket. However it’s a lot more common for people to use apps to know where the speed traps are and speed over the limit between speed traps. We sometimes also have cops with radar guns at certain locations. If I’m not mistaken, however the form of speed measurement, the road has to have a sign telling the drivers that they might be monitored along that stretch of the road.
-wind shield sticker won t be mandatory, u still need a car insurance and u might need a windshield still depending if u go to an other country ( different laws) -u don t park on the pavement ( sidewalk) but in small villages/countryside if there are no parking spaces at all. if u do that, u park half the car on the pavement, half on the road otherwise a fine might come ( if not the car towed out) - i have 2km to the kids school, i have 4 traffic circles (yield to the left incomers), usually not many cars, so no stop or slow down much, time gain, fuel gain , more fluid, just slow down a bit if i see someone in it so i can get in ,right after. with the rise of EV and PHEV + dual clutch transmissions ones, automatic transmission ( modern ones) are rising.
3:49 The dotted line usually marks a bike path (or rather side/protection strip), at least here in Germany. So cars on some streets are supposed to park on the sidewalk.
Wind-shield stickers for insurance and/or car info is not mandatory in EU. In most EU country's the insurance follow the car and if the driver has a valid licence and not dui, the car and all occupants is normally covered by the insurance. And the cops get all this info when they run your registrations plates (like they always do anyway). In some country's in Europe, like UK, where the insurance is personally, you has to have insurance who covers the vehicle you driving.
@IWrocker: Europe has a lot of police with mobile cameras. Those police cars are civilian cars in most cases so that you don't notice. These cars won't pull you over, they will just take a picture like static cameras.
Well, in Germany we have 2 different kinds of speed cameras, the permanent installed ones, and the mobile ones. The permanent ones are active all the time, but of course people (locals) learn where they are and drive slower then. But thats kind of what the intention behind it is, right. The mobile speed cameras are in a van or small trailer or just a tripod behind a bush, and the police sets them up randomly, for some hours. But they usually wont chase you to stop like in the US, same as the permanent ones they make a photo of the car and you get the ticket send in the mail. Just sometimes they set up a stop point a further down the road, where they actually stop you and tell you that you have been a bad boy, and that its usafe to speed and so on. The tiny cars we have here as well. Don't know about France, but here you do need a driving licence for them, but only a moped licence or something similar, which is easier and cheaper to get. Still, they are rather rare on the roads. Yes, they are ok inside a town - but they are not that much cheaper than a small Dacia. And a Dacia is a proper car, that is able to go loner distances at a reasonable speed. And you are allowed to use the Autobahn then, the tiny cars are not because they are limitied to 50 km/h. And most people have a proper car licence anyway, so its not really a advantage. Btw., parking on sidewalks is usually prohibited, unless its explicidly allowed. But people just do it anyway and hope to get away with it. And using a phone while driving should be banned altogether - no matter if you hold the phone or use a free speaker. The Mythbuster once did a test how having a telepfone conversation affects the drivers performance - and the result was shocking. People get totally distacted because they have to think about what to say. Its a whole different ball game than listening to the radio, or similar things.
4:30 the dotted line is a bike"lane". its not a bikepath, that would be a constant line going through. difference between them is: dotted line you as a driver can pass through it/drive onto it if you need to, like parking on sidewalk. a biker may even ride on the road in this case cause he needs safe space to the parked cars about 1meter - since if a door opens youre gonna crash. a bikepath cannot be passed through. there you cannot park on the sidewalk as you would interfier with the bikers. in both cases the cars have to give a safe space of 1.5m min to overtake a biker. a biker may choose to ride on the road when its just a bikelane. on a path he has to stay on it. in germany we call the lanes fahrradschutzstreifen and the path a fahrradweg. wordwise a far more different thing then lane and path in englisch
the tiny cars, at least in Belgium are called "four wheeled scooters" in the theory books and that kinda hints how they are treated in the law. Like a scooter.
I wish people would label these videos “The difference between France and the USA” or similar. These observations are not universal across Europe.
For some reason it seems to be mostly France when they write Europe but when it's Germany they write Germany
Yes, you don't see many cars parked in the street here in Croatia.
The French are a strange people and many things different to the rest of Europe just like their cars once were, some brilliant and quirky at the same time.
@@tonys1636 "once were"? They still are very odd compared to most other manufacturers, maybe not to the same extremes as they used to be but...
TOTALLY agree, americans really need to stop generalizing the entire continent like that
France vs USA. Not Europe.
Well, it's pretty similar in all the EU. Since decades the road "things" are unifying inside the EU. We have an European license, an European standard of signes, an European road safety policy etc. The EU has the aim to halves the fatal road accidents by 2030 and reduce them to 0 by 2050. Today, EU roads are the safest in the world, also thanks to EU policies.
@@nicoladc89 Yeah you've clearly never driven from the Netherlands to Belgium or the other way around. There's no such thing as EU roads. The road signs are also not a Europe thing. They differ from country to country, most differences are small enough so you could easily tell what they're meant to explain. If you go to Japan, most road signs look similar as well. So definitely not a Europe thing.
@@dirksplithof3174 the Road signs are very very very very very similar in all the EU countries that follow the Vienna convention on Road Traffic:
Albania, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Hungary and Ukraine.
@@nicoladc89 Slovenia, UK, Ireland and many more.
Hello, I'm from Poland, here the police still use speed cameras, placed in civilian versions of police cars, to catch people breaking the rules. They immediately write tickets.
I think they do in the Netherlands as well. At least I'm still cautious when passing by a civilian car parked in a suspicious spot, or a typical spot where an incognito police car would be parked with a camera.
I was on vacation in Poland last week and saw a lot of police hand radars, but this was on weekend, on weekdays did not see any, but still Poland is the king of static radar cameras, You cannot drive through it without having a speed camera in every village 😂.
@@marisjansons5022I'm just glad they're all bright colored and announced with a street sign, in Poland. In the Netherlands there's some that are literally hidden within guard rails 😅
@@BobWitlox The Netherlands spent part of government funding to upgrade traffic cameras in order to increase GDP, the cabinet called this 'milk cow' an oversight.. Not a single sausage about road safety in the mean time..
3:48 To clarify, those cars are NOT parked on the sidewalk (that is not allowed in France, 135€ fine if you do park on sidewalk). They are parked on parking spots, that are alongside the sidewalk.
5:18 The no-license cars are cars with extremely small engines (think the same engine as a moped, under 50cc). Since they have the same engine as those smallest motorbikes (that can be driven starting at 14 without a license), they are under the same rule, you can drive them without a license (but still need to follow a quick formation, so it's a kind of license...). The "Smart" car is NOT a no-license car, the Smart is heavier and with a bigger engine than those no-license cars.
7:30 For more up-to-date data, in september 2023, there were 42.986 roundabouts in France. Nice to see that you like them, they are indeed very nice and avoid putting a lot of traffic lights, so the traffic is more fluid with them.
11:55 Why would it be weird for the speedometer to only show km/h, and not mph? US is one of the only countries in the world still using miles, so unless it is a car meant to be sold in that specific foreign market, there is no point putting mph on the speedometer, it would only confuse drivers
Man, it's time for you to come and visit Europe and experience it for yourself. Being here is better than just watching videos.
These mini cars even have motorcycle license plates. They are vehicles for cities. They have very small displacements, I think they can go up to 125 CC, but I'm not sure. In Portugal we call "they eat reform". Many retirees who, after a certain age, have difficulty renewing their license, buy this type of car for their day-to-day use. These cars have circulation restrictions, they are only for cities.
@@linabmoniz In Spain they are limited to 49 CC engines and i think people needs a permit to drive them so is still necessary to do a test but can be driven by people over 15, cars needs to be older than 18
Is there anything done all over the world that Americans aren't baffled by?
Eating burgers. 🤔But I think they would be over the look of the burgers, though. J/K Americans, its the same for everyone, but with different things of course.
@@GoldenCroc And the contents of those burgers. Real meat, real bread.
I think they are simply baffled by the concept that a world outside the USA actually exists.
Don't worry the rest of the world is baffled how Americans voted for Biden and probably vote for him again
Friendly fire
In France, the sidewalk parking is usually found in smaller cities, villages etc. They are still defined parking bays, but you are meant to park half the car on the road and half on the sidewalk. However, as soon as there is enough space, regular on-street parking is normal.
Don't forget, you're prohibited from parking in front of an entrance or a fire hydrant or if there is a yellow line next to the sidewalk, or if there is a bus stop or a no parking sign... which means that sometimes car are far more spaced than in the video
@@DamocMetalFever always looking for those blue boxes 😁
In the Netherlands, speed cameras have a error margin of 4 km/h. This is intended to reduce unjustified fines for speed fluctuations and any calibration deviations in the speedometer. And yes, the cameras are always on, so it's important to pay attention to your speed, especially if you know that a speed camera is coming based on signs, your navigation or personal experience. Although it's often already clear because all the traffic suddenly starts driving suspiciously calm and neatly below the speed limit.😂
PS: If you were wondering how that works with emergency vehicles, since they obviously have to be able to drive above the speed limit. Well that's pretty simple. The control room knows when an emergency service vehicle is on its way to an urgent report. If an emergency service vehicle is automaticly ticketed during the period in which it is registered as "on route to an urgent call" (Code A0/U0 (CPR) or A1/U1 (Acute Life Threat)), the ticket will be waived. If the emergency service vehicle isn't registered at dispatch with an emergency call and is instead registered as "on route to a 'non-life-threatening' call" (Code A2/U2, B1/U3, B2/U4 or C1-2/U5) and therefore has to apply "appropriate urgency" (no flashing lights and sirens, but usually still as quick as safely and lawfully posible), a potential fine is simply for the driver. So even emergency services have to watch out. Although in many cases these tickets can still be waived, as long as your supervisor likes you.😂 And the regular police would almost never give another emergency service vehicle a ticket, unless you really messed up for no good reason.
Keep in mind that there are many more rules and many nuances to those rules, emergency services have to follow, much much more than I can explain here. Also I'm an "Emergency-Doctors Ambulance" driver in the Netherlands, hence why I know this. ;)
In France, they have no error margin. This is why there are so many fines for an excess speeding under 5 km/h. They are just cash machines.
Yeah I always laugh about the fact that people whine about the fact that they got fined for 2 km over the limit while they drove in reality 6 km too fast with an error margin of a small percentage. In reality with the deviation of their own speedometer they would have done well over 60 on it to get a ticket😂
@@eelco1982 Facts😂
in addition, if you get a fine/ ticket, with a letter, you can download the picture of your car, speeding. fun...
@@AngelinaJolie734There is accually a 5km/h margin in France, there was a time where I drove at 53km/h instead of 50km/h in front of a speed camera and nothing happend.
In Germany, for example, you are required to use official number plates on your car (front and back).
This also has to do with the fact that the vehicle can be recorded by the radar camera.
This means that the number plate is always included in the "speed camera photos" and a good picture of the driver so that he cannot deny having driven. The number plate is then used to officially register the owner of the vehicle, and this is how you get the ticket...The tolerance for speed cameras is three km/h, and everything is measured at all times.
And if you don't pay your insurence fees, officials came and close down your vehicle by removing the official seal from your license plate.
Many of these videos having a "Europe vs US" theme are actually more "some country in Europe vs USA". For example: sidewalk parking is a bit of a French thing I think. Here in The Netherlands and in Germany, most parking spaces are on the side of the road. We even have a sign that states that you have to park on the sidewalk. We also have small cars where you don't need a car driver's licence. Here in NL, you need a moped license to drive one, and you have to follow moped rules in general. France has the most roundabouts per kilometer of road of all European countries, maybe even the world. And there are a lot more differences like this. Of course, general rules like roundabouts, traffic signs, yielding etc. are very different compared to the US, but more specific rules exist for different countries in Europe.
At least Parisians have improved their parallel parking skills and no longer forcefully park in too small a space.
In Germany there are many streets where you can park half or even full on sidewalks. It`s signposted,, also. Cars driven without licence go max. 45kmh and are forbidden on all Autobahns and other freeways. This also applies to mopeds that do not go faster than 60 km/h.
Well, TBH the street rules are pretty similar in all the EU, also because it would be stupid to have very different rules and habits with the European driving licence.
Even in France, cars are not parked "onto the sidewalk", but on dedicated places along the street like in many EU countries. If you park onto the sidewalk, you get a fine. I think she misexplained.
I live in the French Alps and I don't see any sidewalk parking here. Side of the road just like the Netherlands.
I totally agree with the laws that say your not allowed to hold or touch your phone whilst driving, yet authorities allow car makers to put so many of a cars features on a touch screen - where with some cars you literally have to look at the screen and scroll to do simple things like change the fan speed on the hvac. (No wonder modern cars have to have stuff like lane assist and automatic braking built in!).
There was a case in Germany in 2020 where a Tesla driver triggered an accident in rain - while trying to adjust the speed of the swipe intervals via the touchscreen.
The courts final instance found him guilty of being distracted by an electronic device which lead to the accident.
The court also noted that the car manufacturer shouldn't have hidden this setting somewhere in the touchscreen menues in the first place and is basicly to blame. But this didn't help the drivers case of being distracted while driving.
Vital functions need to be easy accessible via switches or levers - which is more important than a good looking aesthetic of the interior (Tesla's comment to the matter).
@@jjosz9565 Wiper switches has to be done as physical devices in cars that want to be legalized in the EU.
@@altblechasyl_cs2093 Someone should tell Tesla - their wipers are operated via the touchscreen…
@@jjosz9565 As far as I know, many car manufacturers have corresponding switches on the steering wheel , apart from the standard settings, such as lights, indicators, all windshield wipers(+volume, station search, telephone connection, etc.)
However, this often depends on the desired equipment.
@@jjosz9565 Tesla is pure shit. I'm just waiting for capable car companies, who make cars and not poorly assembled plastic toys, to eat it up.
Hi. Eastern European here, i'm driving trucks (lorries) in UK. It's funny with miles/kilometers. Let me explain. Speedometers are in miles, some of them use both mph and km/h. Tachograps (similar to ELD's) are in km/h and because EU domestic laws, trucks are limited to 90 km/h, 56 mph. However, UK motorway speed limit it's 60 mph, around 96 km/h. I like to put my satnav in km and meters because i don't like guidance in yards. Then when i'm completing my shift documents they ask for "start kilometers" then "finnish kilometers" and then next box it's "mileage" so we reffer to how much we drive as mileage but we write the distance in kilometers. 😅
Also about speed cameras. In UK rarely i saw speed traps, like cops holding the radar. We got camera vans and another following cop come after you or you just get photos and fine at your address the following weeks. Also the motorways got fixed speed cameras and average speed cameras. On smart motorway the speed limit it's announced on the displays from the gantries.
If you speeding let's say 76 mph in a 70 mph limit, you might do one speed awarness course, you pay for it. If you do more you get points and fine. Every offence it's 3 points. They stay on your license 3 years. At 12 points or more you are disqualified. If you are a new driver and in your first 2 years you get 6 points you lose your licence. Also we got some codes like "DD" and this means "dangerous driving". You don't want this on your license. Your insurance get more expensive. Also with 6 points or more it's very hard to get accepted as a truck driver at most of the companies.
Also speaking about pickups, in UK at least they become more and more used as a daily car. Ford Ranger it's very popular. Also imported F150 or similar. I see at least1-2 each week.
Damn, that's was a long comment. 😂
In Europe you can't turn right on a red light, but in some places there's an additional "always blinking yellow" traffic light on the right side, so you CAN turn right there because technically it's not a red light.
Also the 'green arrow' in Germany
You can driver a ‘sans permit’ car at age 14 in France without a licence. In the rest of Europe, you need to be 16 and have at least a moped licence.
That's not true, in Sweden it's 15 and I'm sure other countries have different rules too.
Edit: I guess the moped licence might but correct, but at the very least the age is not universial.
In sweden that are Sometimes normal Cars with Limited Speed i saw a BMW in my holydays there
@@reiseleeze225 Oh sweet summer child, some people even make them out of semi-trucks. Google lastbil a-traktor
I have Google IT after i See them
Those vehicles have small engine (only 50 cm^3) and they are limited to 45 km/h. But I know a guy who tuned one and who was able to reach 100 km/h with it.
Speed cameras are not just there to punish people for speeding, they definitely do, but just having speed cameras everywhere prevents speeding in the first place (at least too some degree) especially on unfamiliar roads.
I often see them right before schools or other places where a lot of pedestrians might be to simply slow down traffic and make it safer environment for everyone.
You know: The speedlimit drops down to like 30kmph and then you get a speedcamera to ensure everyone is slowing down because there is a high school or whatever.
Initially that was the plan. Now they are just there to make money. They are actually lowering the speed, taking away speed bumps and bend to slow down traffic and put up average speed camera’s. And with the new rule the fines go to the issuing towns and their partners). The real speeders/criminals tend to drive with cloned license plates…
I'm all for preventing people from speeding... but what makes most people uncomfortable about this here is France is that a lot of these speed cameras are very poorly placed. They are in safe areas with no history of accidents or anything... So you get a police officer looking at a picture of your car speeding at the other side of the country and handing tickets left and right without ever talking to you. It's a system ripe for abuse imo and it can easily be transformed in a scheme to just collect money.
To be clear many speed cameras are useful. But if they are placed in the middle of nowhere on a straight line where no accidents ever happen, I can understand people will question the motives.
Cops do set up speed traps but mobile vans and static cameras are far more common. Average speed cameras are getting more common too, especially in the uk
The only country that uses miles per hr is the UK and they drive on the left, so there isn't much cross-over and remembering that 30mph-50kph, 40-60, 50-80, 60-100, 75-120 isn't too hard(not exact but close enough).
the small cars are 50cc you need, like a scooter license. In Portugal you need to have the insurance and the inspection of the car on the windshield. until 2023
In the netherlands it is the same, Canta is used as slang for them here as well, but it is a brand
true in the Netherlands its the same.
They're not 50cc, they have 500cc twin cylinder diesel tractor engines.
@@module79l28 here in Portugal they are 50cc because if they have more then that is considered a normal car and you need the same type of driving license. exists 500cc but i don´t know very much about them.
As far as I know, they are not usually 50cc, but quite a lot more. Like 2 cylinder 400cc diesel for example. However, they do fall under the same rules as 50cc "mopeds" in most places for what speed and roads they can do and use.
You missed the white lines forming a rectangle on the sidewalks where cars can park.
Or the are signs to show it’s permitted.
The Netherlands has almost 4000 roundabouts
Speed cameras are easy. you speed 5+ over the limit and get your photo in the mail/e-mail with the amount you have to pay. Up to 20km over is just a fine you have to pay, above that things start to get more criminal.
With 1 point lost each time on a 12 points permit
I’m from Portugal, window sticker for the insurance its not mandatory for a year or two, police cars can scan your plate and know all the details, including if it has an insurance. But you must have an insurance proof in the car.
One thing not mentioned in the video is that in Europe you must drive on the right on hygways, no matter the number of lanes. This makes transit flow more easily, in the US it seems that everybody drives were it wants.
11:53 not really weird as the entire world (except USA, UK, Myanmar and Liberia) uses metric, mph being the odd ones out lol. That being said, newer cars such as my c7 a6 with digital displays usually do have the option to switch to mph on the digital speedo if you so desire.
Here in the UK the police know if you are insured, road taxed, etc. Their patrol cars are fitted with ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) systems. Their cameras are linked to a central computer system that will instantly flag any vehicle that it passes if there is something amiss. They really are sneaky bastards.
Happy 4th of July Ian.
So that's how it is now in France as of April. My insurance company sent me a letter with my renewal to tell me so.
Finland, too. Insurance, tax, missed or rejected MOT check (car condition inspection).
In Slovakia they automatically fine you when your STK (MOT/TÜV) expires, they don't even have to see you on the road. If you need to be without one for some time (e.g. you had a crash and want to keep it in your yard until you have money for repairs), you need to submit a request to temporarily suspend the registration.
@@kepanoid same in Italy, well to be honest the data are public, everybody can know the status of a car (insurance, car inspections, taxes, km at the last car inspections, emission standard etc.) just checking online.
Sweden, too.
Parking on the sidewalk is theoretically not allowed in France, but it's rarely enforced
Germans have a special sign for places where sidewalk parking is allowed, it simply shows a white car parking on the curb on a blue background.
@@cnikkor It is also the only thing in German STVO, that differs from the standard 3.5 tons weight limit, 2.8 tons to be specific.
Don't do that in Denmark you WILL get a fine, 70 EURO no mater if it's the sidewalk or bicycle path
It's allowed in certain circumstances in France
On the sidewalk if you're gonna be in traffic you can park on the sidewalk. Doesn't matter anyways cuz people will hit you anyways. My car has been hit like 5x parked by my apartment building in the street.
There is currently a huge issue around where I live. The cars are being parked at least with 2 wheels on the side walk. And there was just recently a court decision that municipallities have to actually enforce the law when it comes to parking on the sidewalk. The law requires about 5 feet of sidewalk being available to pedestrians and currently, with all the cars being parked on the sidewalk it sometimes is just about 2 feet.
So, technically it's OK to park on the sidewalk, but not when blocking the sideways or reducing the space available below 5 feet.
And of course, the car owners are up in rage, because they might loose 'their' free parking space.
Hi! Italian girl here! Those really small cars at 5:19 exist in Italy as well, but we DO need a license to drive them, license AM (we have different "levels" of licenses). It's the same one you must have to drive 50 cc scooters (not standard cars, those require a license B) and you can get it once you turn 14 😜 also they are small but they are different from Smart cars which are standard, normal cars, they are a different category
In Germany, if you pass your drivers license practical exam on an automatic shifted car, you get a remark in your drivers license "Is only allowed to drive automatic shifted cars". Therefore, everybody learns driving on a manual, to avoid this restriction. And if you've learned how to, and the manual ones are cheaper, ...
Cops do actually mobile radar as well here in France, but less often. Risk points are usually covered by either fixed cameras (well advertised) or a section of road is marked as "frequently controlled" (for example a 30km section) in which case they either have semi-mobile cameras in place or cops with vehicle mounted cameras (we don't really do speed guns here AFAIK).
Parking on the sidewalk is probably a French thing. If you do that in Sweden you're going to be fined or get the car towed away.
it's strictly speaking not allowed in Germany either, except where it is explicitly authorized by a traffic sign. But it is often tolerated.
I suspect the exact same is true for France.
It's illegal in France too (except explicit signage), people just do it sometimes (not that frequent though), usually it's a local thing like everyone parks on the sidewaly on THAT specific street because God knows why
In Amsterdam it is legal to park your motorbike on the sidewalk, in other cities it is illegal as far as I know.
It's illegal to park on the pavement in Scotland aswell
hell one tyre outside of the parking space and its a good chance of a ticket in sweden
Sweden have 2500 speed cameras. But there is also normal police controls randomly, speed, alcohol and driving license.
I am deeply ashamed that speed cameras are a Dutch invention, I am sorry..... really really sorry.
@@buddy1155 🤣
@@buddy1155 Why am I not amazed.
Over 7000 thousands speed cameras in uk
Got caught speeding (not much) by a camera a couple of months ago. First time in 41 years of driving.
in germany, you need to watch your speed and never go over the limit.
"accidentally" speeding up (eg downhill) is your own fault and no excuse.
on measurements, there is a tolarance of 3% for 100+ km/h, and 3 km/h for speeds below 100 km/h.
(radar can be set to some lower cap to not get too many minor violations which cause more administration than fines earn,
but don't count on it: i once got a ticket for driving 1 km/h too fast; measured 54 minus 3 tolarance, limit in towns is 50)
fines: up to "10 over" costs 20€ out of town and 30€ in town, up to "15 over" is 40€/50€, and up to "20 over" is 60€/70€.
it starts getting really bad for "21+ over": then you also get 1-2 penalty points (towards losing the license),
and for "31+ over" you get a driving prohibition of 1-3 months, and the fines increase too, eg 700€/800€ for "70+ over"
which would be 121+ in town, 171+ on country roads, or 201+ in a 130 zone on the Autobahn.
special rule : intentionally speeding (racing or driving 40% over the limit) can double or even triple these fines.
summary: with bad luck you get a fine already for "1 over", but for up to "20 over" there are only "cheap" fines without points/prohibition,
unless you have an accident, drive drunk, or are a repeat offender. _(disclaimer: not an attorney, and circumstances may cause variations)_
In Finland the speed cameras only "catch" you if you are going over the speed limit by about 5-10kph (depending on the speed limit) because of the tolerances in speedometers and the radar systems, but our fines are much bigger. Our fining systems is income baced and the more you earn the more you pay. Even then the minimum fine in up to 60kph zone is 100€ and in zones above 60 kph the minimum fine is 70€.
That registration and insurance was interesting and quite different than here in Norway. You need the registration certificate in the car, but you can't get the plates and the registration unless the car is insured. Reason is its all tied into each other so its impossible to get one without the other. They have cameras that read plates and automatically flag a car if something is missing. Even the bi-annual inspection that is required in Europe.
Same in Germany
Hi Ian, I am Australian and recently returned from a 1-month road trip in France, which was awesome. I noticed a few other differences. The streaming of lanes on the freeways/motorways is different to what I am used to in Australia (which I think is similar to the USA). In Australia, everyone drives at more or less the same speeds in the different lanes and sometimes the outside lane can move faster than the inside lane. In France, the slow traffic is in the outside lane, faster traffic in the middle lane and fastest traffic in the inside lane. They are pretty courteous and will move from the inside lane to the middle lane if a faster car is coming up behind them.
Another difference relates to giving way. The give way or stop line is much further from the intersection than in Australia, where it is basically at the intersection. I think thus is because often the sightline are obscured by buildings that go right up to the intersection, so more room is needed for safe viewing. Sometimes, what seems to be obviously the main road in a town has give way or stop signs and a tiny cross road has priority. I think this also relates to difficulty seeing around the corner when there are lots of buildings crowded on the intersection. They also have intersections that don't have a stop or give way side but have a sign with an X on it and I think it means give way to the right.
We have not had physical toll booths in most of Australia for many years now; it is all electronically monitored and paid automatically, so it was surprising that they still have toll lanes where you pay with cash or a credit card. There were lanes for cars with electronic monitoring but they still had to drive through a physical toll structure.
The speed cameras were interesting. In Australia, they are often hidden behind bridges or even rubbish bins but in France, there are signs announcing that there will be a speed ce=amera in 46 km or whatever and then a reminder when it is coming up, so there is no excuse for getting pinged.
Hi. You’re right about signs (and the rest^^).
Fist, it’s a triangle sign, meaning the driver’s specific attention is required right now (I believe it to be an international standard).
Second, this cross sign indeed warns of a standard crossing ahead (so where the default rule of priority on the right applies). They are only used where, for whatever reason, the driver might think they have priority.
Last, there’s also a triangle sign with a very thick vertical line (that’s the road you’re driving on) crossed by a much lighter horizontal line, I’m sure you’ve seen quite a lot of these. It warns of a “protected crossing” where you have priority over cars coming from the right. Consistently, drivers coming from the right will always have a stop sign and a continuous white line on the road.
Cheers😉
@@tixien I do remember seeing those priority road signs. We used to have them in Australia, maybe in the 1970s but they no longer exist here. Here, if you have no sign facing you at an intersection, you have the right of way and there will always be a control sign (most commonly give way, less often a stop sign) on the intersecting road.
@@michaelfink64 Oh… So there’s no priority by default for people coming from the right? But then, you need to have signs at every crossing in the country, right? It’s a insane amount to install and maintain…?
@@tixien Correct. Yes, lots of signs but at least there is no uncertainty.
In the UK a few things are similar.
Your registration, insurance and mot is all digital mostly now and the police just need the licence plate to check and cameras use anpr to check vehicles that have been flagged and at petrol stations. You used to have to show a tax disc in the windscreen but this was abolished a while ago now.
Roundabout are everywhere.
Manual is more common typically, and if you pass your test on automatic you cannot drive Manual.
There are very few toll roads.
There are scars that you just need a motorcycle licence for. Typically unless it is a pushbike you need a licence for everything that goes on the the road, which some exceptions.
You should look for a video of why trucks and large suv's are so popular over there.. hint, it's not cos they are "cool", more like taxes are lower.
Add to that why they are so much worse for the roads (unsafe, large, inefficient) and why they are treated differently to normal cars(lobbying)..
Aaand then why there is mandated so much parking and that public transit is so looked down on I know someone that was fired for not having a car to get to work when there was a bus. (More lobbying)
Sooo strange.
Thanks for reacting to my video 🥰!
French guy here. In France, you can phone (respond and call) from your car when driving as long as you do it via the bluetooth system of the car. As this reduces your attention, however, it is not recommanded. Opposedly, I agree, it is forbiden ot hold a phone while driving, even if you do jnot phone or text...Car insurance is mandatory in France, at least to protect third party. You may add protection of the car (broken glass, thief, fire, etc.), protection of the driver, or full coverage but of course your insurance fee will grow as the number of options increase.
Regardin rada, in France, the radar have roughly a 5 kmh margin, as a rule. This is why you'll be fined only if you go over 135 kmh on an highway (speed is limited to 130 kmh on these roads). This adds to the margin of error of the speedometer, e.g. when my Scenic III Renault speed indicator indicates 130 kmh, my real speed is around 127/128 kmh. Some people complain that the radar caught them for only 1 kmh, but this is not true. Thus, if you get a ticket for driving at 136 on highways, it means that you indeed drived at 136 kmh, i.e. 139 kmh on the car speedometer...
9:00 they still do speed manual radar from time to time, but they have automatic radar at “dangerous” places, to make sure drivers will slow down… not only when there are cops
In Finland, you don't need registration, insurance, or inspection papers in your car. The police have this information already. Police cars have automatic license plate scanners also.
These "sans permis" cars are pretty much a french thing. They are not registered as a car, it's a "quadricyle".
Funfact : because of regulations on engine capacity, they usually run on diesel.
And no, the smart car isn't one of them. One car that proved popular in this segment us the Citroën Ami, which is electric and cheaper than the diesel cars already for sale.
About the "carte grise" and "vignette verte" it was unclear on the video.
"Vignette verte" it's an insurance proof that is no longer mandatory because it's now linked to the number plate, just like in other countries.
There's another "vignette", it's for the technical inspection.
The "carte grise" is simply the "id" of the vehicle. In france it looks like a piece of paper but it's more "adhanced" in other countries.
Also, it's been said in a lot of other comments, but it's France, not Europe.
(And yes, parking on the sidewalk is strictly forbidden, but on specific streets, we do it, when there's enough room)
About speed cameras : their presence depends of the kind of road and the region you're in. If you're on a quiet road in a rich "département" (county), there can be one, it's much less probable in a poorer one. But it really depends. (Of course on bigger roads there are more speed cameras).
We have a little tolerance of like 5 km/h, because your speedometer can be a little off.
"Cops SITTING AROUND for radar traps" is wasted money.
13:50 Ours is digital and in the cloud, but you can get a printed A4 if you are planning a trip outside of Finland.
Things you need to do as a European when driving abroad
1. Speed limits in your guest country
2. the meaning of certain road markings (some countries have special markings for no parking zones, being igorant of those can be expensive)
3. "environment zones" or "low emission zones" or things like those. Do you need a sticker when entering certain cities (the sticker may differ by country, France requires a different one than Germany, for example) or if your car is old do you even need to keep out.
4. are there road tolls and if so, how to pay them and when?
5. any special rules that differ from your country's? (how to navigate a multilane roundabout, who has priority on a grade, does the driver with the obstacle on their side have to wait or does the descending driver generally have to yield to the one driving upwards, is driving with the lights on mandatory even during the day, etc
If you know all these, you should generally be fine in any country.
And parking regulations for each town you will be parking in. Some places make it really complicated with about 7 or 8 different zones with different allowed parking hours, days and tariffs.
even hands-free calling while driving can have the same effect on your driving as driving intoxicated.
If someone's incapable of safely talking and driving they shouldn't be on the road in the first place imo.
The speed cameras in the Netherlands measure the speed of all vehicles. Then they subtract 3% off for 'measuring errors' with a minimum of 3km. If you then are 4km or more over the speed limit you'll get a fine. So on your speedo you'd be well over the limit by then. This process is fully automatic. Fines are about 10 euros per km over (give or take). It can be higher if you pass roadworks for instance. There are mobile checks where a camera on a tripod is used for instance to measure speed. Laser check are pretty rare.
Here in the UK there are 'instantaneous' speed cameras at certain spots and Average Speed Cameras on motorways. All are indicated by signs at the road side and are painted yellow for recognition, you can't really miss them. Also a GPS Satnav will indicated where they are, which, I believe is illegal in France.
In the UK we don't need the discs in the window any more. Now everything is linked to your plate. The ANPR cars can detect if everything is in place automatically just by driving past. If you get stopped by a non-ANPR car they just check it on the computer.
Means you don't need to bring important documents out with you.
As for the speed cameras, you just need to pay attention
Here in New Zealand the vehicle registration is a printed sheet the size/shape of a business card. We also have what is called a W.O.F (Warrant Of Fitness) sticker which shows that the vehicle has passed vehicle inspections and is road legal. Both the registration and W.O.F are displayed on the windshield. Vehicle insurance is also not mandatory over here.
Spain (Catalonia in particular, in Spain there are diferences between regions):
- Park on the sidewalks is not legal, on small towns and narrow streets, police may look the other way if is just momentary and safe. I'm almost sure that's also the case in France, but yeah it seems to be more common there.
- Small no license cars, yes, they exist. But they don't have the popularity of france. They are classified as "4 wheel mopeds". Almost all brands are French.
- Speed cameras, absolutelly the same. And growing. Now we have the "average speed ones" which are trickier. They read you plates at the start and end of a sector of road, they calculate the time you took and with that, the average speed. If it's above the road speed limit, they send you a fine.
- Roundabouts: The default on intersections for all new roads from the last 20 years, and already popular before that. Lots and lots of them.
- I think only France in EU uses the green vignette. In Spain you need to have in the car the receipt of the last payment of the insurance. Is a strange method, not sure how it works but you could get an insurance, obtain the green card, and then cancel it... Which defeats all the purpose of having it on the windshield as they will have to check it.
- Toll roads? Catalonia is the pay-to-drive king of Spain, we have all kinds of them, normal ones, hidden ones (The government pay from the taxes) old ones, new ones, and removed ones.
" In Spain you need to have in the car the receipt of the last payment of the insurance." Not mandatory since 2008.
You do know about those microcars for which you don't need a car driving license. You did a reaction video on the Citroën Ami!
French cops also have mobile speed cameras and you can talk on the phone while driving as long as you have a hands-free set up. The insurance sticker is a French thing and doesn't apply across Europe.
If you look cloesly in the video, you will see there is a white line marked on the sidewalk where the cars are parked. These parking spots are outlined to be half on/half off. In general it is not something you can do anywhere, but these do occur, especially ,as you said, in narrow streets where there is still need for parcking.
In the uk police cars are fitted with ANPR cameras meaning Automatic Number Plate Recognition that can get you from the Front or rear and let police officers know if your speeding or car has a MOT and Insurance and name of ownership
In UK we have ALOT of speed cameras. We have something called the smart motorways which have variable speed limits depending on traffic and cameras that adjust with it. We usually are allowed 10% over the speed limit to account for mistakes and bad speedometers on older cars but usually if you aren’t being extremely silly you can get away with more.
There is two parts in the french driving license: the "code" which is theoretical part common to all type of vehicule, and the license itself which is the practical part that is separated in different type of vehicules: A1 for light motorcycle between 4 and 11 kW of power, A2 for light motorcycle between 11 and 35 kW of power, A for motorcycle (automatically gives the A1 and A2 licenses), B1 for heavy quad, B for car (automatically gives the A1 and B1 licenses), C1 for light truck, C for truck (automatically gives the C1), D1 for minibus, D for bus (automatically gives the D1), E for trailer.
Note that the E are additional licenses and are separate for each primary license (BE, C1E, CE, D1E and DE). Also, the C1, C, D1 and D require the B license to be delivered and have a mandatory renewal every 5 years. All require the driver to be over 18yo to be delivered, except the A1 (16 yo). A special temporary B license for supervised driving in France (the AAC license) can be delivered once the driver reach 16yo, the supervisor is required to have their B license for more than 5 years.
Each of those licenses can be confiscated by the authorities.
Additionally, since 2013, the AM license is delivered at 14 after a formation done by every school, it has a mandatory renewal every 15 years and can't be confiscated and allow anyone to drive light motorcycle under 4kW of power and light quad under 6kW of power clamped at 45km/h of maximum speed everywhere in Europe. The AM license replaced a similar formation (the BSR) that allowed to drive the same vehicule but was lifelong and only for France, and technically didn't deliver a license.
The name "licenseless car" is an artifact of what was done before, and because a lot a people over 25 (in 2024) driving those cars can be licenseless (but with the BSR). Every person under 25 (in 2024) that drive those vehicule required an AM license.
In The Netherlands, you need a moped or higher license to drive a 45km/h car iirc. They’re usually driven by people who for some reason don’t/can’t drive a regular car (often a disability or something) or people not old enough for a drivers license (16 - 18). There are also people who live in big cities and when most of their travels are within the city, they get one of those instead of a normal car.
On the speed cameras, most in-car navigation systems have a notification system for speed cameras, or you can use apps like “Flits Meister”. Also most speed cameras are quite visible, or sometimes there are signs that indicate there are speed cameras ahead. But mostly the area you live in or routes you travel often, you’ll know where they are after a while. The mobile ones are tricky though, but if you see one, you can report it’s location in an app like Flits Meister, and then other users will be notified when they’re near the one you (or someone else) reported.
In the UK, we used to have Tax discs on the car windscreen.
To make it cheaper, it’s ALL digital now.
Most speed cameras allow 10 percent margin of error as the speedos, apart from lorries aren’t calibrated.
Lorries are limited to 56 mph.
Can't wait for a vlog of you driving around in europe 😂
The cars without license are basically 50cc scooters with 4 wheels and a car body. In Italy the insurance certificate was abolished 10 years ago, the police know if you are insured simply by checking your license plate (well, everybody can know if a car is insured by checking the license plate online).
In The Netherlands there's a mixture of fixed speed cameras, usually on roads where many people start speeding when there's no camera. Then there's the mobile speed cameras which are mounted in unmarked vans on side roads. You get a ticket if you're speeding, and the amount depends on how much you've been speeding. They default substract 4 km/h from the observed speed. If you go twic the speedlimit they will come to your house and depending on the court trial (no, no ticket...), will impound your car and take in your driver's license so you can't drive until the trial date. It's then up to the judge how long to suspend your driver's license. Gross violations can lead to permanent suspensions and forfeiting your car so you can't drive at all, in combination with prison sentence.
The small cars you don't need a license for are technically mopeds. They have at best a small cylinder two-stroke engine and were developed from mopeds with a cover. They are basically 1-seater vehicle or very tight-fitting two-seater vehicle, and are mostly used by people with mobility impairments and elderly people, at least in The Netherlands. They are not comparable to a Smart as a Smart is complete car with a far higher speed limit. In The Netherlands slow-moving traffic has a different ruleset and access than fast-moving traffic. bicycles, mopeds, 45 km/h vehicles, agricultural traffic, pedestrians on one hand, and cars, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles / semi-trucks on the other hand. Notice that difference is speed, not mass.
For the fast moving vehicles you need driver's licenses which come in different types. There's one for motorcycles, one for cars and motorcycles, one for busses, one for trucks. These types will be notified on your driver's license, so when a cop asks for your license they can immediately see what vehicles you are allowed to drive. Having a fast-speed driver's license automatically entitles you to drive all the slow-moving vehicles. So if you have a driver's license for a motorcycle or car, you can drive any agricultural vehicle that is roadworthy, on the road without an additional driver's license.
for some of the slow moving vehicles a driver's license is required. There's one for mopeds over 25 but under 45 and one for agricultural machinery. Here you need both licenses if you want to drive both on the road. The moped one also covers the 45 km/h cars and mobility scooters that can go over 25 km/h. Bicycles (so main propulsion is your legs) don't require licenses, even if you can get your bicycle to go past 25 km/h. So a bicycle that you can pedal but has electrical assist: no license. An electric moped with the pedals on for show that can go faster than 25 km/h: license.
I know from some vids that there's a lot of discussion in the USA and the UK on what is a bicycle and what isn't. The Netherlands has always had the speed limit as divider for taking licenses, except for bicycles where the main propulsion is pedalling. The way our trafffic law functions is to make the roads as safe as possible for all users, which is why we tend to differentiate roads in speed rather than type of vehicle. Say there's a road in a build-up area and a bicycle path along side side. In build-up areas the max seed limit for fast-moving vehicles is 30 km/h unless otherwise specified. So it makes much more sense to put the 25 km/h - 45 km/h mopeds on the road, instead of on the bicycle path (where they go outside build-up areas, when the road speed changes to 60 km/h unless otherwise specified). The speed difference between them and the cars is far less than between them and the cyclists. Note: In The Netherlands road racing cycling is an exception, most cyclists go at a far more sedately pace than the men in lycra.
about cops, cops are for catching criminals, for catching traffic violators(speeding etc) we have automated radars
You just get a lovely letter in mail to tell how much you own or if too bad to bring you licence back.
14:31 Here in Norway, we carry any proof of ownership or proof of insurance. Heck, even our drivers license can be found in the DMV's app on our phone! The cops just scan a dynamic QR code to verify that the license is valid on our phone. The proof of ownership and insurance is in a central government system. If you own a car and you don't have an insurance AND you haven't turned your license plates in to the DMV, you'll get fined about $14USD PER DAY until you either turn your plates in or get an insurance. It's also not possible to transfer a car's ownership during a sale without the buyer having a valid insurance ready to take over from the previous owners insurance (if the car has license plates).
The daily fine of $14 will be sent from the DMV and if you don't pay, it may end up to be automatically deducted from your pay check (before you get your pay check money in your back account). This goes for every governmental fine you wind up getting (speeding, etc).
I don't know if you're gonna read this, but as 32 year old french, here are some insight about the video :
About cars parking on the side walk, you have to remember that most french cities are much older than the car invention, older than horse carriage even sometimes, so they're not made to facilitate the circulation of such vehicules. And the result is there is no room for cars to park on the side of the road, or even to create a parking lot, so the parking situation here can be pretty bad, it's not uncommon to drive for 15 minutes looking for a spot to park when you're in a big city center.
About the "voiture sans permis", without license cars, when I was little, they were almost only drove by very old people and alcoholics who lost their license and couldn't drive anything else. Now they're becoming more popular, especially amongs teenagers since you can drive them at 16 years old.
About the green card on the windshield for insurance, they're gonna remove it because it's no longer necessary, everything is now logged on some network and police can easily access all the informations about your car just by flashing your license plate.
Czech here.
6:00 These cars also do exist in Czechia, you can drive those from the age of 15 but you need a licence for a small motorcycle, since these cars are legally a motorcycle. There are some other limitations, too. Beside the max speed of 45 km/h, the power must not exceed 6 kW (8 HP) and the total mass of the car (including the driver) must not exceed 425 kg (about 940 lbs).
17:00 And regarding the speed cameras in Czechia, they are always managed by the town council where they are located. They usually have the tolerance of 5-10 km/h, but some towns/cities started to use them as their source of income so in some towns, you can get fined even for doing 53 km/h in a 50 km/h zone. How that works legally, is quite funny. You are being fined not as a driver, but as a vehicle owner, because we have a law stating something alog the lines that as a vehicle owner, you must ensure that your vehicle won't be used for breaking the laws of the road. The speed cameras are usually visible from far enough that you can slow down to the limit. During the 12 years I have had my driver's licence, I got four fines from the speed cameras in the mail, the largest of them being 1500 CZK (about 65 USD) for going 72 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.
Not sure about France, but in the Czech Republic, you're certainly not allowed to park on the sidewalk even partially unless it is specifically allowed by a traffic sign (which is certainly fairly common due to there not being enough parking space, but usually in places where it is still fairly reasonable to do so). Unfortunately that often doesn't stop people from doing it, especially in larger cities (and pedestrians being angry about it, rightfully so).
Also, since you mention you hate stopping at traffic lights, fairly often, our traffic lights tend to be synchronized in a way so that if you drive at the expected speed, you'll get a green light on each traffic light on that street, aka "the green wave". It doesn't always work great, but when it does, it's nice. Also some traffic lights do base their red/green timing based on how many cars are currently there to optimize the waiting time for everyone on the intersection. And of course late at night, quite a few traffic lights just turn off (they are blinking yellow), in which case you're supposed to follow the traffic signs and right of way.
Also, why have miles on speedometers in Europe? Every single country in Europe uses the metric system except for the UK, and their cars have to be made different anyway, given the right hand drive requirement. I guess it would be somewhat convenient for Americans visiting Europe, but is it really needed? Speed signs and speed limits are in kilometers per hour only, so why use miles per hour?
BTW, regarding the general differences of traffic and city layout and such between the US and Europe, there's a channel called Not Just Bikes that explores the concept of "walkable cities" and points out the differences in city planning in the US vs in Europe.
In Poland, you can park with two wheels on the sidewalk, but the condition is that the sidewalk must be at least 150 cm wide . Typically, this means that the car takes up 50 cm of the width of the sidewalk and 1 meter of width is left for pedestrian traffic. The Road Traffic Law clearly states that parking on a pedestrian road is permissible, but provided that the sidewalk is at least 150 cm wide and the car does not obstruct pedestrian traffic.
For Belgium some things are different. There are speed cameras all over Like the closest town close to where I live I easely count 39 speed cameras for a city of 100k people. Yes they are always on and will send you violation digitally to the police. And they have like a 6km/h margin under 100km/h and 6% over 100 km/h we have traffic lights on both side of the intersections close by and also across the intersection. If there is a specific turning lane that passes right of the traffic light and it has no extra light on that lane you can turn right on red but you have to yield offcourse. Only the right lane is for cruising (minimum speed needs to be 75 kh/h) the lanes to the left of that are passing lanes and need to be cleared after overtaking. Those small 25km/h cars need a drivers license here but one for mopeds. So you need to know the traffic rules and pass a written exam and a practical exam. Police still do random speed tests they can use a car with a build in speed cam in the front bumper so you can not see it when you pass or a tripod that is hidden behind a bridge pillar or guard rail. We also have speed enforcement zones where a camera registers you when going in and out of a zone and calculates your average speed. So slowing down for just the camera is no option there. There is offcourse the yearly car inspection for cars older than 4 years. Your car has to be safe to drive on the road so brakes,lights, horn ,tires, .. are annually checked.
More details on speed cameras :
Many of them are automated and on motorways. They do get most people they are quite reliable to the despair of many.
It is mandatory to have signage to warn drivers of an upcoming radar. All pics taken of speeding vehicles are sent to one big special facility in France where officers are basically doing tickets all day.
I agree that most people will speed at some point. I lived closed to an airport in France and we have very very low speed limits around them. Something like 50 Km/h instead of the usual 90 on that type of road. So I got a ticket this way by an automated radar because I didn't notice that the limit was much lower than usual.
There was/is a lot of anger toward automated radars because many of them are in spots that are often considered as safe. You still should never speed but at least if you did in these areas, you could talk to the officer and sometimes get just a warning. You can contest an automated ticket and ask for the picture to be sent to you. Sometimes you can argue that you were not driving the vehicle that day or the picture is just not clear enough. Most of the time you just pay quickly because it's very hard to contest such tickets.
It's a good idea but the way it was put in practice in France is not that great in my opinion. I also think that speed radars are important but that sometimes we would be better off with a stop light radar or something like that. Speeding a bit inadvertently on an empty motorway is not as dangerous as running a stop light. With dumb automated radars you get dumb automated tickets that are not really helping people understand why all of this matters.
In Sweden and Norway fixed speedcameras always have a warning sign about 100-200 meters before the actual camera. The idea is to prevent people from panicking and hitting the breaks, causing accidents.
About stationary speed cameras : I live in south eastern France, there are lots of them here. They are put on straight roads where they can easily calculate speed. How they work is that when you drive above speed limit, they will take a picture. It will then take your registration plate, find out who owns the vehicle and send a ticket to your house.
The problem with this is that, 80% of the time, the picture does not show who's driving, so technically you can go to court and have it removed if the picture does not show the driver properly.
Police using speed camera is still pretty common because you can't put stationary cameras everywhere, as they tend to be expensive. Right now, it is seen as a massive scam as some places where they put cameras are not dangerous at all or have very few accidents. Patrols and routine checks have become rarer in the last decade, with speeding being the main focus instead of actually stopping cars and seeing if the driver is not drunk and has his license etc...
That's interesting. In Germany you get the ticket with a nice (read atrocious) picture of your face :)
in Latvia parking on sidewalk is allowed if a sign allows it. We have few signs that tell if you should park fully on sidewalk or only partially (one side on road and one higher like they did in video), but overall its allowed only if a roadsign has the symbol for it.
the car without licence legally is in a scooter class, which is why you dont need full car licence, and you can drive it from maybe 14-16years. One of the popular brands is Aixam, they can't go on high speed roads, they are in some cases very plasticy.
Car registration paper for me is arougly 8x15cm big and laminated, and has user/owner name, year, model, color, gas type etc. It has somesafety features. and on the corner of windshield you must have a sticker that is shiny, which you get for passing the inspecion every year (or two, depending on country), it contains the date until the next inspection (or date until which your car is allowed legally on road)
I'm from Latvia, the speed radar limit error is about 5km, if it is above that You pay depending on how fast You were going. Also our car registration as a laminated little plastic card, but now everything is in centralized database, so it is checked electronically, which speed cameras also do - so if You forget to pay for Your car insurance or do not have yearly inspections done, You get 500€ fine, max up to 5 times.
In Italy there are the traditional speed cameras more common in urban centers but there are also average speed cameras too. The latter are installed in many highway sections even tens of kilometers long (about 40% of all highways is covered) and these take the time of entry and exit in each section and if the time interval is shorter than what is needed to drive that section at the limit speed you get a sanction, or more if your average speed is over the limit in more than 3 sections
Speed cameras in finland are set so they subtract 4km/h and 3% of the speed limit from your speed, and if you are still going above limit, you get a speeding ticket or a warning if you were only a bit above the limit. For example on 100km/h highway, you can theoretically drive 107 km/h before a warning. The speeding tickets are also dependant on your income, so high income = high speeding tickets, low income = small speeding tickets.
We also have to have signs on the road, warning about speedcams ahead, and they are pretty common on the larger roads
6:02 My son has that kind of moped car (mopoauto in Finnish). It is 500cc 4-stroke 2 cylinder diesel (Kubota in our case). Maximum speed is limited to 45km/h. Requires 15 year age and passing a test (both theory and driving test) to have licence. That licence is only valid for that kind of car, it doesn't allow you to drive moped (2/3 wheel) nor ATV.
Classification in EU is; "L6e" for that type of light four wheel vehicle. Most common is diesel version, but there are electric versions available. One electric version is Citroen Ami.
Prices are high (new ones easily up to 20k euros, used less but too often "wild mad pack of monkeys rip the interrior" state due mostly being used by teenagers...). And speaking about insurance, basic insurance (the legal required one) is 400-600e/year easily, taking full coverage (fire, stole, crash...) goes easily 4000e per year... These are from Finnish insurance companies, other countries will be different.
First of all - I really LOVE your videos and really enjoy watching them
About speed control: there are two kinds of speed cameras. One checks the 'instant speed' of the vehicle and takes you a nice picture you receive at home together with the fine for you to pay throu home banking or ATM. The othe system is 'mean speed' meaning then the camera takes you a picture (a virtual one) as you pass the first check point and at a second check point the same procedure. Then the system verifies if your speed is lower/equal than the max speed for the area. If you exceed that limit, as I told before, you will get a nice pic and the fine. The procedure is full automatic and you will have no officer at place to blame or cry for mercy. About where you will be controlled: there are two options. the radars can be installed in a known place (you can see where they are installed, using google maps) or by road signs (as the one you saw) or mobile ones installed randomly and lasting one or two days in place. Nowadays the places where the mobile units are installed are publicised.
Here in Belgium the speed cameras have an 8 km/h tolerance margin above the speed limit. So if you get flashed at 130 km/h, while the speed limit on the highway is 120 km/h, the speed is adjusted to 122 km/h. That is a 60.00 € fine which is sent straight to the licence plate owner.
The insurance "vignette verte" (green patch) is no more needed in France as police cameras can read your plate and know instantly if your insurance is still valid.
In Paris at least, these cameras can send you speed or other tickets at your home and you don't even notice you did something wrong (some times, there is not even a flash lightning to warn you).
About the stickers: at this moment there is no need to have stickers at the windshield. Both the insurance and the technical check are available to the control authority via internet. It happens the same for your driving license, car ownership certificate, plate, etc. You can present those documents in your phone and they have the same value as the physical counterparts.
You do need to have licence for thoes little cars. Here in Europe we have licence categories like A: only for 50cc mopeds B: passenger cars and small vans. C:trucks, buses etc. Those little cars called moped cars and they falling into the same category like the mopeds. The newest regulations will also requiring category A drivers licence for rental electric scooters. So there is no such thing like driving anything here without licence. Never was.
A category isn't only for 50cc mopeds, they're also for motorcycles. At least in France, you got the AM, the A2 as motorcycle licenses...
@@elisouille_buscarscamions Here in Hungary you can’t drive bigger then a 50cc with a regular a category you have to have another licence for 125cc or bigger motorcycles.
the video does not talk about the point system for driving licenses. In France, we have a capital of 12 points. In addition to the fine in euros, we lose points depending on the severity of the offense. For example, 1 point for a small speeding offense, 4 points for running a red light, etc.
No more points = losing your driving license, but we have the right to drive the cars without a license mentioned in the video.
The point capital is replenished if we stay long enough without an offense, or if we pay for a road safety course(max 2points bonus).
There are many automated radars (discreet but effective). A photo is taken by the device and the fine arrives quickly at home, with a loss of points.
There are also automatic systems for checking compliance with red lights.
About your comment at 11:46, and I'm not trying to sound toxic, it's just my personal belief, but, why would cars here in the EU show mps in their speedometers when we have, and use the superior metric system in every single country for speed and distance?(I know the UK also uses imperial for speed sometimes, but come on, it's the UK, they don't know how to cook properly, why would they measure things properly?)
In the US and Canada, speedometers have both because, in the US case, if you go down to Mexico, you'll be unable to follow road guidelines and speed limits if you only had mph to measure your speed, while in Canada's case, well, Canadians are just weird in the way they measure distances, using both imperial and metric.
For the roundabouts - in some european countries you have to use your blinkers to show when you're going out, (don't get me wrong, you always have to indicate at "your" exit) when you're out at the first exit, indicate right immediately, when you get out at the second, only indicate at the exit and when leaving at the 3rd exit, indicate left when going in and indicate right when leaving. That's not in every country
In most of European countries it is allowed to park car partially or entirely on most of sidewalks, but you have leave some space for pedestrians (like 1,5 meters or 2 yards).
I don't think that's quite true. There are lots of EU countrys that don't allow it in any way and some have some specified areas where you can and those are not common at all.
Hey Ian, we used to have registration stickers in Australia but it’s all online now so you don’t have to display, but you do have to remember yourself when it expires. This lead to some issues at first but most people are used to it now. Also, our third party insurance is part of our registration so it’s compulsory. Further insurance cover like third party property or comprehensive is up to the owner. Most people have at least third party property.. Thanks as always 👍
So in Portugal, last year, they installed 16 new speed cameras and on the first day, those 16 cameras caught drivers worth 1M € in citations (~ 50€ - 120€ each). This year there will be 25 new speed cameras. Most of them are in highways and they introduced a few years ago average speed cameras that track your speed in a section of 2Km or so.
Here in Spain at least, apart from the fixed radars, when there is a mobile one (in a vehicle) it is usually a camouflaged vehicle or one that has no external signs of being a police vehicle and usually has the radar installed on the front of the car, practically integrated into the bodywork, in many cases
Those are not cars are considered quadricycles and their speed is limited to 50km/h.
Famous brands are Aixam and Ligier.
For instance, the electric Citroën AMI is not a car.
No vehicles can be registered for road traffic in Europe unless they have third party insurance! This is a law of the European Union and therefore applies in all countries of the Schengen Agreement.
When I travelled through Italy, I noticed they use a huge amount of traffic cops during rush hour rather than traffic lights. It's ridiculously efficient. Just think of all the times that a turn signal has been too long or too short, the time you've spent at a red light when no one was on the crossing road, the tens of pedestrians waiting for only a few cars to drive past.
Traffic cops eliminate much of that wasted time and make the roads SO much more efficient. It also causes drivers to be cognizant of their surroundings and drive safely around the police officer, instead of just blasting through an intersection obliviously. Traffic cops are amazing.
A hell of a lot more useful than having an officer stand by the highway with a radar gun.
The 45 km/h "cars" are considered a moped in The Netherlands and can be driven with a moped license. You are required to have insurance and are not allowed on motorways or highways. Inside city limits they are allowed on the road. Outside city limits they have to drive on the bicycle path.
In Germany, you can turn right on red only when a small green arrow sign next to the red light allows you to. But even then, you have to stop and yield first.
But only on unlighted arrows. On lighted arrows, you don`t have to stop first but you must be aware of pedestriants or bikes netherthelees.
Hello Ian,
Yeah, almost all the cars that are produced in Europe at this time, are manuals, but, on the other side, autos are taking over slowly, mainly because the electrification. Autos are a bit expensive than a manual, though I don't know why it is like that, I guess that it's because an auto transmission is more complex than a manual one.
I think that manual vs auto transmissions should be a thing regarding need vs confort, or both in some cases, which the latter is my case actually.
I'm a disabled person, that have problems in the legs, and even a few years ago, when I was healthier, I had a lot of problems using the clutch.
So, when I tried it getting the license again, a few years later, and being worse phisically (can't use safely the pedals anymore), I have an automatic 2020 Mitsubishi Mirage (though, here is called "Space Star"), adapted to use it all with my hands, and as I said, automatic. That little one is awesome to drive, very comfy.
Regarding to the parking over the sidewalk, here in Spain isn't allowed and you'll be fined for obvious reasons, especially if you parked when there's a continous yellow line at the side.
Oh, yes, the microcars are vehicles that you can drive w/out license, but they're hella expensive compared with a normal car, and, if you ask me, they don't seem very safe, even if they're slow.
In the case of the stickers on the windows, we don't use that here, but it'd be nice, since there's people that do hits and runs, when nobody is watching, but they don't leave a note in the windshield, if you suffered an accident. With this, I guess you'd be able to have the necessary data to give a call to the insurance of the other guy.
What we use, however is a couple of stickers that inform of the emissions of the vehicle (EURO 6/7 laws, in my case, it has a green C, meaning, very low emissions), and the one that informs the authorities that your vehicle passed the technical inspection, which is mandatory, and you'd be fined if you use it w/out having it.
Take care.
In germany there are two types of speed cameras. Stationaries and mobiles.
The stationaries are most likely installed at intersections, because they oversee red light infringements as well as speed infringements.
They take a photo from the front, because it´s mandatory to identify the driver as well as the license plate.
And then there are the mobile ones. Same technology as the stationay ones. Radar based measurements.
Usually the change location once or twice a day, sometimes they stay at the same place for days in areas where overspeed is an all day problem.
Some areistalled inside of police vehicles, marked or unmarked, the trend is going towards a trailer solution.
Small, heavily fortified trailers that are left at stategic locations. These trailers could withstand a bomb attack, given how unpopular they are with certain groups of traffic idiots.
In Berlin alone during the lats 3 years, we had 12 devastating attacs on traffic cameras. 3 times explosives where used to destroy those stationary columns, 2 times chainsaws where used, 4 times cars where used tearing them down with tow straps. The most common way to disarm both, stationary and mobile units is spraypaint.
Radar guns are getting more scarse every year. Measurements can be objected because of user error. So, it´s not a valid enough method to pass in a court.
Berlin has currently allmost 250 stationary and around 400 mobile units, soon to be upped to 500/750 units.
And yes, i got a handfull of picturese taken of me during the last 37 years of driving. Nothing big, just minor offenses. Except one, when the got me at 165 km/h on the GDR transit way. The GDR had a max speed of 100 km/h. I think, because that funny little car the GDR police, the Volkspolizei (poeple´s police), the "trabant" only managed to do 100 km/h downhil with tailwind (2 stroke with 27 hp, which was a governement given max power for every car engine).
Here in Brazil speed traps have a 10% tolerance, so if you’re over by a little bit it would not affect you. But you are expected to drive at the speed limit, or at least 50% of the speed limit. Driving slower can also get you a ticket. However it’s a lot more common for people to use apps to know where the speed traps are and speed over the limit between speed traps. We sometimes also have cops with radar guns at certain locations.
If I’m not mistaken, however the form of speed measurement, the road has to have a sign telling the drivers that they might be monitored along that stretch of the road.
-wind shield sticker won t be mandatory, u still need a car insurance and u might need a windshield still depending if u go to an other country ( different laws)
-u don t park on the pavement ( sidewalk) but in small villages/countryside if there are no parking spaces at all. if u do that, u park half the car on the pavement, half on the road otherwise a fine might come ( if not the car towed out)
- i have 2km to the kids school, i have 4 traffic circles (yield to the left incomers), usually not many cars, so no stop or slow down much, time gain, fuel gain , more fluid, just slow down a bit if i see someone in it so i can get in ,right after.
with the rise of EV and PHEV + dual clutch transmissions ones, automatic transmission ( modern ones) are rising.
3:49 The dotted line usually marks a bike path (or rather side/protection strip), at least here in Germany. So cars on some streets are supposed to park on the sidewalk.
Wind-shield stickers for insurance and/or car info is not mandatory in EU. In most EU country's the insurance follow the car and if the driver has a valid licence and not dui, the car and all occupants is normally covered by the insurance. And the cops get all this info when they run your registrations plates (like they always do anyway). In some country's in Europe, like UK, where the insurance is personally, you has to have insurance who covers the vehicle you driving.
@IWrocker:
Europe has a lot of police with mobile cameras. Those police cars are civilian cars in most cases so that you don't notice. These cars won't pull you over, they will just take a picture like static cameras.
Well, in Germany we have 2 different kinds of speed cameras, the permanent installed ones, and the mobile ones. The permanent ones are active all the time, but of course people (locals) learn where they are and drive slower then. But thats kind of what the intention behind it is, right.
The mobile speed cameras are in a van or small trailer or just a tripod behind a bush, and the police sets them up randomly, for some hours. But they usually wont chase you to stop like in the US, same as the permanent ones they make a photo of the car and you get the ticket send in the mail. Just sometimes they set up a stop point a further down the road, where they actually stop you and tell you that you have been a bad boy, and that its usafe to speed and so on.
The tiny cars we have here as well. Don't know about France, but here you do need a driving licence for them, but only a moped licence or something similar, which is easier and cheaper to get. Still, they are rather rare on the roads. Yes, they are ok inside a town - but they are not that much cheaper than a small Dacia. And a Dacia is a proper car, that is able to go loner distances at a reasonable speed. And you are allowed to use the Autobahn then, the tiny cars are not because they are limitied to 50 km/h. And most people have a proper car licence anyway, so its not really a advantage.
Btw., parking on sidewalks is usually prohibited, unless its explicidly allowed. But people just do it anyway and hope to get away with it.
And using a phone while driving should be banned altogether - no matter if you hold the phone or use a free speaker. The Mythbuster once did a test how having a telepfone conversation affects the drivers performance - and the result was shocking. People get totally distacted because they have to think about what to say. Its a whole different ball game than listening to the radio, or similar things.
4:30 the dotted line is a bike"lane". its not a bikepath, that would be a constant line going through. difference between them is: dotted line you as a driver can pass through it/drive onto it if you need to, like parking on sidewalk. a biker may even ride on the road in this case cause he needs safe space to the parked cars about 1meter - since if a door opens youre gonna crash. a bikepath cannot be passed through. there you cannot park on the sidewalk as you would interfier with the bikers. in both cases the cars have to give a safe space of 1.5m min to overtake a biker. a biker may choose to ride on the road when its just a bikelane. on a path he has to stay on it. in germany we call the lanes fahrradschutzstreifen and the path a fahrradweg. wordwise a far more different thing then lane and path in englisch
the tiny cars, at least in Belgium are called "four wheeled scooters" in the theory books and that kinda hints how they are treated in the law. Like a scooter.