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John Cletheroe's
UK and European Travel and Tourism Hints |
Firstly, it is very important to remember that Europe consists of a large number of individual countries. While many similar traffic regulations apply throughout Europe, some differ from country to country. In particular, Britain tends to differ from the European mainland.
Agricultural vehicles such as tractors and JCB's (motorised mechanical diggers) are common on European roads, where they often reduce long queues of following traffic to a slow crawl. There are no regulations requiring slow moving vehicles to pull over in Europe, and often nowhere where they could pull over anyway.
In Britain the bonnet of a car is what people in the USA would call the hood.
In Britain the boot of a car is what people in the USA would call the trunk.
In Britain a bus lane is what would be called a restricted lane, carpool lane, HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) lane or RTD (Rapid Transit Department) lane in the USA, except that in Britain bus lanes tend to be on normal roads whereas in the USA HOV lanes tend to be on freeways. Britain does not yet use the outline diamond symbol to indicate these lanes. Instead, the restricted lane will be indicated by a road sign with wording and sometimes a coloured road surface. Such lanes may only be restricted for certain hours each day. Bus lanes can be found on ordinary roads in towns in Britain and are rare on motorways (freeways). Sometimes the road line markings for bus lanes can be extremely confusing, with a thick white line between an inner bus lane and the normal vehicle lane in the same direction, and only a dashed white line between that lane and the lane for traffic in the opposite direction. In addition, signs indicating the days and hours that the bus lane must be observed are usually far too small to read as you drive past them. Also beware of bus lanes stopping just before a junction, making it very dangerous to move into the lefthand lane just before the turn with many other vehicles moving in before the bus lane ends. In addition, bus lanes often restart just after a junction, so I you are not turning, don't be tempted to move into the left lane because you may need to move out again shortly.
In Britain a coach is the name given to what is called a long-distance bus in the USA.
In Britain a dual carriageway is what would be called a divided highway in the USA.
In Britain petrol is what would be called gas in the USA. Compared with prices in the USA and Canada - even those higher prices applying in the USA and Canada during the summer of 2000 - petrol is incredibly expensive throughout Europe, especially in Britain. Petrol is sold by the litre throughout Europe. The price of unleaded petrol in Britain in August 2000 was about 80p per litre, equivalent to just over GBP3.04 per US gallon, or just over $4.40 per US gallon at the exchange rate applicable at that time.
In Britain a motorway is what would be called a limited access highway, a freeway, an expressway or an Interstate in the USA. These types of roads are called Autoroutes in France while in Germany and Austria they are called Autobahns. In Italy they are called Autostradas. Other names are used in other European countries. In many European countries tolls are charged on these roads. In Switzerland you can purchase a card which gives you unlimited use of their motorways for a period of time. I'm not sure if you can also pay a toll for each use, or which would work out less expensive if you will only be in the country for a short period of time. I think a similar system may possible apply in Austria.
In Cyprus, the Republic of Ireland, Malta and the UK (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands) road traffic drives on the lefthand side of the road and the driver sits on the righthand side of the car. In other European countries road traffic drives on the righthand side of the road and the driver sits on the lefthand side of the car, as in the USA and Canada. Sweden changed to driving on the right in 1967. In all cases the clutch pedal is the leftmost, the brake pedal is in the middle and the accelerator pedal is on the right as in the USA and Canada. Since many cars are exported between European countries and imported into Europe from Malaysia, Japan and Korea the indicator and windscreen washer control stalks may be found on either side of the steering column depending on the manufacturer. Changing to driving on the opposite side of the road is a simple and trivial matter which nobody should be in the least concerned about. However, having a manual transmission gear lever and handbrake on the opposite side to what you are used to takes very much longer to adjust to. When cars designed for driving on one side of the road are taken into a country which drives on the other side of the road special lenses may be required to be fitted to the headlights to adjust the direction of the beam. There is considerable interesting information about driving on each side of the road in various countries available at http://www.travel-library.com/general/driving/drive_which_side.html
In many parts of Europe the number of cyclists sharing the road with other vehicles is much higher than in the USA and Canada. When a road has several lanes in the same direction, cyclists who are turning may ride down the middle of the road between lines of other vehicles, in what strikes me as an extremely dangerous way.
Fast food restaurants in many parts of Britain tend to be located in towns with no car parks of their own. However, in recent years there has been some development of out of town roadside fast food restaurants with their own parking areas, as in the USA and Canada. Prices at all types of restaurants tend to be higher in Europe than in the USA and Canada. Some national US and Canadian fast food chains which do not operate in Europe include A and W, Arby's, Carl's Jr/Hardee's, Dairy Queen, Long John Silver's, Sonic, Taco Bell and Wendy's. Subway have small number of locations in Britain. None of the US family steakhouse chains operate in Europe.
Multi-storey car parks are common in towns throughout northwest Europe. Car parking charges are much higher than in the USA and Canada.
In some European towns on-road parking is controlled by means of parking disks. These consist of a square cardboard or plastic sleeve which contains a circular disk pivoted in the middle. The sleeve has two small windows. You rotate the sleeve to show your time of arrival in one window and the other window shows the time by which you must depart. You display the disk so that it can be seen through the windscreen. Parking disks are available for a small charge from shops; sometimes disks containing advertising can be obtained free of charge. Parking disks are not used in Britain.
In some European countries parking on-road parking may be restricted to odd or even dates. Signs with the Roman numerals I and II indicate this but you may well need to know the language in order to decipher the rules (such as whether parking is permitted or forbidden on each date). I believe that in some cases the last digit of your car's licence number may determine whether you can park or not. None of these restrictions apply in Britain.
Car ferry prices tend to be very high throughout Europe compared with the USA and Canada, and especially the car ferries between Britain and the European mainland and between Britain and Ireland. Prices for transporting vehicles by rail through the Channel Tunnel between Britain and the European mainland are roughly the same as on the car ferries plying the same route.
Four-way stops are not found anywhere in Europe. In France there was once a somewhat similar system called "Priorite a Droit" (priority to the right) but this has not been used since the 1950's. Throughout western Europe at all intersections not controlled by traffic lights or roundabouts, traffic on the minor road stops or yields to traffic on the major road and there are signs to this effect. You may see mention of the old "Priorite a Droit" system in outdated guidebooks.
A "Give Way" sign in Britain, while in theory meaning "Yield", should always be treated as if it were a "Stop" sign. In most cases it would be exceedingly dangerous not to stop at a Give Way sign.
Most European countries have their own language. In popular areas people who regularly have contacts with tourists tend to speak English, especially in northwestern Europe. The inhabitants of northern Belgium speak Flemish which is a dialect of Dutch. In southern Belgium Walloon is spoken which is a dialect of French. In Luxembourg French, German and Luxembourgian (a dialect of German) are all spoken. In different parts of Switzerland French, German and Italian are spoken. In Austria German is spoken.
Motels are very few and far between in Europe. The closest equivalents in Britain are the Travelodge and Travel Inn chain. The Formule 1 motel chain (owned by Accor, the same parent company as America's Motel 6 chain) have a large number of locations in France and a small number of locations in some other European countries. Chains such as Holiday Inn and Best Western have locations in Europe but they tend to be older properties, often in a poor state of repair, often very expensive. Rates for accommodation of all kinds tends to be much higher than in the USA or Canada, with most establishments aiming mainly at the highly lucrative business traveller market. Rooms usually only have one double bed.
Bed and Breakfast (B and B) is a low-cost, low-quality alternative style of accommodation in Britain. It is, therefore, very different to its luxury expensive namesake in the USA and Canada.
Self-catering accommodation is widely available in Britain and is often the most cost-effective option. Standards vary considerably, however.
Motorways (freeways) tend to have their own service areas (oasis areas) in Europe, rather than sharing facilities near towns as in the USA. Prices for petrol and other facilities at these motorway service areas are much higher than at normal petrol stations.
Many of the mountain passes over the Alps and Pyrenees were first constructed hundreds or even thousands of years before motorised vehicles were invented. They tend to be both steep and narrow, with numerous extremely tight 180 degree hairpin bends (switchbacks). They are usually subject to very high traffic levels, including many slow moving lorries (trucks) and coaches (long-distance buses). The various alpine road tunnels provide easier and faster if more expensive and less scenic alternative routes and are especially useful in winter.
One way road systems are extremely common in towns throughout Europe. They tend to be very complicated, making it extremely easy to get lost, especially if you are trying to reach a specific part of a town.
Many large towns and cities in Britain operate a Park and Ride scheme in an attempt to cut down congestion. Cars can be parked on the outskirts and a bus taken to the centre. These schemes tend to be very convenient and good value, especially if the car driver and several passengers travel together on the bus for one price.
Passport and customs checks still occur between some European countries. Between members of the European Union on the European mainland there are usually no passport or customs checks but not all mainland European countries belong to the EU.
Many pedestrian crossings in Britain are controlled by traffic lights activated by pedestrians wishing to cross the road. A flashing yellow light is shown to motorists at these crossings between red and green; vehicles can proceed then but must yield to any pedestrians still on the crossing.
Petrol pumps in Europe are switched on automatically by lifting the nozzle. There is no need to pull or turn a lever or press a button to start the pump as in the USA and Canada. British petrol pumps do not normally have the little lever mechanism to hold them on until the tank is full.
In Europe you always pump before paying for petrol. VISA and Master Card credit cards are universally accepted for payment at petrol stations throughout Europe, except perhaps in the most rural of locations.
When using credit and debit cards to make purchases, in some European countries you have to enter your PIN number instead of signing your name. This is not yet the case in Britain but soon will be. Therefore make sure you know your PIN number.
Petrol prices are exceedingly high throughout most of Europe, especially in Britain. This is due to a combination of a very high basic price charged by oil companies and very high tax imposed by governments. Visitors may wish to opt to rent a small car in order to obtain a better petrol economy but the size of the boot (trunk) needs to be checked as very small cars may have virtually no boot space.
Until recently petrol stations at supermarkets in Britain charged significantly lower prices for petrol than normal petrol stations. Sadly this is no longer the case and prices tend to be identical at all outlets in the same area, although in July/August 2000 the supermarkets led a general very slight reduction in petrol prices.
Public transport on the European mainland tends to be inexpensive and very convenient. In Britain prices are much higher and services generally very poor. Obtaining information on public transport services, routes and prices in Britain is generally extremely difficult because the system is split between so many different private companies.
Nearly all rental cars in Europe have manual transmission rather than automatic gearboxes. You may need to check if your driving licence permits you to drive a manual transmission vehicle. Remember that a manual transmission car has a clutch pedal and that the handbrake (parking brake) must be used to prevent the car moving when it is parked - there is no parking pinion as with an automatic.
Because Britain drives on the left, the driver sits on the righthand side of the car. The gear lever and handbrake are therefore to the driver's left. Almost all other European countries drive on the right.
Visitors intending to drive a rental car between different European countries should thoroughly check that the car rental company permits this. There may be a considerable additional charge involved.
If you take a car between countries which drive on opposite sides of the road you may need special lenses to adjust the headlight beams.
All vehicles driven from one European country to another must have a country identification plate attached which indicates their country of registration (GB for Great Britain, NL for the Netherlands, D for Germany, etc).
Roads and streets in Europe tend to be much narrower and have many more curves than in the USA and Canada. In many cases this is because they pre-date the invention of motorised vehicles, the high price of land, and the extreme difficulty of obtaining new rights-of-way.
Road signs tend to be of the same general design throughout Europe, except of course for signs with wording where the language will differ from country to country. Visitors from the USA and Canada should not have any problems understanding the vast majority of road signs which use symbols.
A yellow diamond symbol indicates that you are on a priority road, and therefore traffic at junctions should yield to you. This sign is particularly common in Germany.
In Germany, the Greek letter beta (β) is often used to represent a double s in the middle of a word. For example, a sign indicating the name of a street as Berlinstraβe should be read as Berlinstrasse (Berlin Street in English).
In Germany, the "Ausfahrt" road sign indicates an autobahn exit.
In Germany, the orange "Umleitung" road sign indicates a diversion due to a road closure. Such diversions are usually via alternative roads and can be lengthy.
Highway marker shields (different symbols to indicate different road types) are not used in Europe as they are in the USA and Canada. Instead, road types are usually indicated by a prefix letter. The meanings of the prefixes differs between countries. In Britain M refers to a motorway (equivalent to an Interstate, freeway or expressway), A to a main road (equivalent to a US highway or a major state highway) and B to a minor road (equivalent to a minor state highway or a county road). In general road numbering is not consistent between countries and road numbers change at borders. However, in many countries on the European mainland the E prefix refers to a major international highway, usually of freeway standard, with the same road number in all countries. Sadly Britain does not use the E prefix yet.
The design of signposts differs between countries. Sometimes arrows are used which point at entrances to roads rather than the direction the road travels in. Signposting is almost always by road number and town or city name and hardly ever by road number and geographical direction. This implies that you require a map when driving on an unfamiliar route.
In Britain distances on signposts are stated in miles. In mainland Europe they are stated in kilometres.
The "TIR" sign seen on some trucks indicates that they are exempt from customs inspections at border crossings. (With the ceasing of most border inspections between EU countries, I'm not sure whether the TIR system is still in use.)
Road works (construction zones) are common throughout Europe. In Britain road work tends to consist of piecemeal temporary repairs rather than the wholesale rebuilding common in the USA and Canada. Alternate one-way traffic through road works tends to be controlled by temporary traffic lights in Europe rather than by flaggers (flagmen and flag-women) as in the USA. In Britain road works, even for the most trivial of repairs, often persist for many weeks with little apparent progress, instead of being completed within a day or two with the road being closed as in the USA and Canada. In Britain cones are often used to mark off large sections of roads for the workmen to park their own cars. Often one or more lanes of a road are coned off for many miles and long periods of time for no apparent reason.
Roundabouts are very common at road junctions (intersections) throughout Europe. Roundabouts are islands in the middle of a road junction (intersection). The size and shape of the island varies considerably, as does the number of roads meeting at the junction. Traffic rotates around the roundabout - clockwise in countries such as Britain which drive on the left, anti-clockwise (counter-clockwise) in countries which drive on the right. In Britain and most other countries traffic entering a roundabout must give way to traffic already on the roundabout. In Britain there are also mini roundabouts, usually at minor intersections in relatively quiet residential areas; these consist of a white circle painted on the road; in theory the same priority system applies to mini roundabouts as full sized roundabouts but in practice traffic on the minor road often yields to traffic on the major road; this ambiguity makes mini-roundabouts potentially dangerous. Another difficult arises when a driver sees another vehicle approaching the mini roundabout but not yet on it - should they yield to that vehicle or not? Occasionally roundabouts have traffic lights on them. Occasionally more complex layouts such as roundabouts with roads through the middle, or two adjacent mini-roundabouts are encountered; naturally these tend to be more confusing and therefore more dangerous. For example, having entered one mini roundabout, should you yield to traffic on a second adjacent mini roundabout or not? By the way, if you've seen television pictures of the cyclists in the Tour de France passing on both sides of roundabouts, this is only permitted for them because the roads are closed to normal traffic - don't try this yourself, it is totally illegal and highly dangerous.
As far as I know, unlike in most parts of the USA and Canada you cannot turn right on a red light in any European country which drives on the right. Neither can you turn left on a red light in any European country which drives on the left. It is definitely illegal to turn left or right on a red light in Britain. Doing so is regarded as a serious offence.
However, in Aug-02 Matthius Roth sent me this comment:
In Germany it is allowed to turn right on a red traffic light, when there is a fixed green arrow to the right below the traffic light. It was taken over from former DDR traffic rules in the early '90. Please note: The green arrow acts as a "STOP" sign, the car must stand before you can turn to the right, even when there is no other traffic.(DDR refers to the German Democratic Republic, in other words the former East Germany.)
There are no official school buses in Britain but ordinary commercial buses and coaches are often used to transport school children. These have no special markings or colour and there is no regulation about other vehicles having to stop for stopped school buses in Britain. However, in 2002 there were some stories in the media about USA and Canada-style yellow school buses being introduced in a very small number of places in Britain.
The roads outside most British schools have serious congestion at some times of the day due to the large number of mothers dropping off or picking up their children. There is usually one car per child. This bizarre behaviour is called "the school run".
In Britain speed limits are stated in miles per hour. In mainland Europe they are stated in kilometres per hour.
In Britain speed limits outside towns are usually completely ignored (I present this as a statement of fact, not as an endorsement or encouragement). Speed limits within towns tend to be obeyed or only slightly exceeded. I would advise visitors to obey speed limits when no other vehicles are present and for safety to drive at the same speed as the other vehicles when in a line of traffic. In Britain, be particularly wary of speed cameras which are now extremely common in towns, together with frequently changing speed limits and a lack of speed limit signs, so as to increase revenue from the cameras.
Mainland European countries use the metric system for all weights and measures. In Britain both the metric system and the Imperial (US) system are used in a complicated combination, sometimes in a bizarre manner with pieces of wood being sold with their thickness specified in centimetres but their lengths in inches. When units are not stated with prices, always assume that the smaller unit applies (for example, a pound weight, not a kilo). Older people in Britain tend to use the Imperial system, while in theory younger people are more likely to use the metric system.
Most of the member countries of the EU have now adopted the Euro as their currency, which is completely interchangeable between those countries. However, prices and tax rates differ between countries. Britain has not yet adopted the Euro and still uses the Pound. Non-EU countries each have their own national currencies.
The standard of driver courtesy in Europe tends to be much lower than in the USA or Canada, if for no other reason than the much greater level of congestion.
In Britain, the Asda, Iceland, Safeway, Sainsbury's, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose supermarket chains tend to be relatively expensive for groceries (although their special offers can sometimes be competitive). The Aldi, Lidl and Netto supermarket chains tend to be very considerably less expensive (often 50% less expensive). As in the USA and Canada convenience stores at petrol stations tend to be a very expensive option for food items.
Tolls for roads, bridges and tunnels tend to be very much higher in Europe than in the USA and Canada. Some mainland European countries charge a toll for the use of motorways (freeways).
Some British towns have "traffic calming" measures - deliberate attempts to slow traffic down, often on busy roads through residential areas. These usually consist of ridges on the road surface ("sleeping policemen"), narrow lanes or obstacles around which traffic must negotiate. These measures can be very dangerous, especially at night.
Traffic lights in most European countries tend to be on poles at the side of the road. They may also be suspended over the road as in the USA but this is rare in Britain. In some European countries such as Belgium small lights lower down on the pole act as a repeater for the driver of the first vehicle in the queue waiting at the lights; however these can often be confused with lights for pedestrians crossing the road.
In Britain traffic lights have a brief red and amber phase between red and amber. This is intended as a warning that the lights are about to change to green. In theory traffic should not pass the light until it turns green and in fact most drivers obey this rule.
Many roads in Britain have speed cameras. These are a means of generating revenue, not a road safety measure. The need for drivers to concentrate on speed limit signs (limits vary frequently between 30 mph, 40 mph and 50 mph along many roads) and to constantly watch the speedometer are serious distractions, significantly increasing the risk of accidents. Many main roads outside towns have recently been given deliberately low speed limits so as to increase the revenue from cameras.
Some road junctions in Britain have cameras to catch vehicles passing traffic lights at red.
Some European cities have trams which share the road with normal traffic. Visitors need to exercise care in these situations. Cyclists need to be particularly careful not to catch their wheels in tram rails.
Traffic levels and road congestion are generally very high throughout Europe compared with the USA and Canada, especially compared with rural western US and Canadian states and provinces. The combination of very heavy traffic and very high speeds makes many European motorways (freeways) extremely frightening.
All modern European cars take unleaded petrol which is universally available. However, leaded petrol (called "four star" in Britain) and diesel fuel are also universally available so be careful to choose the correct fuel. In Britain unleaded petrol is indicated by a green pump. There is usually only one grade of unleaded petrol available.
Unpaved roads are extremely uncommon in Britain and northwest mainland Europe.
VAT (Value Added Tax) is a form of sales tax found in most European countries. Most retail prices are displayed including VAT; occasionally prices are displayed "exc. VAT" (excluding VAT); this is much more common in prices quoted to companies making purchases than to private individuals. Petrol prices are always displayed including VAT.
Very small cars are widely used in Europe. While these offer better value for money in terms of their purchase price and petrol (gas) economy, they often have incredibly small boots (trunks) making them unsuitable for visitors with even a minimal amount of luggage. Hatchback cars, with large tailgate doors and boots (trunks) which are not separate from their passenger compartments, are very common in Europe.
Most recently modified 3-Oct-04