Websites for driving laws in Europe

Hi
im driving in a few countries next week, that havent driven in. Going
through Switzerland to Milan, then accross east, Slovina etc slowly upto
Germany (there im used too)

Are there any good websites people can recomend, googled but getting nothing
i can print out, and be sure is right...

many thanks

--
please use my email on my homepage www.julianhales.co.uk im phasing out
this email over the next month or so.....

Im against hanging, im well hung as it is!

Jules ha scritto:

Are there any good websites people can recomend, googled but getting nothing
i can print out, and be sure is right...

I can give some advice on Italy, where I live...
Driving is not very different than in Switzerland/Slovenia or Germany.
Here speed limits are very 'strange': often they are incredibly low to
let local municipalities earn money with automatic speed traps, but also
normally Italians go quite slow, but almost never cares of those limits :-(.
My personal rule is to drive quite fast, but NOT MORE than 10-15 Km over
the speed-limit.
If you pass the limit of no more than 10Km you risk a very low fine (and
normally they never do that), and there's a rounding of 5% and at least
5 Km, so 15Km more is quite good.
Moreover almost all speedometers here underestimate the real speed: if
you read a GPS unit (like TomTom or Garmin or similar) the true speed is
normally 5-7Km less than speed shown on speedometer.
My own car rule is to keep the speedometer at 150Kmh, when the limit
(highway) is 130. The REAL speed is 143...
In the same way I keep my speedometer at 60-65 when the limit is 50
(urban zones) and so on...
Remember that speed traps are NOT on dangerous zones, but on zones where
you can run fast without problems or risks: they MUST earn money, not
avoid dangers...
Recently to try to lower this abuse, a new rule said they MUST put a
panel indicating all speed traps.
So (theoretically), if you see no panels, there are no speed traps...
We have also traffic-light traps. Traffic lights here have only 3
colors/conditions: red, yellow and green; so no flashing green or
yellow+green or yellow+red like in other countries.
Often when there are traffic-light traps the timing of yellow is very
short to catch more money....
Dont be too scared: fine tickets got with automatic traps are sent you
by mail, so if you have a car with foreign plate, is very difficult that
they reach you...
On highways traffic is very slow on the rightmost lanes (trucks, RV,
etc.), and very fast on leftmost lanes, leaving you with many
difficulties...
The law say you MUST run on the rightmost lane if possible, but many
Italians 'think' this lane is a shame to drive here, so they keep the
leftmost lane.
If you keep the leftmost lane because on you right there are only very
slow vehicles, also if you drive very fast you will find EVER someone
flashing on your back to pass and drive faster than you...
Normally they drive big German cars (Audi, BMW, Mercedes)...

If you need informations on law, here you need to keep your lights on
everytime, except on cities.
You need to wear a reflective jacket if you must stop and climb down
from your car.
If you park, the yellow lines means reserved parking, white lines means
free parking and blue lines are for paid parking.
When the lines are white, often, you need to show your time of arrival
(we have a clok-like dish on every car: "Disco Orario"), because parking
times are limited (normally 30 min or 1 hour).

Now I remember nothing relevant, more...

Ciao, Piero.

"Piero" wrote in message
...
Jules ha scritto:

Are there any good websites people can recomend, googled but getting
nothing
i can print out, and be sure is right...

I can give some advice on Italy, where I live...
.....
Now I remember nothing relevant, more...

It might be an idea to check for fuel strikes too. I got caught out a couple
of weeks back, in a rental car on the way to the airport.

--
Bart

bartc ha scritto:

It might be an idea to check for fuel strikes too. I got caught out a
couple of weeks back, in a rental car on the way to the airport.

You was very unlucky.
They, last years, happened no more than 1-2 times per year, and lasts
normally only 1-2 days.
Some fuel pump, however, are still opened during strikes, so is a matter
to ask and find them.
In the past Italy was a strike country, but it was on the eighties,
maybe first years of nineties.
Now maybe sometime we have some short strike, but less than other
European countries (France, Germany, etc...).
Before starting an highway journey is better to look at:

http://www.autostrade.it
http://www.a22.it
http://www.autobspd.it/home.do
http://www.autovie.it

With real-time traffic info and web cams on (almost) the entire highway
network.
And he

http://www.stradeanas.it/

For the network of main roads (and some toll-free highway).
Bewa here the gasoline is called 'Benzina' but now almost everywhere
is called 'Senza Piombo' (Unleaded) and the pump is color green.
Many cars are Diesel powered, and the Diesel fuel is called in Italian
"Gasolio", but almost all newer pumps are called 'Diesel' and color blue
or black.
Often you will find also premium fuels, so premium gasoline (color red)
or premium diesel (color yellow), but they are not needed by cars and
normally few people use them.
We have also many cars powered by natural gas or by propane (they are
very cheap).
The pumps of natural gas are called 'Metano' and the pumps of propane
are called 'Gas Auto' (bewa here 'Gas' is NOT GASoline, but really
'gas') or 'GPL' (Liquid Petrol Gas).


You will drive in the northern part of Italy: here traffic laws are more
enforced than in the south...
Normally here we stop when traffic lights are red (in southern cities,
the worst is Naples, often the red traffic light works like a yield sign
and the person who passes normally is the person with loudest horn...),
we wear helmets when driving bikes, we (not all people..) lock safety
belts, and so on...
Is VERY bad to use a mobile phone when you drive (except with hand free
systems): the ticket fines are very high now.
The use of alcohol is seen less as a very bad thing, here...
We are not like people from north Europe, that normally drink only to
become drunk.
We like to drink when we lunch or dinner, but smoothly.
The limit for drive is 0,5 g/l, so you can drink around 2 glasses of
wine or 2 small (1 big) beers without problem.
Here wine is quite cheap, and we like to taste good wine.
Also mineral water is very cheap, and normally, at lunch/dinner no one
drinks tap water, only bottled mineral water.
Tap water is still very good everywhere, but Italian people still drinks
mineral water, maybe because is very cheap, maybe because tap water
often has a (very slight) chlorine flavour.
I think we are the country where people drinks more mineral water in the
world.
Food, as everyone knows, is very good...
My advice is to avoid tourist-trap restaurants...
If they don't have a foreign-language menu is better!
If possible ask for menu (with prices), and be conscious that normally
you will pay a 'Pane e coperto' fixed small surcharge (clearly shown in
the menu).
NEVER LEAVE TIPS.
Normally we never leave tips, only sometime the change but only if is
few coins: so if the bill is 49, you can leave, if you want, the 1 EUR
change, but if the bill is 51 you will pay exactly 51...
In many touristic places you will find speaking people, advertising and
restaurants menu more easily in German than in English: the large
majority of foreign tourist in Italy is German-speaking, and also a
(small) part of Italy is mother-tongue German-speaking.

By now I remember no more to say...

Ciao, Piero.

"Piero" wrote in message
...
bartc ha scritto:

It might be an idea to check for fuel strikes too. I got caught out a
couple of weeks back, in a rental car on the way to the airport.

You was very unlucky.
They, last years, happened no more than 1-2 times per year, and lasts
normally only 1-2 days.

That's enough, if like many tourists you don't read the papers or look at TV
so know nothing about it.

http://www.autostrade.it

Not that practical on a campsite that doesn't even have hot water, but OK,
that might be useful other times.

You will drive in the northern part of Italy: here traffic laws are more
enforced than in the south...
Normally here we stop when traffic lights are red (in southern cities, the
worst is Naples, often the red traffic light works like a yield sign and
the person who passes normally is the person with loudest horn...),

Yes, I took a wrong turning and ended in in downtown Naples. But traffic was
much better behaved regarding red lights than my last time there. There were
so many other things to watch out for however that whether a light was red
or green was just a detail..

--
Bartc

"Martin" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Jul 2009 09:52:25 GMT, "bartc" wrote:

"Piero" wrote in message
. it...

Normally here we stop when traffic lights are red (in southern cities,
the
worst is Naples, often the red traffic light works like a yield sign and
the person who passes normally is the person with loudest horn...),

Yes, I took a wrong turning and ended in in downtown Naples. But traffic
was
much better behaved regarding red lights than my last time there. There
were
so many other things to watch out for however that whether a light was red
or green was just a detail..

A bit like driving in Sheffield including the way they drive on the wrong
side
of the road. Is the road surface as bad as in Sheffield?

I've never driven in Sheffield. I will try to do so next time I'm in the
area to see if it's anything like Naples.

--
Bart

Martin wrote:
On Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:08:24 +0100, "Jules"
wrote:

Hi
im driving in a few countries next week, that havent driven in. Going
through Switzerland to Milan, then accross east, Slovina etc slowly upto
Germany (there im used too)

Are there any good websites people can recomend, googled but getting nothing
i can print out, and be sure is right...

http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/overseas/

It's a useful start but somewhat incomplete. I just checked the advice
for Germany. It doesn't mention a number of important laws:
- safety jackets and a first aid kit are compulsory equipment.
- traffic must keep right whenever possible, even on multi-lane highways.
- overtaking on the right and tailgating are illegal and can result in
heavy fines.
- right-before-left priority applies unless otherwise indicated.
- Public buses have priority when they drive off from the bus stop.
- it is forbidden to overtake trams on the left. Where there is a road
lane between the tram line and the kerb, drivers must stop to allow
passengers to access the trams safely.

T.

On 23 juil, 13:08, "Jules" wrote:
Hi
im driving in a few countries next week, that havent driven in. Going
through Switzerland to Milan, then accross east, Slovina etc slowly upto
Germany (there im used too)

Are there any good websites people can recomend, googled but getting nothing
i can print out, and be sure is right...

Working through all car-driving related laws would probably take
more time than the vacation you plan .... :-)

For Switzerland:
http://www.ch.ch/private/00081/00083...x.html?lang=en
is one of the - imho not really helpful - site on driving in
Switzerland
available in english
More on the fun side
http://baselexpats.com/?p=80

And a few additional remarks
- fines for speeding are high (especially in towns and villages,
plus licence suspended for 21+ km/h in towns, 26+ on
regular roads or 31+ on highways), but very little speed checks
other than automatic, fixed devices. Police may suspend a non
residents drivers licence for Switzerland on the spot when
caught speeding.
- lots of construction on roads and highways most of the year,
be prepared to traffic-jams and slow traffic
- avoid driving on the main Alps transit roads during weekends
(traffic jams 1h at Gotthard are common!)
- if stopped for whatever reason by police (little chances, but
in case) - be polite, admit small offenses, plead ignorance,
smile and hope they will not insist

And have a safe trip ....!