How much trouble can you get into driving in Europe?
Discussion
This might belong in holidays, but...
I'm honeymooning in Italy in September and will be driving down and making a grand tour of it.
I know British plates were pretty much immune back in the days before data sharing but I imagine things are different now.
How much trouble can I get into in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco, assuming cameras rather than actually being stopped by the police?
I'm thinking speeding fines, parking fines, bus lanes, that sort of thing. What can I safely ignore and what ought I to pay?
Not that I intend to drive like a loon, but what might be normal 'making progress', or a perfectly acceptable manoeuvre in one country might not be in another. I'd quite like to not spoil my holiday.
I'm honeymooning in Italy in September and will be driving down and making a grand tour of it.
I know British plates were pretty much immune back in the days before data sharing but I imagine things are different now.
How much trouble can I get into in France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy and Monaco, assuming cameras rather than actually being stopped by the police?
I'm thinking speeding fines, parking fines, bus lanes, that sort of thing. What can I safely ignore and what ought I to pay?
Not that I intend to drive like a loon, but what might be normal 'making progress', or a perfectly acceptable manoeuvre in one country might not be in another. I'd quite like to not spoil my holiday.
Edited by londonbabe on Tuesday 30th May 09:04
The plan is to just use the Autobahns to get from France to Bregenz as quickly as possible. And it's the only place I'll legally be able to do 190mph, circumstances permitting. It's the sudden switch from those sections to limited sections that I'm somewhat concerned about being caught out in. Shouldn't need green passes for that should I?
Austria is on the plan because I want to enter Italy via the Stelvio pass.
Switzerland in case take a wrong turning and end up there by accident :-D
Italy is the whole point of the trip. But no further south than Siena.
France is included because it's in the way of everything else, though Rheims will be a definite stop en route. Maybe a lap or two of the old GP circuit.
Monaco, well, it's there, might as well. It's only an overnight stop, so we'll probably do a slow lap of the GP circuit (as much as you can anyway) and then park up till the morning.
Austria is on the plan because I want to enter Italy via the Stelvio pass.
Switzerland in case take a wrong turning and end up there by accident :-D
Italy is the whole point of the trip. But no further south than Siena.
France is included because it's in the way of everything else, though Rheims will be a definite stop en route. Maybe a lap or two of the old GP circuit.
Monaco, well, it's there, might as well. It's only an overnight stop, so we'll probably do a slow lap of the GP circuit (as much as you can anyway) and then park up till the morning.
nickwilcock said:
Asking what you can get away with in Europe and not risk a fine is an utterly puerile question. Do the crime and you should expect to pay the fine - and serves you b£oody right!
Perhaps €urocops will now be on the look out for a fat Brit in a DB9 paying no attention to the local traffic laws?
For the avoidance of doubt, I didn't buy an Aston to drive slowly, it's true, but actually I don't drive with disregard for the law, which is why my licence has always been spotless. (I sold my Porsche because it was only ever fun if you drove like a pillock, and I don't like to.) However there are quirks of foreign roads which a first-time traveller needs to know about, and I don't want to spoil my honeymoon by having my car impounded or receiving massive roadside fines. I'm looking to stay out of trouble while still being able to enjoy my car and the trip.Perhaps €urocops will now be on the look out for a fat Brit in a DB9 paying no attention to the local traffic laws?
Things like vignettes and umwelts are invaluable tips I would have had no idea about, for example. As is your advice about Belgians. I was considering going through Belgium and Luxembourg, but maybe I'll stick to France until Strasbourg!
I thought I would update this with my experiences.
Back from the epic road trip, now and much of this advice was very useful.
Despite only doing a tiny amount of Austrian motorways there wasn't really a way to avoid it, so we got the Austrian 10 day vignette before we crossed the border. They do actually sell them at the border though if you forget. We avoided Switzerland entirely except to nip in using local roads from Cernobbio for cheap petrol when we were staying on Lake Como, so no need for a vignette there. We never fell foul of the ZTLs in Italy, but I would never have known about them except for this thread.
In France we kept the speeds down anywhere north of Paris and had no problems. We did see a British registered BMW X5 and a French registered Caterham get pulled by a motorcycle cop after tearing up the Autoroute des Anglais at what must have been over 180km/h. Further south was fine, if you just let other cars run interference for you and tagged along a little way back.
I didn't think priorité à droite still existed but we found some in the villages around Epernay, and got some of that priorité when we were approaching from the droite. That messed with my head more than being on the main road and having to give way.
Belgians drivers were fine, always up your rear no matter how fast you went. Luxembourg was a breeze and very cheap for fuel. Germans and Austrians were usually pretty bad, but with excellent motorway lane discipline. I got 161mph on the Autobahn, but opportunities for anything faster than that were curtailed by the extraordinary amount of roadworks. Past Stuttgart there wasn't really any chance to do anything more than 'making progress' sorts of speeds. Lane discipline across Europe was so much better than the UK, though France wasn't as good as the other countries. French drivers are identifiable by the fact they keep indicating when overtaking, even when they are in the middle lane, which was confusing. They also indicate right to go straight at roundabouts. Italian drivers never seem to indicate ever, for anything.
Driving in Italy was brilliant fun. Everyone routinely exceeded every speed limit by about 20km/h and on decent roads by as much as they possibly could. I'd never go as far south as Naples (the only time I have ever been genuinely scared in a taxi) but everywhere north of Siena was fine.
Interestingly my Garmin HUD didn't report any 'danger zones' in France. It just flat-out didn't have alerts for the country. Maybe the French have decided that they won't tolerate that either.
Back from the epic road trip, now and much of this advice was very useful.
Despite only doing a tiny amount of Austrian motorways there wasn't really a way to avoid it, so we got the Austrian 10 day vignette before we crossed the border. They do actually sell them at the border though if you forget. We avoided Switzerland entirely except to nip in using local roads from Cernobbio for cheap petrol when we were staying on Lake Como, so no need for a vignette there. We never fell foul of the ZTLs in Italy, but I would never have known about them except for this thread.
In France we kept the speeds down anywhere north of Paris and had no problems. We did see a British registered BMW X5 and a French registered Caterham get pulled by a motorcycle cop after tearing up the Autoroute des Anglais at what must have been over 180km/h. Further south was fine, if you just let other cars run interference for you and tagged along a little way back.
I didn't think priorité à droite still existed but we found some in the villages around Epernay, and got some of that priorité when we were approaching from the droite. That messed with my head more than being on the main road and having to give way.
Belgians drivers were fine, always up your rear no matter how fast you went. Luxembourg was a breeze and very cheap for fuel. Germans and Austrians were usually pretty bad, but with excellent motorway lane discipline. I got 161mph on the Autobahn, but opportunities for anything faster than that were curtailed by the extraordinary amount of roadworks. Past Stuttgart there wasn't really any chance to do anything more than 'making progress' sorts of speeds. Lane discipline across Europe was so much better than the UK, though France wasn't as good as the other countries. French drivers are identifiable by the fact they keep indicating when overtaking, even when they are in the middle lane, which was confusing. They also indicate right to go straight at roundabouts. Italian drivers never seem to indicate ever, for anything.
Driving in Italy was brilliant fun. Everyone routinely exceeded every speed limit by about 20km/h and on decent roads by as much as they possibly could. I'd never go as far south as Naples (the only time I have ever been genuinely scared in a taxi) but everywhere north of Siena was fine.
Interestingly my Garmin HUD didn't report any 'danger zones' in France. It just flat-out didn't have alerts for the country. Maybe the French have decided that they won't tolerate that either.
Edited by Sebastian Tombs on Thursday 28th September 11:26
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