Driving in Europe

Ausfahrt.  The city in Germany that no one can find.
I rented this new BMW from Enterprise for 4 days for $150!

Driving in Europe

Visitors to Europe should not be afraid to rent a car and drive. Except for Great Britain, everyone drives on the right side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the left side of the car, just like in America.  The signs are standardized and mostly logical.  The roads themselves are excellent quality, thanks to the high taxes paid by Europeans.

Renting a car in Europe is easy.  I know that they will accept your US drivers license in Germany and Spain to rent a car.  I'm not sure about other countries.  European police may be confused by your state drivers license. Just to be safe, I recommend paying approximately $10 at your nearby AAA Motor Club (http://www.aaa.com/) for an international drivers license.  An International drivers license has an explanation in multiple languages, and is familiar to the police. You can get your passport photo at AAA too, which is handy because you'll need one of the four passport pictures they give you for your international drivers license.  Don't worry.  You don't have to take a test.  The license will be made for you on the spot.  It may help you get out of a jam in France when they see you have German plates on your rental car!

You can use many of the large American car retnal agencies to rent a car in Europe, or you can try European companies. I have used: Sixt (http://www.sixt.com/) , Enterprise, and National in Germany; and Hertz in Spain.  Renting cars in Europe is pretty cheap.  Its common to get a car for less than 25 Euros per day.  Be careful of US websites that charge outrageous amounts for rental insurance.  First of all, if you have comprehensive coverage on you home auto policy, it may cover you in Europe.  Ask your insurance agent.  Secondly, check the terms of yor credit card.  If you use your credit card to rent a car, insurance is often provided for free as part of your card benefits.  This worked for me once in Stuttgart when I backed into another car in a parking lot with my rental car.  Last, unlike American car insurance companies, the insurance charges through European rental agencies are very cheap.  Now that you understand how European rental agencies work, you need to choose a car.

Rental cars are cheap compared to America.  That is because you have options for very small cars.  Small cars are great because the country roads in Europe are narrow, its difficult to park a large car in the small spaces in most European cities, and gas is expensive!  I'm talking like $7 per gallon!  If you plan to drive a lot, get a small car.  Europe has a lot of great small cars to chose from, from all brands.  Ford produces a tiny car in Europe called the Ford Ka.  We joke that the car is so small they could not fit the "R" on the name.  This tiny cars get about 40-50 miles per gallon depending on how you drive.  If you get a small diesel car, you can get 50-60 MPG.  It helps if you know how drive stick shift.  Automatic rental cars are considered a luxury and are not common.  Availability of automatic cars at rental agencies may be limited and will probably cost you more.  Once you have your rental car, you are almost ready to drive

Just because you choose an economy car, don't be worried about speed.  All cars are geared differently in Europe.  They don't jump off the line as quick as a Corvette, but they are fast.  I once rented a Ford Focus that went 120 MPH on the Autobahn.  Since the Autobahn has sections without speed limits, that was OK, but that does not mean that you can ignore speed limits in Europe.  In fact, if you have a lead foot, you'll get a lot more tickets in Europe than in America.  Police set up radar cameras and camoflauge them just as you come around the corner.  You know you've been "blitzed" when the bulb flashes.  In a few weeks you'll get a ticket in the mail.  Ignore the ticket, and you will get a nice photo of yourself driving your car in a few more weeks.  They will also zoom in on your face and your license plate.  Pay the ticket or start getting late charges!  They will track you down.  Actually this is less stressful than getting pulled over by Smokey the Bear.  Although that will happen too.  Roadside checks for license, registration, and drinking and driving are common.  But don't worry if you passenger is drinking a beer...they only care about the driver. 

Speaking of the Autobahn, many of my friends are excited about driving on the Autobahn.  First thing I do when I pick them up from the airport is go 100 MPH.  Driving 100 MPH (160 KPH) is quite common in Germany.  I hope this gets it out of their system, because I prefer to cruise along with traffic at about 85 MPH. Driving slower in my opinion is unsafe.  When it is time to pass someone, getting in the left lane is scary.  Its just as important to look in the rear view mirror as to look forward when entering the passing lane.  Think about this...You are going 70 MPH.  The guy in the Porsche is going 140 MPH.  If he is 1/4 mile behind you and you try to pass someone, he will be on your bumper in about 13 seconds.  That is scary when you see how fast these speedsters approach.  All the more reason to drive faster!

Entering a town, 50 KPH

Except for stop signs and yield signs, signs over here are different. The US Army does a good job of training Americans to drive in Europe.  I've attached their study sheet here (see signs below).  Speed limit signs are white circles with a red border and black numbers.  Everything is in metric...kilometers per hour.  Once you enter a town, you are required to drive 50 KPH.  You will know you've entered a town when you see the yellow sign with the towns name.  

This is some of what the US Army teaches soldiers in Germany.



Most intersections have a yield sign, but once you are in a town, you must yield to the right unless you are on a priority road or have a sight of way sign.  When you come to an intersection in a town, you need to know if you have the right of way.  If you are not sure, then always watch out to your right.  The guy on the right always goes first.  Now that you have mastered this skill (ha ha), let's learn about traffic circles.



Horny Toads? 
I'm not sure about this sign.

Traffic circles are easy.  If you are in the traffic circle, then you have the right of way.  In other words don't enter a traffic circle if someone else is going to run into you.  This rule seems funny, because when you are waiting to enter a traffic circle, the cars in the circle are on your left.  As you are leaving the traffic circle, you have the right of way over those that are on your right.  This is backwards from normal intersections.  Use your turn signal and exit.   At multi-lane circles, you sometimes have someone on your right.  Use your turn signal to get over near your exit.  If you can't get there, go around the circle again and keep trying to get right.

Scooters are everywhere in Italy. 
Just act like they don't exist. 
You won't hit them

All these rules seem fairly easy to follow, except in Spain and Italy.  In Spain, all traffic circles seem to be multi-lane.  Just follow someone driving a car that is not severely damaged or dented and scratched all over. This will be hard to find.  Italy would be a normal place to drive if it weren't for the scooters.  If you are familiar with scooters, then you have heard of the Vespa.  That means "wasp" in Italian.  It is a good name for them, since they are buzzing around your car like a swarm.  My wife had to close her eyes in town because she could not watch.  Kids were zooming by with no helmets.  They swerved in and out of the cars, ignoring lights and signs.  We asked a local resident how to avoid an accident with these lunatics.  He said, "Drive like they don't exist.  They won't hit you."  He was correct.  But seriously, driving in other countries is very similar to Germany except some of the residents of other countries don't follow their own rules.  That is probably why all the other EU countires have speed limits.

Now that you know how to drive in Europe, you need to know how to find your way around.  I use maps instead of GPS so that I get lost.  I find lots of neat places when I'm lost in Europe.  Just last week I ended up driving past an old mill and a castle in a cute town.  We never made it to the ice cream shop, but it was a nice ride.  Additionally, if you use a GPS, you'll be on large roads and highways the whole time.  You'll never see anything there. I've learned that Europeans don't know which way is north, south, east or west.  They travel from town to town.  There is no Autobahn 6 East, or 81 South.  You take the Autobahn 6 to Heilbronn, then get on Autobahn 81 to Stuttgart.  If you don't know the names of the major cities you'll be traveling through, then you will go the wrong way.  Once I thought Villingen was to the north of Stuttgart.  When I realized the sun was setting in my eyes instead of my rear view mirror, I figured it out.  90 minutes later, after turning around, I was back where I exited the highway.  Read you rmap ahead of time.

Europe is a great place to drive.  There are lots of scenic overlooks, rest stops, and hotels everywhere.  Consult Google for "hotel, gasthaus, pension, vacation apartments".  They are everywhere.  Don't be afraid to rent a car and drive in Europe.  Its fun!