Hot answers tagged driving
20
Required under certain conditions:
Outside populated areas: Italy, Hungary and Romania
Indicated roads only: Portugal
Motorcycles only: Belgium, France, Spain
Recommended:
Germany, Spain, France
Required at all times:
Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Montenegro, Norway, ...
19
The statement 'there is no speed limit on the Autobahn' is not really correct. I couldn't find any official statistics, but I've seen a number of only 50% of German Autobahns without any limit.
Many parts have a permanent limits of 120 or 130 km/h (74 mph or 81 mph). Some parts are limited to 80 (50 mph) due to construction work.
Also, some limits are only ...
17
Note that there ARE actually some speed limits:
A hard limit is imposed on some vehicles:
60 km/h (37 mph)
Buses carrying standing passengers
Motorcycles pulling trailers
80 km/h (50 mph)
Vehicles with maximum allowed weight exceeding 3.5 t (except passenger cars)
Passenger cars and trucks with trailers
Buses
100 km/h (62 mph)
Passenger cars ...
13
The mordida (nibble) is unfortunately deeply ingrained in Mexico, although mostly a feature of local police and not the federal police or the military, and there are various anti-corruption initiatives at work in the larger cities.
Generally, the interaction involves being pulled over for a traffic offense like speeding or not wearing a seat belt. The ...
12
Yes it is valid in the UK, according to the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in the UK:
If you’ve got a full and valid licence you can drive any small vehicle (eg car or motorcycle) listed on your licence for 12 months from when you last entered Great Britain (GB).
12
Route 6 East, stands up as the longest I can find. Route 6 used to be the longest road in the US, until 1964 when it was truncated. However, distances ON the route don't change (cities don't move) and as such, this is still visible, in Bisop, California:
(source)
3205 miles is approximately 5157.95 kilometres.
Then there's this in Brazil:
(source)
...
11
I have damaged a rental car - not from driving on the wrong side of the road but crunching it against a curb while turning around in a tight spot. We had declined their extra insurance because my credit card provides that as a benefit. The credit card company said to just send them the proof that I had rented the car as well as the receipts for damages. The ...
10
In Québec, a flashing green traffic light means that no cross-traffic can go, even
the traffic on the same road coming from the other direction has a red light. This means that (if allowed) you can make a left turn without having to yield (except possibly to pedestrians in the cross street). See e.g. this or this advice on the peculiarities of driving in ...
10
All taxes (federal, state, local) are already included.
Be careful though, it might get more expensive depending on where you go. One year ago, gas was ~$3,5/gallon around Las Vegas but in Northern California it was more $4. The lowest and highest I've seen were $3,3 and $4,2. So you should still have some margin in your estimate.
But like everywhere, ...
10
At the entrance of a carpool lane, a sign always indicates how many people are required in each vehicle to be eligible, since situations sometimes vary.
The sign can say "CARPOOL ONLY - 2 OR MORE PERSONS PER VEHICLE"
In Los Angeles area, nearly all carpool lanes have a minimum of 2 passengers.
I only have seen one case in which three passengers were ...
10
Yes you can. If there is no snow/ice you are allowed to drive with summer tires, but it's not a good idea. But if your tires have M+S symbol it's allowed to drive with them in winter (in summer too)
Here is a link to the source (only in German)
10
I know that German law requires tires apt for snow in winter time
Very close, but no cigar.
The original law is:
§ 2 Abs. 3a Satz 1 StVO:
Bei Glatteis, Schneeglätte, Schneematsch,
Eis- oder Reifglätte darf ein Kraftfahrzeug nur mit Reifen gefahren
werden, welche die in Anhang II Nummer 2.2 der Richtlinie 92/23/EWG
des Rates vom 31. März ...
9
According to Wikitravel, unless your car is amphibious (like the Aquada), you'll need to get it freighted to Hawaii.
Fortunately this seems fairly common, and a quick google search gives a few results, including this on Hawaii Car Shipping:
According to them it usually takes three to four weeks, you will need a variety of paperwork and (of course) shipping ...
9
You are right about the overtaking rules. You can only overtake on the left side of the other driver. But, there is another rule, you should occupy the right-most lane (except in the UK of course, there it is the other way around).
There are a few exceptions
When there is a traffic jam ahead, and traffic is going slower, you can (and should) overtake on ...
9
If you rent a car, you will always need to have an insurance. Most often it is included it in the rental sum and you're only liable up to some amount, which is in the 500 pound range. You can buy additional insurance to cover even these expenses. They will always give you an offer on pick-up, because that's a money-maker.
This is my experience from renting ...
8
Bonneville Salt Flats FAQs
When is it open to the public? The Bonneville Salt Flats are free and open to the
public most of the year. During landspeed racing events and/or filming projects, special
security restrictions may be required to maintain public safety. See below for details.
If you go out onto the salt flats on your own, let someone know ...
8
In Ontario, pretty much all of the flashing greens have been replaced with green arrows. When we had flashing greens, they were inevitably accompanied by a sign "advanced green when flashing". This referred to the fact that you were getting the green in advance of the traffic moving towards you, and so could freely turn left (or go straight.) Some ...
8
Whether escaping the toll sections is a good idea or not really depends on the place.
So-called "routes nationales" (equivalent to the US Routes versus the Interstates) can be narrow winding roads crossing every village in some areas, and close to freeway quality with multiple separated lanes in others.
For example :
The A65 from Bordeaux to Pau cuts ...
8
[Disclaimer: my predictions of the behaviour of insurance companies are based on my experience with North American ones. I have no reason to believe European ones are different.]
The word pothole has two meanings. The first is a small area of road a few inches lower than the rest, with sharp edges:
This really shouldn't damage your car. If it does, any ...
7
You can see the rates from A to B on the French motorways website (enter the departure and destination cities in the box on the right). You'll get a map and a breakdown of the route. Beware of the route shown near cities, it tends to show unnecessary detours.
The route breakdown tells you where the tolls are, but not where you would need to exit and reenter ...
7
There are signs on US 50 that indicate distance of 3073 miles which is about 4945.51 kilometres.
There is a sign to Wilmington, North Carolina, which is about 2550 miles.
There are signs in Russia for distance to Vladivostok which in some places indicates ~10k kilometres but I'm still looking for images.
Found a sign though not exactly matching the first ...
7
The Argentinain Ruta 40 is 5080 kilometers long. It has signs on both ends, this one being the southern one:
"Here begins the National Route 40. La Quiaca 5080 Km".
7
According to the article in motor.ru there is a portal that is supposed to provide up to date road conditions. Not sure if it has never took off or this is still pending but Google actually has an app for Android that will allow you to see current conditions of the road surface.
7
What happens if I (a US citizen) rent a car in, say, the UK, and crash it because I was driving on the wrong side of the road? Do I have to pay the damages out of pocket? What if I don't have the money? Will my US insurance carrier cover the damages?
You are fully liable for any damage you do to a rental car, and in most cases also for damage that ...
6
For almost a decade I am extremely happy with my 2 iSun They don't go to the roof though. I have them right on top of the dashboard. I have never tried to charge a laptop though. But they are quite sufficient in charging mobile phones, portable gps's and rechargeable batteries. Being more then 10 years old, I guess technology must have enhanced. Given that ...
6
I live in Alaska and have been wanting to do this exact segment of a trip as well for the same reasons. I have friends who have decades of experience working for the oil companies on the Slope and Prudhoe Bay. The journey by any sort of 4x4 vehicle is impossible for two reasons:
The area is part of the oil fields and is secured. Company security will ...
6
Unfortunately, according to Wikitravel's entry:
With the exception of an annual summer barge service, Barrow is a
fly-in-only city. The airport, Wiley-Post Will Rogers Memorial
Airport, is located directly south of the city.
So looks like the ship you mention in summer is the only non-air way of getting in. Unless you go extreme 4WD, like the Top ...
6
If you are not planning to stay in California permanently, you can continue to use your New Jersey license.
http://www.dmv.ca.gov/dl/dl_info.htm#two500
If you are a visitor in California over 18 and have a valid driver license from your home state or country, you may drive in this state without getting a California driver license as long as your home ...
6
Google has a tool called Mapmaker http://www.google.com/mapmaker which you can edit Google Maps and then submit for approval. I used it in the past it took me three days to get the approval. And only 2 days before it went live.
The tool it's a community-based so real people will actually go and see if the change is correct. I guess 5 days for me is pretty ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
