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Because of the risk of malaria in Thailand we are now considering going to Morocco. I have read some interesting journeys by car in this country. When I searched on Google image for "traffic signs morocco". There appear to be quite some Arabic traffic signs. This make me wonder if it is a safe to rent a car in Morocco while I don't understand Arabic.

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    I know nothing about driving in Morocco, but from these pictures and the history of Morocco, I'd say road signs look a lot like French ones. In France, literacy is explicitly not required to get a driving license, and if anything I would expect literacy to be even less of a requirement in Morocco. Furthermore direction signs seem to be in both scripts. So I think it's fine to drive in Morocco even if you can't read Arabic.
    – Gilles 'SO- stop being evil'
    Dec 17, 2011 at 21:18
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    Is it safe to drive in Morocco is you do understand Arabic? travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/…
    – Andrew Grimm
    May 19, 2012 at 13:08

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There is no problem driving in Morocco if you cannot understand Arabic. I think the impression you get from your Google query is not quite correct. The road signs are bilingual Arabic/French, sometimes even with pictograms:

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attribution

In cities the signage can sometimes be a bit meager. Combined with the Moroccan style of drive, this makes crossing a city a bit more stressful. For overland travel, the signage is fine. Nevertheless it is a good idea to have a road map.

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You certainly are not the first English-speaker who will rent a car in Morocco. In addition, all panels and official papers are in Arabic and French (French must be more readable for a english-speaker than arabic, I suppose).

The only danger I see for and English-Speaker Coming from UK, is that in Morocco we drive on the right side, so if you used to drive on the left side please be careful.

If you are concerned about communication with local people, English is not completly abscent in Morocco, it is officially considered as the second foreign language in the country after french. All students must have english courses starting from the first year of high school to the 3rd year (Unless if they choose English letterature in University).

If you go to a touristic city or place like Marrakech, Agadir, Fes, etc. English is a must for Guides and Workers, So I dont think you will have problems at least in those places.

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