79
votes
Accepted
What are cell phone lots at US airports for?
The idea is that when you go to pick someone up from Arrivals, instead of circling around until they show up, you go and park in the cell-phone lot until the person calls you and summons you.
Ideally,...
- 8,654
52
votes
Accepted
What are these half-size parking spaces in a supermarket lot?
It's two motorcycle parking spaces, somewhat confusingly embedded in markings of similar size that mean "don't park here".
- 99.4k
50
votes
Accepted
How to make myself more visible in traffic as an EU mainland driver in the UK?
Use a P plate. Here's an example of some on sale. (No affiliation, this is just a major UK retailer which came to mind).
http://www.halfords.com/motoring/travel-accessories/learning-to-drive/halfords-...
- 708
49
votes
Accepted
How can I cross the English channel with a car?
The shortest crossings are the quickest and cheapest. So Dover/Calais is very popular. And the EuroTunnel train from Folkstone/Calais is effectively the same, but quicker (35 minutes compared with 90 ...
- 4,107
48
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to turn high beams on when driving on a European highway with fully separated lanes?
Definitely do not use your high beams if there is a car in front of you. It will distract them or send a message of intimidation.
As for the cars coming towards you, this depends on the distance ...
- 77k
42
votes
Accepted
What's the easiest way to relieve oneself in a car?
Bring a towel or blanket, some baby wipes, and optionally a small trowel or a stick you picked up along the way. A few small plastic bags are also helpful.
If someone (especially a small child) can't ...
- 77k
39
votes
Accepted
Reserved parking for women in Germany
The main reason that women parking places exist is that parking areas are often considered as creepy. At some time they are completely deserted so you hear only the deep humming of the fluorescent ...
- 16.4k
38
votes
Accepted
Auto/Manual transmissions in Europe
As a European, I would say that we definitely tend to drive manual cars way more than automatic, although automatic cars are becoming more common especially in city settings.
Compared to, let's say 10 ...
34
votes
Accepted
Since New York doesn't have a residential parking permit system, can a tourist park in Manhattan for free?
Yes. Any tourist can park in the same areas as a resident. The only "benefit" for residents of NYC is an exemption from paying the NYC 8% parking tax, though they still pay NY State portion of the ...
- 534
34
votes
How to buy a car for a road trip in the United States?
First off, don't let anyone tell you it's not worth it: you can find cheap cars that are very likely to keep running for a the duration of your trip. They won't be in the best shape, but that's true ...
- 937
34
votes
Do the speed limit reductions due to pollution also apply to electric cars in France?
I'm french and as far as I know, this is for all types of vehicles.
The reduction of pollutant emissions is due to lower car consumption and a slow-moving traffic flow that avoids too much ...
- 441
34
votes
How shall I proceed if my car may contain illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia before entering Canada by car from the US?
If either the American or or Canadian police find drugs in your car they will assume it's yours
Possession is 9/10ths of the law. If there are drugs in your car a border agent will assume it's yours. ...
- 703
33
votes
Since New York doesn't have a residential parking permit system, can a tourist park in Manhattan for free?
In Theory... sure.
In practice...
Unless you have a fairly good understanding of New York's somewhat arcane Alternate Side Parking rules, the patience of a saint, and the willingness to walk all ...
- 10.4k
32
votes
Accepted
How much cash am I supposed to prepay at gas station in the US?
So, you should prepay for however much gas you intend to buy. In most cases, you'll probably want to either fill the gas tank, or just buy an amount of gas that corresponds to a nice round dollar ...
- 10.4k
30
votes
Is it legal to sleep in a parked car on the streets of Munich?
The legal situation is unfortunately a bit more complicated than what is stated by Dirty-flow and user24582.
Even if the German traffic regulations do not directly forbid you to sleep in your car, ...
- 51.6k
30
votes
Where can I try an autonomous driving car?
I don't know about any place where you can already use a bus that shares the road with other vehicles, but in Rotterdam, the Netherlands there is a bus that drives autonomously on a dedicated lane ...
- 481
30
votes
Accepted
Traveling with my bicycle on top of my car in Europe
I've sometimes driven in the UK and France with bikes on top, more often with kayaks. It's perfectly reasonable but you do need to take care. I assume you have a normal-height car to start with, ...
- 6,795
27
votes
Accepted
Is it legal to sleep in a parked car on the streets of Munich?
As @Dirty-flow said, sleeping in the car is allowed, but you should not sleep in the driver's seat etc. if you are drunk, to avoid being fined for drunk driving.
There are many areas, especially ...
- 2,806
27
votes
Accepted
What do letters "R" and "E" before parking slots in Spain mean?
According to the Zumaia website:
There will be 3 parking areas:
Resident area (painted white with the letters R and E)
Areas of high rotation (A, B and C: painted blue and red)
Half-...
- 60k
26
votes
Accepted
What type of license plate is this?
They are probably plates from Kyrgyzstan:
They could be "Foreign plates":
However, they do not exactly match:
They match the font
They match the color
They match the KG, country code for ...
- 60k
26
votes
Auto/Manual transmissions in Europe
Is that the case in the rest of EU, or just a Spanish thing?
Percentage of cars with automatic transmission among 2018 sales (sales, not current fleet, and EVs are regarded as having automatic ...
- 49.4k
23
votes
Accepted
Which country is this license plate from?
It is supposed to be a French plate from Corsica but it is definitely not compliant: French plates must be black on a white reflective background, with the sides blue, with on one side the EU flag (...
- 60k
22
votes
Is it safer to drive up or down a dangerous mountain road?
Usually driving down a steep hill with narrow turns is more dangerous down than up for the simple reason that gravity will accelerate you going downhill.
Going up hill gravity slows you down and your ...
- 45k
22
votes
What's the easiest way to relieve oneself in a car?
A well prepared fighter pilot driver will be equipped with a Urine Collection Device (UCD)
A typical UCD consists of a small container with a dehydrated sponge
inside, connected to a tube which ...
- 28.3k
22
votes
Shipping vehicle from US to Europe
Shipping vehicles (or any valuable asset) for short periods into a foreign country is always made easier by obtaining a Carnet de Passage en Douanes. This is equivalent to a passport for the vehicle ...
- 321
22
votes
How shall I proceed if my car may contain illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia before entering Canada by car from the US?
Here is what I would do.
Look through you car thoroughly and identify all illegal items but don't touch them
Drive to the local police station, file a report and ask what to do with the illegal stuff....
- 80.3k
21
votes
Is it legal to turn high beams on when driving on a European highway with fully separated lanes?
Because you specifically mentioned the Autobahn, I explain the situation in Germany.
The relevant passage is § 17 der Straßenverkehrsordnung über Beleuchtung, Absatz (2):
Auf Straßen mit ...
- 16.4k
20
votes
How to make myself more visible in traffic as an EU mainland driver in the UK?
I'm going to take issue with Dan North's accepted answer, not that it is bad, but let me put my own perspective on it. I am a Canadian, but spent most of my life in Scotland, learned to drive there ...
20
votes
Gasoline beggars in and around Los Angeles — scam?
Two things:
Simple grift. It's easier to get people to pump a gallon or two of gas rather than part with actual cash.
It's a distraction. While you pump the gas, you're not watching your vehicle ...
- 32.2k
20
votes
How can I leave a car for someone if we can't meet in person?
Fedex have a service called "Hold At Location", where you can ship a package to a Fedex Location (which generally includes most Fedex Kinkos location which are frequently opened 24x7), and they will ...
- 113k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible