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,...
- 8,660
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".
- 99.2k
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 ...
- 81.6k
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 ...
- 16.6k
39
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
31
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, ...
- 7,744
28
votes
Accepted
Why are most roads and parking spaces in England narrower than in the rest of Europe?
There is a psychological aspect to this.
In the UK the steering wheel is on the right, and we drive on the left. Our perception is that we are far away from the near side verge. We are used to it. On ...
- 396
28
votes
Accepted
What is the meaning of this black/white (likely non-traffic) sign seen on German highways?
These signs are part of a test track for autonomous driving.
The German Wikipedia says in its article about the A9:
Teststrecke für autonomes Fahren
Abschnitte [der A9] in Bayern sollen als Testfeld ...
- 3,401
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-...
- 89.8k
27
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 ...
- 59.6k
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 ...
- 89.8k
25
votes
Why are most roads and parking spaces in England narrower than in the rest of Europe?
They aren't. Roads and parking spaces are about the same size in the UK and in continental Europe. UK car spaces might even be on the large side.
Let's compare some modern standards for a dual ...
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 (...
- 89.8k
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....
- 112k
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 ...
- 16.6k
21
votes
When planning to drive through Germany, what speed does the navigation system use for limitless highways?
Looking in open source applications is one approach. OsmAnd is an application for Android that I've used in the past and has given fairly accurate ETAs. This was quite fruitless though, as the only ...
- 451
21
votes
Accepted
All day vs street parking in Edinburgh and Glasgow
On-street parking is available, and safe, in both Glasgow and Edinburgh; however it’s expensive¹ in and near the city centres (including on Sundays in some areas), it’s often very hard to find a spot ...
- 1,329
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 ...
- 32.8k
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 ...
- 124k
20
votes
Accepted
What is this sign with red triangle and black bottom up "T" on cars in Lithuania?
Given that very similar sign is employed in Russia, I would theorise it means that this car has little spikes built in its wheels' tyres, facing outwards. Spikes allow car to come to halt much faster ...
- 12.4k
20
votes
What is this sign with red triangle and black bottom up "T" on cars in Lithuania?
I can confirm that in Lithuania these are are used in the same way as alamar described.
See point 5 here: https://www.keliueismotaisykles.info/transporto-priemoniu-skiriamieji-ir-informaciniai-...
- 201
19
votes
Is there a map of all the Umweltzones (environmental zones) in Germany?
The most official source is the Umweltbundesamt (UBA), the Federal Environment Agency. You can use the GIS website of the UBA, which provides nice PDFs of each Umweltzone. Example: Berlin (Euro 3). ...
- 839
19
votes
Accepted
What is this parking lot next to the Otay crossing between Mexico and the United States?
That parking is the US CBP parking. It is not open to the public. Next to that is parking for visitors to CBP (by appointment only).
There are some large privately owned parking lots available to ...
- 11.8k
19
votes
Where is the best place to pick up/drop off at Heathrow without paying?
Use Hatton Cross. Drop-off for 5 minutes is free in the station car park.
From here, London Underground (Piccadilly Line) is free to the airport, as the station is in the Heathrow free travel zone. ...
- 191
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible