[Travel] Driving in Europe (Holland/Gemany) advice, experiences etc

[Weststander]

While in Switzerland, keep an eye on your speed. They put speed cameras in sneaky places (tunnel exits) and the fines are very high.

France too. Picked up several speeding tickets for driving near or entering road tunnels.

 

[Hugo Rune]

Completely the opposite for me, I like my own car, much better than a hire car and other than overtaking on single lane roads it makes pretty well no difference at all. If you have a passenger you trust even the overtaking is easy. Not vaguely stressful and I do quite a bit of driving abroad in RHD cars

I’m the same as you. I driven hundreds and hundreds of miles in France in my own RHD car. Earlier this year, I hired a LHD car in Spain and it totally blew my brain! I really struggled with positioning the car etc. It took me the length of the holiday to get used to it.

My advice is to stick to either RHD or LHD cars abroad but try not to mix and match.

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

WHO ARE YOU LOT AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH NORTH STAND CHAT?
No sarcastic replies, no piss taking, no fish or cheese puns, no “fuckin google it you lazy bastard” just a plethora of useful tips, info and even private messages. Keep em coming.

Much love and thanks, Brighton fans and NSC in particular are the best!

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Electric car or petrol/diesel?

Petrol

 

[LANGDON SEAGULL]

I’m the same as you. I driven hundreds and hundreds of miles in France in my own RHD car. Earlier this year, I hired a LHD car in Spain and it totally blew my brain! I really struggled with positioning the car etc. It took me the length of the holiday to get used to it.

My advice is to stick to either RHD or LHD cars abroad but try not to mix and match.

Wrong thread

 

[raymondo]

France too. Picked up several speeding tickets for driving near or entering road tunnels.

I nearly got caught last summer in France just after the EXIT of a road tunnel! The speed limit dropped by 10kph Very odd and sneaky.

 

[raymondo]

If in Germany... I wouldn't advise going in the outside lane of an Autobahn unless you're doing well over 100mph! Or you'll see lights in your rear mirror approaching like an express train!

 

[Weststander]

I nearly got caught last summer in France just after the EXIT of a road tunnel! The speed limit dropped by 10kph Very odd and sneaky.

In some of the autoroutes eg from Marseille heading NE in the Alps, speed limits entering/nearing tunnels drop from 130 to 80 kmh, in short distance.

 

[Guinness Boy]

WHO ARE YOU LOT AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH NORTH STAND CHAT?
No sarcastic replies, no piss taking, no fish or cheese puns, no “fuckin google it you lazy bastard” just a plethora of useful tips, info and even private messages. Keep em coming.

Much love and thanks, Brighton fans and NSC in particular are the best!

I literally cannot believe you haven't Googled it. Cod knows how you get through the day.



(have fun)

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Put ‘Avoid Tolls’ into the Sat Nav/Google Maps. You get to see so much more, and rarely struggle with traffic.

Download the app ‘Park4Night’. Wherever you are, this gives brilliant options of where you can stop and park. We have a campervan, so use it for overnight stops, but it’s great for parking anytime.

Make sure you take hi-viz gilets! A legal requirement.

Do NOT fill up with fuel on motorways.

Make sandwiches/picnics in the morning. There are so many places to stop and eat with beautiful surroundings.

All of this but particularly the toll roads in France - long, boring, you won't see much and they are expensive.

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

I’m the same as you. I driven hundreds and hundreds of miles in France in my own RHD car. Earlier this year, I hired a LHD car in Spain and it totally blew my brain! I really struggled with positioning the car etc. It took me the length of the holiday to get used to it.

My advice is to stick to either RHD or LHD cars abroad but try not to mix and match.

I think this must be a personal thing - I drove a LHD hire car around Romania and found it was fine, didn't have a problem at all (I should emphasise it was an automatic, I didn't see any reason to make my life harder than it needed to be).
My friend driving another hire car on the same trip clipped about three wing mirrors in a single afternoon. But given how much overtaking we had to do and the sort of roads we were driving on I definitely wouldn't have wanted to do it in a RHD car.

 

[Flounce]

And it’s quite amusing when you use them in the “non stop” lane with a Uk number plate when the French driver behind you thinks you’ve made a mistake and in the wrong lane and holds back 30m as they think you’ll have to reverse out.

I wouldn’t say they are essential, but they are very handy if you are driving on your own otherwise you have to unbelt and try and pay from the passenger side of the car.

I have a permanent French motorway toll “beep” on my UK registered car windscreen and yes it’s very amusing to watch French drivers hold back as I go through the 30kph Telepeage toll booths

Waze is absolutely brilliant for alerting to any speed cameras in France too, be aware it tells you there are police ahead when it is just a speed camera though.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

France too. Picked up several speeding tickets for driving near or entering road tunnels.

That seems very unfair. They should only be given for speeding in my opinion.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

When motorways become city-bypasses, the speed limit drops to 90kph (in France). That’s 56mph. Be aware - there are lots of speed cameras.

 

[Falmer Flutter ©]

If in Germany... I wouldn't advise going in the outside lane of an Autobahn unless you're doing well over 100mph! Or you'll see lights in your rear mirror approaching like an express train!

Was about to say the same. There's always a faster car and changing lanes at 115mph when something's coming up behind you at 130mph is a buttock-clencher.

 

[BigBod]

Having done 10's of thousands of miles in Europe, mostly on motorbikes, the best bit of advice I can give is set your satnav to avoid motorways and toll's and you will see a lot more of the countryside with amazing, usually empty roads. Passing through towns and villages you would never have otherwise visited.

I've had some amazing adventures riding abroad and would recommend it to anyone. The natives are really really friendly if you make a bit of an effort.

 

[schmunk]

Having done 10's of thousands of miles in Europe, mostly on motorbikes, the best bit of advice I can give is set your satnav to avoid motorways and toll's and you will see a lot more of the countryside with amazing, usually empty roads. Passing through towns and villages you would never have otherwise visited.

I've had some amazing adventures riding abroad and would recommend it to anyone. The natives are really really friendly if you make a bit of an effort.

Ah, but was it on a LHD or RHD motorbike?

 

[Seagull on the Hill]

Phantasialand
+49 2232 36600

https://g.co/kgs/7EpyjLU

If your son is a big fan of theme parks, you might want to visit this one which is in Bruhl, a few miles from Cologne.
Apparently it was Michael Jackson's favourite. ( Not sure how much of a recommendation that is!)
Edit - For some reason the link is in Dutch!

 

[Weststander]

I have a permanent French motorway toll “beep” on my UK registered car windscreen and yes it’s very amusing to watch French drivers hold back as I go through the 30kph Telepeage toll booths

Waze is absolutely brilliant for alerting to any speed cameras in France too, be aware it tells you there are police ahead when it is just a speed camera though.

We had one of those devices.

Just needs a French Candid Camera/Beadle’s About to keep the barrier down on an unsuspecting driver.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Rouen is one of them.

Although you can pass through Rouen without one if you use the 'All routes' directions.