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United Kingdom Facts and Travel Information
Driving in Great Britain
The ease, availability, and inexpensiveness
of public transportation in Britain may change your mind about attempting
to drive on the “wrong” side of the road.
 Driving
in London, in my opinion, is for marginal nut cases or egomaniacs with
more money than sense. It’s too easy, fast, and inexpensive to get
anywhere and everywhere in London and vicinity without a car, and stupid
expensive and darn slow with one. You’ll not only pay more to rent a car
from the bigger rental companies, you’ll pay high prices for parking (if
you ever find any), congestion fees for using the roads within the city,
and guzzle many gallons of petrol waiting in traffic and going in circles.
Your choice.
Congestion charges apply from early morning to evening (7 am to 6-7 pm
last I checked). You pay for the charge online at
www.cclondon.com, or
at some retail outlets, or by phone with a credit card (084/900-1234).
There are NO toll booths. If you enter the congestion zone, your picture
is taken and if you’ve not figured out how to make payment by 10 pm that
day, you’ll be fined.
Traffic Alert!
Well over 8,000 (and growing) roadside sensors are located across the
country's motorway and trunk road network. If you’re caught speeding,
you’ll be fined. Don’t imagine that just because you’re in a large amount
of traffic all traveling just a little too fast that you’ll be exempt from
ticketing. It just means you’ll all be receiving some interesting mail in
the near future along with everyone else. And they will take the trouble
to track you down through the car rental agency.
 Who
may Drive
If you hold a valid European Community license you can drive any vehicle
for as long as your license is valid.
Canadians, Americans, New Zealanders, and Australians must have had their
license for one year before driving in England and the license must remain
valid for one year from the date of entering the country.
Other countries too must have a license that will remain in force for a
full year from the date they enter England.
Car Rentals and Fuel Prices
There are no shortages of car rental websites; I’m not bothering with that
here. What I will say is this: in my experience renting from a small
and/or small town rental agency in the country, if you’re heading that
way, is far, far cheaper than renting from the big national or
international rental companies found near the airports and online. Use a
train or bus to get into the area you are heading for and rent there if
possible. (Do track them down and call ahead of course, although I’ve been
pretty lucky with very short notice rentals.)
Most rental companies have age restrictions ranging from 21-25 to 70-75
years of age to rent a vehicle.
Most cars will be of the standard transmission variety. Automatics cost a
fair bit more and are harder to find. Practice at home before you go.
Petrol (gasoline) prices are higher in England. The cars tend to be far
smaller than most of us drive in North America. You’ll be walking more
too. Bottom line… drive like the British do and you’ll probably spend
about the same in fuel prices you spend at home. Drive like a North
American (use the car to get to the shop around the corner) and it will
get pricy. Quite frankly I hardly noticed the difference in cost myself
but I like using the tube and adore the trains.
Stations are self-serve and the green gas pumps are usually what you’re
looking. Red pumps are for leaded fuel and the black hold diesel fuel.
Petrol is often cheaper at supermarkets than along the motorways.
Speed Limits
* In towns: 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour)
* Some town roads when posted: 40 miles per hour (65 kilometers per hour)
* On most 2-way roads (carriageways): 60 miles per hour (97 kilometers per
hour)
* On dual carriageways and motorways (4-6 lanes of traffic): 70 miles per
hour (113 kilometers per hour)
Road Signs and Markings
Road signs are of the standard international variety, which is NOT what is
used in North America by the way. We’re the odd balls in the driving
world. Many directional signs do not contain the direction you are driving
(north, south, etc) but only the city it’s aimed for. Some roads signs
will show you that while THIS road doesn’t go where you’d like to go, it
IS the road you’ll use to get to the road that will take you to that
place. They will do that by putting the road name in parentheses. Confused
yet? It’s okay; I’ll show you….
Below are some signs and markings you may not be used to seeing if you’re
a fellow North American.
Roundabouts
You’ll read a lot about roundabouts, good and bad. They are intended to
keep traffic moving through heavily congested areas, which they do nicely,
but you’ll see them in vast empty areas of the countryside too. Bottom
line…. You MUST yield to any car already in the roundabout. Stay in to the
left if you’re getting off at the next opening, move to the right if
you’re driving around further. You must work your way back to the left to
exit. It’s sometimes wise to pull over before you get on the roundabout to
make sure you know where to get to off. Stopping in the roundabout it self
will land you a ticket.
Thanks to Wikipedia for the animation below.
Road “Hazards”
For a North American the roads in Britain may contain some surprises. A
great many country roads will be one lane only, with areas here and there
where you pull over to allow others to get by you (laybys). The system
works through politeness. Use it. Don’t park in these areas, they are used
for passing and people who know it's coming up will not be looking to see
if it’s occupied by a parked car.
You will occasionally find Fords along the roads, low lying areas covered
in water that are supposed to be covered in water. It’s fun.
You will sometimes have to stop and wait for herds of sheep or cattle to
cross, or wander down, the road ahead of you.
You may find yourself sharing the roads with horses; wild ones or with
riders.
In summation…
* Buy a map
* Drive left, look right, yield right.
* Be prepared to yield, or backup when necessary.
* The law requires you wear a seat belt. Children need car seats.
* Take your time (you’re on vacation!) and welcome a few surprises.
You can get full driving regulations at
www.highwaycode.gov.uk
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