[supermax]

Having recently completed a 1500+ km road trip in Norway (A BHPian-inspired RV trip to Norway), I realized that I had avoided some common mistakes by a combination of luck and planning, but had also fallen victim to at least two avoidable mistakes. This post is not Norway specific, but would hopefully come in handy for anybody who hasn't done a road-trip abroad.

1. Take pictures of the vehicle, both inside and out.

   
   
   Ensure that you've taken pictures of the vehicle, both from inside and outside, in reasonably good light. Avoid pickups late in the evening or very early in the morning, as the light may not be good enough for good photographs. Ensure that the mileage readout tallies with the contract, if you have a limited number of miles with the rental, or a varying tariff slab, as per actual usage.
   
   

2. Understand the hiring terms and rules correctly, opt for additional insurance or liability reduction insurance.

   
   
   Ensure that you understand the hiring terms and conditions carefully. Does the contract stipulate that the car should be fully charged/refueled or is it okay if it is 70% or more full? Not satisfying the requirement could mean a fine, and requests for leniency are generally not accepted. Some rental operators consider small chips on the paint and glass to be normal wear and tear, while others don't. Ask in advance and take optional additional insurance for glass, tires, self-risk reduction etc, whatever you deem acceptable. Be aware of your exact liability. Ignorance is not bliss!
   
   

3. Safe mounting of cameras and other devices.

   
   
   Ensure that you have appropriate mounts for your mobile phones, cameras etc which you can install and remove safely from the vehicle without damaging the vehicle. The mounts should also be safe and not fixed in a manner where there is a risk of the camera falling outside the vehicle, or blocking your view. If using drones, ensure that you are aware and in compliance of local regulations. Many cities have strict no-fly zones, where even hobby drones are not allowed to be operated. Ensure that the operation of the drones doesn't distract you or any other road users.
   
   

4. Give yourself time to acclimatize.

   
   
   You may be a seasoned driver in India, but if you are driving abroad, pay heed to the differences. If possible, plan a low-mileage outing on your day 1, where you give yourself time to soak in the differences. If in Europe (and not in the UK), you'll have to drive on the right side of the road. If you are driving a manual car, the gear shifter too will be on the right, and unless you've been driving a VW or Skoda car in India, the positions of the indicators, light adjuster (highbeam/lowbeam) and wiper stalks are most likely to be reversed from what you are used to, so best to explore it at ease, than to get into the thick of it and find out you are making mistakes.
   
   

5. Pay attention to local rules and signs.

   
   
   Most countries in the EU have similar road signs, but there are key differences in the implementation, which you'd do well to explore before actually starting to drive. Some countries have a default highway/city speed and only note the changes from the defaults, while other countries explicitly state the speed limit everytime it changes. For example, in Sweden, when a 110 road becomes 90, you'll see two signs; a 90 in 200 m sign, alerting you to a lower speed in 200 meters, and then a 90 sign, indicating the new speed. When the 90 road again becomes a 110 road, you'll see an explicit sign showing that the speed limit is now 110 (and not 90). In Norway however, there would be a 70 sign, indicating that the road was now 70, and then a little later, a sign with the 70 crossed out by diagonal parallel lines, indicating that now the default speed is applicable, which is mostly 80 km/h. You'll not see a sign specifying 80 km/h. However, you will see a sign for a higher than normal speed, such as 90 or 100, and then subsequently the crossed out signs. Be aware of these differences, and don't overspeed. Fines for overspeeding can be very high. In some regions, you'll also see signs in the local language noting that you are entering an 'average speed zone'. You'll have to read up before hand if the country you plan to drive has such zones, and try to see examples of these signs online, so you can recognize them when you come across them. In these average speed zones, your vehicle will be photographed when you enter the zone, and also when you exit the zone, and if your average speed across the section is higher than the permitted speed, you'll get a heavy fine, as it's not enough to just reduce the speed where the camera is, but over the entire stretch.
   
   

6. Over-estimate travel time.

   
   
   Particularly if you are traveling through winding mountain roads, you can't expect to drive at or near the posted limits, so give yourself a good margin over and above the time estimate given to you by Google/Waze. A buffer of around 30% extra total time is considered to be a good buffer, to avoid unnecessary stress.
   
   

7. Avoid both over and underplanning.

   
   
   Prebooking all stay points and tours can be satisfying, knowing that you won't end up without a place to stay at or depend on luck to get onto a ride or a tour, but when you try to precisely plan everything on a really long tour, you run the risk of plans falling apart due to unforeseen delays. If you can't make it to a preplanned stop, you then run the risk of missing other activities due to cascading effect of delays. Not making any plans puts you at the risk of missing out on sights and things to do on the route simply because you aren't aware of them. Make plans, but have flexibility also.
   
   

8. Plan and research parking places.

   
   
   Carefully research places where you can park your vehicle, whether you are going to remain in the vehicle, or leave it to go somewhere else. There may be local rules such as time limits, access only during the day etc which you should not violate. Check feedback from other users to avoid places with high crime etc.
   
   

9. Obey rules about waste management.

   
   
   Always gather your rubbish behind you, so you don't leave a trail of garbage behind you. Don't dump waste water or other waste anyplace other than the designated areas. If you need to defecate in the wild, ensure that you choose a place well away from water bodies and trails, and ensure that you bury your waste deep enough. Most wet-wipes are plastic based. If you use these, ensure that you bag them in a litter bag and take it back with you for later disposal, but better is to simply avoid such wet-wipes. Regular toilet paper can be buried along with your waste.
   
   

10. Don't overdrive.

    
    
    Ensure that you get adequate rest. Planning a hectic tour which requires too many hours of driving can mean that you don't get enough rest, and this is not only dangerous, but is also a punishable offense which is treated at par with drunk driving, in many EU countries. Also don't drive when you are sick.
    
    

11. Don't overfill or fill with wrong fuel!

    
    
    Never overfill a tank in any vehicle, as this can damage the engine and you might not have coverage for such damage included in your regular insurance. Be careful not to tank up with the wrong fuel. Never be preoccupied or distracted when you fuel. If by any chance you end up putting the wrong fuel into the tank, do not start the vehicle. Ask for help to push your vehicle away from the pump, and ring your rental's helpline for assistance. Attempting to start can result in damages to the engine which you may not be covered against.
    
    

12. If involved in an accident or cause damage to others.

    
    
    Don't ever leave the scene of an accident or damage you cause, without speaking to law enforcement or the affected person. An acquaintance from Sweden damaged another car in a parking lot in a different country, and left a note with his contact details but was still cited for 'hit-and-run' by the local police, and a fine applied for the same, in addition to the damages. If you cause damage, try to find the owner, and if that doesn't work, contact local law enforcement and follow their instructions to avoid problems later. If somebody else hits you, try to get a photo of the vehicle's plate. If the person stops, exchange contact information, but if the person flees, it's not your responsibility to chase them down. Don't do it. Notify the police and get a police report to provide the rental agency.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[GTO]

Great points. Throwing in my two paise:

- At least for the first day (if not two), sit on the passenger seat and observe. Whether it's in a cab or a relative's car. I recently travelled to USA and despite having driven there during my student days & later holidays, I sat in the passenger seat for 3 hours (Ford F150 8-cylinder engine ) from LA to San Diego, just observing traffic.

- On your flight in, watch a few YouTube videos of driving in that foreign country.

- Get the maximum possible insurance coverage. If you cannot afford the insurance premium, you cannot afford the car rental. I always choose the 0 deductible, full coverage. Repairs are obscenely expensive in foreign countries.

- As a petrolhead, rent some awesome cars . The options you get abroad are plentiful, with powerful cars coming for relatively cheap money. This is one of the beasts I've rented off Turo. 6.4L 8-cylinder engine with mad sound, great cruisability and drop-dead handsome styling. The Dodge Challenger is an all-time Top 3 car for me.

[KiloAlpha]

Originally Posted by supermax

[*]

Give yourself time to acclimatize.

You may be a seasoned driver in India, but if you are driving abroad, pay heed to the differences. If possible, plan a low-mileage outing on your day 1, where you give yourself time to soak in the differences. If in Europe (and not in the UK), you'll have to drive on the right side of the road. If you are driving a manual car, the gear shifter too will be on the right, and unless you've been driving a VW or Skoda car in India, the positions of the indicators, light adjuster (highbeam/lowbeam) and wiper stalks are most likely to be reversed from what you are used to, so best to explore it at ease, than to get into the thick of it and find out you are making mistakes.

This is, in my opinion, one of the most ignored pieces of advice.

To add to this - observe the locals and follow what they do. The old adage "When in Rome do what the Romans do" is very apt. If you do this, even if you can't fully understand the language/signage, most of the time you will be OK.

I always tend to pick up the car a day prior to the long drive, so I can understand both the car and local driving etiquette.

Also, if i am particularly unsure of the road/traffic conditions, I will rent an automatic (no choice in the USA/Canada though ) so this reduces workload and allows me to concentrate on familiarising myself with local rules.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by supermax

Avoid both over and underplanning

Over planning or doing more research never hurt. If you are the trip planner in the household. The more you know beforehand, the less surprised you are. This applies whether you are planning a trip in India or abroad.

A pertinent point is to be flexible. You may not be able to visit all the places you planned or had in mind. So be flexible and don't get worked up if you are not able to see everything.

Over-estimate travel time.

Also rest+food+refuel stops. These are not factored in any of the maps.

If you are driving, study difficult intersection/exit points. More often than not, you'll have split second to decide which lane to take or which exit to take. The best example I've experienced is taking I-376 to Penn Hills getting out of Fort Pitt tunnel. In the days before Mapquest (circa 2001-2002). For someone who is new to such hotch-potch of exits it can be overwhelming. In 2024, you have Street View in a lot of places to understand such difficult points.

For unremarkeable transit points, Street View also helps to understand if the landmark you marked is really there or not This happened once for a Walmart in some Boston suburb, where it did not exist in the Google map location.

Specific to Europe. If you are using public transportation. Better to be less ambitious in planning. You may able to plan for routes, but not necessarily timings. Once you are off big cities, connectivity will be progressively poor. On Sundays, frequency in general will be less.

In you don't like crowds, traffic or expensive stays. Avoid major holiday seasons. July-August, Christmas and major travel seasons in Europe. I remember in August 2016, the shuttle driver took a very unusual route to Bologna airport which I've never travelled before or after.

We used to pick weekends along Italian Liberation day and Immaculate Conception year on year for our trips.

Research the airport and its transport options before booking. This is mandatory if you are travelled low cost airlines. The famous examples I can give is (Paris) Beauvais airport of Ryan air or Bergamo that Easyjet uses.

[NomadSK]

Interesting, some other which I had observed specific to the countries,

Germany - Don't drive continuously in fast lane, specially on Autobahn, there will be someone on your tail in a flash, you won't even come to know. Trust me there will be Schumacher's on the road. While renting the car, the guy at the counter informed me the speed limit of the tyres as 300Kmph, I was like, No, I'm not going at that speed anyway.

Italy - It's crazy on Italian roads with fast cars. Don't go by the size of the teeny weeny cars. You won't miss driving in India.

France - I saw bikes riding between lanes of slow moving cars at a very fast pace, so be careful to severe even slightly within your lane. Not sure but I guess that's an unspoken rule. Also you need to have high visibility vest in the car, generally provided by the car rental, but worth asking before.

My pro tip - When renting a car in EU, find a nice AirBnB/hotel in the outskirts of the city with free parking facility and breakfast and then buy the public transport tickets and roam around the city as much as you can. It's a big pain and waste of time driving in EU popular small congested cities, at times its overwhelming with exits, roundabouts, changing lanes.

Originally Posted by narayans80

If you are driving, study difficult intersection/exit points. More often than not, you'll have split second to decide which lane to take or which exit to take.

I had a good laugh reading this, happened to me in Bergen, Norway, the GPS went for a toss in the tunnel and as soon as the tunnel finishes there are 3/4 exits taking you to different directions. Unfortunately, I took the wrong exit each time in a haste and not put chaos on the roads, worst was it was an automatic toll road, which made my wallet lighter by few euros, till I came back on the right road heading to the Voss.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by NomadSK

Germany - Don't drive continuously in fast lane, specially on Autobahn, there will be someone on your tail in a flash, you won't even come to know.

In nearly, if not all, EU countries it is mandatory to drive in the “slow lane”. I.e. you are required to move to the right. The fast lane is for overtaking.

Continuously driving in the fast lane can get you a hefty fine!

So always move over. The rule of thumb: if you will stay in the fast lane for more than 10 seconds without overtaking, you must move out of the fast lane to the right. So you overtake. Move to the right, overtake and move to the right. Etc.

Even with no traffic at all, you are required to keep to the right at all times!

Jeroen

[rrsteer]

Generally speaking how difficult is it for an experienced regular driver on Indian roads to adapt to driving in EU countries? More specifically, is it advisable for someone (someone being an experienced driver in India) on vacation in EU to pick up a rental?

[KrisTvpm]

FWIW, some minor additions.

• Don't honk as one is used to in India, to declare their/their vehicle's "grand arrival"!
  No one cares; honk ONLY if absolutely necessary.
  
  Don't honk
  * at blind curves to notify the vehicle approaching from other side
  * at pedestrians to move out of road (unless they're jaywalking where pedestrians aren't supposed to)
  * at cross-roads ("chaurasa"), to again, notify others - one can't "outsource" the responsibility of checking road is safe, to others. One must check & ensure it's safe & only then cross

• Don't flash headlight to say/mean "I'm coming, you gtfo"; do so (a minor flash/flicker) if one politely wants to convey "I see you, you may take precedence, I'll wait"

• While merging into roundabouts, give precedence to vehicles ALREADY in the circle.

In short, it won't be out-of-place to say unlearn almost EVERYTHING one's driving school "master" taught!

PS: may not be applicable to countries with worst traffic manners than ours!

[Newtown]

This was a good read.

There is one incident that will forever be etched in my memory, and it was both scary and hilarious.

In the late 90's some of us had decided to visit the temple in Atlanta. It was about 100 miles from where we were. 3 rentals were picked up from the Budget parking lot.

Things were smooth until we needed to take exit 99 to get off the I-85 onto Jimmy Carter Boulevard. There was a huge backlog of cars that were stopped in trying to take the exit.

I was driving one car and the folks in my car decided to check where the others were given that the traffic was stalled. They called the cell phone of one of the drivers of the other car to ask. Let's just call him V for the sake of this post.

"Hi V - Where have you guys reached? Are you also stuck at exit 99?" He responds "We are also there only and waiting for you on the side"

As soon as he said the traffic started crawling ahead and I see them parked on the dam curb causing the entire exit to jam up and waving to us frantically to draw our attention.

It was hilarious, crazy, scary and embarrassing all at the same time to see the cops trying to clear them off the curb.

[mugen_pinaki27]

Originally Posted by GTO

Attachment 2638474

You and the car look swell.

How was it driving the challenger, GTO? Do share your insights

[Theyota]

Visitors to USA, don't get out of your car if pulled over. Safe park the car with blinkers on, put both your palms on the steering and wait for the cop to come to you. Don't take off your hands from the steering while talking to him. If you have to get any documents from the golve box, etc., inform the cop about it before you take off the hands off the steering.

Else you will scare the hell out of the cop and he may pull his gun on you !

[indrangiri]

In my experience driving in Europe requires more concetration than the US especially German autobhans. Need to keep watch out for the changing speed limits but the good thing is now Google maps also displays this information.

I did not try to take my rental SUV (SEAT Taracco) beyond 130KMPH on German autobahns as it did not feel safe. Sedans always feel safer at high speeds due to reduced body roll.

Driving in moutaineous Swizerland is a pleasure looking at the picture perfect scenery but also keep a lookout for the numerous tunnels during the drive. Some tunnels are only single lane and the whizzing lights puts you in a kind of trance if you are not alert.

[efgritesh]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Generally speaking how difficult is it for an experienced regular driver on Indian roads to adapt to driving in EU countries? More specifically, is it advisable for someone (someone being an experienced driver in India) on vacation in EU to pick up a rental?

As someone who has done it couple of times, I think I have first hand experience to comment on it.

It is not difficult, just first few minutes it needs for your mind to realign to right side driving.

Having said that, its easier to forget it often and if you are not careful specially on an empty road, you might end up on wrong side of the road.

Just to add some context, I never had any prior experience about dirving on right side of the road and was scared of doing it untill I did. I was able to hire them on my indian driving license for couple of road trips and covered most of them uneventful. This is another bit that is often very confusing, as we dont exactly know if we are allowed to drive on indian license or not. Some countries accept while others need you to mandatorily convert before you can start driving on road.

Only once I was honked by someone when I overlooked a temporary signal put on road due to repairs, in India these type of signals nare almost non-existant and we use common sense to avoid hitting each other .

I did extensive trips from Belgium to Swizerland and from Milan to Roam, so spent reasonably good amount of time on wheels.

[RGK]

No matter if the vehicle is designed for right or left-hand driving, it’s important to consistently observe that the center line of the road is close to you. This acts as a reminder to remain in the appropriate lane.

This is effective when transitioning to left-hand drive.