The rules of the road trip
Posted by Anthony on August 1st, 2008
Since the launch of the Smith route-planner and our top luxury UK road-trips not so long ago, we’ve been thinking a lot about the lure of the open road, the thrill of the wind in the hair, and the enduring 80s awfulness of soft-rock service-station drive-time compilation albums.
Thus far, we’ve thought exclusively about journeys within the UK, but anyone who’s seen the opening credits to the Italian Job knows that mainland Europe has some breathtakingly scenic routes, from the sinuous curves of the Amalfi Coast, to the Mediterranean windings of the Côte d’Azur between Nice and Monte Carlo. European driving holidays are on the up, according to the people behind the Broughton’s GT (the big daddy of luxury road-trips), partly due to a combination of increasing airline prices and credit-crunch yadiyadiyada…
Driving in Europe is not always plain, er, sailing, however, and it’s not just down to the population of Italy’s collective decision to re-enact Days of Thunder on its roadways. There are plenty of road hazards on the Continent that don’t take the form of wayward Vespas – driving regulations in certain countries can throw a few spanners in the engine too.
In France and Spain for instance, the legality or otherwise of your chosen parking spot depends upon the time of the month. Between the 1st and 15th of a given month, you can park on one side of the street, afterwards you can only park on the other. Woe (and towing) betide those who don’t read the signage.
Other potential pitfalls include the fact that cruise control is illegal in Belgium, and rude hand gestures in Germany carry a fine. If you get out of your car on an Italian motorway, you’d better be wearing a reflective jacket (but that may just be a sign that the polizia have limited fashion sense).
However, all of these pale in comparison to the UK’s own oddball contribution to global auto legislation, which permits male drivers to urinate in public, as long as he aims at the rear wheel, and keeps his right hand is in contact with the vehicle. Aren’t you happy to know that?
So – anyone care to add to our database of car-based Euro legislative surreality? Or do you have a favourite road-trip in Europe. Please feel free to share below…
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