PalenQ

<You can be driving down a narrow street with very close to 0 visibility around corners and some guy will blow through from the right at high spped and you'd better not be in his way>

the same is true in France IME in cities. Yet everytime i write that i'm lambasted for being out of date and it's no problem. finally someone who's had the same experience!

My personal experience mimics JPs - this is a rule you had better be aware of in France and apparently Belgium.

lobo_mau

My very personal rule: If the other car is heavier, I give always the right of way.

robjame

The junkiest car has the right of way.

Ian

And in Naples this whole discussion is meaningless. The one with the most NERVE always has the right of way.

Ian

hetismij

Annoying as the priorty to the right rule is it does result in most people driving within the speed limit and being aware of other traffic.
The Dutch have given up on the priority from the right on roundabouts at last I'm gad to say.
FauxSteMarie I find traffic lights in the US very confusing. A few times I have stopped in the middle of the junction, and on one occasion just didn't see the darn thing at all -it was hanging on a wire over a juction and the wind was blowing it so it wasn't obvious. Luckily I got away with it, caused no accident, and there was no friendly law enforcement officer around. The OH was a bit white after it though - and took over the driving!
I really like the US 4-way stop, but sadly don't think that European drivers have the discipline for something similar here.

Dukey

My understanding has always been that in Europe there aren't any four-way stop intersections as there are in the US (and in the US we don't have any of those Priority roads).

But, i can tell you there are PLENTY of drivers in the US who are apparently so used to traffic signals that when they DO come to a four-way stop at the same time as other cars from other directions they don't always remember that the right-of-way is to the vehicle on your right if you both arrive at the same time.

After driving in france again just a few weeks ago I was again reminded of how much more patient and courteous those drivers seem to be, especially on autoroutes, when compared to the ones I am currently used to in the US.

nytraveler

I think the problem is that many Americans are not used to driving in cities - and don;t understand that pedestrians have right of way. They think roads are for cars - and people need to get out of the way.

In fact, without a green light - if it's a marked crossing in europe I always assume the pedestrian has the right of way and stop the car.

We have lots of problems with out of staters trying to drive in Manhattan because they don't understand 2 major differences:

No right turn on red. No movement at all on red. Red is STOP, period.

When both have a green light and the pedestrian is crossing the street the car MUST stop. The turning car cannot enter the crosswalk until the pedestrian has reached the pavement. (I've seen out of state drivers honking at pedestrians crossing the street to try to get them out of the way. And, once, a little old lady beating on the car with her umbrella when it nearly knocked her over - the idiot driving was trying to get her to walk faster.)

Dukey

I think people are quite good at understanding they are not to turn right on a red light IF there is a sign indicating that exception to what has become a general "rule" most places clearly posted.

But if the no turn on a red light is the law throughout New York City or the state or both then that information probably should be posted somewhere just as a precaution if nothing else IMO.

robjame

In Manhattan, turning right on a red would be the least significant infraction from my observations.

Mucky

If the lights are out for whatever reason the junction rules are the same as a rounderbout. Give way to the right.

I guess that will cause its own problems lol

Muck

smueller

Give way to the right!?

Maybe that's why I've gotten so many dirty looks and rude hand gestures in Europe.

PalenQ

sounds like as a 'leftist' i'll be in trouble driving in Europe? Europe needs a Bill of Lefts!

GSteed

The EU has established standard traffic rules for use in all their countries. For instance, headlights on at all times. No right turn on red unless there is a lighted green arrow. Each intersection has a system of priorities...Most intersections are not signed. Rules state that driver entering a higher priority road stop, shift gears and proceed if clear. Few drivers obey. Cities now have signs noting local boundaries. Maximum speeds depend on the neighborhood or area. Warszawa has a 50 K limit! Bookstores carry detailed texts explaining everything. Driving lessons are an inexpensive way to learn. Most tourist deaths are traffic related! Another caution..taxi,bus and tram operators have rules of their own.

bettyk

I still find it appalling at the number of drivers in the US who don't know that pedestrians have the right of way when they are in a crosswalk! Can't tell you the number of times I've nearly been run down! In Europe, they are very good about this but not here.

Dukey

Re lights on at all times...that is onme thing we did NOT see in France which was surprising to me.

Of course, I remember a year or so ago when someone here declared that he thought driving with lights on during the day was a "stupid" requirement.

Steve_James

Headlights on during the day certainly isn't a Europe-wide legal requirement - it's not law in the UK for a start.

In Italy it was introduced 3-4 years ago. All my Italian friends think it's absurd ...

I'm not sure in which other European countries it's a legal requirement.

Steve

Dukey - that was me

Steve_James

P.S I don't think it's law in France either.

Perhaps someone can correct me if I'm wrong ...

flanneruk

There are NO "EU standard traffic rules".

Nations set rules for traffic - and they differ from country to country on all the issues GSteed has conjured out of the sky. The examples GSTeed quotes are simply wrong.

All European countries - whether in the EU or not - are signatories to the Vienna Convention on Road Signs (agreed when the idea of Austria joining the EU was quite beyond the pale), which is why most European traffic signs are identical - but this has nothing to do either with traffic rules or the EU.

European countries' traffic rules are similar - but absolutely not identical - to each other. Again, this is within the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic - an agreement unsullied by any connection with the EU, and as widely followed in Russia, Turkey and Switzerland as in the EU member states.

hetismij

The give way to the right rule dates from Napoleon I believe, just as driving on the right does.
Driving with your headlights on is common in the Netherlands but only compulsory in restricted visibility - heavy rain, fog or darkness. There was a move to make it compulsory but motorcyclists (who do have to have their lights on) rightly complained it would make them less visible.
If all of Europe had the same rules then we Europeans would have known about the German lights only flashing in one direction (I didn't know -I assumed they were the same as in Holland), and the British would have real problems with it. Not that they would adopt it of course, far too sensible for that. The Italians would ignore them, just a they do now, and the Spanish and Portuguese would not be a lot better.
But it is sensible to find out about road signs, speed limits, etc before you drive in another country (or even another state in the US).

Nikki

Dukey, the no right turn on red rule for New York City is (or was when the right on red rule began) posted on roads entering the city. But that doesn't mean everybody passes those signs or sees or pays attention to them.