Regular post.

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Tony asks "Now knowing this type of violation is possible, how can I possibly prevent it from happening again short of learning how to read the local language of the country I'm traveling in? "

The answer is that it is incumbent upon you to learn the laws of the land, including posted signs. Limited traffic zone signs are posted, but if you didn't know what to look for you might not see it.

Here in the US we have driving laws that may not be commonly known to visitors. A Japanese friend was ticked for passing a stopped school bus going the opposite direction on a 6 lane road. He had no idea he was required to stop. Those of us who grew up in the US know to stop (although on a 6 lane road it might not be immediately obvious to all drivers).

The police did not give him a warning. Should he have? Perhaps, but may be it's not within his discretion to do so. The normal fine for such an offense is >$300. Since he was 6mo visitor and not just passing through he had the opportunity to plead before a court.

The judge reduced the offense to 'failure to obey traffic sign' or something like that with a ~$50 fine. Lesson learned.

Another common 'visitors mistake' in the US is right turn on read. Such a turn is forbidden in all of NYC (not just Manhattan). This rule isn't widely known for non-locals. There aren't signs at every stop light in all 5 boroughs, and I frequently see people pulled over in the area of JFK airport, for example.

Does anybody know of a driving tips, traffic signs, and caveats website for travelers? That would be a good link to know for future travels.

My notice arrived in the regular postal mail. There was no accompanying photo.

Friends just got a bill for a little over $100 from Hertz. They rented with Hertz in London about five months ago. They called and found out it was for s speeding ticket. Apparently Hertz got charged and Hertz just charged it to their credit card still on file, but no notice was ever sent to them. That seemed a rather surprising way to handle it, but they didn't argue as he knows he was speeding "a lot".

I've been ticketed a few times in Germany, Holland, and other countries. Parking and speeding. Heck, just pay. For parking, "Residents only" and similar restrictions are becoming more common. Know a few words of the local lingo to avoid trouble.

I have to admit that it is almost impossible for a foreign vistitor to memorize any possible traffic regulations, especially when travelling in several countries by car.

But this is also a problem for Europeans who take the car to go from, for example, Germany via Switzerland and France to Spain. It always gives a few good headlines during holiday seasons how the police in each country is said to be focused on busting foreigners for violating the more obscure local laws.

For driving in Germany, there are a few common rules of road that can avoid the most expensive tickets.

Never pass on the right. Exceptions: city roads, within city limits.

Do not idle in the passing lanes. Though it is a myth that you would have to squeeze your car into every tiny space between two trucks when there is a BMW flashing the headlights in the fast lane.

Never trust that you are not speeding when you "go with the flow". Here, cops don't sit behind huge roadside billboards, but automated cameras do most of the job.

Cameras also control distance between cars. So also tailgating will result in a fine.

Speed limit in built-up areas is 50 km/h. But: In Germany, you won't see a speed limit sign when you enter a town. The rectangular yellow sign with the name of the town or village on it also indicates the 50km/h limit.

Don't drink and drive (hah, that's a new one, right). Even when you stay within the blood alcohol limit, your insurance won't reimburse any costs resulting from an accident when the cops say it was alcohol-related, i.e. you could have avoided it if you had been sober.

The list could go on and on.. but you can be sure that driving in the US is for an European sometimes as surprising (re. the laws) than your experiences in Europe ;-)

Cowboy, with all due respect I guess it's true that you can't know all the rules of every country. But of that list you just gave for Germany, all of them are covered by one thing -- common sense. I can't think of a single item there than shouldn't be understood by any foreign driver with an ounce of common sense. (With the possible exception that a town name sign indicates the change in speed limit).

NeoPatrick.. 100% d'accord -- most of that should be no problem when using common sense. But the examples I picked have been topics in other threads here, or issues I discussed with my friends from abroad.

Another favorite are the several types of "zones", like the one the OP mentioned. You have one (usually oversized) sign when the No Parking or 30 km/h Zone begins, but there will be no more signs repeating it.

By the way.. since tailgating is illegal, how many meters would you have to keep away from the car in front of you when you travel at 140 km/h on a freeway? ;-)

Did you know that you need to have a warning vest in the car when you drive in Austria? Or that it is a felony in Germany to pass the scene of an accident and not offer help? What is the speed limit on French motorways -- when it's raining?

Nevertheless, I would still agree with you that common sense is (almost) all you need.

I realize this is an old thread that has been resurrected, but it is still interesting.

Cowboy, I wish spouse would acknowledge your point that 'it is still speeding even when one goes with the flow'. My ongoing argument with him underscores the limitations of the idea that rules are just 'common sense'. To wit, if sense were common, we wouldn't be having discussions like this one as to just what IS sensible.

His view of common sense is that fine or no fine, it is safer to 'keep up with the traffic.' I point out that taken to logical extremes, one can see the folly of this view: would it be safer to go 500 mph if that is what everyone else was doing? Still, I begrudgingly see his point....within reason.

"By the way.. since tailgating is illegal, how many meters would you have to keep away from the car in front of you when you travel at 140 km/h on a freeway?"


Huh? I don't know anyone who gets out and measures the distance in feet OR meters while driving. But tailgating is not allowed in the US either (or shouldn't be). You put the same visual amount of distance between you and the car in front of you as you'd do at home. Again this is called common sense and any experienced driver should have a pretty good feel for how much distance he should keep for whatever speed he's traveling. Who cares if you call that distance meters, feet, inches, or centimeters?

The law says 70 meters. It is your duty to figure out how much that is. I never said it was easy ;-)

Cowboy you miss my point. How many feet are you supposed to stay back in the US when traveling at 70 MPH? Is it any easier to figure? The point is that it is NO different in Europe as it is in home. If you aren't tailgating at home, then you won't be tailgating there.

Rule of thumb when I learned to drive in the US was 2 seconds gap between you and the driver in front of you. The actual distance will vary depending on speed.

Nobody needs to get out of their car to measure feet or meters. It doesn't require any measuring skills as all. You just mark the time from then the car in front of you passes a landmark until you reach the same point.

70m at 140km/h is roughly 2 seconds gap.(1.8 to be exact), so the German law roughly follows the 2 sec rule for that one data point.


PS. Two seconds at 70mph is ~127.55 feet.

70 meters is about 230 feet. That is at least 10 car lengths. Anybody can make a judgement on that.

I do not know what the law is in Michigan but the common practice for macho moron pick-up truck and SUV drivers is to allow at least four feet. They be the Boss.

Wasn't there an old rule about one car length per 10 mph?

Neo.. I would never assume that anyone gets out of the car at 140 kmh to measure a distance ;-)

You can easily estimate your distance since the poles with the reflectors (is there an English word for these?) are 50 meters apart.
The rule of thumb here is:
1/2 the speed in meters = required distance.

Needless to say that not many German drivers stick to it.
If you have the same rule re. distance at home, even better. Actually, this was something I did not know.

When you travel on German Autobahnen you will sometime notice short lines on the edge of the lanes. These markers help the automated cameras to measure distances.

Germany is somewhat notorious for overdoing on signs, or post contraticting signs. We even have a word for it: sign forest

To park or not to park?:
http://www.stern.de/tv/sterntv/591970.html?cp=6

Stay on the detour route (yellow sign with "U&quot, or follow the only allowed directions?
http://www.stern.de/tv/sterntv/591970.html?cp=25

"If you have the same rule re. distance at home, even better. Actually, this was something I did not know."

Actually we've made one huge circle to get back to where I started. "Driving is common sense". You need enough distance between you and the car in front of you to be able to stop at whatever speed you're going without running into them. It isn't a matter of feet, meters, inches, phone poles, or car lengths -- it's just plain common sense. That distance doesn't change depending on what country you're driving in! Nor do you need to check local traffic laws to know you need all that distance and not to tailgate.

There is that old rule of one car length and does it actually work? No, because every time you try to put a car length between you and the car in front some idiot tries to squeeze through to either cut over to another lane or just advance one car for some reason. So try as I may, I rarely succeed in that anymore.

I know that reflective vests are obligatory in Spain and that lots of tourists get ticketed for not having one (I'm sure that really takes the cake when you already have the annoyance of changing a flat tire, for example.)

I think that technically in France you are supposed to have a caution triangle in the trunk of your car, but I don't think I have ever heard of this law being enforced. It is much more likely that the reflective vest rules will spread across Europe, because there are too many news reports of people well inside the emergency pull off shoulder who still get killed by the other drivers.

The caution triangle is also mandatory in Germany, together with the First Aid Kit. Both are regular items the cops check when they stop a car (which does not happen often, by the way).

Reflective vests are not mandatory in Germany yet, unfortunately.