Over the summer holidays, thousands of drivers will be either taking their motors abroad or driving a hire car while on holiday. But how well do you know the rules of the road when it comes to driving in Europe? Our cunning quiz poses 10 travel teasers that will help you warm up to driving abroad. And if you get any wrong, try again. Knowing the right answer might save you a few quid!
Results
Bad luck. We’ve set the bar high for this one as knowing the right answer could save you serious money in some cases. Brush up on your Euro driving laws and have a fantastic break!
#1. You must have a GB sticker on a British car when driving on the Continent, even though we’re still EU members.
It was a 50-50 chance and you guessed wrong! Bad luck!
#2. What is the minimum charge you’ll pay if your conked-out car needs to be rescued from a French motorway?
Don’t worry, if you have breakdown cover, you should be able to reclaim this.
#3. You need to take the original of your car’s registration document (or an official replacement) with you when you drive it abroad.
Having the right paperwork with you can make the difference between having a happy and unhappy holiday!
#4. Which of the following DON’T you need to have in your car when driving in France?
Try again. You have to be surprisingly well equipped driving in France!
#5. What must you do to your headlights when driving on the Continent?
Try again, and remember: if you don’t abide by this law, you can get a hefty fine.
#6. What does the French sign shown above mean?
You may not remember this from school but it’s handy to know that ‘restreinte’ is French for restricted.
#7. In some Spanish towns the side of the road you can park on depends on the month of the year
Looks like a trick question but where you can park without being towed away can actually depend on the day of the month.
#8. When you drive into some French cities including Paris, Lyon and Lille you need to buy a special sticker for your car. What does this show?
The sticker only costs around £2.90 but if you don’t have one when you need it you’ll be fined.
#9. What is unusual about the Zona Traffico Limitato system in Italy?
Be very careful when driving into built-up areas in Italy!
#10. In Spain it’s illegal to drive wearing flip flops
We’ve busted this myth in the UK and the law is the same in Spain?
Every driver should know about this. I will remember these points.
memory Jerker
The breathalyser kit is recommended but not compulsory as discussed in many motoring publications and according to a french traffic officer I have recently been chatting to.
GB stickers are required if you don’t have a GB flash on your number plate.
It should be a UK sticker now we are no longer in the EU.
Good idea
Good set of Questions
Very useful! Just goes to show how ignorant I am about driving abroad. The frightening thing is the realisation that there must be a great deal more I don’t know!!
Your are wrongs about the flip flops my wife was stopped and fined for wearing them in Spain
Good questions
Very useful!
I think that we need more quizes like this it is useful to know as much as possible before driving on the continent.
Never done it.
Driving in flip flops in Spain became illegal in 2017 as did fines for a passenger having their feet on the dashboard
Very little
Well chosen questions!
Good information, very useful.
In Tenerife you can not drive with flip flops on and that comes under Spain and you do not need a GB sticker on your car it is on your number plate
Never have never will go to the poxy EU let alone drive there.
In Denia Spain I know of 1 particular road ‘Sandunga’allows sparking on 1 side from january to June and the other side from July until December
If it is okay to Drive in Flip Flops it jolly well shouldn’t be
Your answerto question 10 being false is wrong it is against the law to wear flip flops whilst driving
It’s not illegal but its not recommended. As long as they aren’t too loose and therefore dangerous, it’s perfectly legal.
Good informative quiz.
With regard to Q1 & Q5, can someone please quote the paragraph in, for example, the French CdlR regulations or the German StVO regulations which specifies the requirement for (a) a sticker in addition to the number plate national identifier and (b) an additionally-fitted beam deflector/adjuster. I can find neither, apart from a reference in point (b) to the maximum distance in metres that a main beam may be projected before it dazzles oncoming drivers.
The use of beam deflectors or alternative means of deflection does not appear to be stipulated as a compulsory requirement – or have I missed something in other EU member states’ regulations which deviates from UK requirements for foreign visitors with right-dipping headlights using UK roads?
Helpful information. thanks
Over 40 million Brits visit the EU every year, presumably because they find our neighbouring countries attractive. Frederick finds the EU “poxy” although he’s never been there. He must live in a beautiful, clean, litter-free environment with plenty of fresh air, pristine beaches, lots of sunshine, a deep-blue sea, no crime, no Brexit chaos, secure, well-paid employment, excellent health and education services, no waiting times to see his GP or waiting lists for hospital treatment, no couples who can’t afford to buy their first home etc etc.
Or maybe he spends his time in cloud-cuckoo-land reading the British tabloids which tell us how lucky we are compared to these nasty foreigners!
PS When I filled up my car last month I paid the equivalent of £1.12 per litre of diesel in Germany. Why can’t we have poxy EU fuel prices?
I love your response John, Frederick has obviously never been to France or other EU countries and is wearing rose tinted glasses
These are really important things to know when driving abroad. Good little quiz to check knowledge
No one seems to have mentioned the new regulation regarding ‘ UK ‘ no plate as the old GB sticker is about to become illegal .
Quite right I have already changed my number plates to the new standard in readynes for a possible trip
Well I only got 4 correct but in my defense, I’ve never ventured abroad in my car and I guessed the answers to most of them.