Driving a Car in Europe

Are you planning on flying to Europe to do a theme park road trip? Driving a car in Europe as a non-native of the country is exciting and can be scary.

In this article, we’re going to talk about a few of the differences between driving in the United States or the UK and mainland Europe. Once you understand the road signs, some of the rules and what fuel is called, driving a car in mainland Europe is easy!

What’s Different Driving a Car in Mainland Europe?

As an American who moved to the Netherlands, I actually had to take my driving exam to get my Dutch drivers license. This was regardless of the fact that I’d already been driving since 1996. Needless to say, I had to learn the rules of the road which made it very easy to identify what’s different.

Drive on the Right Side of the Road

Just like North America, everyone in mainland Europe drives on the right side of the road. The farthest right lane is where you’re going to drive 99% of the time and the left lane is only for passing.

In all mainland Europe countries, passing from the right is illegal and could incur a ticket. Technically if you’re driving up on a vehicle that’s going slower than you in the left hand lane, you should either slow down so they can merge in front of you, or get behind them (at a safe distance) until they move to the right.

In all practicality, most people will pass the slow vehicle in the left, on the right. Just realize that it could incur a ticket. The one situation where law enforcement (if out) will turn a blind eye to the rule is slow moving traffic. Like in a traffic jam situation, especially if you’re in the far right to exit the motorway.

Blinkers are Only Used When Moving in That Direction

Something that annoys me to no end (at least in the Netherland, varies per country) is that blinkers are only used when you’re ready to move in that direction. Imagine trying to merge into a busy motorway. The lane you’re in continues straight to exit, but also merges to keep going. You need to merge. If you don’t put your blinker on, nobody will let you in.

This was actually something I got marked down for on my driving test. I struggled with not putting my blinker on “too early.” However, it is a method of communication with other drivers so if you want to merge into a lane, use it to let other drivers know what you want.

Speeds in Popular Theme Park Countries

For this section, please make sure to look up the applicable speed limits before you start driving. Laws change all of the time as governments try new things, or try to go greener.

A word about Germany’s motorway, the famous Autobahn. Today in 2024 there are still a number of areas without speed limits. However, in a lot of places there is now an upper limit of 120km/hr. Pay close attention to signs when you’re driving so you know where you can blast off like a rocket and where you need to show some restraint.

Also, when you’re driving on the limitless areas of the Autobahn, your mirrors become your life line. Vehicles doing excessive speeds that are coming upon slower traffic in the left hand lane will often flash their lights to try to clear their path. While it’s not mandatory for you to move to the right if you’re passing traffic (I personally drive 100km/h everywhere to save fuel), you don’t want to be rear ended by a driver not paying close attention to the situation.

No Right on Red in Europe

In the United States we have a concept called “right on red.” This is where vehicles turning right can do so if they have a red light and there’s no other traffic impeding them. And, of course, there’s no signs forbidding a right turn on red.

Here in Europe, there is no right on red. It’s such a foreign concept that my Dutch husband had to ask me why people were honking at him when he was waiting for a green light in the right hand turn lane on a trip to the USA.

Now, one thing that is common in Europe when it comes to a right turn is there are free right turns. Traffic going straight will often have a stop light but the right hand lane turns right without a stop. Often, this is simply an yield and merge into traffic when safe. Sometimes the right lane will even have it’s own lane onto the new road.

Motorcycles can Lane Split

In most countries, lane splitting by motorcycles (when they can go between two lanes of vehicles) is legal. So it’s incredibly important when driving a car in mainland Europe to watch out for bikes when traffic slows to a crawl.

Here in the Netherlands, it’s not only legal but taught when you’re taking classes for your motorcycle license. It’s also legal in Spain, France and Italy. It’s not exactly legal in Germany, but the police generally look the other way.

It’s extremely important when traffic slows to around 30km/hr or slower to make sure you’re driving close to the line in your lane. This provides sufficient space for bikes to safely come down the middle. It also goes without saying, when you switch lanes, check and double check your mirrors.

Crossing the Solid Line in the Netherlands

Several years ago, the Netherlands started putting in “rush hour” lanes to relieve traffic congestion. The lanes open or closure are dictated by either a green arrow on a digital board above the lane, or a red X signaling it’s closed.

There are 2 specific types you may run into. There are far left hand lanes, and these generally will have the dotted lines indicating you can change into that lane. But, there’s also rush hour lanes on the far right that double as a shoulder outside of rush hour.

What a lot of foreigners don’t realize is if the far right rush hour lane has a green light above it, they can treat it like a normal motorway lane. This means you should be traveling in this lane unless you’re passing. This also means you can treat the solid white line as dotted.

If you’re from somewhere that it’s illegal to cross the white line, unless you’re stopping due to an emergency, it feels wrong to use this lane. Just keep in mind that if you see this situation, as long as the green arrow is lit, you’re good to go!

And, even today after this being a common occurrence for many years, even locals don’t realize it and will stay in the normal right lane! So don’t get caught out by passing them in the rush hour lane on the right!

Digital Signs Overrule Physical Signs

In a number of locations through Europe, there will be digital speed signs. They look like the “open” or “closed” digital boards in the above screen shots. The difference is they display numbers, which are the speed you’re obligated to go.

Digital speed signs are used in locations that have variable speeds based on traffic and time of day. They’re also used to slow down traffic during traffic jams, construction or accidents.

These speed signs will always override physical, static speed signs on the side of the road.

All About Fueling Your Vehicle

Of course, if you’re driving a car in Europe, there will come a time that you will need to fuel your vehicle.

Make sure you know what type of fuel you should be using. Diesel vehicles are still popular over here and you wouldn’t want to accidently put E95 in it instead.

In this section, there’s a chart showing the country and what each type of fuel you might need is called.

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