In this update, I’m sharing some tips to help you on your way abroad! Safe driving is naturally a must when you rent a car while traveling. Safe driving is generally not that difficult… especially if you follow a few helpful tips! So read my 5 tips for safe driving abroad!
Because… then you finally get into your rental car.
It’s busy on the street and fortunately I drive through the first street without problems. Then I arrive at the first large roundabout. I have the feeling that everyone is cutting past me and without maintaining a fixed course, they’re zigzagging their way across the roundabout.
Then you try to crawl between them slowly. You feel like no one will let you in. So you just try to cross in that confident way that everyone here seems to squeeze their car between everything. And a miracle seems to happen before your eyes …the traffic lets you in!
And so I make my way across the roundabout and find the exit I was looking for… It was quite exciting! Sometimes there seemed to be only a centimeter between me and the other traffic, but it went great!
Driving in Marrakesh was a challenge!
Driving in downtown Marrakesh, Morocco was certainly a challenge. But once you get used to it, it goes wonderfully. You become more comfortable with merging and turning in certain directions in ways you would never do at home. And if you think about it carefully, they might even be punishable in the Netherlands!
How can you prepare yourself well for safe driving abroad? What are simple but useful tips to keep in mind?
For my former job, I took several courses to drive safely. To drive with foresight in traffic. I made good use of that abroad. Of course, the tips I give in this update are from my perspective and background. It always remains situation- and person-dependent how you move in traffic, how you find it convenient, and how traffic responds to you.
Traffic rules, traffic signs, and your driver’s license
Read my 5 tips for safe driving abroad
1. Learn about the traffic rules of the country in question
Often they don’t differ that much from ours, but it’s good to know how fast you’re allowed to drive on certain roads. If you’re traveling with your own vehicle, it’s good to know that you must have winter tires when driving to Germany in winter, for example. Each country has its specific rules.
Traffic signs are generally universal as well. This varies very little. However, you’ll find fun signs abroad that you won’t find in the Netherlands. Always nice to capture. Like a crossing for elephants that I saw in India 🙂
Can you drive there with your driver’s license?
There are international driver’s licenses that you can apply for. In Europe, this is for Dutch citizins not necessary, but if you go further into the world and want to rent a car, it’s good to look into it. Make sure to know what rules apply to your nationality. You often can easily apply for them and they are valid for one year and cost 18.95 euros. Note that if you go to a country outside Europe, you may need a different format of international driver’s license.
There are different models and it may be that you want to go to a country that requires a different model. For example, for Somalia there is still the 1926 model. The other models are: 1949 (Asia / Africa / South or North America) and model 1968 (Europe). Many North American countries don’t require them, but the US still asks for model 1949. Also in South America, the Dutch driver’s license is not valid without the corresponding IDP model 1949.
Do they drive on the left or right side of the road?
When I was driving in Namibia, I had learned the trick that every time I turned onto a road, I had to end up at the center line. So where you sit at the steering wheel should be the center line side. A handy trick that you can easily adopt. Whether you drive on the right or left, it’s always correct.
I’ve also noticed that it can be helpful to emphasize to yourself at every intersection in the beginning that you need to come out on the other side of the road. So if you turn left, you take the short turn, and if you turn right, the wide turn. This way you can easily remember at the crucial points which side of the road you should come out on. If there’s a lot of other traffic on the road, it naturally goes more smoothly than if you turn into an empty street and suddenly start driving on the right again.
Is the steering wheel on the other side?
I got used to this surprisingly quickly. I thought this would be a difficult point, but not at all! You’ll be shifting with your left hand in no time without thinking about it. If you still have trouble with it, you can always consider renting an automatic. You already have to pay attention to driving on the left, so I can certainly understand that.
2. Look far ahead!
To be prepared for situations, it’s important to look far ahead. Then you’ll see the exit coming and know you can start paying attention to traffic signs. It also indicates that other traffic may enter the road, etc. I think this is a useful tip, even in the Netherlands. Be prepared for what may come your way and pay attention to it. Many people only look a few meters in front of their vehicle or look at the vehicle driving in front of them and follow it.
Tip: Often you can see by the landscape when a road is going to cross your road. For example, a line of trees will implicate a road. In a city higher lampposts are situated at intersections or, on more important roads, the lamppost are higher than on secondary roads.
Yes… often on main roads there are taller streetlights than on side streets in a neighborhood. The color of the lighting also changes from white to yellow. This all has to do with the Language of the Road. You’ll know or have seen most of it unconsciously. You may never need it, but being aware of it can help you in some situations.
Read the signs and directions correctly!
The signs obviously look slightly different. But what’s almost the same everywhere is that they very clearly indicate what is a city and what is an attraction. What is within a town and what is outside it. At tourist attractions, for example, the words are placed on a white background so they stand out better. If you know this, you can read the signs very specifically and that saves you time.
Read the signs well, make sure you understand them!
Drive Safe in a Foreign Country
Not read it correctly? Wait for the next sign/traffic sign, you can always turn around. As I mention in my next point, don’t make hasty decisions.
On this sign in South Africa, you can clearly see what refers to an attraction or airport and what indicates a town.
What are the highway names?
The road code of the highway is short and so much easier to read than all those foreign names. If you know which exit you need to take, you only need to read the code afterward, every road and exit has such a code. These codes are at the top right of the traffic sign. This keeps it very clear for yourself and often less stressful.
For navigation, I use Google Maps / Waze. With internet, I search and plan the route and load it in and download the maps I need. When your phone or tablet goes offline, it will continue to show the route. There are options to download the maps (of a country or region) so you can use them offline and it can also recalculate if necessary.
3. Don’t make hasty decisions
If you do miss an exit, don’t try to take it hastily anyway. Certainly don’t make strange/unpredictable movements on the road. There will always be another opportunity to correct your mistake, a new exit or another route to the same city. Experience teaches me that by driving incorrectly or wandering, I sometimes end up in the most beautiful places.
If you’re in the wrong lane, clearly indicate where you want to go, if other road users see that, they’re often willing to give you space. Communicating in traffic is an art in itself. Put your turn signal on to indicate what you want.
Make eye contact with other road users when possible, most road users are willing to let you go first. Eye contact is always important, you know then that you’ve been seen and can make use of that.
What you often see is that people drive hesitantly or very slowly to be able to read everything well. This only causes unsafe situations. Other traffic assumes that people drive at a certain speed on a road. Driving too slowly or sometimes almost stopping can be dangerous.
4. Pay close attention to other local traffic, how do they behave in traffic
This is really a country-specific tip 🙂 In the chaotic traffic of Asia or Africa, you sometimes just have to go. Steer in a direction and you’ll get the space to go. Other traffic responds to your movement through traffic. Only when you stand still does it go wrong.
Stop for red? Of course you should, but only if other traffic does this
Pedestrian crossings? In some countries they’re sacred… in others not… In some countries you can naturally expect everything on the highway, from cyclists to even horse and cart? That’s also the charm of driving in all kinds of countries!
Drive Safe in a Foreign Country
5. Can you stop anywhere to take a photo?
We are naturally somewhere to enjoy it and to wonder and be amazed. But also to capture it so we can preserve the memory and show it to our home front.
Always look for a safe place to stop. At places known for being photographed a lot by tourists, space is often created to stop.
Perfect Spot for the Perfect Picture
In some countries, people stop everywhere and this is normal, even along the highway.
In retrospect, it turned out we could have stopped here, still regret that we didn’t do this. (Morocco)
In India, my experience is that you can stop anywhere. People ask, through an open window, on the highway if you want to stop so a selfie can be taken. And yes, we did that often during our Rickshaw Challenge from Mumbai to Chennai.
How do you do that? Safe driving abroad
If you do this, there are two tips I want to give you:
- Never stand further than the car but behind it, meaning walk back a bit
- Turn your tires away from the road
Why stand behind the car, you ask? If someone hits the car, it will naturally shoot forward, and if you’re standing there, the consequences are unthinkable.
If you also turn the tires away from the road, the car will shoot off the road in such an unfortunate incident and not onto the road, which could cause even more accidents.
I didn’t drive here myself 🙂 Old Delhi, India
Drive Safe in a Foreign Country
But I did drive through half of India with the Rickshaw. I did this together with fellow bloggers Aniek and Diana but also with colleagues Maaike and Nicole (See link at stopping on the highway). In that competition, we competed with other teams for the grand prize, 1000 euros discount on a next trip and of course eternal glory 🙂
Read more about my first Rickshaw Challenge.
I wrote these tips after I drove in quite a few countries such as Namibia, Jordan, and India several times.
In addition, I have gained the necessary experience with the police to drive with an exemption. This means driving with permission (sirens and bells, or as it is politely called, with optical and audible signals) to emergency situations where you need to get there as quickly as possible.
hen you have to maneuver through traffic while other traffic gets a bit nervous about you. They’re willing to let you go, but they don’t always know how to do that conveniently.
At those kinds of moments, I’m asked to have the insight to react correctly. To help us with that, we received tips including the Language of the Road and looking far ahead and learning to assess situations far in advance.
I hope that with these tips I can help you on your way in the sometimes chaotic traffic of your vacation country! Safe driving starts with yourself! Hoping that on your trip you’ll also drive yourself and some of these tips can help you during your journey. It’s a fun challenge and really worth experiencing!
Rent a car for your trip and start to make happy memories
Also read:
- 5 Tips to Protect yourself from Pickpockets
- 5 Tips for Recognizing a Pickpocket
- How to Travel Safe as a Solo Traveler
- 5 Tips to Increasse Your Safety during the Dark Hours