European Road Laws
28th of August
Speed Limits
Speed limits across Europe do vary and in countries such as Germany; there is no actual limit on many sections of the Autobahn (the inter-city motorways). Generally though, speeds in Europe are limited to 50kmph (30mph) in built up area's and roughly 90-110kmph (60-70mph) outside them. Motorways are usually limited to 130kmph (80mph) in many countries but in some, such as the United Kingdom, this limit is as low as 112kmph (70mph). There are also cases where this limit changes between neighbouring countries drastically; while the U.K motorways are limited to 70mph, the Isle of Man (not part of the U.K) currently has no national speed limit.
Here is the table of some of the specified speed limits for european country.
The enforcement of fines and licence points for speeding are basically unavoidable for nationals but for foreigners it seems uncertain as to whether the authorities will trace you or your vehicle and apply points to your licence. Fines range from €15 to €2500 across Europe depending on a large number of factors and laws. See table for detailed information.
Drinking and Driving
Drink driving limits vary throughout Europe, so if you are stopped whilst driving, be sure that you are aware of the respective blood alcohol limit. The majority of European countries set their limit at 0.5 per mg but a small few, such as the U.K, Luxemburg, Ireland, Malta and Switzerland are limited at 0.8. While Cyprus (south) is even higher at 0.9! On the other hand, much of Scandinavia and Eastern Europe has either a zero tolerance or accepts 0.2 per mg. This is a value that would probably not exempt a single drink, but would allow leeway for any alcohol left in the drivers system from the day before for example. Our advice: drive responsively, respect the speed limits, do not drink and drive.
“Any amount of alcohol affects your ability to drive”
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