I'm Spaniard and have been driving here for 30 years, and I think this video was excellent. If I try really hard, I guess I could nitpick one or two of minor details, but I won't because you did a great job.
Regarding priority signs vs. traffic lights: at least in the Czech Republic, traffic lights take precedence. So if you have green (not an arrow) and turn left, you should give way to oncoming traffic. If you have a green arrow to the left, you can turn left immediately. And if traffic lights are broken or flash orange, it means you should drive by the priority sign. Hope it helps :)
17:35 I don't know about Spain but in Poland you get priority signs even on lights-controlled junctions to set the priority for a situation when the lights aren't working (and it happens more often than you'd actually expect)
23:30 The dotted short line in Spain represents a 'special lane', where certain exceptions to common rules may apply. In this scenario, it's used to represent a special additional lane for slow traffic. For reference, in this case, you aren't required to move right onto it since it's just an additional special lane for lorries or otherwise slow traffic (usually found on uphill roads), you're technically fine by driving on the left one in this case as long as you meet the minimum speed. It'd be different if you had a regular non-solid line, where you'd be required to drive on the right-most lane unless you're overtaking. As you pointed out, it's also used to signal special lanes like deceleration or acceleration lanes into highways/freeways, among a few more uses regulated by the traffic laws :D
Another great holiday trip video. A perfect combination of beautiful vistas from the journey with loads of super-useful and detailed information. Also, the production quality is just top-notch, as always. I can hardly believe anyone can be that dilligent and precise when actually on holiday, and on an intensive trip of exploration at that. Kudos to Gosia as well for not minding that (too much, hopefully :D).
I drove all over the UK from Plymouth to Scotland, up the west and down the east and I must say that the English drive very well, for me you are an example of road safety education, especially in the rural area of Costwold. You are respectful and patient, there is a lot to learn here in Spain. Regards
You obviously haven’t seen much of the U.K. and when it comes to parking my God, the worse and mos inconsiderate parking ever, in the middle of a bend, on top of pavements, on street corners
@@meilong2338 That happens here too, not in the centre of large cities but in the metropolitan area you can park anywhere, most old buildings do not have parking. It is true that this has been corrected in the last 20 years, but in the UK motorcycles have their own parking (here too, but it is scarce). In Spain it happens and I think it will also happen there that the south is very different from the north, the big cities from the medium-sized ones, but in general road safety education 0
Hi Richard! We meet at Montserrat! Or at least I said hello to you and your partner ;) I didn't expect you to do a video from your experience here. And yes, that part of Lleida road is horrible. There's an alternative which is AP-2, closer to Tarragona, and goes to Lleida. The road is better and also there are pretty towns and places to visit (and a good restaurant my owns). I would have told you If I had know. Cheers.
Wow, I've been driving all over Europe recently and was in Spain last week and before! The hack for toll booths, &c. when driving alone is to switch the hazards on to warn traffic behind, then just get out of the car with caution and walk to the machine.
As a Barcelonian myself, the problem that I've encountered in Spain is that family and friends put pressure on you to break the laws, to stop where you are not allowed to, and to speed beyond the speed limit. I always respect the traffic rules and try to drive as efficiently and smooth as possible the diesel manual 136 hp Astra state from my parents, but other drivers honk at you for simply respecting the speed limits and rules, and give priority to pedestrians and cars that by law, have the right of way. I must say though, I've also seen this kind of pressure put into drivers in other countries, like Germany. The only place where I've seen a majority of silky smooth drivers, and the best drivers I remember seeing, was Japan (including Tokyo).
@@rewy1whwqnzuabqusbdouwb I'm Spanish, I've driven through Spain and I've been driven through Spain a lot (I have family in southern Spain and we go there). So not just in Barcelona, but in every place I've driven in Spain.
You also went pass near my house which was hilarious, something you'll realize if you travel further down south or to less urban areas is how much more relaxed driving is. I'm currently studying in Barcelona and I didn't bring my car, but in the city, I see them accelerate stupid fast and aggresive, else they miss and delay other cars from passing the green light. Whereas in the south, I'm used to cars just driving slowly and way more chill.
Extra note in barcelona: Locals go into the bus/taxi lane a lot, and as long as you don't hold up much traffic, bus/taxi drivers are ok with it (At least that's the perspective I've gotten living here!)
0:40 I would like to provide some more information on speed limit signs for anyone interested: In Finland, Sweden and Iceland speed limit signs (and most other road signs that are white in the rest of Europe) have a yellow background instead of a white one, because yellow is easier to see in snowy conditions👍
You can get the same tag for France and Spain/Portugal. You'll need to get the French one, then get the Spanish/Portugal added on. Tho in my experience driving in Spain (Montpellier- Barcelona- Zaragoza- Madrid- Bilbao- Bordeaux) the only time I experienced toll roads was in the Basque Country.
regarding the "signalling left to stay on the roundabout", our traffic laws dictate that there's no need to, as the lack of signaling already signifies that you're staying on the round, but it has developed as a common courtesy, as there's SO MANY people who don't signal to exit, that sometimes you're left out wondering if the car in front of you is gonna take the exit or not. Lots of people do the roundabouts from the inside and just cross lanes to exit, which is really dangerous, so it's also a kind of defense mechanism to indicate "hey, I'm not exiting here even tho I'm on the right lane" so other cars don't just cross into you thinking you're going to exit. This is specially important in 3-4 lane roundabouts, or as I like to call them, hell, when you're stuck on the far side and there's 2 lanes of cars to your left wanting to exit. Lots of people will debate this, saying that you shouldn't be in the right lane if you're not taking the next exit, but traffict laws are very clear and roundabouts should be done through the right lane, only using the left lanes to overtake. If you bump into someone on your right trying to exit a roundabout, regardless of context, insurance is gonna rule it your fault.
One reflective jacket is technically compulsory to carry (2 recommended) and you must carry two triangles unless you have a V16 yellow light (in which case you only have to carry one).
There are actually 11 cities in Spain with low emissions zones (ZBE) in operation, although four of them are in the greater Barcelona area. Eventually, every city with over 50,000 inhabitants will have to have a policy on emissions, but most of them are being slow in implementing controls.
According to the site of "Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico" there are 16 active ZBE in Spain and many more in authorization processes so the best option is to check in advance is the places you plan to visit have a low emission zone.
Would love to do this kind of trip myself but don't know where to start, a follow up video focusing on the planning side of things for the trip would be good, accomodation, ferry, routes etc.
26:15 on the bad roads in Aragon, we have one of the worst secondary roads in spain, mainly because we are 50 000km² (10% of spain) and we only have 1.5 milion people, and 800000 live in the capital, so we have a lot of roads for the people using them thus they are usualy old and underfunded. Another thing to mention is that we have a very extreme climate, the roads have to endure from -20 to +45 c round the year, with days of 40c of oscilation, and that limits the materials of the roads, making them coarser or risking breaking
I live in this area and it was interesting to see a Brit driving there and experiencing the roads! The quality of the roads in the province of Barcelona are great, the minute you drive over the border into a different province (Província de Tarragona or Província de Lleida) the roads can be awful. If you are driving from Barcelona to Lleida on the A2 as soon as you pass the sign the asphalt literally changes colour 😂 Huesca is pronounced Wess-ka. Interesting about the solid white lines is that you cannot cross it even to go into a private residence or into a side street. If you are permitted to cross it then you would have a dotted line like you do when you are permitted to overtake. I got fined once crossing it to pop into a shop in a small village, when in England I would cross any kind of road and even park against traffic whereas that is not permitted here. You can get a fine if you park on the wrong side of the road (which I have also had 😂) tolls are really prevalent in Catalonia unfortunately 😢 in a lot of the other autonomous communities they have abolished them whereas here there are still quite a few. Great vid!
About the low emissions zones: while payment for entry is possible at Barcelona, it is not possible at other cities, such as Madrid. Here, there are two types of low emissions zone: the general one (ZBE) and the central or “special protection” one (ZBEDEP). The general low emissions zone covers all of Madrid’s city limits, with the exception of the M-40 motorway and every other major road going outwards from the M-40 ring. To enter there, you must drive a vehicle with an environmental tag (B, C, ECO or “0 Emisiones” -which obviously means 0 Emissions). Nearly every vehicle manufactured in the last 10 years complies with this requirements, although that’s only true for vehicles with a Spanish license plate, so do check if your UK vehicle complies, otherwise you will be fined. Residents and vehicles with license plates of the historic series (e.g. H 1234 BCD, or with a “VH” tag) are exempt. The special protection low emissions zones cover the historic centre of the city, as well as the A-42 motorway between the M-30 and M-40 junctions. The requirements for those are way higher: - The environmental tag must be ECO or 0 Emissions. - B and C vehicles are allowed to enter ONLY IF they are going to an authorized parking. - Once again, residents and historic vehicles are exempt. If your car does not comply with any of those requirements, your only options to avoid fines is using public transport or hailing a taxi. Also, Madrid’s low emissions zones are active 24/365. All the info is in Madrid City Council’s website.
A quick check shows that Godstar and Centauro rent for people 19 and older, Goldstar does not mention extras payment Centauro does. Sixt says they rent to anyone from 18 y/o even with a new license (they state, at least one day on that license) They say they allow this in Spain, Germany and other countries with extra charge. There is a limit on the type of cars that under 21 can rent.
I am enjoying the video. I haven't watch it all yet but I will. A point if I may we drove to 30 miles north of Benidorm in 2018 then if you need prescription spectacles you had to have a spare pair in case yours got lost or broken what I did I got a pair of prescription sunglasses thanks again I've liked and subscribed
I drove in the South of Spain last week and everything looks the same to me. Also, if you see "SIN SALIDA" this means NO EXIT Finally, if you're looking at renting a vehicle I recommend a 125 scooter. They do 90 so you keep up with traffic (except Autovia). You can park almost anywhere and with a full UK license you can ride them without L plates and with a passenger. If you do have a passenger, though, you will be slower.
Most toll roads have been cancelled and most of those that still exist will be free once the contract of the operator ends. This was a decision by the government that got approved by the EU (they required a maintenance plan to allow this). The AP7 from the French boarder used to be a toll.
Be careful parking in Barcelona, your car will get towed mysteriously, there are streets that you can't park the next day and you must find a hidden sign or ask around.
19:26 you can see Gosia's cheekbones curl, meaning she laughs at Richard's joke about the cat. I know she doesn't like to be in the video, but I thought that was just such a wholesome moment :)
All countries use kilometres on road signs and speed limits except the US, UK & Crown Dependencies and Liberia in west Africa. A funny story, I recently had to drive from Seville to La Linea which is the town just across from Gibraltar. I missed my flight due to heavy traffic in the UK. Ended up needing to get a flight to Seville, flight was 3 hours delayed which left me no choice to get a hire car. I was initially quite anxious about driving in Spain but I’ve driven in deep snow and ice up in Finland and Iceland so it should be a breeze. Anyway, the drive down was about 3 1/2 hours and it was awesome, way better than any British road that I’ve driven on. Go to the drop off for the hire car in La Linea, I hit the car against the curb and bust 2 tyres on the passengers side (this was a LHD car). Luckily ended up getting all my money back because of the insurance cover I paid for and some legal reason, the curb should’ve been dropped so I got out of everything.
In my experience, the confusing bit when changing traffic handedness comes when you are turning off a one-way street and toward where you should be crossing the street (i.e. right in the UK and left in Spain) but it's oh so intuitive to keep close to the curb instead, ending up facing oncoming traffic. I did this once when visiting the UK and once more just after returning home. Anyone else?
23:50 I'm local, and that happened to me aswell xD I even had a long tail of 5 or 6 cars behind me, on an up hill with an almost 2 tons car with less than 2 months of experience, I thought the right lane was a lane to take an exit, just as you
Have you ever done a video on your other channel (Conquer Driving) that focuses on driving tips in the UK for drivers from the rest of Europe? If you haven't, I suggest you do one. Now that you have experience driving in countries like France and Spain, maybe you have found that a few things that seemed straightforward to you as a British person (not just driver, but also a pedestrian) might be a little bit confusing to other European drivers.
11:06 yes, I see a bus lane sign, it’s the massive square sign with a picture of a bus and the word taxi on it, it’s even got bus and taxi written on the floor..
You only get points for speeding in Spain if you are doing 20 over 20-90km/h limits or 30 over 100+ limits, which is why most people do 149km/h on motorways. It's a lot less stressful than driving in the UK.
Was it east to drive when steering was on the righ(like UK) or on the left like redt of Europe. I saw your video in Poland driving a car with steering on the left. Which you think was more comfortable?
@@rschroev guessing unwritten law. Rural. Late at night. No other car lights around. As long as come to a stop. Like a stop line. Drive on. Through the red.
It's seems that people on the internet don't seem to understand that drive on the left is correct side in the UK and Ireland. Also why do people only seem to make fun UK for driving on the left, yet almost never make fun of Cyprus, Malta or even Japan for driving on the left? It's also funny how people only seem to make fun UK for driving on the left, yet never seem to make fun of trains driving briefly on the left when leaving the end-station.
24:38 Actually in that part of Aragon they speak Catalan. You were entering Maella which is in the province of Zaragoza (Saragossa in English and Catalan) although the Catalan language is not officially recognised there. Look for Catalan language in Wikipedia and take a look at the map of the territories where it is spoken
I do want to drive abroad but it seems very complicated to do 😅 I’ll just watch you do it for now lol You recon you have it in you to drive to turkey Richard 😂 long way that
Bbc once did a little exercise on ferry to France , testing UK public about French road signs , most could not understand or read them. Please, if traveling , attempt to understand their rules and language as much as you possibly can , so you don't depend every minute on some support . It can save your life insurance policy, money, dignity and more.
Yeah USA has much cheaper petrol compared to most countries in Europe yet they seem complaint more on small increases than Europeans, we are used to it. Its one of the main reasons for the EV push the fuel cost Vs petrol is big.
It's funny how Americans always make comments when they look at fuel prices and brag how cheaper their fuel prices are, and yet they complained when prices increased in 2021.
Clearly never driven in an eu country or the uk 😅. They’re all strict. If you haven’t and you didn’t find it strict, you broke several laws… the uk is one of the worst for stupid rules
@@fabulously695 To be honest, I think countries like Germany and the UK are more car friendly. Speed limits in urban areas are higher and you don’t have to stop every 50 yards at a crossing.
I did check my spelling thoroughly before rendering the video but there usually seems to be an least 1 error that I don't notice. I find it harder to noticed my own spelling mistakes.
I drove to Morocco from Calais to Malaga with out a uk sticker or uk stamp on my plate. Makes no difference they already know your from the uk it’s the only country that drives on the right
most of us in the uk dont obey the speed either, im not even a driver but i know its a fact however slowly policing and cctv is getting more stringent so i do predict more and more of us here in the uk are gonna start obeying it, but as of now NO WE DONT😂😂
I love road trips so I enjoyed this video. For all those who never driven to Spain there is no need to worry, driven there many times never been stopped by police, forget about the headlights adapters, nobody cares about that, never used them, it’s just a money making excuse I reckon.
The rules are pretty on par with the rest of Europe. And we have cheap insurance unlike the UK. In the USA you can actually find worse rules (look up California) with none of the pluses we have here (public transportation, road safety, public health etc).
It's perfectly fine, inside lanes are to continue traveling inside the roundabout, for example in the bigger ones you'll find lights stopping you in the exterior lanes and the interior ones allow you to get to the exit. In the smaller ones the interior is only used if you're alone and want to travel in a more linear fashion (using the lights to indicate switching lanes please), but it's also useful for cars to enter the roundabout while you're using the interior one because they know you're not exiting. Sadly you always have to check because many people like you prefer to exit from inside and a collision can happen. Without people like you, it would work even better.
I'm Spaniard and have been driving here for 30 years, and I think this video was excellent. If I try really hard, I guess I could nitpick one or two of minor details, but I won't because you did a great job.
Regarding priority signs vs. traffic lights: at least in the Czech Republic, traffic lights take precedence. So if you have green (not an arrow) and turn left, you should give way to oncoming traffic. If you have a green arrow to the left, you can turn left immediately. And if traffic lights are broken or flash orange, it means you should drive by the priority sign. Hope it helps :)
I’m Spanish, and in Spain it’s like that as well.
17:35 I don't know about Spain but in Poland you get priority signs even on lights-controlled junctions to set the priority for a situation when the lights aren't working (and it happens more often than you'd actually expect)
That's intersting, thank you.
In Germany as well. Running traffic lights or a police officer overrule these priority signs.
That's how it is in Spain as well
Here in Spain, the yellow priority sign is very rare but the triangle yield is very very common
@@RichardFanderssame in the Netherlands and Belgium. Also one yields at traffic from the right at unmarked junctions by default.
23:30 The dotted short line in Spain represents a 'special lane', where certain exceptions to common rules may apply. In this scenario, it's used to represent a special additional lane for slow traffic. For reference, in this case, you aren't required to move right onto it since it's just an additional special lane for lorries or otherwise slow traffic (usually found on uphill roads), you're technically fine by driving on the left one in this case as long as you meet the minimum speed. It'd be different if you had a regular non-solid line, where you'd be required to drive on the right-most lane unless you're overtaking. As you pointed out, it's also used to signal special lanes like deceleration or acceleration lanes into highways/freeways, among a few more uses regulated by the traffic laws :D
Ay, Richard, I'm glad you're back!
Another banger video
Another great holiday trip video. A perfect combination of beautiful vistas from the journey with loads of super-useful and detailed information. Also, the production quality is just top-notch, as always. I can hardly believe anyone can be that dilligent and precise when actually on holiday, and on an intensive trip of exploration at that. Kudos to Gosia as well for not minding that (too much, hopefully :D).
As someone who drives a leon and is planning a road trip to Barcelona this channel has been a great find for me recently!
In some cars with digital speedometers, it's possible to switch to kilometers per hour - so worth checking your car's manual before heading abroad.
I drove all over the UK from Plymouth to Scotland, up the west and down the east and I must say that the English drive very well, for me you are an example of road safety education, especially in the rural area of Costwold. You are respectful and patient, there is a lot to learn here in Spain. Regards
By any chance did you visit Birmingham?
@@ATTACKASSASSINor Manchester where red lights are advisory 😂😂😂
You obviously haven’t seen much of the U.K. and when it comes to parking my God, the worse and mos inconsiderate parking ever, in the middle of a bend, on top of pavements, on street corners
@@meilong2338 don’t forget the double parking in some areas
@@meilong2338 That happens here too, not in the centre of large cities but in the metropolitan area you can park anywhere, most old buildings do not have parking. It is true that this has been corrected in the last 20 years, but in the UK motorcycles have their own parking (here too, but it is scarce). In Spain it happens and I think it will also happen there that the south is very different from the north, the big cities from the medium-sized ones, but in general road safety education 0
Hi Richard! We meet at Montserrat! Or at least I said hello to you and your partner ;) I didn't expect you to do a video from your experience here. And yes, that part of Lleida road is horrible. There's an alternative which is AP-2, closer to Tarragona, and goes to Lleida. The road is better and also there are pretty towns and places to visit (and a good restaurant my owns). I would have told you If I had know. Cheers.
Watching this whilst on a driving tour of Spain and learned a good few things. Your timing was spot on!
Thank you Richard!
I recently moved to Romania, you should do a video here 🙂
Wow, I've been driving all over Europe recently and was in Spain last week and before!
The hack for toll booths, &c. when driving alone is to switch the hazards on to warn traffic behind, then just get out of the car with caution and walk to the machine.
As a Barcelonian myself, the problem that I've encountered in Spain is that family and friends put pressure on you to break the laws, to stop where you are not allowed to, and to speed beyond the speed limit. I always respect the traffic rules and try to drive as efficiently and smooth as possible the diesel manual 136 hp Astra state from my parents, but other drivers honk at you for simply respecting the speed limits and rules, and give priority to pedestrians and cars that by law, have the right of way. I must say though, I've also seen this kind of pressure put into drivers in other countries, like Germany. The only place where I've seen a majority of silky smooth drivers, and the best drivers I remember seeing, was Japan (including Tokyo).
you've encountered in Barcelona* don't generalize
@@rewy1whwqnzuabqusbdouwb I'm Spanish, I've driven through Spain and I've been driven through Spain a lot (I have family in southern Spain and we go there). So not just in Barcelona, but in every place I've driven in Spain.
Vaya friki
Btw Richard you should do a tip video about doing a really long trip with your car. thank you!
Glad to see ya' in my country, Have a nice time here!
You also went pass near my house which was hilarious, something you'll realize if you travel further down south or to less urban areas is how much more relaxed driving is. I'm currently studying in Barcelona and I didn't bring my car, but in the city, I see them accelerate stupid fast and aggresive, else they miss and delay other cars from passing the green light. Whereas in the south, I'm used to cars just driving slowly and way more chill.
Extra note in barcelona: Locals go into the bus/taxi lane a lot, and as long as you don't hold up much traffic, bus/taxi drivers are ok with it (At least that's the perspective I've gotten living here!)
@@ZhengZL69 barcelona and catalunya are not nothern Spain btw
@@rewy1whwqnzuabqusbdouwb Where did I say that?
Great to see you driving here! I recently got my license in Barcelona and there's no way i'm driving in the UK!
0:40 I would like to provide some more information on speed limit signs for anyone interested: In Finland, Sweden and Iceland speed limit signs (and most other road signs that are white in the rest of Europe) have a yellow background instead of a white one, because yellow is easier to see in snowy conditions👍
You can get the same tag for France and Spain/Portugal. You'll need to get the French one, then get the Spanish/Portugal added on. Tho in my experience driving in Spain (Montpellier- Barcelona- Zaragoza- Madrid- Bilbao- Bordeaux) the only time I experienced toll roads was in the Basque Country.
regarding the "signalling left to stay on the roundabout", our traffic laws dictate that there's no need to, as the lack of signaling already signifies that you're staying on the round, but it has developed as a common courtesy, as there's SO MANY people who don't signal to exit, that sometimes you're left out wondering if the car in front of you is gonna take the exit or not. Lots of people do the roundabouts from the inside and just cross lanes to exit, which is really dangerous, so it's also a kind of defense mechanism to indicate "hey, I'm not exiting here even tho I'm on the right lane" so other cars don't just cross into you thinking you're going to exit. This is specially important in 3-4 lane roundabouts, or as I like to call them, hell, when you're stuck on the far side and there's 2 lanes of cars to your left wanting to exit. Lots of people will debate this, saying that you shouldn't be in the right lane if you're not taking the next exit, but traffict laws are very clear and roundabouts should be done through the right lane, only using the left lanes to overtake. If you bump into someone on your right trying to exit a roundabout, regardless of context, insurance is gonna rule it your fault.
I find it very easy to adapt to driving on the left (even in a RHD car) - for me I always tell myself "right is right".
One reflective jacket is technically compulsory to carry (2 recommended) and you must carry two triangles unless you have a V16 yellow light (in which case you only have to carry one).
There are actually 11 cities in Spain with low emissions zones (ZBE) in operation, although four of them are in the greater Barcelona area. Eventually, every city with over 50,000 inhabitants will have to have a policy on emissions, but most of them are being slow in implementing controls.
According to the site of "Ministerio para la Transición Ecológica y el Reto Demográfico" there are 16 active ZBE in Spain and many more in authorization processes so the best option is to check in advance is the places you plan to visit have a low emission zone.
Would love to do this kind of trip myself but don't know where to start, a follow up video focusing on the planning side of things for the trip would be good, accomodation, ferry, routes etc.
Calais
Hey Richard! Love these videos. Any chance you make the trip and do one in the U.S.? 😁
I would love to.
26:15 on the bad roads in Aragon, we have one of the worst secondary roads in spain, mainly because we are 50 000km² (10% of spain) and we only have 1.5 milion people, and 800000 live in the capital, so we have a lot of roads for the people using them thus they are usualy old and underfunded.
Another thing to mention is that we have a very extreme climate, the roads have to endure from -20 to +45 c round the year, with days of 40c of oscilation, and that limits the materials of the roads, making them coarser or risking breaking
Hope you check out the Netherlands one day, I'm sure you will be impressed with the road quality!
I live in this area and it was interesting to see a Brit driving there and experiencing the roads! The quality of the roads in the province of Barcelona are great, the minute you drive over the border into a different province (Província de Tarragona or Província de Lleida) the roads can be awful. If you are driving from Barcelona to Lleida on the A2 as soon as you pass the sign the asphalt literally changes colour 😂
Huesca is pronounced Wess-ka. Interesting about the solid white lines is that you cannot cross it even to go into a private residence or into a side street. If you are permitted to cross it then you would have a dotted line like you do when you are permitted to overtake. I got fined once crossing it to pop into a shop in a small village, when in England I would cross any kind of road and even park against traffic whereas that is not permitted here. You can get a fine if you park on the wrong side of the road (which I have also had 😂) tolls are really prevalent in Catalonia unfortunately 😢 in a lot of the other autonomous communities they have abolished them whereas here there are still quite a few. Great vid!
About the low emissions zones: while payment for entry is possible at Barcelona, it is not possible at other cities, such as Madrid. Here, there are two types of low emissions zone: the general one (ZBE) and the central or “special protection” one (ZBEDEP).
The general low emissions zone covers all of Madrid’s city limits, with the exception of the M-40 motorway and every other major road going outwards from the M-40 ring. To enter there, you must drive a vehicle with an environmental tag (B, C, ECO or “0 Emisiones” -which obviously means 0 Emissions). Nearly every vehicle manufactured in the last 10 years complies with this requirements, although that’s only true for vehicles with a Spanish license plate, so do check if your UK vehicle complies, otherwise you will be fined.
Residents and vehicles with license plates of the historic series (e.g. H 1234 BCD, or with a “VH” tag) are exempt.
The special protection low emissions zones cover the historic centre of the city, as well as the A-42 motorway between the M-30 and M-40 junctions. The requirements for those are way higher:
- The environmental tag must be ECO or 0 Emissions.
- B and C vehicles are allowed to enter ONLY IF they are going to an authorized parking.
- Once again, residents and historic vehicles are exempt.
If your car does not comply with any of those requirements, your only options to avoid fines is using public transport or hailing a taxi.
Also, Madrid’s low emissions zones are active 24/365. All the info is in Madrid City Council’s website.
been waiting for this one!
Amazing! I hope you had a great time on your trip! specially in Spain 🇪🇸 :)
Great video as allways!, How did your gps/navigation system worked while being in the tunnel between France and Spain? doesn't it cut off?
It has cut off before but I don't remember it cutting off during that trip.
Some tunnels have Bluetooth beacons installed in them which can pinpoint your location whenever GPS is unavailable.
Swedish speed signs are yellow and red, with the only difference being the yellow replacing the white in Spain and other countries.
A quick check shows that Godstar and Centauro rent for people 19 and older, Goldstar does not mention extras payment Centauro does.
Sixt says they rent to anyone from 18 y/o even with a new license (they state, at least one day on that license) They say they allow this in Spain, Germany and other countries with extra charge. There is a limit on the type of cars that under 21 can rent.
I am enjoying the video. I haven't watch it all yet but I will. A point if I may we drove to 30 miles north of Benidorm in 2018 then if you need prescription spectacles you had to have a spare pair in case yours got lost or broken what I did I got a pair of prescription sunglasses thanks again I've liked and subscribed
Same in France: you need backup prescription spectacles there too.
@@rschroev it's a very good rule of law
I drove in the South of Spain last week and everything looks the same to me.
Also, if you see "SIN SALIDA" this means NO EXIT
Finally, if you're looking at renting a vehicle I recommend a 125 scooter. They do 90 so you keep up with traffic (except Autovia). You can park almost anywhere and with a full UK license you can ride them without L plates and with a passenger. If you do have a passenger, though, you will be slower.
Most toll roads have been cancelled and most of those that still exist will be free once the contract of the operator ends. This was a decision by the government that got approved by the EU (they required a maintenance plan to allow this).
The AP7 from the French boarder used to be a toll.
i'm glad youre in Spain! have fun here!
Be careful parking in Barcelona, your car will get towed mysteriously, there are streets that you can't park the next day and you must find a hidden sign or ask around.
Centauro were really good for car rental. Used them when i was 20.
19:26 you can see Gosia's cheekbones curl, meaning she laughs at Richard's joke about the cat. I know she doesn't like to be in the video, but I thought that was just such a wholesome moment :)
11:35 i think germany and denmark have lights that have the red and amber phase, but i think it is much shorter than ours.
Poland has it too
Red + amber phase is bit longer in Denmark compared to Germany and Poland.
@@automation7295 yes and i think the UK probably has the longest one
@@j2w1_lub Having red + amber phase for bit longer (2 or 3 seconds) is kinda better, giving drivers bit time to put their manual car into gear.
@@automation7295 exactly, I completely agree and that's why I prefer having a 2 second red + amber phase
All countries use kilometres on road signs and speed limits except the US, UK & Crown Dependencies and Liberia in west Africa.
A funny story, I recently had to drive from Seville to La Linea which is the town just across from Gibraltar. I missed my flight due to heavy traffic in the UK. Ended up needing to get a flight to Seville, flight was 3 hours delayed which left me no choice to get a hire car. I was initially quite anxious about driving in Spain but I’ve driven in deep snow and ice up in Finland and Iceland so it should be a breeze. Anyway, the drive down was about 3 1/2 hours and it was awesome, way better than any British road that I’ve driven on. Go to the drop off for the hire car in La Linea, I hit the car against the curb and bust 2 tyres on the passengers side (this was a LHD car). Luckily ended up getting all my money back because of the insurance cover I paid for and some legal reason, the curb should’ve been dropped so I got out of everything.
In my experience, the confusing bit when changing traffic handedness comes when you are turning off a one-way street and toward where you should be crossing the street (i.e. right in the UK and left in Spain) but it's oh so intuitive to keep close to the curb instead, ending up facing oncoming traffic. I did this once when visiting the UK and once more just after returning home. Anyone else?
23:50 I'm local, and that happened to me aswell xD I even had a long tail of 5 or 6 cars behind me, on an up hill with an almost 2 tons car with less than 2 months of experience, I thought the right lane was a lane to take an exit, just as you
Have you ever done a video on your other channel (Conquer Driving) that focuses on driving tips in the UK for drivers from the rest of Europe? If you haven't, I suggest you do one. Now that you have experience driving in countries like France and Spain, maybe you have found that a few things that seemed straightforward to you as a British person (not just driver, but also a pedestrian) might be a little bit confusing to other European drivers.
11:06 yes, I see a bus lane sign, it’s the massive square sign with a picture of a bus and the word taxi on it, it’s even got bus and taxi written on the floor..
But it's too close to it, he had no time to change lane, it should be added before.
You only get points for speeding in Spain if you are doing 20 over 20-90km/h limits or 30 over 100+ limits, which is why most people do 149km/h on motorways.
It's a lot less stressful than driving in the UK.
I got fined for doing 137 in June so not correct I'm afraid.
@@dmn1000000 how much were you fined?
@@ATTACKASSASSIN 100€ reduced to 50 if paid within 20 days. Got caught by a camera mounted on a car I think
En Espanya no ganes punts de càstig sinó tu els perds. Tothom comença amb dotze punts. És igual en Francia també.
@@dmn1000000 He is not talking about fines, but points reduction on driving license
Actually, the wide national road at 100 is no longer accurate, since a couple of years back. It's now 90 too
was waiting for this vid good job
I'm a Brit and I much prefer driving in Spain to back home, first drove there when i was 19, very surprised i could rent at that age.
Was it east to drive when steering was on the righ(like UK) or on the left like redt of Europe. I saw your video in Poland driving a car with steering on the left. Which you think was more comfortable?
Richard. Apparently after say 10 or midnight. You can roll up. Stop. And contrinue through a red light where zero traffic about. If you knew ????
I don't know that one.
@@RichardFanders not surprised. I didn’t until got a flat mate in the early nougties !!!!
Is that actual law, or a habit that's unofficially tolerated?
@@rschroev guessing unwritten law. Rural. Late at night. No other car lights around. As long as come to a stop. Like a stop line. Drive on. Through the red.
@@zzhughesd In Italy some junctions go to flashing amber on all sides after a certain time of night. Seems to work.
“Getting used to drive on the wrong side of the road”😅
You are getting used to drive on the right rather than left, not the wrong side😅
It's seems that people on the internet don't seem to understand that drive on the left is correct side in the UK and Ireland.
Also why do people only seem to make fun UK for driving on the left, yet almost never make fun of Cyprus, Malta or even Japan for driving on the left?
It's also funny how people only seem to make fun UK for driving on the left, yet never seem to make fun of trains driving briefly on the left when leaving the end-station.
24:38 Actually in that part of Aragon they speak Catalan. You were entering Maella which is in the province of Zaragoza (Saragossa in English and Catalan) although the Catalan language is not officially recognised there. Look for Catalan language in Wikipedia and take a look at the map of the territories where it is spoken
I do want to drive abroad but it seems very complicated to do 😅 I’ll just watch you do it for now lol
You recon you have it in you to drive to turkey Richard 😂 long way that
Bbc once did a little exercise on ferry to France , testing UK public about French road signs , most could not understand or read them.
Please, if traveling , attempt to understand their rules and language as much as you possibly can , so you don't depend every minute on some support . It can save your life insurance policy, money, dignity and more.
22:23 Cheers from ZARAGOZA, I live there!!!
17:25 The sign doesn't mean anything when the traffic lights are working
16:22 premium petrol is $7.03 per gallon in that part of Spain. It's $4.88 in Seattle. No wonder there are no cars on the road
Yeah USA has much cheaper petrol compared to most countries in Europe yet they seem complaint more on small increases than Europeans, we are used to it.
Its one of the main reasons for the EV push the fuel cost Vs petrol is big.
$6.48 for 3.5L.
I hope you use 3.5L
cost is the same, distances are shorter and cars consume less fuel because of smaller engines. that zone has low population density so that's why
It's funny how Americans always make comments when they look at fuel prices and brag how cheaper their fuel prices are, and yet they complained when prices increased in 2021.
Me and my family went to menorca a few weeks ago i wasnt driving but i couldnt get over being on the wrong side of the road
Where are the running bulls ? They usually run along the streets towards the colosseum.
It would be easier to list what you can do when driving in Spain.
Clearly never driven in an eu country or the uk 😅. They’re all strict. If you haven’t and you didn’t find it strict, you broke several laws… the uk is one of the worst for stupid rules
@@fabulously695 To be honest, I think countries like Germany and the UK are more car friendly. Speed limits in urban areas are higher and you don’t have to stop every 50 yards at a crossing.
You don't have to stop at crossings unless there's a stop sign. What you're describing is actually the USA.
@@SaffronWorldCR No, pedestrians do have right of way on zebras crossings.
@@claretblue2509 No, pedestrians have to wait for the traffic light, otherwise the vehicles have priority.
Can you please do a video on driving in Moldova 🇲🇩 in a LHD car ❤
17:35 probably the sign was prior to the traffic lights, and they installed the lights cause no one obied that sign
Driving instructor goes on holiday to get a break from driving
😂
👌
are you dating one of the learners you gave a mock test to?
In Catalonia they speak both spanish and catalan, it's pretty 50/50.
5:15 should be 3 Ws in that link, fyi!
I did check my spelling thoroughly before rendering the video but there usually seems to be an least 1 error that I don't notice. I find it harder to noticed my own spelling mistakes.
Doing my theory in 2 days in Ireland
I drove to Morocco from Calais to Malaga with out a uk sticker or uk stamp on my plate. Makes no difference they already know your from the uk it’s the only country that drives on the right
Record Go allowed me to rent a car at just turned 20 in Gran Canaria
And if you do drive the limit you end up with a local up your backside!!!
Same as the U.K. to be fair
This looks so confusing. Like the weird speed signs and lines everywhere. Overwealming
most of us in the uk dont obey the speed either, im not even a driver but i know its a fact however slowly policing and cctv is getting more stringent so i do predict more and more of us here in the uk are gonna start obeying it, but as of now NO WE DONT😂😂
I love road trips so I enjoyed this video. For all those who never driven to Spain there is no need to worry, driven there many times never been stopped by police, forget about the headlights adapters, nobody cares about that, never used them, it’s just a money making excuse I reckon.
Once drive in India, You will feel nightmares even in day🙃🙃
Driving in mainland Europe is so much more fun.
All European countries are KM per hr.
Goldcar, can hire if 19+
👋
Got yourself a polish girl🎉
All these rules are so Authoritarian.
Seriously. I thought we had it bad in the UK.
Thinking the same myself. Germany seems to be a bit more car welcoming.
That's all of Europe nowadays sadly. If you want freedom US or Japan are better.
@@aircraft2 Japan? I swear it had the strictest driving regulations in the world!
The rules are pretty on par with the rest of Europe. And we have cheap insurance unlike the UK. In the USA you can actually find worse rules (look up California) with none of the pluses we have here (public transportation, road safety, public health etc).
The way they handle roundabouts is very stupid
No it’s not
@@onikamaraj1239 Yes, it is. You have 2 lanes on most roundabouts and the inside lane is virtually useless.
@@ResevoirGodwell if you haven’t passed your driving test in a EU country you will never understand how it works.
@@onikamaraj1239 I have driven in both Spain and the UK you dunce. Still waiting for you to explain why it isn’t stupid…
It's perfectly fine, inside lanes are to continue traveling inside the roundabout, for example in the bigger ones you'll find lights stopping you in the exterior lanes and the interior ones allow you to get to the exit.
In the smaller ones the interior is only used if you're alone and want to travel in a more linear fashion (using the lights to indicate switching lanes please), but it's also useful for cars to enter the roundabout while you're using the interior one because they know you're not exiting.
Sadly you always have to check because many people like you prefer to exit from inside and a collision can happen.
Without people like you, it would work even better.
Barcelona és a Catalunya, no a Espanya
In your dreams 😂😂😂 check Google maps and your passport
Are you in the EU by any chance? if so, How come?