Driving abroad: licences, road rules and what to check before you go

November 8, 2026 · 5 min read

Driving in another country is mostly like driving at home, with a handful of differences that matter a great deal. You may be on the other side of the road, reading signs in another language, paying tolls in a way you have never seen and following a speed limit that is quietly enforced by a camera. Most of these are easy once you have thought about them in advance. The hard part is knowing which ones apply to the country you are visiting.

Start with the documents

Rules about licences differ by country and by where your own licence was issued, and they change. Do not rely on anyone's memory, including this page. Check:

Whether your licence is valid in the country, and for how long a visitor can use it.
Whether you need an international driving permit alongside it. Some countries ask for one, some accept your licence alone, and some accept it only with a translation. Your own motoring organisation or licensing authority will tell you what it issues, and the destination country's official site tells you what it requires.
Your age. Hire companies and some countries set minimum and maximum ages.
Insurance. Your own motor insurance may not cover you abroad, or only partly. Hire cars come with their own cover; see renting a car abroad.

Keep your licence, any permit, your passport and the car's papers in the car whenever you drive.

The side of the road

Most of the world drives on the right, and a minority, including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Japan, Australia and India, drive on the left. If you are changing sides, expect the first hour to be the hardest. These habits help:

Take the first drive easy. Pick up the car in daylight, ideally outside a rush hour, and head somewhere quiet.
Say it out loud. "Stay left" or "stay right" works, especially after a turn, a roundabout or a stop.
Remember the roundabouts. Direction of travel flips, and so does who gives way.
Note where the controls are. Indicators and wipers are often on opposite sides in left- and right-hand cars.
Have a passenger watch. A second pair of eyes catches the moment you drift to the wrong side of a quiet road.

Rules that vary

The details are set by each country and sometimes by region. Look them up on the official road safety or motoring site for where you are going, and for every country on the route.

Typical things that differ:

Speed limits, by road type, and how strictly they are enforced. Fixed and mobile cameras are common in many places.
Alcohol limits, often lower than people expect, and in some places effectively zero.
Phones and hands-free rules.
Seat belts and child seats, including where children can sit.
Priority at junctions and roundabouts, including the "priority from the right" rule in some countries.
Headlights, which in some countries must be on in the day.
Winter tyres or chains, required in some mountain regions and seasons.
Required equipment, such as a warning triangle, reflective vest or first-aid kit.
Low-emission or congestion zones in city centres, which may need registration or a payment, and carry fines if you drive in by mistake.

Tolls, vignettes and fines

Paying for roads works in several different ways:

Toll booths on motorways, taking cash or card.
Electronic tags or number-plate tracking, with payment online afterwards.
A vignette, a sticker or electronic permit valid for a period, which you buy before using certain roads.
Congestion or low-emission zone charges in some cities.

If you hire a car, ask the company how tolls are handled, because many cars come with a tag and bill you later. If you drive your own, find out which payment method each country uses before you cross the border, and whether you can pay online after the fact.

Fines for speeding or parking are often sent to the registered keeper of the car. For a hire car, the company will pass on the fine, usually with an admin fee. Many countries now share information, so a camera fine can follow you home.

Navigation

Download offline maps before you leave, since signal disappears in mountains, forests and tunnels.
Use a phone mount. Handling a phone while driving is illegal in many places.
Set the voice to a language you understand, and agree who is navigating.
Learn the key road signs for the country, especially "no entry", priority and speed limits. Most are shown in the same shapes and colours across Europe, but there are exceptions.
Mind the units. Speeds may be in miles or kilometres per hour, and the display in a hire car may switch.

Fuel

Labels differ: petrol, diesel and the grades have different names in different countries. Check the fuel cap or ask the hire company, because the wrong fuel can wreck an engine.
On some motorways, fuel stations are far apart. Fill up when the tank is half full, not when the light comes on.
In some places you pay inside first; in others, after filling.

Safety and sense

Never drive tired. Take a break every couple of hours, and swap drivers if you can.
Leave margin for roads you do not know. Narrow lanes, mountain bends, farm vehicles and animals on the road all slow the day down.
Plan the driving day. Four to six hours of actual driving is a lot with stops.
Lock the car and keep valuables out of sight.
Know the emergency number for the country, and what to do after a breakdown or accident. Many motorways have marked emergency phones.

For the group

On a group trip, agree the drivers in advance and who is named on the rental. Decide how you will split fuel, tolls and parking; splitting travel costs with friends explains how. If you are planning a longer route, planning a road trip will help you shape it.

Before you go

Check, in this order: licence and permit, insurance, required equipment, tolls and any city zones, and the first hour of the first drive. Write what you find in one note, and keep a copy where you can open it offline.