Yannan sauce gives you some practical dry goods about driving in Europe.

Although this year, affected by the global epidemic, it seems that foreign travel has become a distant expectation, but we sincerely hope that this storm will pass as soon as possible, so that our dating with the world can continue as soon as possible! Here we will share our 219 European self-driving strategy with you-mainly those things related to cars and driving. I look forward to helping you prepare for your trip!

1. Preparation for renting a car

The first step to start an overseas self-driving is to rent a car. You can directly choose official website from a foreign car rental company or choose major domestic car rental platforms. Generally speaking, domestic platforms have the advantage of localization, and language and communication will not be obstacles, which is still very convenient.

(In addition, it should be noted that foreign car rental companies are different from domestic ones, and the classification of car types is based on grades. For example, when we made a reservation, we chose the A4-class station wagon. Actually, it may be the C-class travel version of Mercedes-Benz or the travel version of mazda 6, depending on the car rental company's inventory. Of course, you can also communicate with the car rental company in advance. Generally speaking, the car rental company is willing to help customers reserve models. )

Here is the car that accompanied us on the whole trip. The vehicle configuration in Europe is really interesting-the A4 travel version we rented has a series of top configurations such as head-up display, full LCD dashboard and ACC adaptive cruise, but the seat is actually manual ......

In Europe, you can apply for an international translation of your driver's license for free in advance on various car rental platforms. It's not an international driver's license (those who claim to be able to do IDP in China are liars, so we don't recognize the international driver's license, and naturally we can't apply for it (it's really difficult to get a legal IDP abroad with a domestic driver's license now), so for students like us who only hold a domestic driver's license, if they want to drive overseas, they can only go to countries that don't recognize the translation of their driver's license, such as Japan and South Korea, and driving is hopeless.

another point to note (underline the key points! ), if you drive in France (similar documents are also needed in Spain), you need not only a translation of your driver's license, but also a document called "? French sworn translation "file, this thing is not the same as the white version of your driver's license translation, but a PDF document, remember to print it out and carry it to avoid unnecessary trouble.

2、? Highway traffic in Europe

The highway network in Europe is relatively developed (of course, the most developed is our big China? ), as in China, tolls are inevitable. The expressways all over France are basically toll stations like the one below, all of which are toll-free. The only thing that needs to be recited is to be careful not to take the wrong lane-only the lane marked with the letter "T" is an electronic payment lane, similar to the domestic ETC；; The correct lane is one marked with credit cards or coins and cash. If you use a credit card when crossing the toll station, remember that it must be a double-label credit card. Unionpay Card alone does not support it. Some banks may fail to swipe their cards, so it is necessary to bring more double-label Visa or MasterCard ~

As long as you walk in the right lane, it will be easy to cross the toll station. If you support the credit card lane, just insert the card, wait for the card to be swiped and open the gate. It's also a piece of cake to pay in cash, put in paper money or coins, wait for the machine to change, and open the gate to leave ~

The most interesting toll station machine I think supports coin payment. See something like a basket on the machine-just open the window and throw coins in, without counting the amount specially, anyway, if you lose less, you will lose it again, and if you lose more, you will automatically change. Every time we grab a handful of coins and throw them in ~

The high-speed toll in Switzerland is quite special. There is no toll station, and the annual ticket system is adopted. It is sold in convenience stores such as gas stations near the Swiss border. The price is 4 Swiss francs/piece (less than 3 RMB), and it is valid until the end of that year. For example, if you bought an annual ticket on January 1st of that year, it will be valid until December 31st, lasting 365 days. However, if you bought the annual ticket on December 3th of that year, it will still be valid until December 31st, and the duration will only be one day ~

In addition, the annual ticket adopts the system of "no matter how many cars can use the same annual ticket within the validity period, so if it is too troublesome or you want to save some money, you can also buy it in advance in China before you travel (it will be a surprise to visit the second-hand platform) and enter Switzerland. Switzerland? If you don't post the annual ticket, you will be punished. Lingao? Amount of fine.

Switzerland's high-speed annual ticket looks like the picture below. Of course, if you bring an electrostatic sticker, you can take it home after returning the car, keep it as a souvenir or sell it to other friends who need to travel. We don't have static stickers, so we have to stay in the car. If the next friend who rents this car wants to go to Switzerland? You don't have to buy an annual ticket (if you are lucky, maybe the car will bring its own annual ticket when renting a car ~).

As for the high-speed traffic in Italy, you may wonder why I didn't put a separate picture, because ..... most of them are artificial toll stations, and it seems that I have returned to China 1 years ago in a trance. There is really nothing to say. I believe you will have an inexplicable "intimacy" when running high-speed in Italy (speeding, changing lanes without lights, honking all the way, turtle speed occupying the leftmost lane ... Italy? As soon as the national border is crossed, you will find that not only the road conditions are getting worse, but even the cars in the same trade are starting to fly themselves. You are used to being polite and humble in Switzerland, and the sudden sense of contrast makes people feel a little funny. The so-called high quality is actually based on the perfect rule of law and strict supervision.

3. Violation and driving precautions that must be said

Driving by car, especially overseas, is always an unavoidable topic. In Europe, the most likely violations are speeding and illegal parking.

Although there are far fewer cameras in Europe than in China, you may still get caught if you are not careful. During our trip to Europe in 219, unfortunately, we accidentally exceeded the speed once on the mountain road in the small town of Eze, France. The speed limit there turned out to be 3, and there was an electronic police ..... And if you violate the rules, the car dealership won't take care of it and won't help pay the fine, but it will charge you about 2 euros for the ticket labor (I don't know what they are responsible for, but also the labor cost). You can only wait for the traffic management bureau to send the ticket to the address you left in the car dealership by international mail, and then pay it yourself online. So, focus on it, and the address you left for the car dealership must be accurate. Sadly, we have not received the email for the first time, and after correcting the address, there will be no following. I don't know if it will be received until the year of the monkey. It is said that the result of not paying the ticket will affect the next European visa and be drunk.

another thing to pay attention to is parking. Most parking lots in Europe are unattended and need to use meters, which, to be honest, is really not easy to use. Most of them should estimate their parking time in advance, and remember to put the receipt in a conspicuous place in the windshield after paying the fee, which is convenient for the staff to check. If there is no receipt, a proper ticket will come ...

As for the matters needing attention in driving, it is actually very simple to sum up, that is, drive slowly, get rid of bad habits and drive in China. Europe? Pedestrians' absolute right of way comes first, so be careful.

4. Don't forget to wash the car before returning it

The trip is drawing to a close. When you are ready to return the car and leave, don't forget to wash the car before returning it (you'd better clean it yourself if it's not dirty), otherwise the car dealership may charge you a cleaning fee. Labor in Europe is quite expensive. If the vehicle is too dirty, it will be easy to charge you 18 euros!

But the common manual car washing in China is out of the question in Europe, which is not only rare but also expensive, and it is also cheap and convenient to get a self-help car washing-before the end of our trip, we found a self-help car washing on the border between Italy and France, and the three sisters in the same industry started to do it together, and finally * * * spent 6 euros ~

5. Egg painting: Monaco is a paradise for cars, especially good cars

Monaco is not only rich, but also rich. The streets of Monte Carlo are transformed into racetracks every year during the race. As one of the most challenging racetracks in F1, only the top drivers can win-including Senna, Schumacher, Raikkonen, Alonso,? Hamilton and other "car kings" or "car gods" were crowned here.

In fact, what I am most curious about is, as a resident of Monaco, can I watch the race at close range as long as I stand on my balcony every year during the Grand Prix? Ha ha!

well, that's all for the miscellaneous European self-driving thoughts. I hope it will help your trip.

I'm Yannan Sauce, a sister paper that loves traveling and cars more. If you like it, remember to pay attention!

This article comes from the author of Chejia, car home, and does not represent car home's standpoint.