I am driving an artic to Bucharest from the UK in the next week, are there any laws, rules, Advisable routes, do’s and don t’s,that anyone can help me with. Any advise would be much appreciated.
gnasher1, hello firstGO and read the EURO-STICKYS; here is lots of information for drivers to useNext which way are you considering,
all the way by road once in main land europe our will you use the train service
from germany, or austria , what type of lorry have you got as certain ones are banned in austria,ie is it, euro 1,2, or 3, etc etc
Before you set off, tighten all bolts and screws on your truck and book garage for a day after return. Take plenty of 5euro banknotes and be prepared to pay for ridiculous things. Watch out for animal-drawn carriages especially after dusk.
Directions:
D-A or D-CZ-SK, whichever you prefer, either way you come to H, take M1 for Gyor and Budapest, M0 Budapest bypass, then M5 for Kecskemet and Szeged, then go for Nadlac crossing, then Arad, Sibiu, Pitesti Bucuresti.
Unless it’s changed since I was there, be prepared to have to pay plenty of backhanders to corrupt officials. Roads are poor by western standards, only park in secure parking areas at night.
Thanks for the replies, HomoFaber, i am travelling all the way by road, so if you have any suggestions that will help i would appreciate them very much. As i have not gone this far in Europe (France and Belgium being as far as i have gone) before, can anyone tell me of any driving bans that i might come across, and safe parking etc.
HomoFaber:
D-A or D-CZ-SK, whichever you prefer, either way you come to H, take M1 for Gyor and Budapest, M0 Budapest bypass, then M5 for Kecskemet and Szeged, then go for Nadlac crossing, then Arad, Sibiu, Pitesti Bucuresti.
Best route by far I used to cross at Duetchkruez or something or other to beat the q @ customs but that has gone now. As above cross at nadlac and get yourself to Sibiu which has plenty of places for parking and is good for a night out.
Personaly i would avoid stopping in Hungry, stay in Austria and one hit it through to Sibiu.
As for the horse/donkey and straw carts i once hit one on the road between Arad and Sibiu going through one of the villages to fast. So beware, you turn round a corner and find a big mound of straw/hay infront of it is a cart and donkey and farm fella
The route D-A-H is the easiest and probably fastest, though the D-CZ-SK may be a bit cheaper (food mainly, some difference in tolls, little difference in fuel). And is certainly more interesting.
There’s some more details on the choice D-A-H vs. D-CZ-SK here:
I’d just add that on the Czech D1 Prague-Brno you do get occassional curtain slashing, thefts, mugging, usually when drivers park at dark lonely rest areas. Bigger stations/MSAs are busier, well lit and safe.
Hungary is OK, also safety wise. The M5 is only couple of years old motorway, with MSAs in true German style though smaller. You no longer stop at “csarda” smelling of cheap strong tobacco for halaszle & fried cheese and then chat&tea with turkish chaps…
You’ll need M-way sticker, 1day >12t ~10eur. What annoys me about Hungarians is that they do not like their own currency - they gladly accept euros (which makes things easier and coffee about twice as expensive for foreigners) and return change in forints!
RO:
- your first border to stop at after leaving UK, passport check only - officially. vehicle “checks” are also in place to get some money out of you.
- you’ll need “roviniette” (or whatever the spelling is), road tax for ALL roads, buy at the border, ~10eur a day.
- parking: common sense really. You see a lot of trucks - you join the club. It’ll to be paid for, guarded, decent food, shower&loo (but don’t be surprised if you do not these two). At times you get new modern well lit petrol stations (OMV…) with some parking spaces, free, no attendant, safe-ish if busy. There’re also typical “motorest” things, sometimes with fuel, good cheap food, showers and loos (but don’t be surprised if you don’t get these two). Then there’re bus depots and haulier’s yards, usually with big “TIR parking” sign at main road. Intertrans at Arad spring to my mind… Then, romanian RHA (arti, artir or something like that) runs one or two secure parkings in Bucharest.
- roads are getting better, so you get stretches of very good newly laid roads, then a stretch with new tarmac laid over old devastated road and then terrible road with potholes for a man to hide in, tramlines, missing manhole covers… roadworks… sometimes diversion via rural roads (=unpaved track in fields)…
- driving: bigger vehicle has the right of the way. so you’ll be OK
just don’t hit an M-class of a local busimafman. many drivers prefer not to drive at night because of the potholes, carts etc but some say it’s better to drive at night as the police do not stop you so often. - bakshish: it’s better to pull ONE banknote out of pocket than to show bursting ■■■■■. (common sense, but I’m still amazed how many people do show off and than cry). the police try things like “things can not be carried”, “this needs special permit”… it’s better to give fiver straight a way than to have cab searched. at times you get people telling you “big problem, must pay, police come, big money blah blah blah”, these can generally be sent to hell or asked to call police. if the police come you sort things out with them if not you saved fiver.
No special driving bans coming to my mind apart from usual Sat and/or Sun ones. Check for each country.
http://www.rhenus.com/index.php?id=103&L=1
Many thanks for all the advise guys, its been a great help. I shall print all of this off and carry it with me.
Thanks again.
Gnasher1