Driving in Great Britain 17
Below far left Multiple signage entering a
popular Cotswolds town Below left Prices
advertised outside a petrol station at night
Below centre Self service at a petrol station
Below centre right Road winding through the
dramatic Cheddar Gorge Below right Single-
lane road over a small bridge in the countrysideAbove left Narrow Cornish street during the busy summer period Above right The only toll motorway in Great Britain, the M6 bypass at Birmingham
DIRECTORYROAD SYSTEM
London Congestion Charge
http://www.cclondon.com
SOME WELSH ROAD SIGNS
Araf Slow
Arafwch Nawr Reduce Speed Now
Bwsiau yn unig Buses only
Canol y dref City centre
Cerddwyr ymlaen Pedestrians ahead
Dim Mynediad No Entry
Dim o gwbl At any time
Gyrrwch yn ofalus Please drive
carefully
Ildiwch Give Way
Un Ffordd One Way
Ramp o’ch blaen Ramp ahead
Rhybudd Warningticket, along with an administration
fee. Speed camera detectors are
illegal and will be confiscated.
Do not drink and drive. The laws are
very strict and penalties are high. The
legal limit is 80mg per 100ml of blood
- about equal to a pint of strong beer.
Police are authorized to administer a
breathalyser test or a blood test at any
time, and you can be prosecuted if
don’t agree to take one or the other.
and carries a fine and penalties.
Pedestrian crossings, often called
zebra crossings, are marked by white
striped lines on the road. Many have
orange lights at either end to make
them more visible at night. Drivers
must yield to pedestrians if they step
out into a zebra crossing and also at
crossings when the “green man” is
flashing, signalling it is safe to cross.
Buy a copy of the British Highway Code
from newsagents and petrol stations
for more information.
Please note that some signs in
Wales may be in Welsh (see right).Buying Petrol
There are petrol stations all over Great
Britain, and unleaded petrol as well as
diesel is widely available – if hiring a
car, find out which type of fuel it uses.
Most petrol stations are self service
and nearly all take major credit cards.
Many stations on motorways are open
24 hours. In remote areas, opening
hours are shorter and some may be
closed on Sunday.
Petrol is sold by the litre and is
expensive because it is highly taxed.
Supermarket petrol stations, on the
outskirts of larger towns, are among
the cheapest places to fill up your
tank, motorways the most expensive.Rules of the Road
Driving is on the left in Great Britain.
Most visitors get used to it quickly, but
pay extra attention at crossroads and
roundabouts, where it is easy (and
dangerous) to forget or get confused.
Always turn left into a roundabout,
and give way (yield) to traffic already
in the roundabout and approaching
from the right. Drive clockwise, staying
in the right hand lane until you are
approaching your left-hand exit.
Overtake on the right. Do not
overtake if there is a continuous white
line in the centre of the road. At a
junction where no road has priority,
yield to traffic coming from your right.
Seat belts must be worn at all times,
by the driver and all passengers, front
seat and back. Using a hand-held
mobile phone while driving is illegal