London is a place full of histories and with a lot of attractions. While travelling around the legendary capital you must find out everything about the traffic.

The rules of road traffic in the UK are significantly different from the rules of most of the countries that make up the European Union. The main difference is the left-hand traffic. It may take some time to get used to such a peculiarity. Therefore, you can make several «trial races» somewhere in the country. What should you know about roads and driving for sure, traveling around the beautiful and legendary capital of the UK?

Parking

Where you can stop and the cost of parking

London is a city in which the number of cars per capita is steadily declining, and the cost of parking is recognized as the highest in the world.

It is advisable to check in advance a list of parking lots and nuances of the service, for example, on the site of the largest in London parking network Q-Park.

It is more convenient and cheaper to park cars on the territory of the hotel in which you are going to stop. The problem is that this service will be offered by the hotels which are far from the center (from 10 GBP per day). Public parking in the sleeping areas are few and they cost from 20 GBP per day.

In general, the minimum cost of parking is from 2.20 GBP per hour, the maximum – from 4.40 GBP. In the old center, there are «voracious» machines that accept payment by card and coins – about 5 GBP per hour. Standing here for more than 2 hours is prohibited, while in other parking lots, as a rule, not more than 4 hours are allowed. However, the fee for all parking is only charged on weekdays from 8:30 to 18:30. At the same time in the most popular places (next to theaters or shopping centers) parking on Saturday can also be paid.

Before parking, you need to make sure that you are doing this in a permitted location. Traffic policemen are many and fines are very high. Moreover, there are even the special road lines:

• A single yellow line along the sidewalk means parking restriction, the time is indicated on the nearest lamp post.
• Double yellow line – prohibited parking at any time of day. London — driving and renting a car, parking rules.
• The double red line is the priority of public transport. You cannot even stop here to land passengers.

Toll roads

Note that there is a fee for certain sections of roads. Also payment is a must on some bridges and tunnels.

The entrance to the central zone is paid. If you do not buy reusable, then from 11.5 GBP. It is charged on working days (Monday to Friday) for trips from 07:00 to 18:00.

Payment must be made only once, no matter how many times you enter the paid zone on the same day. And it’s far from all troubles: in the center there is often nowhere to park, and the penalty for incorrect parking is 80 GBP or 130 GBP, if no entry fee is paid. Penalties within 14 days can be paid with a 50% discount.

Main penalties

In London, there are standard speed limits. In case of violation of the road rules you have the right not to pay the fine right on the spot. But if you do not pay the fine and leave the UK, a notification of this and a fine will be sent to your country.

Foreign drivers who commit traffic violations will have to pay a deposit of a fine or £ 300 as collateral. The deposit must be paid on the spot.

The maximum permissible level of alcohol in the blood is 0.8 ‰. The police can ask the driver suspected of committing a violation to undergo a breath test. If the violation is committed for the first time, then a fine of up to £ 5,000 and / or imprisonment for 6 months and the withdrawal of the driver’s license for 1 year.

Car Hire

In London, there are the world’s largest companies for renting cars: Hertz, Avis, Dollar, Sixt, Europcar. Their offices are located both in airports and in the city center. The cost of car rentals in London airport starts from 10 GBP per day when concluding a contract for a period of 7 days.

Try to comply with all the rules of the road and your visit to the UK will leave only bright and pleasant memories.