The majority of the countries we have been to so far share a number of common 'rules and regulations' like speed limits and dipped lights on during the day. But each has its own little quirky rule or regulation we have to remember and adhere to.
We have just arrived in Serbia where it is the law to carry a tow rope. No sooner than we had bought one in Romania ready for crossing the border into Serbia it was out of its packet and we were helping pull a car out of a river ford it had got stuck in!
In Romania is was against the law to drive a dirty car - with the state of the roads we weren't sure exactly how you managed to avoid that. Overtake dangerously whilst on the mobile - no problem, dirty car - you're nicked!
In Hungary you needed to understand how to make an 'Emergency corridor' down the middle of a dual carriageway by moving left or right. Still not sure we understood how that worked but we never found a dual carriageway to drive on anyway!
In Slovenia you must not indicate when entering a roundabout - only when leaving it. Dave found that one really difficult to get the hang of, thankfully we weren't there that long.
In Italy we had to have a red and white reflective board to indicate an overhanging load (the bikes - not my belly!!)
In France you now have to carry two unused breathalyser kits in an attempt to cut down on the problems of drink-driving in the country.
And in Switzerland we were told that you could be fined for driving with snow on your roof - that is also the case in Bosnia but we are hoping that now the temperatures are in the 30's it is not going to be a problem anymore and Dave doesn't have to climb up onto the roof of the van again with a brush to sweep a foot of snow off the van. I was never entirely sure whether our travel insurance would pay up if he had fallen off!!
Hang on to your tow rope for Turkey, and don't forget to practice driving and talking on your phone, mandatory here especially when negotiating parked cars in narrow spaces.
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