Advice for driving to the World Cup this summer
With this year’s football World Cup now only months away, tens of thousands of young people from all corners of England are getting ready to travel to Germany this summer.
Students are hoarding their loans and increasing their SuperNoodle intake in order to save money, whilst those of us that have whored ourselves to the world of work are desperately trying to suck up to the boss and get our holiday dates accepted.
But with aeroplane tickets already reaching astronomical prices, the only remaining option for most football fans is to drive to Germany. The ferry ports and the Channel Tunnel won’t know what's hit them in June as hordes of fans squeeze into vans, buses and clapped-out old bangers, heading off to Germany in search of football heaven.
So if you're one of those football junkies off on a mission to get three-lionised this summer, do make sure you're properly prepared, or else when James drops the ball, Owen breaks his other foot and Rooney socks someone, leaving England knocked-out and tearful, you’ll have more than just a lost football match to cry about.
One of the most important things you need to do before you head off to the land of fräuleins and frankfurters is to get some proper car insurance. It may sound boring, but it really is vital. Getting involved in a car crash on the Continent can cost an absolute packet and if you haven’t got adequate cover you’ll be, to put it bluntly, stuffed.
It needn’t cost a lot to get yourself motor insurance to drive abroad, just ring up your current provider and they’ll let you know if you need to pay a few extra quid to update your policy. Alternatively, if your policy’s up for renewal soon, go online and buy from a specialist young driver car insurance firm that can save you loads of money and ensure you’re covered for driving outside of the UK.
As well as your car insurance, there are a few extra bits and pieces you need to sort out. German law doesn’t require you to take anything special, but if you’re driving through France on the way, you'll have to take out some of your beer and squash in a warning triangle and spare light bulbs instead.
German autobahns have got no speed limits so you won’t get pulled over for by the cops, and unless for some reason you decide to go in a truck, there's no tolls so it’s free to drive on any road. There are speed limits, however, on everything except the motorways, and German police are renowned for taking great pleasure in pulling over speeding Tommies.
Remember that even if you have got motor insurance and have a crash, your young driver car insurance premium will be affected next time you go to renew it, so don't drive like a nut just because you can!
You don't need a visa to get into Germany if you're an EU citizen, so all you'll need is a valid passport to get across the border. There are a few prohibited items that they won’t let you bring into the country, so if for some reason you were thinking of taking guns, explosives, protected animals, radioactive material, drugs or leopard fur, don't.
Tickets for the World Cup matches are selling at an alarming rate, and if you haven’t already got one, there's little chance now of being able to buy one from an official source. There's guaranteed to be thousands of dodgy touts outside the grounds, trying to sell a seat at well-over face value, but be aware that buying them is illegal. Also the rip-off factor is massive and you could be spending hundreds of pounds on a useless piece of paper. So if you haven't got a ticket and still want to travel, just go to soak up the atmosphere and watch the games on one of the numerous TVs that are bound to be everywhere.
It's going to be mental in Germany this summer, and if you're travelling over there you're going to love every second of it. Just make sure you're properly prepared, you’ve got car insurance, you've got your England shirt, and last but definitely not least, make sure you pack enough beer for what could be the biggest party the world has ever seen.
Altogether now, "Three lions on a shirt..."
For the latest up-to-date news on England's World Cup preparations, go to http://www.thefa.com/.
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