Hoot guide to driving abroadHoot Car Insurance Services is first and foremost a motor insurance firm, but that doesn't mean our motoring expertise is limited to the price of today's cheap car insurance or some other dry insurance statistic. In fact, chatting to cheap car insurance customers everyday means we're regularly asked questions on everything from road tax to car repairs, and recently some bright spark suggested we write all the answers down for you to browse online. That's when we began writing the Hoot Guides, a fantastic series designed to shed a little light on the grey areas of motoring. Thus far, we've covered everything from preventing car theft to getting cheap car insurance,and this latest one: the Hoot Guide to driving abroad. Whether you choose to hire a car at your destination or travel abroad in your own vehicle, foreign driving offers a minefield of conflicting rules and regulations for you to get used to. Few people appreciate the complexities of motoring abroad until their holidays are well underway, but with this Hoot Guide and a little foresight you'll be well prepared for a trouble-free journey. Highway codes
The first thing to do if you're planning on taking a road trip abroad is swat up on the national highway code.
The rules of the road actually differ comparatively little between countries, but if you ignore these little differences you could end up in a lot of trouble. It may not take much effort to determine which side of the road everyone's driving on, but without a copy of the Spanish highway code, for instance, how would you know that drivers with spectacles must carry a spare pair with them? Or that running out of fuel on a public road is an offence in Germany? And you'd be mistaken if you think foreign traffic police will go easy on tourists who don't know their laws. Don't expect any special treatment in France, for example; disobeying any of their traffic regulations can result in a £250 fine and on-the-spot seizure of your license. Essential car kit
It's a good idea to carry spares and emergency equipment whilst driving in the UK, but in many foreign countries it's actually a legal requirement to do so.
Also, it might be a pain in the neck having to go out and buy all this stuff before you leave, but bear in mind how much hassle you'll be saving if something does go wrong. Imagine trying to find spare spark plugs in Germany or Italy, for instance, and the short trip to Halfords won't seem so bad. As a bear minimum kit for foreign travel, make sure you've packed the following; a first-aid kit; fire extinguisher; spare set of bulbs; and a warning triangle. On top of this, be certain you're carrying whatever extra equipment the local law requires - whether it's a hi-vis jacket or that second pair of glasses. Lastly, if you're taking a UK car into a country which drives on the right, you'll need to adjust your headlamps. Cars produced for the British market come with headlamps that "dip to the left" to safely illuminate signs and the road ahead without blinding oncoming traffic, but in right-hand drive countries they have the opposite effect. Some cars' headlamps can be adjusted to suit either situation, but if yours can't you'll need some blackout tape or an adhesive correcting lens to fix the problem. Paperwork
It's vitally important to carry the right paperwork with you when driving abroad. Besides your passport, make sure you have both parts of your drivers license (your photocard license and its paper counterpart), your vehicle registration document and a certificate of motor insurance before setting off.
Besides all that, you may also need an International Driving Permit (IDP). This passport-sized document is basically a multi-lingual translation of your own drivers license. Together, your license and IDP cover you to drive in many more countries than the license does alone. Check it's necessary before applying for one, however, particularly if you're holidaying in Europe - UK licenses are valid on their own in any EU member state. Cheap car insurance from Hoot
Whatever kind of holiday you have planned, you'll probably be trying to cut back on everyday expenses at the moment so you can really spoil yourself when you get there. That's where a terrifically cheap car insurance deal from Hoot comes in handy.
We've made a name for ourselves in the online car insurance business by offering the same standard of cover as our competitors, but at greatly reduced prices. People who switch to Hoot typically save up to 30 percent on their old cheap car insurance policies. So, how is it possible? At Hoot, we make up that 30 percent by spending next to nothing promoting ourselves. We don't think it's right that a sizeable chunk of your cheap car insurance premium should be spent trying to attract other customers, so we stopped paying for the annoying marketing campaigns and flashy high street branches (neither of which benefits the policyholder who pays for them) that most other motor insurance providers rely on. Instead we let our customers do the marketing for us, by word-of-mouth. It sounds risky, but once you've seen the price of a Hoot car insurance quote we know you'll want to tell your friends about it! So for really cheap car insurance, just click below.
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