Visting the UK with my own car
I am from Austria and would like to visit the UK with my own car. The plan is to travel through Germany and France to take a ferry to England (Calais-Dover), stay 1,5 weeks in the UK and then go back the same way. I plan to stay mostly in bigger cities like London, Manchester and York etc, but also some smaller places like Portsmouth. Is it safe to drive and especially park a foreign, middle-prized car (just a VW Passat Variant from 2016)? I have heard from some people that it is less safe now to drive in UK with foreign car registration plates since xenophobia is on the rise especially in England. Also, do I need to have anything special in my car, when driving to the UK?
Best Answer
For that short time period you dont need to do anything to your car and it will be perfectly safe, we drove our car from Stirling (Scotland) down through the UK and over to France and back up to northern Sweden, its a beautiful drive and we had no real challenges.
One thing we did do however was to buy a type of plastic film to put on the front head lights since the UK drives on the left you might find that your head lights are angled slightly and it did annoy me but we just asked at a gas station and they had a film that you put on and then tore off when we left the UK.
A also it takes a bit getting used to driving on the left, specially when you want to over take on single lane roads you will find that visibility is not the best but just be careful and you will be totally fine.
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How long can I drive a foreign car in the UK?
you only use the vehicle for up to 6 months in total - this can be a single visit, or several shorter visits over 12 months.Can I drive when I visit the UK?
What you need to drive in Britain. To drive in Britain, you'll need a current valid driving licence, as well as an international driving permit if required. You must also keep proof of ownership or a rental agreement in your vehicle, plus any insurance documents.What documents do I need to carry in my car UK?
These include getting a driving licence, registering, insuring and taxing your vehicle, and getting an MOT....Showing your driving documents- your driving licence.
- a valid insurance certificate.
- a valid MOT certificate (if your vehicle needs one)
Can I drive an American car in the UK?
If you are not a resident of the United Kingdom, you can drive a foreign car without registering it in the UK for up to 6 months. If you are a resident of the UK, you are not allowed to drive any car that is not registered in the UK with only a few exceptions.DRIVING ALONE FOR THE FIRST TIME UK 2018! (SCHOOL, PETROL AND MORE!)😱
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Answer 2
Disclaimer: I have never visited the UK but being an avid reader of the https://www.theguardian.com/uk/money page, I do like to warn you about some possible issues that can arise especially to a tourist/foreigner in urban areas of England.
My answer mainly deals with issues like Parking/Congestion charges.
As per my understanding a significant number of both public and private institutions have outsourced the handling of their customer parking areas to private firms. These private firms enforce strictly and fines easily exceed GBP 100.
In some public parks, you need to enter the number plate of the car completely on the parking meter before you can print it out. These generally are tailored to GB number plates and hence sometimes do not support foreign plate format. Also accidental switching 1 and I, 0 and O make it invalid although you have paid.
When in a shared car park between multiple enterprise (eg: McD, Starbucks) parking the car in a wrong section also leads to huge fines.
Also watch out for the time limit on various free parking areas especially at gas stations/supermarket. Exceeding the time is also strictly enforced.
Congestion charge needs to be paid online and at least several people have complained that payment gets taken and refunded later and then they fine you for not paying.
In my experience, none of these could ever be an issue for me, when driving across Germany, Italy, Spain, France, Austria, Switzerland... So from my perspective these seem to be a big deal specific to the UK.
That said if you are certainly visiting the rural parts of Wales or Scotland, I would still recommend taking a car (rental or yours).
note: If any locals would like to correct any mistakes/misunderstandings in this answer, kindly do so.
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