I wish people would label these videos “The difference between France and the USA” or similar. These observations are not universal across Europe.

Hello, I'm from Poland, here the police still use speed cameras, placed in civilian versions of police cars, to catch people breaking the rules. They immediately write tickets.

Man, it's time for you to come and visit Europe and experience it for yourself. Being here is better than just watching videos.

In the Netherlands, speed cameras have a error margin of 4 km/h. This is intended to reduce unjustified fines for speed fluctuations and any calibration deviations in the speedometer. And yes, the cameras are always on, so it's important to pay attention to your speed, especially if you know that a speed camera is coming based on signs, your navigation or personal experience. Although it's often already clear because all the traffic suddenly starts driving suspiciously calm and neatly below the speed limit.😂 PS: If you were wondering how that works with emergency vehicles, since they obviously have to be able to drive above the speed limit. Well that's pretty simple. The control room knows when an emergency service vehicle is on its way to an urgent report. If an emergency service vehicle is automaticly ticketed during the period in which it is registered as "on route to an urgent call" (Code A0/U0 (CPR) or A1/U1 (Acute Life Threat)), the ticket will be waived. If the emergency service vehicle isn't registered at dispatch with an emergency call and is instead registered as "on route to a 'non-life-threatening' call" (Code A2/U2, B1/U3, B2/U4 or C1-2/U5) and therefore has to apply "appropriate urgency" (no flashing lights and sirens, but usually still as quick as safely and lawfully posible), a potential fine is simply for the driver. So even emergency services have to watch out. Although in many cases these tickets can still be waived, as long as your supervisor likes you.😂 And the regular police would almost never give another emergency service vehicle a ticket, unless you really messed up for no good reason. Keep in mind that there are many more rules and many nuances to those rules, emergency services have to follow, much much more than I can explain here. Also I'm an "Emergency-Doctors Ambulance" driver in the Netherlands, hence why I know this. ;)

In France, the sidewalk parking is usually found in smaller cities, villages etc. They are still defined parking bays, but you are meant to park half the car on the road and half on the sidewalk. However, as soon as there is enough space, regular on-street parking is normal.

In Germany, for example, you are required to use official number plates on your car (front and back). This also has to do with the fact that the vehicle can be recorded by the radar camera. This means that the number plate is always included in the "speed camera photos" and a good picture of the driver so that he cannot deny having driven. The number plate is then used to officially register the owner of the vehicle, and this is how you get the ticket...The tolerance for speed cameras is three km/h, and everything is measured at all times.

I totally agree with the laws that say your not allowed to hold or touch your phone whilst driving, yet authorities allow car makers to put so many of a cars features on a touch screen - where with some cars you literally have to look at the screen and scroll to do simple things like change the fan speed on the hvac. (No wonder modern cars have to have stuff like lane assist and automatic braking built in!).

Is there anything done all over the world that Americans aren't baffled by?

3:48 To clarify, those cars are NOT parked on the sidewalk (that is not allowed in France, 135€ fine if you do park on sidewalk). They are parked on parking spots, that are alongside the sidewalk. 5:18 The no-license cars are cars with extremely small engines (think the same engine as a moped, under 50cc). Since they have the same engine as those smallest motorbikes (that can be driven starting at 14 without a license), they are under the same rule, you can drive them without a license (but still need to follow a quick formation, so it's a kind of license...). The "Smart" car is NOT a no-license car, the Smart is heavier and with a bigger engine than those no-license cars. 7:30 For more up-to-date data, in september 2023, there were 42.986 roundabouts in France. Nice to see that you like them, they are indeed very nice and avoid putting a lot of traffic lights, so the traffic is more fluid with them. 11:55 Why would it be weird for the speedometer to only show km/h, and not mph? US is one of the only countries in the world still using miles, so unless it is a car meant to be sold in that specific foreign market, there is no point putting mph on the speedometer, it would only confuse drivers

Hi. Eastern European here, i'm driving trucks (lorries) in UK. It's funny with miles/kilometers. Let me explain. Speedometers are in miles, some of them use both mph and km/h. Tachograps (similar to ELD's) are in km/h and because EU domestic laws, trucks are limited to 90 km/h, 56 mph. However, UK motorway speed limit it's 60 mph, around 96 km/h. I like to put my satnav in km and meters because i don't like guidance in yards. Then when i'm completing my shift documents they ask for "start kilometers" then "finnish kilometers" and then next box it's "mileage" so we reffer to how much we drive as mileage but we write the distance in kilometers. 😅 Also about speed cameras. In UK rarely i saw speed traps, like cops holding the radar. We got camera vans and another following cop come after you or you just get photos and fine at your address the following weeks. Also the motorways got fixed speed cameras and average speed cameras. On smart motorway the speed limit it's announced on the displays from the gantries. If you speeding let's say 76 mph in a 70 mph limit, you might do one speed awarness course, you pay for it. If you do more you get points and fine. Every offence it's 3 points. They stay on your license 3 years. At 12 points or more you are disqualified. If you are a new driver and in your first 2 years you get 6 points you lose your licence. Also we got some codes like "DD" and this means "dangerous driving". You don't want this on your license. Your insurance get more expensive. Also with 6 points or more it's very hard to get accepted as a truck driver at most of the companies. Also speaking about pickups, in UK at least they become more and more used as a daily car. Ford Ranger it's very popular. Also imported F150 or similar. I see at least1-2 each week. Damn, that's was a long comment. 😂

Many of these videos having a "Europe vs US" theme are actually more "some country in Europe vs USA". For example: sidewalk parking is a bit of a French thing I think. Here in The Netherlands and in Germany, most parking spaces are on the side of the road. We even have a sign that states that you have to park on the sidewalk. We also have small cars where you don't need a car driver's licence. Here in NL, you need a moped license to drive one, and you have to follow moped rules in general. France has the most roundabouts per kilometer of road of all European countries, maybe even the world. And there are a lot more differences like this. Of course, general rules like roundabouts, traffic signs, yielding etc. are very different compared to the US, but more specific rules exist for different countries in Europe.

the small cars are 50cc you need, like a scooter license. In Portugal you need to have the insurance and the inspection of the car on the windshield. until 2023

France vs USA. Not Europe.

Speed cameras are not just there to punish people for speeding, they definitely do, but just having speed cameras everywhere prevents speeding in the first place (at least too some degree) especially on unfamiliar roads. I often see them right before schools or other places where a lot of pedestrians might be to simply slow down traffic and make it safer environment for everyone. You know: The speedlimit drops down to like 30kmph and then you get a speedcamera to ensure everyone is slowing down because there is a high school or whatever.

You missed the white lines forming a rectangle on the sidewalks where cars can park. Or the are signs to show it’s permitted. The Netherlands has almost 4000 roundabouts

Cops do set up speed traps but mobile vans and static cameras are far more common. Average speed cameras are getting more common too, especially in the uk The only country that uses miles per hr is the UK and they drive on the left, so there isn't much cross-over and remembering that 30mph-50kph, 40-60, 50-80, 60-100, 75-120 isn't too hard(not exact but close enough).

Speed cameras are easy. you speed 5+ over the limit and get your photo in the mail/e-mail with the amount you have to pay. Up to 20km over is just a fine you have to pay, above that things start to get more criminal.

You can driver a ‘sans permit’ car at age 14 in France without a licence. In the rest of Europe, you need to be 16 and have at least a moped licence.

She did forgot speed bumps! Depends on country, but driving in cities in UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden, etc. you will sometimes get a speed bump every 100 meter to keep you going slow.

In Europe you can't turn right on a red light, but in some places there's an additional "always blinking yellow" traffic light on the right side, so you CAN turn right there because technically it's not a red light.

There is currently a huge issue around where I live. The cars are being parked at least with 2 wheels on the side walk. And there was just recently a court decision that municipallities have to actually enforce the law when it comes to parking on the sidewalk. The law requires about 5 feet of sidewalk being available to pedestrians and currently, with all the cars being parked on the sidewalk it sometimes is just about 2 feet. So, technically it's OK to park on the sidewalk, but not when blocking the sideways or reducing the space available below 5 feet. And of course, the car owners are up in rage, because they might loose 'their' free parking space.

Sweden have 2500 speed cameras. But there is also normal police controls randomly, speed, alcohol and driving license.

11:53 not really weird as the entire world (except USA, UK, Myanmar and Liberia) uses metric, mph being the odd ones out lol. That being said, newer cars such as my c7 a6 with digital displays usually do have the option to switch to mph on the digital speedo if you so desire.

That registration and insurance was interesting and quite different than here in Norway. You need the registration certificate in the car, but you can't get the plates and the registration unless the car is insured. Reason is its all tied into each other so its impossible to get one without the other. They have cameras that read plates and automatically flag a car if something is missing. Even the bi-annual inspection that is required in Europe.

Parking on the sidewalk is theoretically not allowed in France, but it's rarely enforced

Here in the UK the police know if you are insured, road taxed, etc. Their patrol cars are fitted with ANPR (automatic number plate recognition) systems. Their cameras are linked to a central computer system that will instantly flag any vehicle that it passes if there is something amiss. They really are sneaky bastards. Happy 4th of July Ian.

I’m from Portugal, window sticker for the insurance its not mandatory for a year or two, police cars can scan your plate and know all the details, including if it has an insurance. But you must have an insurance proof in the car. One thing not mentioned in the video is that in Europe you must drive on the right on hygways, no matter the number of lanes. This makes transit flow more easily, in the US it seems that everybody drives were it wants.

You should look for a video of why trucks and large suv's are so popular over there.. hint, it's not cos they are "cool", more like taxes are lower. Add to that why they are so much worse for the roads (unsafe, large, inefficient) and why they are treated differently to normal cars(lobbying).. Aaand then why there is mandated so much parking and that public transit is so looked down on I know someone that was fired for not having a car to get to work when there was a bus. (More lobbying) Sooo strange.

even hands-free calling while driving can have the same effect on your driving as driving intoxicated.

in germany, you need to watch your speed and never go over the limit. "accidentally" speeding up (eg downhill) is your own fault and no excuse. on measurements, there is a tolarance of 3% for 100+ km/h, and 3 km/h for speeds below 100 km/h. (radar can be set to some lower cap to not get too many minor violations which cause more administration than fines earn, but don't count on it: i once got a ticket for driving 1 km/h too fast; measured 54 minus 3 tolarance, limit in towns is 50) fines: up to "10 over" costs 20€ out of town and 30€ in town, up to "15 over" is 40€/50€, and up to "20 over" is 60€/70€. it starts getting really bad for "21+ over": then you also get 1-2 penalty points (towards losing the license), and for "31+ over" you get a driving prohibition of 1-3 months, and the fines increase too, eg 700€/800€ for "70+ over" which would be 121+ in town, 171+ on country roads, or 201+ in a 130 zone on the Autobahn. special rule : intentionally speeding (racing or driving 40% over the limit) can double or even triple these fines. summary: with bad luck you get a fine already for "1 over", but for up to "20 over" there are only "cheap" fines without points/prohibition, unless you have an accident, drive drunk, or are a repeat offender. _(disclaimer: not an attorney, and circumstances may cause variations)_

Cops do actually mobile radar as well here in France, but less often. Risk points are usually covered by either fixed cameras (well advertised) or a section of road is marked as "frequently controlled" (for example a 30km section) in which case they either have semi-mobile cameras in place or cops with vehicle mounted cameras (we don't really do speed guns here AFAIK).

13:50 Ours is digital and in the cloud, but you can get a printed A4 if you are planning a trip outside of Finland.

You do know about those microcars for which you don't need a car driving license. You did a reaction video on the Citroën Ami! French cops also have mobile speed cameras and you can talk on the phone while driving as long as you have a hands-free set up. The insurance sticker is a French thing and doesn't apply across Europe.

In Germany, if you pass your drivers license practical exam on an automatic shifted car, you get a remark in your drivers license "Is only allowed to drive automatic shifted cars". Therefore, everybody learns driving on a manual, to avoid this restriction. And if you've learned how to, and the manual ones are cheaper, ...

In the uk police cars are fitted with ANPR cameras meaning Automatic Number Plate Recognition that can get you from the Front or rear and let police officers know if your speeding or car has a MOT and Insurance and name of ownership

About the stickers: at this moment there is no need to have stickers at the windshield. Both the insurance and the technical check are available to the control authority via internet. It happens the same for your driving license, car ownership certificate, plate, etc. You can present those documents in your phone and they have the same value as the physical counterparts.

Hi! Italian girl here! Those really small cars at 5:19 exist in Italy as well, but we DO need a license to drive them, license AM (we have different "levels" of licenses). It's the same one you must have to drive 50 cc scooters (not standard cars, those require a license B) and you can get it once you turn 14 😜 also they ate small but they are different from Smart cars which are standard, normal cars, they are a different category

Things you need to do as a European when driving abroad 1. Speed limits in your guest country 2. the meaning of certain road markings (some countries have special markings for no parking zones, being igorant of those can be expensive) 3. "environment zones" or "low emission zones" or things like those. Do you need a sticker when entering certain cities (the sticker may differ by country, France requires a different one than Germany, for example) or if your car is old do you even need to keep out. 4. are there road tolls and if so, how to pay them and when? 5. any special rules that differ from your country's? (how to navigate a multilane roundabout, who has priority on a grade, does the driver with the obstacle on their side have to wait or does the descending driver generally have to yield to the one driving upwards, is driving with the lights on mandatory even during the day, etc If you know all these, you should generally be fine in any country.

We have speed cameras in Canada, generally the camera is set 10km - 20km over the speed limit. It takes a picture of the car including the licence plate, a police officer reviews the images, and writes the ticket, you then get it in the mail a couple of weeks later. I would expect the mechanism in Europe is the same.

The speed cameras in the Netherlands measure the speed of all vehicles. Then they subtract 3% off for 'measuring errors' with a minimum of 3km. If you then are 4km or more over the speed limit you'll get a fine. So on your speedo you'd be well over the limit by then. This process is fully automatic. Fines are about 10 euros per km over (give or take). It can be higher if you pass roadworks for instance. There are mobile checks where a camera on a tripod is used for instance to measure speed. Laser check are pretty rare.

I'm from Latvia, the speed radar limit error is about 5km, if it is above that You pay depending on how fast You were going. Also our car registration as a laminated little plastic card, but now everything is in centralized database, so it is checked electronically, which speed cameras also do - so if You forget to pay for Your car insurance or do not have yearly inspections done, You get 500€ fine, max up to 5 times.

Hi Ian, I am Australian and recently returned from a 1-month road trip in France, which was awesome. I noticed a few other differences. The streaming of lanes on the freeways/motorways is different to what I am used to in Australia (which I think is similar to the USA). In Australia, everyone drives at more or less the same speeds in the different lanes and sometimes the outside lane can move faster than the inside lane. In France, the slow traffic is in the outside lane, faster traffic in the middle lane and fastest traffic in the inside lane. They are pretty courteous and will move from the inside lane to the middle lane if a faster car is coming up behind them. Another difference relates to giving way. The give way or stop line is much further from the intersection than in Australia, where it is basically at the intersection. I think thus is because often the sightline are obscured by buildings that go right up to the intersection, so more room is needed for safe viewing. Sometimes, what seems to be obviously the main road in a town has give way or stop signs and a tiny cross road has priority. I think this also relates to difficulty seeing around the corner when there are lots of buildings crowded on the intersection. They also have intersections that don't have a stop or give way side but have a sign with an X on it and I think it means give way to the right. We have not had physical toll booths in most of Australia for many years now; it is all electronically monitored and paid automatically, so it was surprising that they still have toll lanes where you pay with cash or a credit card. There were lanes for cars with electronic monitoring but they still had to drive through a physical toll structure. The speed cameras were interesting. In Australia, they are often hidden behind bridges or even rubbish bins but in France, there are signs announcing that there will be a speed ce=amera in 46 km or whatever and then a reminder when it is coming up, so there is no excuse for getting pinged.

In the UK a few things are similar. Your registration, insurance and mot is all digital mostly now and the police just need the licence plate to check and cameras use anpr to check vehicles that have been flagged and at petrol stations. You used to have to show a tax disc in the windscreen but this was abolished a while ago now. Roundabout are everywhere. Manual is more common typically, and if you pass your test on automatic you cannot drive Manual. There are very few toll roads. There are scars that you just need a motorcycle licence for. Typically unless it is a pushbike you need a licence for everything that goes on the the road, which some exceptions.

In Finland, you don't need registration, insurance, or inspection papers in your car. The police have this information already. Police cars have automatic license plate scanners also.

The cars without license are basically 50cc scooters with 4 wheels and a car body. In Italy the insurance certificate was abolished 10 years ago, the police know if you are insured simply by checking your license plate (well, everybody can know if a car is insured by checking the license plate online).

The tiny cars you don't need a license for usually have a 50 to 80cc engine from a moped, which is kind of weird, because you do need a license to ride a moped when it goes up to 45kph, at least in Belgium.

In The Netherlands there's a mixture of fixed speed cameras, usually on roads where many people start speeding when there's no camera. Then there's the mobile speed cameras which are mounted in unmarked vans on side roads. You get a ticket if you're speeding, and the amount depends on how much you've been speeding. They default substract 4 km/h from the observed speed. If you go twic the speedlimit they will come to your house and depending on the court trial (no, no ticket...), will impound your car and take in your driver's license so you can't drive until the trial date. It's then up to the judge how long to suspend your driver's license. Gross violations can lead to permanent suspensions and forfeiting your car so you can't drive at all, in combination with prison sentence. The small cars you don't need a license for are technically mopeds. They have at best a small cylinder two-stroke engine and were developed from mopeds with a cover. They are basically 1-seater vehicle or very tight-fitting two-seater vehicle, and are mostly used by people with mobility impairments and elderly people, at least in The Netherlands. They are not comparable to a Smart as a Smart is complete car with a far higher speed limit. In The Netherlands slow-moving traffic has a different ruleset and access than fast-moving traffic. bicycles, mopeds, 45 km/h vehicles, agricultural traffic, pedestrians on one hand, and cars, motorcycles and heavy goods vehicles / semi-trucks on the other hand. Notice that difference is speed, not mass. For the fast moving vehicles you need driver's licenses which come in different types. There's one for motorcycles, one for cars and motorcycles, one for busses, one for trucks. These types will be notified on your driver's license, so when a cop asks for your license they can immediately see what vehicles you are allowed to drive. Having a fast-speed driver's license automatically entitles you to drive all the slow-moving vehicles. So if you have a driver's license for a motorcycle or car, you can drive any agricultural vehicle that is roadworthy, on the road without an additional driver's license. for some of the slow moving vehicles a driver's license is required. There's one for mopeds over 25 but under 45 and one for agricultural machinery. Here you need both licenses if you want to drive both on the road. The moped one also covers the 45 km/h cars and mobility scooters that can go over 25 km/h. Bicycles (so main propulsion is your legs) don't require licenses, even if you can get your bicycle to go past 25 km/h. So a bicycle that you can pedal but has electrical assist: no license. An electric moped with the pedals on for show that can go faster than 25 km/h: license. I know from some vids that there's a lot of discussion in the USA and the UK on what is a bicycle and what isn't. The Netherlands has always had the speed limit as divider for taking licenses, except for bicycles where the main propulsion is pedalling. The way our trafffic law functions is to make the roads as safe as possible for all users, which is why we tend to differentiate roads in speed rather than type of vehicle. Say there's a road in a build-up area and a bicycle path along side side. In build-up areas the max seed limit for fast-moving vehicles is 30 km/h unless otherwise specified. So it makes much more sense to put the 25 km/h - 45 km/h mopeds on the road, instead of on the bicycle path (where they go outside build-up areas, when the road speed changes to 60 km/h unless otherwise specified). The speed difference between them and the cars is far less than between them and the cyclists. Note: In The Netherlands road racing cycling is an exception, most cyclists go at a far more sedately pace than the men in lycra.

In Sweden we have cars that are called epa, a-traktor and moped car, the first two are often rebuilt and are allowed to go 30 km/h but that has recently change to 45 km/h you need a driver’s license for it and you have a triangle on the back that means that it goes at a slower speed. For the moped car is the same rules as the others, but are built by a a manufacturer and not a rebuilt if I understand it. They don’t necessarily have a license plate on them, I have seen them with a license plate and the triangle or just the triangle.

regarding the speed cameras, there are fixed ones and there are flexible ones, who change locations every day.

In the UK, we used to have Tax discs on the car windscreen. To make it cheaper, it’s ALL digital now. Most speed cameras allow 10 percent margin of error as the speedos, apart from lorries aren’t calibrated. Lorries are limited to 56 mph.

3:49 The dotted line usually marks a bike path (or rather side/protection strip), at least here in Germany. So cars on some streets are supposed to park on the sidewalk.

There is two parts in the french driving license: the "code" which is theoretical part common to all type of vehicule, and the license itself which is the practical part that is separated in different type of vehicules: A1 for light motorcycle between 4 and 11 kW of power, A2 for light motorcycle between 11 and 35 kW of power, A for motorcycle (automatically gives the A1 and A2 licenses), B1 for heavy quad, B for car (automatically gives the A1 and B1 licenses), C1 for light truck, C for truck (automatically gives the C1), D1 for minibus, D for bus (automatically gives the D1), E for trailer. Note that the E are additional licenses and are separate for each primary license (BE, C1E, CE, D1E and DE). Also, the C1, C, D1 and D require the B license to be delivered and have a mandatory renewal every 5 years. All require the driver to be over 18yo to be delivered, except the A1 (16 yo). A special temporary B license for supervised driving in France (the AAC license) can be delivered once the driver reach 16yo, the supervisor is required to have their B license for more than 5 years. Each of those licenses can be confiscated by the authorities. Additionally, since 2013, the AM license is delivered at 14 after a formation done by every school, it has a mandatory renewal every 15 years and can't be confiscated and allow anyone to drive light motorcycle under 4kW of power and light quad under 6kW of power clamped at 45km/h of maximum speed everywhere in Europe. The AM license replaced a similar formation (the BSR) that allowed to drive the same vehicule but was lifelong and only for France, and technically didn't deliver a license. The name "licenseless car" is an artifact of what was done before, and because a lot a people over 25 (in 2024) driving those cars can be licenseless (but with the BSR). Every person under 25 (in 2024) that drive those vehicule required an AM license.

In Germany you can tell from the license plate whether the car is insured (front and rear) and when the car has to go to the MOT next time (only in the back). If you do not pay your insurance or vehicle tax, you will get a visit from the office and the seals (stickers) will be removed from your license plate and the car may no longer be driven on the road. By the way, everyone can tell from the letter combination of the first digits in which region or city the owner is registered.

In The Netherlands, you need a moped or higher license to drive a 45km/h car iirc. They’re usually driven by people who for some reason don’t/can’t drive a regular car (often a disability or something) or people not old enough for a drivers license (16 - 18). There are also people who live in big cities and when most of their travels are within the city, they get one of those instead of a normal car.

The insurance "vignette verte" (green patch) is no more needed in France as police cameras can read your plate and know instantly if your insurance is still valid. In Paris at least, these cameras can send you speed or other tickets at your home and you don't even notice you did something wrong (some times, there is not even a flash lightning to warn you).

Here in Spain at least, apart from the fixed radars, when there is a mobile one (in a vehicle) it is usually a camouflaged vehicle or one that has no external signs of being a police vehicle and usually has the radar installed on the front of the car, practically integrated into the bodywork, in many cases

The enscurance stiker is obsolete in EU now is al digital, you can run the plate on o specific site and know if the veicle is ensured or not

In Italy there are the traditional speed cameras more common in urban centers but there are also average speed cameras too. The latter are installed in many highway sections even tens of kilometers long (about 40% of all highways is covered) and these take the time of entry and exit in each section and if the time interval is shorter than what is needed to drive that section at the limit speed you get a sanction, or more if your average speed is over the limit in more than 3 sections

In Sweden cops stand by the road with radar guns,, also alot of cameras... In Norway they calc you average speed beteween two cameras so you cant speed after just passed one.. Crazy

To the speed cameras: I live near Freiburg im Breisgau in south western Germany and on the main road that crosses the city, there are like 5 (I think) speed cameras over a distance of around 5km. They only get you when you’re like 5 or 10 kph over the limit but sometimes you just don’t look at your asked and boom you’re caught. It happens from time to time but normally nothing happens when you go with the flow of traffic. I think those cameras are mostly preventative because they’re not hidden at all.

If you look cloesly in the video, you will see there is a white line marked on the sidewalk where the cars are parked. These parking spots are outlined to be half on/half off. In general it is not something you can do anywhere, but these do occur, especially ,as you said, in narrow streets where there is still need for parcking.

In Norway, signs inform you that you will soon come to a speed camera, and the same applies where there is a distance measurement. One camera records the time when you passed and the next if you spent too little time on the stretch.

In the Netherlands when you can't drive by Manuel, you can drive automatic driving lesson. The only problem is, when you succeed with the automatic gear lesson, you are NOT allowed to drive manuel cars. But when you are driving manual, you are allowed to drive automatic cars.

Parking on the sidewalk is probably a French thing. If you do that in Sweden you're going to be fined or get the car towed away.

Speed cameras in finland are set so they subtract 4km/h and 3% of the speed limit from your speed, and if you are still going above limit, you get a speeding ticket or a warning if you were only a bit above the limit. For example on 100km/h highway, you can theoretically drive 107 km/h before a warning. The speeding tickets are also dependant on your income, so high income = high speeding tickets, low income = small speeding tickets. We also have to have signs on the road, warning about speedcams ahead, and they are pretty common on the larger roads

In Germany speed ​​cameras measure the speed of every vehicle and take a picture if the speed limit is exceeded. The authorities then deduct a tolerance (3%?) and then impose a fine (or more) if necessary.

In Sweden and Norway fixed speedcameras always have a warning sign about 100-200 meters before the actual camera. The idea is to prevent people from panicking and hitting the breaks, causing accidents.

14:31 Here in Norway, we carry any proof of ownership or proof of insurance. Heck, even our drivers license can be found in the DMV's app on our phone! The cops just scan a dynamic QR code to verify that the license is valid on our phone. The proof of ownership and insurance is in a central government system. If you own a car and you don't have an insurance AND you haven't turned your license plates in to the DMV, you'll get fined about $14USD PER DAY until you either turn your plates in or get an insurance. It's also not possible to transfer a car's ownership during a sale without the buyer having a valid insurance ready to take over from the previous owners insurance (if the car has license plates). The daily fine of $14 will be sent from the DMV and if you don't pay, it may end up to be automatically deducted from your pay check (before you get your pay check money in your back account). This goes for every governmental fine you wind up getting (speeding, etc).

In UK we have ALOT of speed cameras. We have something called the smart motorways which have variable speed limits depending on traffic and cameras that adjust with it. We usually are allowed 10% over the speed limit to account for mistakes and bad speedometers on older cars but usually if you aren’t being extremely silly you can get away with more.

6:02 My son has that kind of moped car (mopoauto in Finnish). It is 500cc 4-stroke 2 cylinder diesel (Kubota in our case). Maximum speed is limited to 45km/h. Requires 15 year age and passing a test (both theory and driving test) to have licence. That licence is only valid for that kind of car, it doesn't allow you to drive moped (2/3 wheel) nor ATV. Classification in EU is; "L6e" for that type of light four wheel vehicle. Most common is diesel version, but there are electric versions available. One electric version is Citroen Ami. Prices are high (new ones easily up to 20k euros, used less but too often "wild mad pack of monkeys rip the interrior" state due mostly being used by teenagers...). And speaking about insurance, basic insurance (the legal required one) is 400-600e/year easily, taking full coverage (fire, stole, crash...) goes easily 4000e per year... These are from Finnish insurance companies, other countries will be different.

About stationary speed cameras : I live in south eastern France, there are lots of them here. They are put on straight roads where they can easily calculate speed. How they work is that when you drive above speed limit, they will take a picture. It will then take your registration plate, find out who owns the vehicle and send a ticket to your house. The problem with this is that, 80% of the time, the picture does not show who's driving, so technically you can go to court and have it removed if the picture does not show the driver properly. Police using speed camera is still pretty common because you can't put stationary cameras everywhere, as they tend to be expensive. Right now, it is seen as a massive scam as some places where they put cameras are not dangerous at all or have very few accidents. Patrols and routine checks have become rarer in the last decade, with speeding being the main focus instead of actually stopping cars and seeing if the driver is not drunk and has his license etc...

Here in Brazil speed traps have a 10% tolerance, so if you’re over by a little bit it would not affect you. But you are expected to drive at the speed limit, or at least 50% of the speed limit. Driving slower can also get you a ticket. However it’s a lot more common for people to use apps to know where the speed traps are and speed over the limit between speed traps. We sometimes also have cops with radar guns at certain locations. If I’m not mistaken, however the form of speed measurement, the road has to have a sign telling the drivers that they might be monitored along that stretch of the road.

Here in the UK there are 'instantaneous' speed cameras at certain spots and Average Speed Cameras on motorways. All are indicated by signs at the road side and are painted yellow for recognition, you can't really miss them. Also a GPS Satnav will indicated where they are, which, I believe is illegal in France.

It's good that they have the registration stickers displayed on the windscreen - until 20-odd years ago that was standard here in South Australia. Easily visible for police to check but also reminded the driver as to when the rego was due. And Ian... you said FOOTPATH so naturally and seamlessly that it almost slipped my notice! My first time hearing an American say that, ever... well done mate! 😅 Cheers and best wishes from Oz. 👍👍🇦🇺

In Portugal, usually there's a 10% tolerance for the max speed allowed in the type of road you are driving

The 45 km/h "cars" are considered a moped in The Netherlands and can be driven with a moped license. You are required to have insurance and are not allowed on motorways or highways. Inside city limits they are allowed on the road. Outside city limits they have to drive on the bicycle path.

In Finland any vehicle that goes above 25 kph (15,5 mph) on it's own power requires to be registered as a vehicle and needs a licence to drive it. Just a month ago electric scooters that weigh more than 25 kg (55 lbs) require traffic/motor insurance also. This is mostly to make companys that offer public e-scooters to have insurance, most scooters people would buy are not this heavy.

in Latvia parking on sidewalk is allowed if a sign allows it. We have few signs that tell if you should park fully on sidewalk or only partially (one side on road and one higher like they did in video), but overall its allowed only if a roadsign has the symbol for it. the car without licence legally is in a scooter class, which is why you dont need full car licence, and you can drive it from maybe 14-16years. One of the popular brands is Aixam, they can't go on high speed roads, they are in some cases very plasticy. Car registration paper for me is arougly 8x15cm big and laminated, and has user/owner name, year, model, color, gas type etc. It has somesafety features. and on the corner of windshield you must have a sticker that is shiny, which you get for passing the inspecion every year (or two, depending on country), it contains the date until the next inspection (or date until which your car is allowed legally on road)

More details on speed cameras : Many of them are automated and on motorways. They do get most people they are quite reliable to the despair of many. It is mandatory to have signage to warn drivers of an upcoming radar. All pics taken of speeding vehicles are sent to one big special facility in France where officers are basically doing tickets all day. I agree that most people will speed at some point. I lived closed to an airport in France and we have very very low speed limits around them. Something like 50 Km/h instead of the usual 90 on that type of road. So I got a ticket this way by an automated radar because I didn't notice that the limit was much lower than usual. There was/is a lot of anger toward automated radars because many of them are in spots that are often considered as safe. You still should never speed but at least if you did in these areas, you could talk to the officer and sometimes get just a warning. You can contest an automated ticket and ask for the picture to be sent to you. Sometimes you can argue that you were not driving the vehicle that day or the picture is just not clear enough. Most of the time you just pay quickly because it's very hard to contest such tickets. It's a good idea but the way it was put in practice in France is not that great in my opinion. I also think that speed radars are important but that sometimes we would be better off with a stop light radar or something like that. Speeding a bit inadvertently on an empty motorway is not as dangerous as running a stop light. With dumb automated radars you get dumb automated tickets that are not really helping people understand why all of this matters.

French guy here. In France, you can phone (respond and call) from your car when driving as long as you do it via the bluetooth system of the car. As this reduces your attention, however, it is not recommanded. Opposedly, I agree, it is forbiden ot hold a phone while driving, even if you do jnot phone or text...Car insurance is mandatory in France, at least to protect third party. You may add protection of the car (broken glass, thief, fire, etc.), protection of the driver, or full coverage but of course your insurance fee will grow as the number of options increase. Regardin rada, in France, the radar have roughly a 5 kmh margin, as a rule. This is why you'll be fined only if you go over 135 kmh on an highway (speed is limited to 130 kmh on these roads). This adds to the margin of error of the speedometer, e.g. when my Scenic III Renault speed indicator indicates 130 kmh, my real speed is around 127/128 kmh. Some people complain that the radar caught them for only 1 kmh, but this is not true. Thus, if you get a ticket for driving at 136 on highways, it means that you indeed drived at 136 kmh, i.e. 139 kmh on the car speedometer...

Well, in Germany we have 2 different kinds of speed cameras, the permanent installed ones, and the mobile ones. The permanent ones are active all the time, but of course people (locals) learn where they are and drive slower then. But thats kind of what the intention behind it is, right. The mobile speed cameras are in a van or small trailer or just a tripod behind a bush, and the police sets them up randomly, for some hours. But they usually wont chase you to stop like in the US, same as the permanent ones they make a photo of the car and you get the ticket send in the mail. Just sometimes they set up a stop point a further down the road, where they actually stop you and tell you that you have been a bad boy, and that its usafe to speed and so on. The tiny cars we have here as well. Don't know about France, but here you do need a driving licence for them, but only a moped licence or something similar, which is easier and cheaper to get. Still, they are rather rare on the roads. Yes, they are ok inside a town - but they are not that much cheaper than a small Dacia. And a Dacia is a proper car, that is able to go loner distances at a reasonable speed. And you are allowed to use the Autobahn then, the tiny cars are not because they are limitied to 50 km/h. And most people have a proper car licence anyway, so its not really a advantage. Btw., parking on sidewalks is usually prohibited, unless its explicidly allowed. But people just do it anyway and hope to get away with it. And using a phone while driving should be banned altogether - no matter if you hold the phone or use a free speaker. The Mythbuster once did a test how having a telepfone conversation affects the drivers performance - and the result was shocking. People get totally distacted because they have to think about what to say. Its a whole different ball game than listening to the radio, or similar things.

Can't wait for a vlog of you driving around in europe 😂

Those are not cars are considered quadricycles and their speed is limited to 50km/h. Famous brands are Aixam and Ligier. For instance, the electric Citroën AMI is not a car.

In Portugal, windshield stickers have been optional for some years now. Cops can get all the information they need from the license plate directly from their patrol cars, so it became useless. Even car and personal documents are now in an official app on our phones, so you don't really need to carry it around. Speed cameras are everywhere, but people basically know where exactly, so we tend to be more careful to not get caught. But if we do, it doesn't mean we're bad people. It just means we have to pay the fine. No stigma there, it could happen to anyone. Non license cars are not exactly non license. We need the same kind of license we'd need to a small motorbike. It's just that people who use it (mostly old men and women) don't need to take driving classes).

These small cars are 50cc diesels , there are about 4500 automatic radars giving you speed tickets 135 €speed

In germany there are two types of speed cameras. Stationaries and mobiles. The stationaries are most likely installed at intersections, because they oversee red light infringements as well as speed infringements. They take a photo from the front, because it´s mandatory to identify the driver as well as the license plate. And then there are the mobile ones. Same technology as the stationay ones. Radar based measurements. Usually the change location once or twice a day, sometimes they stay at the same place for days in areas where overspeed is an all day problem. Some areistalled inside of police vehicles, marked or unmarked, the trend is going towards a trailer solution. Small, heavily fortified trailers that are left at stategic locations. These trailers could withstand a bomb attack, given how unpopular they are with certain groups of traffic idiots. In Berlin alone during the lats 3 years, we had 12 devastating attacs on traffic cameras. 3 times explosives where used to destroy those stationary columns, 2 times chainsaws where used, 4 times cars where used tearing them down with tow straps. The most common way to disarm both, stationary and mobile units is spraypaint. Radar guns are getting more scarse every year. Measurements can be objected because of user error. So, it´s not a valid enough method to pass in a court. Berlin has currently allmost 250 stationary and around 400 mobile units, soon to be upped to 500/750 units. And yes, i got a handfull of picturese taken of me during the last 37 years of driving. Nothing big, just minor offenses. Except one, when the got me at 165 km/h on the GDR transit way. The GDR had a max speed of 100 km/h. I think, because that funny little car the GDR police, the Volkspolizei (poeple´s police), the "trabant" only managed to do 100 km/h downhil with tailwind (2 stroke with 27 hp, which was a governement given max power for every car engine).

In France, you have mobile radars and fixed radars. Fixed radars locations are leaked on purpose to lower temptations for crazy speed. You also have road signs telling you approach one. And despite that, there are tens of millions of euros worth of fine sent every year. On radars captures alone.

Maybe the reason you see less radar gun snipers behind bushes is that they now have devices in their cars which scan the traffic around them while driving around. So they can just be on patrol and watch for anything. If the device shows a speeder, they can decide if it is worth pulling him over or carry on with other work. I have seen it in a TV show "The Germinator - A German Cop In Texas" which could be interresting for you, as it shows the view on daily American Police work from the eyes of a "foreigner insider"

These "sans permis" cars are pretty much a french thing. They are not registered as a car, it's a "quadricyle". Funfact : because of regulations on engine capacity, they usually run on diesel. And no, the smart car isn't one of them. One car that proved popular in this segment us the Citroën Ami, which is electric and cheaper than the diesel cars already for sale. About the "carte grise" and "vignette verte" it was unclear on the video. "Vignette verte" it's an insurance proof that is no longer mandatory because it's now linked to the number plate, just like in other countries. There's another "vignette", it's for the technical inspection. The "carte grise" is simply the "id" of the vehicle. In france it looks like a piece of paper but it's more "adhanced" in other countries. Also, it's been said in a lot of other comments, but it's France, not Europe. (And yes, parking on the sidewalk is strictly forbidden, but on specific streets, we do it, when there's enough room) About speed cameras : their presence depends of the kind of road and the region you're in. If you're on a quiet road in a rich "département" (county), there can be one, it's much less probable in a poorer one. But it really depends. (Of course on bigger roads there are more speed cameras). We have a little tolerance of like 5 km/h, because your speedometer can be a little off.

I believe most countries have a speed correction of about 5 km/h on their speed cameras, Meaning that if the speed limit is 60 km/h it won't trigger if it measures 63 km/h but will trigger if you're going 69 km/h. Additionally most speed cameras have a sign near the last merging street notifying that there's a speed camera ahead, So people tend to drive slower in dangerous areas because of these signs.

When you want to look into the vehicles without driver license. The EU classes for vehicles with 4 wheels are: L6e and L7e L1e to L5e are vehicles with 2 and 3 wheels.

In Italy there are 11,200 speed cameras, about 10% of the world value, obviously we are talking about fixed ones, because there are also mobile ones that are not counted... In general there are different types: Fixed ones that measure the instantaneous speed with a margin of error present on city and provincial roads, then there are those that measure the average speed and the latest generation average/instantaneous speed on the motorway. of all these they can be differentiated into photocell, laser, telelaser, trucam, Pasvc, radar and tracking devices. According to the privacy law, those who take a photograph of the driver are illegal. Almost all laser and latest generation ones constantly monitor the license plate number to verify if the car is stolen, if you have not passed the inspection, if you are without insurance, the polluting class, etc.

Hey Ian, we used to have registration stickers in Australia but it’s all online now so you don’t have to display, but you do have to remember yourself when it expires. This lead to some issues at first but most people are used to it now. Also, our third party insurance is part of our registration so it’s compulsory. Further insurance cover like third party property or comprehensive is up to the owner. Most people have at least third party property.. Thanks as always 👍

These cars are called micro cars and can be up to 500cc and have motorcycle registration plates. They have some circulation restrictions as they were created to circulate exclusively in cities. Here in Portugal, we call these cars "pension eaters". Retirees who are older and have some weaknesses sometimes have difficulty renewing their driving license.So they opt for this type of car for their day-to-day life.

Automatic gearboxes were little appreciated in Europe in the past due to their slowness and because they only had three gears. But in modern cars there are up to 8 speeds and automatic shifts are sometimes more efficient than manual shifts. The percentage of automatic transmissions for new cars is increasing sharply.

in scotland, the main road [called the A1] has speed cameras every 2 miles in england, it varies county by county, but average every 5 miles, some are for speeding, some are for jumping red lights. 2.5 million tickets a year on average, £250 million for the government... your insurance goes up if you get caught speeding, 2 tickets = £150 average yearly increase for 3/5yrs

So in Portugal, last year, they installed 16 new speed cameras and on the first day, those 16 cameras caught drivers worth 1M € in citations (~ 50€ - 120€ each). This year there will be 25 new speed cameras. Most of them are in highways and they introduced a few years ago average speed cameras that track your speed in a section of 2Km or so.

french here : if u know where the speed camera is, its okay because u can slow down, get past the camera and speed up again, u just need to be careful sometimes they change location but everybody drive with Waze so u know whats coming up

Here in Belgium the speed cameras have an 8 km/h tolerance margin above the speed limit. So if you get flashed at 130 km/h, while the speed limit on the highway is 120 km/h, the speed is adjusted to 122 km/h. That is a 60.00 € fine which is sent straight to the licence plate owner.

Hello, In Germany you can not register a car without insurance. When you go to register the car you need a identification code from the insurance company. So when the Police stops you they do not ask for the insurance cause they know the car have one because is register. If you do not pay the insurance, the company will send the police to your home and they will take down the number plates from your car.