Preparing To Drive Your Car Abroad: All You Need To Know
When you go to drive your own car abroad for the first time, it can actually be quite nerve-wracking. Even if you have driven other cars in other countries, perhaps hire cars for instance, you will find that driving your own can be a whole other thing altogether.
Author:James PierceReviewer:Iram MartinsOct 18, 20231.5K Shares102.4K Views
When you go to drive your own car abroadfor the first time, it can actually be quite nerve-wracking. Even if you have driven other cars in other countries, perhaps hire cars for instance, you will find that driving your own can be a whole other thing altogether. This is something that you will really need to prepare for, and as it happens there are quite a few things that you might want to bear in mind in order to make sure you are doing this right.
Here are all the things you need to know about preparing to drive your car abroad. As long as you keep up with the following, it should be a much easier and more enjoyable experience, with much of the stress taken out of it.
Learn The Rules Of The Road
First of all, you will need to make sure that you know the rules of the roadof wherever you intend to drive. In general, you will usually find that these rules are going to be very similar to the ones back home, but at the same time there are always going to be differences too. You need to know what those differences are before you head out there, as otherwise you might struggle to actually keep yourself safe and keep your vehicle in a good condition too. The last thing you want is to be pulled over in a foreign country, anyway.
So take a look online at some reputable sources, or better yet, buy a highways book for the countries that you intend on driving through. And then you can get studying. The more you know about the rules, what the signs mean, and the general etiquette of the roads, the better prepared you are going to be.
Service Your Car
Before you go away, it’s a really good idea to make sure that your car is in the best possible condition it can be in. That is going to give you so much more confidence with driving it in another country, because it means you are less likely to break down and less likely to have any incidents or accidents. And the best way to ensure your car is in a good condition is to get it serviced before you go.
Even if you have done this relatively recently, it’s wise to do it again just before you go away. A good, thorough servicecan show up all sorts of problems that are otherwise going to cause you hassle while you're abroad, and it can also get your car to a perfect condition just in time for the trip more generally too.
Of course, you should make sure to go to a reliable mechanic, someone who knows your car’s model well and who can give it the care it needs.
Check Your Insurance
You will of course already be insured to drive your own car, but you need to check whether it covers you for other countries or not. This will depend on the policy that you have, and it’s something that you really need to check before you actually go away, because if anything happens and you are not insured, you can end up in a lot of trouble. As well as the fact that being insured makes things easier for you financially, it is also a legal requirement in the vast majority of countries in the world, so it’s definitely something you need to check.
You should take a look through your policy wording document to see whether it covers you for where you intend to travel. And if it doesn’t, you can easily get online car insurancewhich covers you for a trip abroad for a temporary time. You’ll need to make sure you have this in place before you go, and the sooner you book it in, the more affordable it will be too. In any case, it’s better than being caught without it.
Get Breakdown Cover
As well as insurance, you really need to have a good breakdown coverthat covers you in the part of the world you will be visiting. Again, it might be that you already have this, and sometimes it comes included in your car insurance, so you should check that first and foremost. But if you don’t have it, then you need to make sure that you are getting it before you go. Having breakdown cover gives you a great peace of mind, and it’s the kind of thing that you need to make sure you are not forgetting about.
You never know what is going to happen to your car, but as long as you are covered in this way, you are going to find that you feel a lot safer and more confident driving abroad in your own vehicle.
Final Checks On Your Car To Make
There are a few final checks that you should be sure to make on your car before you drive abroad. For instance, make sure that the tires have a good pressure, and if not then think about pumping them up a little. If you notice that they are always getting low, you may have a slow puncture that will need fixing before you travel abroad. If your tread is low, replace the tire.
Next, check the fluids. Make sure there is plenty of engine oil, and that you have some spare in the back. Check the coolant level too, and the brake fluid. Ensure that the belt is tight on the engine, and generally check for corrosion and so on under the hood. You might also want to check the exhaust is on tight, too.
There are a couple of other things you might not have considered. For instance, if you are traveling on the other side of the road to normal, you might need headlight beam deflectors. These are cheap, but they are often a legal necessity, so it’s something to watch out for.
As you can see, driving your car abroad does require that you be prepared in a few key ways.
James Pierce
Author
Iram Martins
Reviewer
Latest Articles
Popular Articles