When you are travelling to Serbia and intending to hire a car it is important to understand the various rules of the road and more generally the driving culture within Serbia. Undoubtedly the car hire company will supply you with information on the various pieces of driving legislation but it never hurts to research the roads you will be driving on when abroad.

Information you will find valuable when using you hire car is that in Serbia there are currently more than fifty thousand kilometres of road, around eighteen thousand kilometres of these roads being motorways. The number of cars on these roads is increasing rapidly with the volume of traffic increasing all the time. Driving in Serbia can prove to be challenging, those in Western Europe will be used to smooth road surfaces, this is not always the case in Serbia, where some roads are poorly surfaced. In addition, road signs are not always regular making navigation troublesome at times. In general, Serbians tend to drive quite fast.

In terms of the rules of the road in Serbia that you should be aware of when you hire your car you must drive on the right hand side of the road. Cars on the right are always given the right of way unless there is a yellow diamond sign at the junction. If there is no yellow diamond it is the cars on the right that always have priority. When in built up areas the horn is used in cases of emergency although in the countryside the sounding of the horn is used if a car is about to pass you. Once again, the car hire company should inform you of these before you depart.

During the winter months Serbia can become extremely snowy and hence it is a legal obligation to have snow chains fitted to your car if travelling in snowy areas. If your car hire company does not supply these as standard you will have to enquire about hiring them to save yourself a fine from authorities; it is normally the case that car hire companies supply this type of specialist equipment as standard.

In terms of speed limits on the motorways it is permitted to travel at a speed of seventy four miles per hour (120 kph) and on the open road a speed of 49 mph is permitted although in towns and built up areas this is reduced to 31 mph. These speed limits do vary however so watching for signposts signally the changes is essential.

There are very few road tolls in Serbia unlike much of Europe and the costs of tolls can vary greatly. The same as if you were using a hire car at home, it is illegal to drive and use a mobile phone, except when using a hands free kit. If you are caught breaking the rules it is often the case that on the spot fines will be issued; remember however that you should always gain an official receipt for any fines issued.

As far as understanding the signage on the roads of Serbia there are a few terms that can be considered essential knowledge when using a hire car. Of these terms ‘islaz’ means exit, ‘auto put’ means motorway, ‘radovi na putu’ translates as roadworks, ‘jeden smer’ means one way street and ‘kilzav put’ means icy conditions. Understanding this key terminology should make your car hire experience in Serbia not only easier, but safer as well.

Hopefully this article has gone part of the way to explaining how to drive safely in Serbia. By heeding this advice you should be able to have an enjoyable car hire experience and sample all this unique country has to offer.

travel expert thomas pretty how to make your car hire serbia experience safer by giving details of motoring legislation.

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