Let Europe introduce ever stricter emission standards for cars. Our tourist doesn't care about that. As the publication "Imeesh Pravo" notes, the restrictions apply to new cars purchased by Europeans. But there are plenty of old cars - including domestic ones - in various Italies. So the way abroad is open both to the owner of an old Moskvich, which has been smoking the sky for thirty years, and to the owner of a new foreign car that meets Euro-4 standards. However, if the car's appearance raises concerns about its safety on the road, at the border the owner of the rarity may be insistently asked to undergo a technical inspection. After which he will be offered to return home - to a country where, under the cover of a technical inspection sticker bought from a corrupt traffic cop, you can safely drive any 'bucket of bolts'.
However, usually there are no problems crossing the border due to the technical condition of the car. Except for certain national peculiarities. For example, in winter you won't be allowed into Finland on summer tires, and with heavily tinted windows - at any time of year. Only factory tinting within 25% is allowed.
Paper start
To enter the territory of the European Union, you must have the following documents: a driver's license, vehicle registration certificate, Green Card insurance, a power of attorney for the car if you are not the owner of the vehicle, a foreign passport, medical insurance, and a visa. You also need a technical inspection sticker. By the way, traveling with a power of attorney, whether from an individual or a legal entity, is not the best option. Firstly, it needs to be translated and notarized (it is advisable to translate it into the languages of all the countries you will encounter on your route). Secondly, the police still have reason to doubt the authenticity of the document: for them it is a kind of 'Filkina's letter' with a seal.
With driver's licenses, it's also not so simple. Most of our compatriots, when traveling to Europe, take ordinary licenses. Usually, no problems arise. After all, according to Appendix 6 of the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic, for licenses to be recognized internationally, they must have the inscription 'Permis de conduire' in French. Everything else can be written in the national language. However, to avoid problems with overly picky police officers, it is better to obtain an international driving permit in advance.
The international driving permit form is a gray booklet of A6 format (148x105 mm). On the second page of the cover, the personal data of the license holder is indicated in French. The remaining pages contain translations of this information into Russian, English, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese. To obtain an international driving permit, you need to contact the traffic police at your place of residence. The police officers will ask you to provide an application for the permit, the driver's examination card (if this document is lost, you will need to restore it at the traffic police office where you last received your license), a valid medical certificate, a passport, a 3.5x4.5 cm matte photograph, and a receipt for payment of the established fees. The international driving permit is issued without taking qualification exams.
It is worth knowing that the international driving permit is not valid in the country that issued the document (for example, in Ukraine) and is intended only for driving on roads in states that have signed the Convention on Road Traffic. That is, up to your home border you must show your domestic license, after that - the international one.
The 'Green Card' is an international program of civil liability insurance for vehicle owners in case of an accident. It is valid in all European countries (except Russia), even in Belarus. You can purchase it at an insurance company or directly at the border. In the capital, insurance for 15 days costs about €35. At the border, you can purchase the same for significantly less (€15-20). In other words, if saving on the policy is important to you, it's better to buy it at the border. If you want fewer problems with obtaining compensation when an insured event occurs, it's better to buy insurance in the capital.
The 'Green Card' will allow you to receive compensation (upon returning home) only if you are the injured party and you have all the documents confirming this, namely: a copy of the traffic police report, the insurance policy number of the accident perpetrator, and an accident notification issued by his insurance company. All these documents must be submitted to the insurance company where you purchased the policy. But if you are the one at fault in the accident, you just need to show the police your policy, and the insurance companies, as is customary in Europe, will deal with each other without your involvement.
According to the resolution of the UN Road Traffic Working Group of 2000, 'agreements between national insurance bureaus must confirm compensation for the full cost of the loss, as well as payments of expenses and fees that must be agreed upon.' That is, insurance, unlike domestic insurance, must cover any damage. Currently, Europeans are discussing the possibility of introducing a payout limit - no more than $10 million, but so far this has not happened.
Medical insurance is the easiest document to obtain. You can get it at almost any insurance company. The policy must indicate the territory in which it is valid (usually all European countries). The cost of the policy depends on the duration of your trip - typically at a rate of €1 per day.
At most European borders, you will be asked to present a passport with a visa. To obtain a Schengen visa, you must either get an invitation from friends living in Schengen countries or book hotels along your route for the entire stay. The latter can be done through a travel agency or independently via the Internet. However, if you decide to act on your own, it is better to familiarize yourself with the embassy rules in advance. For example, the French embassy does not accept a fax from a hotel as proof of booking. An original booking confirmation is required, which can be sent to you by express mail, for instance. Other countries, such as the Czech Republic, require confirmation not only of the booking but also of payment. For this, it is enough to present a bank statement showing the deduction of the required amount.
If you have only roughly determined your route, want to go "wherever the road takes you," and plan to stay in campsites or motels, many agencies offer visa processing without accommodation. However, this is not entirely legal. The fact is that travel agencies still provide the embassy with information about where you will be staying – for example, at some "friendly" hotel.
And when the embassy begins to doubt whether a small hotel can accommodate thousands of tourists daily, problems start. As explained by the visa service of the German embassy, "presenting forged documents, as well as providing knowingly false information, may result in a ban on entry into the Schengen Agreement states." That is, you may receive a visa refusal stamp in your passport – and you will not be able to obtain a visa from any Schengen embassy for several years.
If you do get a visa without an invitation and booking, be prepared for problems at the border. Border guards have every right to inquire about your accommodation plans, and what to tell them is up to you. If the border guard is displeased with you for any reason, they may deny you entry even if you have a visa.
A Schengen visa should be obtained from the embassy of the country where you plan to spend the most time. As explained by the Finnish embassy, "according to Schengen rules, Schengen visas should primarily be obtained from the embassies or consulates of the main country of stay. If the main country of stay is another Schengen Agreement state, the Finnish embassy cannot issue a visa, even if the trip is in transit through Finland."
Citizens of Ukraine do not need a transit visa for transit through Poland (up to 5 days) if they have a Schengen, Czech, or Slovak visa. If you plan to travel through other countries, such as Hungary or Slovakia, you will need to obtain transit visas for those countries in addition to a Schengen visa.
Transit visas should be taken care of in advance by contacting embassies, so that circumstances do not ruin your vacation by refusing to issue them at the border. However, it is better to address the issue of transit visas after you have finalized your travel route. Most countries issue transit visas within three to seven days. They typically cost between €10 and €50.
Dry Route
There are several ways to enter Europe by your own car. The most popular route is through Poland, in transit via Warsaw to Frankfurt an der Oder. After that, the routes diverge. You can head south to Italy, southwest to France, or west to the Netherlands. As for Greece, it is better to go via Ukraine (M3 highway), then through Romania and Bulgaria.
It is worth considering that much depends not only on the purpose of the trip but also on the characteristics of the countries you plan to travel through. Sometimes a longer route in terms of kilometers can be significantly faster and safer. You can develop a route yourself, book hotels along the entire route, obtain the necessary visas by standing in embassy lines, and buy insurance. Alternatively, you can entrust all these tasks to specialized travel agencies that organize car trips. Their services include route planning, visas, medical insurance, Green Card, and hotel booking. Such a service costs on average ?400-500.
But the expenses do not end there; they only begin. The total cost of the trip can only be roughly estimated. Everything depends on which country you are going to, which route you will take to get there, how and where you plan to stop, whether the car is just a means of delivery to the desired location or you will constantly drive around the area. Or perhaps you plan to spend each day in a new city. Nevertheless, according to a travel bureau that organizes car trips to European countries, the minimum budget for a trip to the Czech Republic for two adults with a child is €1,015 for two weeks, and for example, to Venice with the same composition and for the same period, it is €2,150.
These calculations, in addition to necessary documents, include the cost of gasoline, accommodation in hotels along the way and at the destination, as well as an approximate cost of meals.
Their Customs
Our compatriot who ends up in Europe faces a host of practical difficulties related to driving a car. After all, many things, from gasoline labeling to traffic rules, differ significantly from what is customary at home.
For example, at an uncontrolled intersection, a driver must yield to a pedestrian. For violation – a fine from ?50 to €100, depending on the country. And if you hit a pedestrian, the court may impose a fairly severe punishment in the form of imprisonment or payment of several thousand euros to the victim as compensation for medical expenses and moral damages. Moreover, in many countries, drivers are required to yield to pedestrians even if they are crossing the road in an unauthorized place. For example, in Prague, the only vehicle that does not have to stop for a pedestrian is the tram.
For an unfastened seatbelt, which our compatriots are accustomed to consider a sign of daring, you will have to pay a fine of up to €400. Moreover, it can be issued even if a passenger in the back seat is not buckled up. By the way, no one will offer to pay the fine on the spot, which should not lead the motorist to think that a receipt with a completely indecent amount can be calmly thrown away with the words “I forgive everyone who owes me.” The several hundred euros saved in this way could next time result in a refusal to issue a visa - that is, close the entire Schengen area to you at once.
Another difficulty for those accustomed to driving across our domestic expanses is roundabout traffic. Europeans do not follow our “right-hand rule” and believe that the main road belongs to those who are already on the roundabout.
You need to carefully monitor the speed limit in cities, because in Europe the maximum speed is not 60 km/h, as with us, but 50. And under no circumstances should you violate parking rules. Without any discussion, the car will be towed to an impound lot, whose services cost from 0.5 to 1.5 euros per hour. Another surprise for citizens of the former Soviet Union is toll roads. We are only planning to build them, while in Europe they are widespread (except Germany). The prices for driving on them are quite high (for example, driving from Paris to Nice costs €57.70). Alternative free roads usually do not allow fast travel. In some countries, such as Austria or the Czech Republic, use of all high-speed highways is paid. Moreover, you do not pay when entering a specific road, but buy a special sticker at the border. If there is no sticker under the windshield, a serious fine awaits you.
Unusual for the domestic motorist will also be the price tag at the gas station. The fact is that residents of European countries call gasoline grades differently. 92 is Normal, 95 is Super or Eurosuper, and 98 is Super Plus.
If you follow all these (not very complicated) rules of organizing a trip and behave appropriately during it, leaving the country in your own car — provided, of course, that it meets European technical requirements — is not difficult. But after crossing the border, you will get unlimited freedom of movement within the Schengen Agreement countries. Which cities and countries to visit, which sights to see, depends only on your imagination and financial capabilities. But such a vacation will definitely be successful and will be remembered for many years.