Taking your car abroad: our essential guide

[mcamp999]

We have always had AA cover for the UK, it costs approx £120 for us as a couple. We usually also take out European cover with them for approximately £60 for two weeks. I just had a look at Green Flag, for UK cover but with automatic European cover, for a total of £140..... Much cheaper.

[Jangar]

And, unless you have a 'Europlate' numberplate showing the GB symbol, by law you must affix a GB sticker on the car. Don't forget that the Europlate is recognised only in the EU.

Not too sure about this as I see plenty foreign cars without "country" stickers or EU plates over here on the continent and I remember hearing in a quiz show a while back that this was no longer a legal requirement.

[Ray]

The word in the street has it that , from 2008 , you'll need a "vignette" displayed on your windscreen , to drive the ( excellent ) Belgian motorways ; how sad ! ( Talk about under-reporting the inflation , everywhere ? )
This should cost Euro60 ( 40 squids , give or take a few pennies ) annually , for unlimited use - similar to Swiss model , which I always find sooo-unfriendly , all that fuss and dour , sour , uniformed money-grabbers , when crossing the Swiss border !
On the positive side : all experiences , both : own and shared , indicate that , driving a U.K. reg'd vehicle , your chance of getting fined here : diminishes drastically ;
- instead , when accosted by Belg. police for speeding , illegal/expired parking , lack of equipment etc , you're far more likely to be given a ticking-off , in up to 4 languages
( Flemish/French, German and YES : usually passable English ! ) and politely sent off , with a warning !
The official speed-limit remains at 120 km/h , but the police have repeatedly confirmed that up to "around" 130 km/h , they would be tolerant , i.e. as in non-reacting !
Beware of drink-driving , though : for failing the breathalyser or blood test , the spot-fine of up to Euro9.900 ( that's over 6-and-half K squids ) is now possible , alone or combined with up to 6 months imprisonment ( but : don't panic , the food in jail is v. v. good , reportedly ! as is usual in Belgo-Land ...)

[Ray]

A Police Chief was Very non-complimentary on local TV the other night , about the untold , uncounted savage hordes of the unwashed , linguistically-challenged uncivilised kamikaze , from e.g. Roumania , Bulgaria , Moldova, Ukraina , Byelorus , Latvia , Slovakia , Kosova ...
all rushing into this here little Belgium , where they then often crash their , usually : unroadworthy , dubious rusty wrecks ...hehehe ;
not something of a comment you could enjoy on Brit-TV ?,
however sad ( and true ) but funny it might be ,
if you were in , so Politically Correct , U.K. of Blair's and Lord Levy's hypocritical mobsters...