riv

This morning I had just parked my car in a parking space by the side of the road. ( In a Portuguese plated , lhd, car )

The road was a simple, suburban two way road, but yes I had to go over to the left ( from my driving position ) to get into the space.

So now I was pointed against the direction of traffic.

A passing GNR police car stopped and ( quite politely ) advised it was illegal to park as I was doing. I could park there but only by turning around up ahead and coming back so that I would then be pointing in the direction of the traffic.

As far as I am aware there is such a rule in the UK as well, but only after dark.

It set me wondering : might there be other rules of the road which are traps for the unwary, and which one should become aware of ?

macliam

The GNR are very keen to enforce the rule about parking in the direction of traffic.

It is also illegal to use any device that detects electronic equipment used for enforcing road traffic laws in Portugal, so any non built-in sat-nav may be viewed with suspicion and dashcams are illegal due to privacy laws. You MUST also have copies of all vehicle documents ready for inspection if stopped and if you are driving a vehicle registered in someone else's name, you should have written confirmation from the owner that you’re allowed to drive the vehicle. Also, be aware that if you are transporting goods by vehicle, the GNR may require proof of ownership or permission to carry....

IMO it's always best to check what the local rules are, rather than just assume they will be the same as elsewhere and finding out the hard way.......

coleio

Highway Code Rule 239

Use off-street parking areas, or bays marked out with white lines on the road as parking places, wherever possible. If you have to stop on the roadside:

• do not park facing against the traffic flow
• stop as close as you can to the side
• do not stop too close to a vehicle displaying a Blue Badge: remember, the occupant may need more room to get in or out
• you MUST switch off the engine, headlights and fog lights
• you MUST apply the handbrake before leaving the vehicle
• you MUST ensure you do not hit anyone when you open your door. Check for cyclists or other traffic by looking all around and using your mirrors
• where you are able to do so, you should open the door using your hand on the opposite side to the door you are opening; for example, use your left hand to open a door on your right-hand side. This will make you turn your head to look over your shoulder. You are th

https://highwaycode.org.uk/parking/

BillBullock

When travelling in a foreign country, the advice has always been to check the rules of the road in that country.

Bomber Harris

If you carry rear seat passengers they're only allowed to enter and exit the vehicle via the door adjacent to the pavement.
All the rules of the road in Portugal are in the Código da Estrada, unlike the UK Highway Code rules which are mainly advisory the rules in the CdE are compulsory.

wellinever

Doesnt seem to apply to the French family with 3 cars (they have space to park in their own garage, full of junk, and car space), but are too idle to click the leccy gates to go inside, preferring to park across the whole of the pavement THE WRONG WAY all night and day if they are in. When I asked why they park this way the answer is....its easier for us to go forward down your dropdown access.so they park that way to avoid dropping their cars over the high kerb !!! If they parked the other way round (the correct way) they would use my dropdown to drive up onto the pavement but nowhere to get off without a big drop !!!! Talk about ****ed off....

wellinever

Other one is roundabouts !!! What a laugh that is, NOT, in PT.....why do the Portuguese have zero patience, when it comes to driving, is it a Macho thing, oh no cause the females are just the same. If you obey the rules (crazy that they are), if you are going straight on at a roundabout, you are supposed to go to the inside, before cutting across the carriageway to exit...well that might be OK, if the driver waiting to join the roundabout at the first enyrance, actuallyh waited for you to pass by, but at least don in the ALgarve, 95% of them dont and then you have a tussle with them on exiting the roundabout,,,,,just this morning and accident caused by this when a car ran into a scooter (Italian Plates ) as he was exiting (or going straight on) in the correct manner, but no broadsided by the other vehicle...laughable

Lentisc

Tounge in cheek remark, but the Portuguese highway code only applies to foreigners. The locals sometimes make their own rules up as they go along. Bless them.

Artfuldodger128

I've seen this and thought it was just PT drivers just being lazy and driving the straightest route through multi-lane roundabout. My perception changed drastically when I saw a learner doing the same thing with an instructor!

I thought the lane paintings are there to keep traffic separate, and not encouraged to cross to set yourself up for a collision.

macliam

The idea of staying in the outside lane only if you intend to leave the roundabout at the next exit is fine in theory. However, it fails when someone doing this and joining from a minor road blocks traffic attempting to carry straight on......

Artfuldodger128

Just found this on the net (just copy and the text into the browser):
​​​https://portugaldrivinglaws.com/roun...ou%20want%20to.
​​​​​​It defies logic but hey, as they say, "when in Rome" ..

1Steve

If drivers would use their indicators properly at roundabouts and junctions then things would be a lot easier. I prefer the Portuguese code as opposed to the uk highway code where roundabouts are concerned. Here in Portugal you must take the exit if you are on the outside lane, you can be fined for passing it, where as in the UK you can go straight across the roundabout on the outside lane, only using the inside lane to go past 2 or more exits.

riv

Until I saw the extract linked to above, with the Portuguese text, I had imagined that this Roundabout Rule ( which I had heard about ) was something of an 'urban myth'.

Now I read it in black and white I'm terrified of driving.

Does anyone on here actually follow it consistently and not have near misses or accidents all the time ?

It seems to me that the Rule has been devised by theoreticians who have little or no understanding of how people actually behave when driving.
Is it not controversial in Portugal ? Is it the same in Spain or France ?

Do nervous ( and therefore slow, like cyclists ) drivers get an exemption ?

It seems to me that by making an official exemption for slow moving traffic such as cyclists the Rule makers have inadvertently recognized the inherent fallacy in the Rule.

1Steve

I follow the Portuguese rules and generally do not have problems unless there is a driver that does not know the rules. In Spain it is recommended to stay in the outside lane if it is free, that includes going all the way round the roundabout in the outside lane and only use an inside lane to overtake a car in the outside lane, i.e. cars in the outside lane have right of way over cars in the inside lane at all times. That for me is the dumbest way to navigate roundabouts and it causes a lot of accidents. In Germany cars already on the roundabout have to stop and give way to cars entering the roundabout. Maybe one day the European union will make a driving code that all nations must adopt.

riv

If I am entering a roundabout - lets say a standard roundabout with four equally spaced entrances to it - and my intention is to ' go over the roundabout, straight ahead ' so I need to exit at the second ( after I enter the roundabout ) exit.............. if the above is the case and I hug the outside lane of the roundabout ( which in my case will also be the one I enter naturally as I was keeping on the RHS , slower lane , of approach ) ...........what danger would I be causing or posing to traffic behind me or traffic in front of me, by keeping to the outside lane until I ( very quickly ) reach, and , signalling, take, my desired exit ?

By contrast, if I am to adopt the inner lane of the roundabout which I have just approached from the inside lane of the road : does that not mean that I am required to wait at the entrance to the roundabout until there is a gap in traffic coming up behind me, so that I can move Left over to the inner lane of the roundabout, and then, almost instantly start signalling Right so as to be able to cross over the new danger of a flow of trafffic on my RHS ??