As the subject is being discussed in the US forum I am wondering what you think of driving in Spain and how it compares to the UK. I am not just thinking of other drivers but also of road signs, the condition of the roads, whether people respect zebra crossings where you are, etc.

I found British drivers very polite and always willing to give way and overall I preferred driving in England than in Spain, but maybe this is just because I was there for so long and therefore so used to it

zebra crossings and roundabouts are simply places to stop for a chat, aren't they?

Or to park on as they are often reasonably empty.

Driving in spain ......... I have been driving for over 30 years, my opinion of spanish drivers......... they drive there cars like they are weapons. one speed fast, over take on bends on the brow of hills. There is never a trip that I dont see a dangerous move.
I do not surpose that is ALL Spanish drivers, I was over taken last night on a road, the speed limit was 80 by a english man ( I recognized him ) he must have been doing 120 he took me on a bend at the base of a brow of a hill.
I amount of deaths on the road over the weekend of the Spanish Moto GP was terrible.
I just wish that when some of these actions are taking place the Police caught them, they do seem to be doing something we see the evidence on the TV, but is it enough fast enough ??

Actually I think that they fall into 2 categories -
1. one speed dead fast.
2. one speed dead slow. Crawling along seemingly permanently in first gear and braking randomly for no apparent reason, always completely oblivious to the queue of traffic building up behind them.

One thing that annoys me is on roundabouts lots of Spanish drivers stay in the outside lane, even if they're exiting at the second, third or fourth exit.

we were told by a local policeman that it is actually OK to park on the black & white ones...........but not the red & white ones!

Next time I go out I must look out for these "polite British drivers". My experience is that they are either three inches from your tail or creeping along chatting to their passengers. As for giving way--they do not know the meaning of the word.

I think that is the way to do it acording to their highway code, but most drive straight across and use two lanes. ;-)

A few months in Alabama would make you long for the Spanish drivers again...damn rednecks all drive like it's a NASCAR race.

When I was a driving instructor, what seems like many years ago, the one thing I made sure my students learned was to understand that EVERY other driver on the road is an imbecile.
You need to keep your wits about you whenever you are in a car.
If you are late for picking up your little darlings from school, then you are late.
If the little darlings are playing up in the back seat, then you pull over at the first safe place and then stop, handbrake on, switch off, turn around and give them a roasting/handcuff them/tie them up/sellotape/duck tape their speaking orifices/do whatever you usually do, BUT WHEN YOU ARE STATIONARY, then continue.

Do not be the person who causes the danger, be the one who sees it coming because (s)he expects it and is therefore able to deal with it as a matter of course. And if other people want to flout the law or be boy racers or do things that you don't approve of, just smile sweetly, let them get on with it and get out of your way, then carry on and say to yourself "Better ten minutes late in this world than a lifetime early in the next"

I enjoy the challenge of driving on Spanish roads. I learned to expect the unexpected at all times. Some of the manoevres verge on the suicidal. They either drive extremely quickly and sit up your boot lid even if theres a queue of 30 cars in front of you, or drive at 30 kms ph which happened this am when I drove to Denia ... I could have got there on my bike quicker.

Always an experience

It has to be people who drive the cars that do not need a full driving licence. They only need to pass a road awareness course - no driving test. They are dangerous as they have no idea how to drive even though they can only go 30kmph. I would say that 99% of the people who drive these cars are over 90 years old. They should be banned.

I did read that the inside lane on roundabouts was for OVERTAKING, and that everyone should use the outside lane. This was in a motoring column in a paper and wasn't a joke item. Apparently this is the law, and people have been pulled up for using a roundabout in a British way.

Hi Anabella

I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to drive in Extremadura!
The main roads and motorways are very well maintained with lots of EU money - and compared to Britain they are SOooooooo quiet!!

The motorway that runs from Madrid to Portugal is 2km from our village; but the amount of traffic on it makes it seem more like a British dual carriageway!
Although there are a lot of lorries travelling up and down this route, I've never seen a traffic jam and unless the wind is in the wrong direction, we can't even hear the traffic when in our village.

Some of the rural back roads are an "experience" - loads of pot holes, the occasional stray cow, dirt, dust, mud, whatever - but no different to a farming community in the UK.

I don't actually enjoy driving full stop (in whatever country) so I only drive here when it's absolutely necessary, and to familiar places
However, I love being a passenger, and have been all over the region enjoying the stress free travel
We sometimes laugh and "complain" that the roads are busy, if we meet another car anywhere!!
The Roman influence form all those centuries ago does make some of the long, straight roads a tad boring - but the wonderful countryside more than makes up for that

Imagine driving in Wales, out of the holiday season and with sunshine - well, that's what it's like here