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Advices for Car Trips through Finland
52. Experienced drivers will be certainly pleased with the infrastructure of local roads. There are always many hotels and motels of various levels near large roads, as well as attractive restaurants and cafes, petrol stations, shops, and other facilities that will be certainly useful for drivers.
53. Of course, Finnish roads also have some disadvantages. Poor condition of some roads is one of them. If you see the road sign with the 40 km/h mark, it is likely that one of those poor quality roads lies ahead.
54. There is nothing difficult in navigating in the maze of Finnish roads. Simply remember following the simple rules of road numbering. All the international routes have a numerical designation and the alphabetic index “E”. Highways always start from numbers from 1 to 39, and speed roads have the number starting from 40 to 99. Finally, bypass roads and local roads have the number starting from 100 to 999, and all other roads have numbers from 1000 to 9999.
55. In addition to fuel, in petrol stations drivers can buy high quality maps of local roads. There are even special maps for tourists that indicate the most interesting tourist places of interest.
56. As local residents are very concerned about their environment. For example, cars are prohibited to stand with the engine running. When you stop your car, you can only leave the engine working for no more than a minute (this time limit must be taken seriously and should not be exceeded). The penalty for the violation of this rule is from 10 to 50 euro.
57. Many roads in the country have special security cameras that monitor not speed, like many cameras, but the time used to cover the distance between security cameras. Once you pass the camera, do not increase your speed as your violation will be easily noticed.
58. You should also not forget that the fine for wrong parking can be imposed not only by the police, but also by the municipality. The fine can be paid off in any bank, but you must do this within two weeks.
59. As it has been mentioned above, public transport has some privileges on local roads. For example, all drivers are required to give way to trams at crossroads. When driving in the city, you cannot occupy the special lane for public transport.
Renting a Car in Finland - Recommendations
If you need a car with an automatic transmission, it is recommended to book it in advance. Cars with automatic transmissions are often sparse in Finland, so the rental confirmation may take a longer period.
When selecting a specific model for traveling throughout Finland, we recommend to take into consideration some practical apects. If you are going to drive mostly in the cities, then a car of a small size is preferable, while for long distance trips (and trips in the mountains) we recommend to choose a larger and more powerful car.
Prior your car retrun, please clean the salon from a garbage, and do not forget to take away all your belongings from the passenger compartment.
At the car return time, please ask the officer to make a visual inspection of the vehicle for defects and to sign the acceptance report. Keep the invoice and the acceptance report for next few months.
For a car rental options in Finland, we advise you to check OrangeSmile.com actual offers in the orange search form at the top. We guarantee that you would not be able to find better rates anywhere else!
61. The southern region of the country is considered the most dangerous one in winter. During this period, the temperature around 0 C is the most typical, making roads full of slush. Even experienced drivers will find it hard to drive on such roads, let alone newcomers.
62. In case of an accident, you certainly need to call help. In Finland, there is the 112 number that can be used to call the police, the ambulance and the fire service. Drivers, who have become witnesses of an accident, must help injured people, if any, and then inform the police about the accident.
63. If there is a breakdown on the road, it is important to call the tow truck as soon as possible in order not to create traffic jams. There is no doubt that the tow truck will arrive very fast.
64. If you wait for special services, you must be properly prepared, otherwise there is a risk of getting a fine. Approximately 150 - 200 meters behind the vehicle, it is important to install the warning triangle. If the breakdown happened at night, do not forget to turn on the parking lights.
65. Virtually every city in the country has special parking places for the disabled. Other motorists are prohibited to occupy these places. If the car is left in the wrong place, most likely, it will be evacuated and the owner will be able to get the car back from the parking only after a heavy fine has been paid.
66. Some major roads are equipped with large electronic scoreboards that indicate a lot of useful information for drivers. As a rule, these scoreboards show the maximum permitted speed on the road, and some of them indicate the speed of approaching cars.
67. Finnish drivers enjoy helping the police. If they have witnessed a serious traffic violation or rude behavior on the road, they are likely to report this to the police as fast as they can. Such actions are considered quite appropriate in the country. In order to avoid trouble, all drivers should treat each other with attention and respect.
68. Travelers are recommended to remember several helpful road signs. The sign «KESKUS» (or «KESKUSTA») will bring you to the city center, and the sign «OPASTUS UNFORMATION» is located close to rest zones. «KIELLETTY» is a prohibitory sign.
69. If other cars make signals to you using their headlights, most probably, you’ve forgotten to turn on low beams. In Finland, it is not common to use this signal to warn other drivers about the police patrol. It is also worth noting that police patrols always stand in clearly visible places, so it is easy to notice them from a distance.
71. Foreign visitors will be pleasantly surprised to know that all the roads in Finland are free. An additional fee may be charged for using the campsite, but even in this case the price is quite reasonable.
72. Local police do not have the right to impose fines, so do not even try to give money to the police. This will be interpreted as an attempt to give a bribe, and the fine can be increased in many times.
73. Moreover, such an action can be punished in the form of an imprisonment for up to two years. You must wait patiently till the police officer issues a fine, and then go to the nearest bank to make a payment.
74. Local petrol stations sell unleaded petrol (95 and 98), as well as diesel fuel. Gas filling stations have a special LPG mark, and they can be mostly found in the southern part of the country.
75. Attentive drivers will surely notice a special attitude of local people to road signs. Different road signs can be found on any road, even if it leads to a very small settlement. However, there is one problem – all the signs have the description in Finnish only.
76. In some large cities it is easy to drive even without a navigator. In addition to standard road signs, you will see numerous signs that point to different streets, major attractions, shopping and entertainment centers.
77. Tourists will be particularly interested in blue signs that have the «i» letter above them. It indicates the direction to the closest informational center, where travelers can clarify any information they’re interested in.
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