United Kingdom Car & Van Hire

When driving in the UK, there a few key things to remember:

• In the United Kingdom, you drive on the left. Make sure you remember to give priority from the right and enter roundabouts clockwise – there are a lot of them all over the country.
• Unless specified otherwise, the speed limit in cities and built-up areas is 30mph with certain areas signposted 20mph. ‘A roads’ usually range from 40mph to the national speed limit of 60mph and Motorways are limited to 70mph.
• The United Kingdom’s road network is full of smart motorways that adjust speed limits automatically. They also measure how fast you travel between certain checkpoints and inform authorities if you exceeded the maximum speed limit for the segment. Watch out for signposted speed limits and monitor your speed even if there are no speed cameras present.
• Motorways near main cities, such as the M25 ring road of London, the M1 and the M6 become congested during peak time hours. Allow for extra time when planning your road trips, especially during hot bank holidays when most people storm the coasts.
• Certain motorways, bridges and tunnels in the UK have tolls that are either payable online due to number plate scanners, or at gates using spare change and contactless cards.
• Rural coastal roads and some in-land roads can get very tight and often have stone fences on each side (especially in Cornwall), so be wary of oncoming traffic on tight turns where visibility is obstructed.
• In emergencies, dial 112 or 999 to contact the police, ambulance or fire services.