 | Brussels Driving Reviews | 1 - 10 of 12 |  |
 La Petite Ceinture - inner
ring road by GillianMcLaughlin
The basic principle is that you should give way to traffic entering from a road on the right (priority to the right as it's known). This can be quite a hair-raising experience if you happen to be on a major boulevard and a car appears from a side road you hadn't noticed. However if you get into the habit of being prepared to stop at any given moment, you should be OK. BUT watch out - if you stop when you have priority, you give your priority away and other drivers have the right to proceed.
Now hold that principle and let's look at the roundabout protocol. It's exactly the same - which means that you give way to traffic coming on to the roundabout. The cumulative effect of this policy is gridlock - frequent gridlock!
All is not lost though. The city planners have realised that something needs to be done. They have begun to paint tiny triangles at junctions. There are all but invisible unless you meet them head on. In all instances it means that you must give way - whether you are arriving from the right or not.
At last inspection the new system seems to be working... after a fashion.
My best advice though, is to walk - or use the buses - or the metro - or the trams...
Ah yes... trams... therein lies another warning or danger tip! Leave a Comment
|
 | |  |
Visiting Brussels?
Read reviews about Brussels Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
 do not try this at home by filipdebont
Usually I come to Brussels with my car via the E40 Highway (coming from Gent). Then at the end I follow the signs "Brussel", and like this I finally arrive in the city centre.
But it is always such a special sight to see at the end of the big boulevard the appearance of the big Basilica of Koekelberg.
So while I was driving I made some pictures of this big church. Of course it is dangerous, especially in the bust Brussels traffic.
And even more dangerous, if you look at the picture as there is a student-driver (ecole = school) in front of me. Leave a Comment
|
 Typical Belgium? traffic signs
galore! by irisbe
I took this picture from the corner at the end of Quai aux Barbes/Shutetankaai and th Arduinkaai/Quai aux pierres de taille.
Have you counted the traffic signs? If you only count the ones you see the fronts of and that warns you it is a one-way direction, you must come to 8!
But as you can see if you click on the picture to have the full view… there are plenty more traffic signs!
I think it was a sale-out when they bought them! Leave a Comment
|
 Brussel: a driver's nightmare by OlafSLeave a Comment
|
I found driving in Brussels surprisingly stressful -- more than you would expect it to be the case in a NW European big city. For me, it's the worst experience so far, apart from Naples, Rome and Florence. Here might be some helpful hints to reduce the stress:
1. Dealing with bad road and traffic planning and managing
Brussels has quite a number of very complicated, not really driver-friendly street layouts. There's multi-lane boulevards, sometimes the lanes diverge into different directions and you are not well directed on choosing the one to suit your direction. The pentagon of boulevards around the inner city features a couple of tunnels intended to avoid crowded intersections. Good if you can go straight but not so good if you need to use the intersection for making a left or right turn and need to react rather quickly in order to stagger away from the central tunnel lanes. Do not exclusively rely on your GPS navigation system. GPS doesn't work in tunnels and the GPS margin of error (up to 50 metres) is too high to allow the navigation system to safely identify the exact lane you're in. I have witnessed two navigation systems to go haywire because of this -- might get you into real trouble if you pay attention too much to your little helping gadget.
2. Slapdash drivers
This was a negative surprise -- I have so far been driving in all of Belgium and never had any problem whatsoever. Brussels has a particularly strange mixture of drivers going at their own pace -- either dead slow or insanely fast. In particular, there are too many cars with 5-6 youths packed in it, the driver obviously thinking that driving like a maniac is cool and somehow a good substitute for the frustration of life -- lack of brains and lack of sexual activity. Be prepared for *** drivers in the street (not applicable to drivers from Italy if from Florence or any city south of Florence).
As a general rule, never drive on the limit -- always have room for straightening out your own mistakes and those of others. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Visiting Brussels?
Read reviews about Brussels Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
We rented a car at the airport in Brussels and when we went to return it, we needed to fill up our tank or pay the exorbitant refueling charge from the rental car company. Gillian told us where the gas station was at the airport, it's on the wrong side of the road so you have to drive through the arrival/departure area to gas up your rental car (who needs to put gas in their car when they are leaving the airport?!?!?) The station didn't open until 8am, by the time the clerk arrived there was a line formed to get gas.
If you have a Belgian bankcard or a Shell gas card, you can fill up without the attendant but if not, you're out of luck if you have an early flight. We noticed that a lot while driving through Belgium, unlike the US where you can use your credit card at the pump, in Belgium we had to go inside the gas station every time. Leave a Comment
|
 PALACE OF JUSTICE by matcrazy1
When you get to know that there are over 300 brands of delicious Belgian beer to choose from you will surely not want to be a designated driver in Brussels :-). Hmm... I had to :-(((. Leave a Comment
|
 ME AT ROYAL SQUARE by matcrazy1
- heavy traffic esp. in rush hours that is on business days approx. 7.30 - 9.00am and 4.30 - 6.00 pm.
- shortage of parking lots in and close to the downtown (esp. free of charge), limited parking zones etc.
- direction signs can't be seen well and on time while driving on busy, multi-lanes streets,
- one-way streets.
My suggestion is to park a car wherever you find any free place, find it on your map and write down the name of a street when you park (not to lost your car hehe) and walk on foot :-))).
CAR INSURANCE:
Obligatory for damages you can cause to other people and their properties (if you are not EU citizen, buy so called "green card" valid for all EU countries).
DRIVING LICENCE:
Your driving licence is valid at least for up to 90 days if you are from USA/Canada or Europe.
SPEED LIMITS:
50 km/h (31mph) inside the city limits unless otherwise stated,
90 km/h (56mph) outside the city limits
120 km/h (75mph) on freeways. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
No special danger,but don't walk alone at night,especialy ladies and girls.
Be carefull with speed limits:31mph(50km/h)in the city,56mph(90km/h)outside the city and 75mph(120km/h)on 4-lane highways.
Maximum blood alcohol level=0.5g/L(1 glass of wine).
A US driving license is acceptable if staying less then 90 days in the country. Leave a Comment
|
Avoid driving in Brussels all together. It is not a possible feet. Leave a Comment
|
 | 1 | 2 |  |
|
| Best Brussels Travel Deals |
Hotel Lodging
Up to 50% off Hotels at Expedia. No Expedia change or cancel fees! Find Local Hotels
Let Switchboard Help Find Local Hotels in the New York Area. Relocating to Brussels?
Do it the easy way - flats ready to move into - EU Area Brussels Hotels
Best rates guaranteed on Starwood hotels in Brussels - book online! Cheap Brussels Hotels
Up To 70% Off Hotels in Brussels Instant Confirmation, Book Now! Sponsored Links
More Brussels Travel Deals 91 Brussels Hotels
Our selection of great hotels in Brussels. Special Offers! Book now. Newark NJ Hotel
Minutes from Manhattan. Save 75% Over NYC Hotels in Downtown Newark! 150 Hotels in Brussels
Book a hotel in Brussels online. No reservation fee. Great rates! Sponsored Links
- Alma Grand Palace Hotel
Rue des Eperonniers 42 - 44 Spoormakersstraat, Brussels - Hotel Villa Royale
Rue Royale 195, Brussels - Hotel Beau Site
76 Rue de la Longue Haie, Brussels - Atlas Hotel
Vieux Marche Aux Grains 30 - 34, Brussels - Best Western Hotel Royal Centre
160 Rue Royale (formerly President Centre Hotel), Brussels - Tribeca Residence
412 Avenue Louise, Brussels - Sofitel Brussels Europe
Place Jourdan 1, Brussels - Crowne Plaza Brussels
Rue Gineste 3, Brussels - White Hotel
212 Avenue Louise (formerly New Louise Hotel), Brussels - Campanile Hotel Brussels Vilvoorde
Luchthavenlaan 2 Vilvoorde, Brussels - Ustel Hotel
Square De L'Aviation 6-8, Brussels - Eurostars Grand Place Hotel
Boulevard Anspach 159-163 (formerly Grand Place Royal Embassy Hotel), Brussels - NH Grand Place Arenberg Hotel Brussels
15 Rue d'Assaut, Brussels - Centre Vincent Van Gogh
8, rue Traversiere, Brussels - Novotel Brussels Centre
Rue de la Vierge Noire 32, Brussels
|
