Driving, Brussels

...there's one thing to keep in mind. In all of Belgium signs indicating the directions at roads are positioned in such a way that you will only see them when you're already on the right track. When you're on the wrong track you may only notice them when it's too late to correct your direction. This is especially true in this chaotic city. Apparently we needed to leave the city through a tunnel. Only, the sign that said so was placed at the entrance of that very tunnel. And since we were not heading for that tunnel because we didn't know we were supposed to go there we quickly found ourselves back in the labyrinth of one-way streets and traffic-jams that make this city such a hell to drive in. Get the picture? My advice: take the first opportunity to get out of the city and then use the map to correct your direction. It's much better for your nerves.

I found driving in Brussels difficult for many reasons, just a few:
- 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.

Half a promile (5/1000) is the acceptable by law level of alcohol at driver's blood in Belgium. So you can drink one bottle of beer or a glass of wine and rather nothing more before driving.

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 :-(((.

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.