Imagine this. You are at the car rental office at your holiday destination. You verified the model of the car, the accessories, and a few other features before heading out. You are most likely to forget one important aspect about the trip, the tolls you need to pay enroute. Depending on the geography you are travelling, you may come across tolls for roads, bridges and even tunnels.
Many countries have automated
toll payment system in the form of a RFID tag stuck on to the vehicle. All what
you are required to do is to top up the tag and it will automatically pay the
toll for you. If you are lucky, the car you are renting may already have enough
balance on the tag, so that you do not have to pay for it. We were lucky once!
In places where the tag
system is not present, you could still pay using a credit card or even cash. Ensure
that you understand how much money you need to have with you and be prepared
for the number of tolls you need to pay on the way. A simple search in Google
should give you an idea, if you know the route that you are planning to take.
Another important aspect to
be considered is if you plan to drive inside city limits. In most of the super
busy cities in the world, an additional fees called congestion charges apply.
You need to be aware of this because you will end up paying a lot more than you
planned as the budget for your car rental. The best alternative for this is to
rely on public transport, provided, the city has an established infrastructure.
Most of the advanced cities today boast a well-connected public transport
system. Not just that, you will save loads of money on parking charges as well,
if you opt for public transport.
During a recent trip to UK
from Dubai, one of the first experiences with my rented car was the difference
in the driving side. While I drove on the right side in Dubai, it was the
opposite in UK. I was used to driving on the left, back home in India. But
since I had been driving in Dubai for a decade and a half, it took a few
minutes for me to get used to the left side driving, especially in the structured
driving environment of UK unlike in India.
The trick is to take it slow,
get a feel of the drive and then zip forward. I also distinctly remember one of
my team leads telling a client of ours while we were in Atlanta to do whatever she
wanted in India, except driving. If you are someone who are used to a
structured way of driving, I can guarantee that you will have no idea what hits
you in India, literally and figuratively! There could be comparable stories
from across the countries in the world. Be aware of these.
It is obvious that you need
to get familiarised with the controls of your rented car before you start,
since it could make or break your journey if you commit mistakes. Also ensure
that you are familiar with the road rules including speed signs and strictly
follow them.
During one of our trips to
Switzerland we had a unique experience. While driving into one among the
hundreds of tunnels in Swiss, a lady in the lane behind us started flashing the
lights. While initially I was confused, when I saw her overtaking us and
showing the signs to have the lights on, I remembered the rule in the tunnels
to have lights turned on. Non-compliance of the rule would have invited hefty
fines. God bless her!
Another interesting
experience was when we stopped to refill petrol in Scotland. My son got out and
wanted to help me with filling of the fuel. The man at the counter yelled from
the window saying it was illegal to have young children near the fuel dispenser
due to the hazard of gas inhalation! Learnings galore when you are on the
road.
Last but never the least, always have the emergency contacts handy, including roadside assistance, police, and ambulance. It will also help to have contact details of car insurance as well as information about the embassy of your country in the event of an emergency.
Above all, the fundamental
rule to be kept in mind while travelling is to apply common sense! Take care
and enjoy your trip.
