Most of my comments deal with France, but they translate well to most other countries in Western Europe.

International Driver's Permit

The International Driver's Permit (IDP) is available in the US from the AAA for about $10, but is it really needed in Western Europe?

This is one of the most hotly debated topics on the usenet. Go to the newsgroup rec.travel.europe and naively ask if one is required in say Germany and the thread will last for weeks.  I have purchased it for trips to Germany and never been asked, but then again I haven't been stopped by the police either. (Note: After my initial writing I was stopped in Italy for a check of registration and although Italy is one of the "should have" countries I was not asked for it.) The IDP is basically a translation of the license and needs to be accompanied by a valid driver's license. I recommend it in Germany, Austria, Spain and Greece, though I regularly look up the requirement whenever I get a car for a client because, things do change.

Rules of the Road

The rules of the road aren't that much different except the rules I learned in the 60's are still in force in Europe: keep to the right on major roads except to pass. That red spot on the horizon in your rear view mirror is a Porsche which will pass you in a matter of seconds. If you fail to get over, you will get lights flashed and a car so close on your bumper that you will know what the driver had for breakfast.

The key factor to driving safely is to be courteous. European drivers may be fast and aggressive, but they do use turn signals and they do follow the rules of the road (speed aside). That said, nobody speeds in Switzerland. It just isn't done, not even by Mercedes and BMW driving Germans or Ferrari mounted Italians so do take care.

Other than the "wrong side of the road" driving in Great Britain, the hardest thing to get used to are the signs. Most are fairly easy to understand international symbols (see for example, www.discoverfrance.net/Boutique/Travel/Car_Rentals/road_signs.shtml which is good, but note that the site says French and the towns noted appear to be German. Town limit signs in France are white and town exits are white signs with black lettering and a slash through the town name.) One should ideally have a working knowledge of the local language to decipher signs such as the common sign in France at roundabouts which says Vous n'avez pas la priorit "You do not have the right of way." A little learning goes a long way. There are web sites devoted to European street signs in local languages.

Getting From Here to There

So you are staying at a little hotel in Provence. You ask the reception clerk how to get to Vaison la Romaine and he politely says, "Take direction Carpentras, then direction Vacqueyras, Gigondas. Continue direction Vaison la Romaine." In the US we would say "Take D-942 to D-7 just outside of Carpentras take a left on the D-7 then sometime  past Gigondas watch for the D-977 turn right and proceed to Vaison la Romaine." French road signs except on the Autoroutes regularly ignore the departmental or national route numbers. The numbers are there, they just aren't where American drivers are looking for them and the French don't reference them much anyway.

Of course that brings us to the direction signs themselves. They are yellow arrows found leading in and out of the center of cities and towns (Centre Ville) One follows the signs to the center unless directed otherwise by a particular sign, "Gigondas" for instance, or Toutes Directions an arrow the indicates that all through traffic should follow a certain road until told otherwise. Another useful sign is Autres Directions, other directions, this one is usually accompanied by a lot of other signs pointing various directions. If you don't see your direction, you go Autres Directions.

Just remember, a gauche is left, a droite is right and tout droit is straight ahead! Bonne Route!