It will be a bit busier on the highways to the tourist destinations in the coming eight weeks than other years. Why is that? The unrest in the world prevents many Dutch people from a destination outside of Europe, makes up the ANWB from a study into our holiday behavior.
More than nine out of ten Dutch people stay within Europe, and mainly travel to the traditional holiday countries France, Germany, Italy and Spain. The car is by far the favorite means of transport and so the chance of traffic jams remains high.
Right away
The summer vacation will start in the Noord region next weekend. Because the Dutch want to make full use of their vacation, many get into the car immediately on Saturday, or rather Friday. Those who travel to France must consider this year to only go on Sunday or Monday. This in connection with July 14, the national holiday in France. On Sunday, many French people already celebrate, on Monday they will be added, or they often travel back home from their weekend address in the south-north direction. Both days it is therefore relatively quiet for the Dutch.
FILES expected through holidays, events and activities
With our eastern neighbors it is especially busy on the roads on Saturday, the ANWB expects, but on Sunday it is probably a bit quieter.
What causes stress?
The ANWB has also sorted out what people find stress -generating going on holiday by car. The environmental zones, toll and traffic fines are mentioned. However, they are all obstacles that are easy to overcome with a little preparation.
Six out of ten people are well prepared for vacation, concludes the ANWB from the holiday research. With the remaining four, that leaves something to be desired. So how do you prepare well?
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If you go away next weekend, your car will hopefully have had a service in the recent past. Furthermore: a current navigation system also gives a lot of peace on the road. If your car has a built -in navigation system, then that is often outdated and you seem to ride in the middle of the meadows when you drive on a new road.
Paper maps behind
If you have Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, you can use Google Maps or Apple CarPlay from your phone on the screen of your car and navigate with the current cards of Google Maps or Apple cards. If this is not possible in your car, you can use a phone holder to navigate on your phone. In case everything fails, think of the power outage in Spain, it might be useful to also have old -fashioned paper maps.
There are hardly any toll roads in Germany. © Getty Images/Westend61
Environmental zones
Then the environmental zones. In more and more large cities in many European countries, there must be an environmental sticker on the windshield of your car, which indicates how polluting your car is and therefore how many burden people have in densely populated areas. Remember that in times of Smog those environmental zones can be expanded.
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If you need such a sticker in the short term, you can still buy it in an ANWB store, then take the registration certificate of your car with you. You can also order it online and immediately see which environmental class your car falls.
Toll roads
There are hardly any toll roads in Germany, all the more in France. You can avoid it by taking the Route Nationale. There is more to see on the way, but you also spend more time. If you do go over the fast toll roads, then a credit card is highly recommended, because you cannot pay in cash or with your debit card at any gate.
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Those who really want to make it easy, buy a toll badge at the ANWB. You stick such a box behind the windshield, take out a subscription and you pay effortlessly in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy. At Tolpoortjes you don’t have to stop, but you drive through at a maximum of 30 kilometers per hour, if you have chosen a lane that is intended for cars with these badges.
You can also pay with it at some parking garages and ferries. It is especially suitable for people who are on the road more often in these countries. The boxes seem to be robbery, so it is advisable to remove it from your car in the evening and at night.
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You need tollvignets in Austria and Switzerland. Available at, among others, the ANWB, online or in the store.
Different rules
The fear of a traffic fine on vacation is justified, according to the ANWB, half of the surveyed person sometimes had it. In most cases it will be about speeding violations that you can easily prevent with your right foot or the cruise control. The ANWB site provides a good overview of different rules in most holiday countries.
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The Netherlands has high traffic fines, so the damage in other countries will often be better than expected. But there are exceptions. For example, in Belgium you have lost your driver’s license for fifteen days since this year if uncle agent caught you on non-hands-free calling behind the wheel. The fine is a lot lower with 174 euros than in the Netherlands (430 euros). Wegenvignetten.nl provides an overview of traffic fines in a large number of European countries. You can also order environment stickers and tollvignets here.
Electric driving
The number of people who go on holiday with an electric car is slowly but surely increasing. Last year 3 percent, this year 5 percent. Invigorous petrolheads I still think that electric drivers have a lot of stress whether they will get the next fast charger. Not so bad. In France and Germany, many such installations have been added lately. There are plenty of apps with which you can plan how you always reach a charging station in time.
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Electric driving is ideal for unwinding. Jakkeren makes no sense, because that costs a lot of power and then you will be at the charger more often and longer. The plug driver takes it easy, uses the time on the charging station to treat himself to Kaffee Mit Kuchen and stretches the legs. Then the battery content is again at 80 percent, enough to continue on to the next invigorating break.
Loading cards
Take loading cards from multiple providers, because, for example, the ANWB loading card does not fit on all fast chargers abroad.
It is of course also advisable for fossil riders to take it easy. Also saves you quite a bit of gasoline, especially if your car is packed with holiday items and there may also be a roof box on top. Not too much also saves in fuel consumption.