Comments on: On driving in Romania

By: Marian

Marian — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 23:36:49 +0000

Well nowadays it is no longer like that.
It’s not like in UK but it is much better.
There are other shits going on like corruption in the government but hey everyone has that shit. Maybe ours is worse or more mediated who knows.
I do know except the fact money is tight it is more decent, no more Dacia 1310 on the roads. You can still see one a year here and there in the country side but they are wasting away as parts are getting harder to find. They wore replaced by newer model that compared to today’s Mercedes is still a piece of crap but not big a piece.
You are safer in Romania then in USA but things will most likely cost the same. Wages are low and life is not very easy but don’t think people don’t enjoy life have fun and so.. they do. I have no clue how but they do. Everyone manages to have a party, go to a concert or just hang out with friends and some beer. Ney to bad. You’d like Romania more then a lot of other countries even a bunch of European countries much higher then Romania.
If you become a subway fan driving will not bother you to much. Most people are used to ground transport. I myself proffered to walk to the nearest subway station and just go as close to my destination and walk from there. Much faster then even by private car.

Cheers,
and don’t forget the are better countries that are much worse to visit.

By: Lory

Lory — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:08:09 +0000

I gotta add to what u wrote above that..driving during night time..it’s ..crazy..and that the animals in the jungle have more rules then the ones romanians have when the night falls.And on winter season..around 5-6pm..it gets dark..so people around 6pm..go home from work or whatever..and goodnesss..the driving..it’s psychotic!
Smart writing dude!

By: Dale Mar

Dale Mar — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:47:12 +0000

I’m a Canadian, married to a Romanian, living here now 3 years. This article is DEAD ON. Message to Romanian’s Learn how To Drive. Message to Romanian Government. Just so you know, you mucking forons, 1 cm of asphalt is rated at 500kg per square centimeter (that said, you need at least 5cm on a road where a 2 ton truck will drive not one cm, that won’t help). Asphalt is to be poured while hot onto, no less than, 5 centimeters of crushed stone. Pouring it directly on top of cobble stone will not work. Dont scratch your head and wonder how the road keeps getting broken… here is a basic physics lesson. Every action produces and equal and opposite reaction. The cobble stone below the tar is shaking when cars drive over it, which rips apart the 1 centimeter of asphalt you packed on top of it cold with a shovel.

next time you fix a hole please follow these simple instructions from every other country in the world with roads.

Before preparing the road as outlined below, section off a portion of road and set up traffic control to allow workers and work to be undisturbed by motorists.

#1. remove the fu&&ing cobble stone from below the area of the opening.

#2. dig below the cobble stone 5 cm and fill the entire area with crushed rock. no less than 5cm deep

#3. pound the rock in place with a leveler.

#4. Cover the crushed rock with a mixture of Tar and Asphalt while it is heated and in a liquid / maluable state. (Maluable means, you can squish it around easy)

#5. Make sure that you have calculated the rating of the road (30 Tons for all romanian roads regardless of their true rating) and divide that by a factor of 500 to the power of 1/8th to compensate for structural reinforcement that is how many centimeters of asphalt you HAVE TO use for the hole to be covered for more than 3 hours.

#6 DONT ALLOW ANYONE TO DRIVE ON THE FUCKEN THING FOR AT LEAST 1 HOUR for every 10 degrees it is outside, example if it is 20 degrees outside, you should leave the asphalt to set for 2 hours.

Hope these tips were easy enough to read.

By: andrei

andrei — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 02:30:23 +0000

I live in Romania and unfortunately it is still the same. My wife and I are looking forward to getting our visas and getting to a country where people are worth being respected.

By: Leif

Leif — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:15:08 +0000

@John – the state of driving inside Romania has improved dramatically since this post was written. There’s still a fair amount of close quarters recklessness, but it’s manageable if you’re not the twitchy type. With your itinerary, it does seem as if you’d do best with a car. Getting too/from Tulcea is a little tricky on the train. Less so on the bus, but then you’re on a bus. Either way, schedules aren’t great. The one thing that’s gotten worse since I posted this is parking. Parking in Romania went from being a non-issue to being a serious liability. Nearly every city has posted parking meters and they’re enforced with diabolically glee. I’ve heard about people getting tickets in the short time it took them to walk to the machine, buy a parking permit and walk back to their cars. Last summer I was towed in eight minutes flat. En guard.

By: John Keller

John Keller — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:12:59 +0000

Yikes. Planning a two-week “self drive” trip for summer 2011. It’s supposed to start with a car pickup in Bucharest. Now I’m beginning to have second thoughts. First part of trip has us drive us to Tulcea, then up to Bucovina, Maramures, Cluj, Sibiu, Sighisoara, Brasov, and back to Bucharest. Might want to “train it” for a part of this …. or am I being a chicken?

By: Tom Lovelock

Tom Lovelock — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 08:08:40 +0000

I have just moved to Bucharest Romania after living in Qatar in the Gulf for 5 years.Statistically Qatar is the most dangerous country in the world to drive in,so driving here holds no fears for us,Parking however is another matter,Romanians seem to think that just stopping and leaving the car where ever happens to be nearest to where the want to go constitutes PARKING,as this is often in the middle of the road or a junction (at least in Bucharest)gridlock follows fairly quickly,U turns are also performed without the need to look in a mirror or indicate,the biggest problem here (as in Qatar) are drivers of big RVS or luxury saloons who think that to drive without a mobile phone to their ear means they will lose face.One thing has been confirmed in both countries is that drivers of Black Porsche Cayennes all have a lobotomy at the dealership before driving off.

By: Simon

Simon — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 20:19:25 +0000

I found this article extremely amusing, particularly as I’ve driven from the UK to Romania on five separate occasions (and lived to tell the tale!).

My top ten tips for driving in Romania are as follows:-

1) Ensure your vehicle is in peak physical shape. The tyres, suspension, cooling system and brakes all have a hard time. Check you have a spare tyre and the jack & brace is present.

2) If hiring a car in the winter, for the modest additional charge snow chains are worth having with you, just in case. We hired a Dacia Logan at Christmas 2007 and extensively used the chains when the whole country was covered in deep snow (even the capitals airport was closed for 24 hours).

3) Know the speed limits and observe them, even if everyone else doesn’t. In particular, be careful when driving through long sprawly villages where Police often lurk at the entrance or exit with radars. The lack of speed signs makes it hard to know when a national speed limit changes to 50 or 70 Kp/h.

4) If you can’t see the road ahead is clear don’t risk overtaking. Too many people take silly risks just to save a few minutes.

5) If you need to cross from the west to the east, or are overlanding to Bulgaria and beyond, the ring road (marked “CB” on maps) around Bucharest is well worth taking. Yes, it is very bumpy and has subsided due to heavy trucks, but you avoid the crazinesss of driving through the centre of Bucharest.

6) Fuel stations offer all types of fuel and even LPG is not hard to find. Most stations accept credit cards, howevr, it’s worth having some cash just in case. Diesel is chaeper in Romania than most of Europe, including Hungary. The price of Romanian diesel is about £0.90-£0.95 per litre, against approx. £0.97-£1.00 in Hungary. It is worth filling cans/tanks if you’re heading back to Western Europe.

7) The drink drive limit is ZERO and this is generally respected by most driving members of the public.

8) If you plan to explore off the beaten track I wholeheartedly recommend the DIMAP 1:250,000 Road Atlas. Dimap are Hungarian cartographers who produce accurate and clear mapping. You can buy from their website. In the UK, the same mapping is sold in a Road Atlas published by Berndt & Freytag (sourced from Stanfords in London).

9) When you drive in Romania you needd to be focussed at all times and drive in a defensive manner ie. maintain adequate stopping distances, indicate in good time, select the appropriate lane early, be patient and take special care at junctions

10) If you have time and a good map, the smaller roads are highly recommended. You’ll not only lose the transcontinental trucks in your rear view mirror, but will start to slow down and enjoy the fabulous rural scenery.

Yes, driving in Romania is challenging, however, it is also very rewarding and in the main, the people are warmhearted, friendly and generous, especially towards foreigners (Hungarians and Russians excepetd!).

If you can learn a little Romanian it will stand you in good stead, otherwise, marry a Romanian as I did!

Funnily enough, we’re driving to Romania in a ’94 Hymer motorhome next week.

Drum Bun!

By: Ricky

Ricky — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 15:51:26 +0000

WOW!!!!! Peopele I am taking a trip through Romania this summer and I just bought a new Aston Martin DBS. I am wondering if it is really worth risking a 200,000.00$USD car there. I have seen that the best raod in the world for a super car is there in Romania and I want to drive that road and visit a few friends in Bucharest. I will still be coming but after reading this I may rent a lesser vauled car. I also understand that there are many super cars there now and they are growing as a fast and upcoming membership. Where do they open them up and take the cars to the limit?(SMILES) I guess the rest of EU driving I will find out myself.

By: sorin

sorin — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 19:48:42 +0000

INDEED,you are right,I am a romanian, but i have to say that dacia 1310 is quite cheap, but it have last for like 20years look forward on buying a better dacia, and use it like drinving in every hole you see,and you will observe it still works as new, for example DACIA LOGAN, alot of germans bought that model and works fine!