FOREIGN MOTORING LAWS - BEWARE OF GREEKS BEARING NUMBERPLATES!

Quirky road laws in other European nations have often in the past been a source of amusement for the British motorist - until a Continental cop decides to make one of them an issue.

Take holidaymakers who park a car illegally in Athens. They shouldn't be too surprised to see a policeman walking down the road with their numberplates under his arm. A trip to the police station to get them back, and pay the fine for the parking offence, is really the only option open to them. Then there are the Spanish policemen who tell bespectacled drivers to show them a spare pair of glasses: they're not joking either.

To be fair, many of these 'strange' laws actually make good sense. For instance, if drivers who wear glasses break them and don't have a spare set, they will invalidate their insurance if they get behind the wheel again. The only practical solution to such a dilemma is for drivers to carry a spare set for use in an emergency.

So take the hint: brush up on your knowledge of continental road signs before taking to the roads across the channel. Also take note of the rules of the road in different countries to avoid continental road rage and conflict with other drivers, on what should be a relaxing drive to your holiday destination. Bear in mind too that because of the relatively short distances from country to country on the continent, as a motorist heading for Southern Europe, you could find yourself travelling across two, or even three countries in a short space of time.

As well as driving on the opposite side of the road, UK motorists need to be prepared to contend with different road laws. For example, in many cities in Austria, parking measures have been enforced to help reduce congestion, meaning that drivers can only park in certain zones during stated days ...