Please sign in to post.

Driving in Belgium and Netherlands

We are planning to rent a car and drive while in Belgium and the Netherlands. We have always gotten the extra CDW insurance from the rental car Co -- because we were driving in Ireland and Italy -- but this time we are considering using the coverage from our CC. We have a Capital One Visa. Am I wrong to feel nervous about this? It feels like it could open a can of worms.

Based on feed back from a friend who lived in Brussels -- she indicated that drivers in Belgium are very aggressive and they even have the crazy -- priority on the right rule -- where drivers aproaching on a street to your right can just blast out in front of you. This sounds insane -- what is the reality of driving in Belgium? Is it that filled with peril? Can it be crazier than Ireland?

Thanks for any feedback!

Posted by
12040 posts

I've driven a lot in Belgium. I would say more aggressive than the European norm, but no worse than many parts of the US. Just learn the few differences in road rules between Europe and the US and you'll be fine. There is a road symbol (yellow triangle with and without a slash) that indicates who has priority. The whole "priority on the right" issues is often simplified by the frequent use of round-abouts at intersections.

Posted by
162 posts

Thanks so much for your wisdom. I guess we are as prepared as possible!