We continue our informative series of articles about driving tips and rules in most popular tourist countries. RentMama.com will help you to find cheap an realible local car rental companies in Prague. But with your car rent in Prague, it is important that you have looked through some of these rules and regulations about driving a car to ensure you have the safest possible journey.
Road Rules
- Drive on the right hand side of the road.
- Driving with lights on is required 24 hours a day. When waiting a level train crossings use sidelights only.
- Horns can be used only to warn of danger or to signal that you are about to pass
- The use of seat belts is compulsory for front- and rear-seat passengers.
- Children in the front seat under 12yrs/1.5m must use an appropriate restraint.
- Child seat is obligatory for kids of less than 36 kg of weight or 1,5 m of height. If there are 3 kids on the rear-seat, the oldest child may be just belted without having a child seat.
Car Rent Requirements
To rent a car in Czech Republic, you must be at least 21 years old (age may vary by car category) and have held your license for 1 year. Drivers under the age of 25 may incur a young driver surcharge. An International Drivers License is required for driving a car hire. The minimum driving age is 18
Required documents
- Foreigners are required to carry an International Driving Permit. If you are from EU country, it will be enough to have your national Driving licence.
- The vehicle registration certificate
- The third person liability insurance policy of the owner of the vehicle or sticker
- The document ( sticker) confirming the passed national tehnical inspection
Essential Safety Equipment
- Warning triangle
- Fire extinguisher
- First aid kit
- Reflective vest
- Safety vest
- Spare wheel
- Highway prepaid coupon
Drink Driving Limits
The legal blood alcohol limit is 0 mg. Driving of the car under action of alcohol or drugs is regarded as a crime.
Driving Speed Limits
Urban kph (mph)
Open Road kph (mph)
Motorway kph (mph)
Car
50 (31)
90 (56)
90-130 (56-78)
Towing
50 (31)
80 (50)
80 (50)
Drivers who have held a licence for less than 2 years are limited to 80kph (50mph)
Roads
Beside the main highway corridor and the segments still under construction, there are a number of high-speed roads similar to highways. A number of smaller roads connecting major cities and tourist regions meet the same quality standards. The roads are generally well marked, with plenty of gas stations, refreshment, dining and shopping options.
Fuel
Fuel stations are usually located on the edge of towns. Stations on international roads and in large towns are open 24 hour. Credit cards are accepted in main towns and in popular tourist areas. Finding a station in Prague is difficult. Leaded regular petrol has an octane rating of 91; the octane rating of super is 96. Lead-free petrol is known as Natural; its octane rating is 95 or 98. Diesel is designated by a sign that reads TT Diesel or Nafta.
Tolls
To travel the expressways your vehicle must bear a special sticker on its windscreen. You will get the above mentioned sticker for free for the whole car rental period. It is forbidden to use motorways without the above mentioned sticker. In many other Europian countries the motorway are also tolled. When crossing border it is necessary to inquire about the expressways tolls rules in the country. In Germany, Holland, Belgium motorways are FREE-OF-CHARGE.
Parking Information
Parking in Prague and Czechia – Parking is only allowed on the right side of the road, but this restriction does not apply to one-way roads. Parking along a tram line is prohibited unless a 3.5-metre wide lane is left between the vehicle and the tram lane. Don’t park within 5 metres of an intersection, pedestrian crossing, or public transportation stop. Don’t park within 15 metres of a train crossing. Do not park with an exhaust to a side-walk, on a place with a sign RESERVE or on a place with a sign HANDICAP.
White dotted line on road or corresponding signs resolve parking. The parking can be free-of-charge or paid. In Prague, parking at “automats”, indicated by a green stripe, have a six-hour maximum and those indicated with an orange stripe have a two-hour maximum. Road areas, marked with a blue line on road (the Blue zone), are only for cars with resident parking card. In “Yellow zones” (yellow line on road) – NO parking. Illegally parked vehicles may be towed or clamped.
Mobile Phones
It is not aloud to use your mobile phone without HANDS-FREE system when driving a car.
Emergency Numbers
112 – General Emergency Number
112 is the general emergency line throughout the European Union (similar to 911 in the U.S.) It should be used for large-scale emergencies, especially for those who don’t speak Czech – operators will speak English and German as well as Czech. The number can be dialed from any phone, and the call is free. The call is also traced with Caller ID – even mobile phones can be located within a 200 meter radius. The number can be used for urgent help from Police, Fire Brigade, or Emergency Medical Assistance, though these numbers can also be dialed directly:
150 – Fire
155 – Medical Emergency (Ambulance/First Aid)
156 – Prague City Police
158 – Police
Also, important numbers for car trouble or road services:
154 – Towing Service
1230 – Emergency Road Service (ABA)
1240 – Emergency Road Service (UAMK)
First Aid and Hospitals
In case of a non-urgent emergency, doctors/hospitals can be contacted directly. The hospital Na Holmolce is the most expat-friendly, with a special clinic for foreigners and numerous English-speakers, but it is a bit far from the centre of town. A few examples of 24-hour doctors and hospitals:
Doctors/First Aid:
224 947 717 – Prague 1 & 2 (children)
224 949 181 – Prague 1 & 2 (adults)
284 861 979 – Prague 3 (children)
284 862 149 – Prague 3 (adults)
241 733 916 – Prague 4, 11, & 12 (children)
241 733 917 – Prague 4, 11, & 12 (adults)
257 323 221 – Prague 5 (children)
257 323 219 – Prague 5 (adults)
Hospitals:
257 271 111 – Nemocnice Na Holmolce (Prague 5)
222 801 111 – Nemocnice na Františku (Prague 1)
222 928 111 – Workplace: Poliklinika Palackého (Prague 1)
224 961 111 – Všeobecná fakultní nemocnice v Praze (Prague 2)
261 081 111 – Fakutní Thomayerova nemocnice s poliklinikou (Prague 4)
296 511 111 – Nemocnice Podolí gynekologie a porodnice (gynecology and childbirth services; Prague 4)
224 431 111 – Fakultní nemocnice v Motole s poliklinikou (Prague 5)
267 161 111 – Fakultní nemocnice Královské Vinohrady (Prague 10)
For a full list of doctors and hospitals (as well as some other useful numbers, including help/crisis lines), see the official website of the Czech yellow pages here:
http://www.zlatestranky.cz/hledani/praha/
24 Hour Pharmacies
Even over-the-counter medication needs to be purchased at a pharmacy (lekarna). In case of urgent need, certain pharmacies are open 24-hours:
224 946 982 – Prague 1, Palackého 5
222 519 731 – Prague 2, Belgická 37
261 084 001 – Thomayerova hospital, Prague 4, Vídeňská 800
257 320 918 – Prague 5, Štefánikova 6
224 435 736 – Hospital Motol, Prague 5, V Úvalu 84
266 082 017 – Bulovka Hospital, Prague 8, Budínova 2
Dental Emergencies
The following dental offices offer services from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Monday through Friday, and are open 24 hours on Saturday and Sunday:
224 986 981 – Prague 1
241 733 918 – Prague 4
Repair Services
Should there be a problem with gas, water, electricity, etc., use the following numbers to report them, and hopefully have them repaired:
131 29 – Problems with the phone line
1239 – Urgent problems with gas
840 111 112 – Problems with water, pipes, or sewer system
224 915 151 – Problems with electricity
224 231 856 – Problems with roads
244 470 800 – Problems with street lighting
Information
There are a few over-the-phone information services that are offered by Cesky Telecom, usually for a steep price. Note that many of the services are offered only in Czech.
187 – General Information
1180 – Info Line: Czech Number Directory
1181 – Info Line: Foreign Number Directory
141 11 – Operator for changed numbers (information about renumbering)
141 10 – Information on air consistency (percentage of gases in the Prague air)
141 12 – Exact time
141 16 – Weather
141 20 – Medical Information
133 002 – Operator for International phone calls
An interactive price list for these and other over-the-phone information services can be found here (follow the link for Volání na infolinky):
http://www.telecom.cz/nastroje_e/interaktivni_cenik/#
Lost Credit Cards
Lost or stolen credit card? Call one of the following services to take care of it:
224 125 353 – Visa
222 800 111 – American Express
261 354 650 – MasterCard/Eurocard
267 314 285 – Diners Club
Taxi Services
Prague is flooded with taxis, but avoid picking one up on the street, as you’ll likely be overcharged. Here are some of the reputable companies:
140 14 – AAA
257 257 257 – City Taxi
257 216 479 – Taxi Praha
Don’t Drink and Drive
An alternative to Taxis, if you’ve driven somewhere, had a few too many, and can’t (or don’t want to) leave your car behind, they’ll pick you up and drive both you and your car back home:
604 707 070 – Drink S.O.S.
Tyres
Winter Tires are necessary when there is -5 Celsius, on the D1 motorway. Originally, you didn’t have to use Winter Tyres from ht law, but when there was an accident, the one with regular tyres was always in truble.
So carefully, when the termometer shows less than -5, and you are going from Prague to Brno, and you see the traffic sign, you can get fined for summer ones. It is also possible to continue with snow chains on. Placement of the sign on other roads is now in jurisdiction of districts themselves. The Sign is valid from November to the end of March.
Special Rules
- Having heard a signal of a special vehicle with blinking alarm (police, first aid or firemen), the driver is obliged to brake and, having handed over a little aside, to stop and pass a special transport.
- In traffic jam on the expressway reserve one line always free for special transport (police, ambulance, firemen cars).Trams should be passed on the right. It’s illegal and dangerous to pass trams on the left.
- At entrance on a roundabout (traffic circle) the motor vehicles already going on a circle have advantage. At leaving from a circle it is necessary to switch on a side-light.
Police Fines
Policemen are empowered to collect fines of up to 5000 crones on the spot. Fines of upper amount may be imposed for later collection. The police is strict at rough infringements (alcohol in blood); at insignificant infringements (Eg: the delayed payment for a parking) it is possible to keep within the penalty of 500 crones. From 01.07.2006 the penalty points system started working. Total max amount of 12 points deprives a foreigner of right to drive in the Czech Republic for 1 year. One breaking is estimated at 1-7 points.
If you have found out “Reference to the driver / Výzva pro ridice” from Czech police (a small white paper, with hand written number of a motor vehicle, date and time, with a stamp of Czech police, the address of police and working hours) under a wiper, it means, that you have slightly broken traffic rules, most likely parking rules.In this document you are asked to come to the specified address, to explain the reason of infringement and to pay the possible penalty. If you found your car clamped, call to the attached phone number, tell the plate number and the address. The police will arrive and after penalty charge will remove the clamper. If you have not found out the car on a place where you have parked, it means, that your car has been towed by police to a penal parking because of wrong parking. Call on free-of-charge phone 156, where you will get the information about address of penal parking. It will be necessary to pay one day of a parking (1450 crones) and the penalty.
But it is better to follow the traffic rules. As an attachment to the car rental agreement all our clients get an instruction with basic driving rules in the Czech Republic.