One important thing to know before driving a car in Crete is that the Greek traffic law is one of the toughest in Europe, huge sanctions and fines are applied and your driver’s license can be easily suspended, even if you are a tourist. Please take note on the below rules:

1. Driver’s license suspended

· Using your phone while driving. Only hands-free devices are accepted, so an Instagram story can and will cost you your license 😊

· Not wearing the seatbelt (all passengers from the car MUST wear the seatbelt, if the back seat is also equipped) or the safety helmet (in case of motorbikes or scooters);

· Trespassing and overtaking the continuous simple or double white line that separates the lanes;

· Overtaking in places that are marked with a prohibitory sign;

· Not stopping at or ignoring the signs of road agents – police, but especially road workers, where the traffic has to be diverted (for example all traffic is done on only one lane, as the other one is under construction/maintenance/ being repaired);

· Not following the traffic light colours, i.e to continue your way at the red light;

· Not stopping at the STOP sign, when entering a main road from an adjacent street;

· Stopping on the motorway in places that are not specially designed or arranged (i.e. on the emergency lane for a bio-break);

· Driving on the emergency lane, no matter the period;

· Driving in the opposite direction/lane. Be very careful, especially in the cities, to one-way streets. In order to keep the traffic at low levels, many side and narrow streets have been turned into one-way streets. 200 years ago, people used to drive carriages on those roads, so enlarging them to accommodate at least one lane/way was not an option;

· Parking on the spots designated for people with disabilities or residents and marked as such. Those for people with disabilities are painted blue and have the wheelchair sign, those for residents are marked by a yellow line;

· Possession of radar detectors, even if they are not in use. The fine is 2000 euros!

· Driving on the designated bus lanes (especially in Heraklion or Chania);

· Doing any type of dangerous maneuvers, such as overtaking in an area with limited visibility, even though there is no traffic or road sign (continuous line) that prohibits it;

· Throwing on the window any objects that pollute the environment or can cause a fire or an accident. As you know, every summer Greece is facing wildfires and some of them are man-made. So do not throw cigarette buds, even if they are well extinguished, plastic bags (they are extremely dangerous especially on highways, if they get stuck on your side mirrors), plastic or any type of bottles, cans, etc.;

·Over-speeding with more than 30km/h;

· Drunk driving;

· Any type of fuel transported in recipients in your trunk (even those specially designed for this purpose) is categorized as a criminal offense, and a criminal record will be open for smuggling of petroleum/fuel products. 

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2. Fines 

· Over speeding: up to 20km/h – 40E, between 20 km/h and 30 km/h – 50 E over 30km/h – 175E and 60 days as a pedestrian

· Driving under influence (first values are the ones from exhaled air, second values are blood alcohol levels)

             o 0.25-0.40 mg/l /// 0.5-0.8 g/l – 200E and the immobilization of the vehicle

             o 0.4-0.6 mg/l /// 0.8-1.10 g/l – 700E, immobilization of the vehicle and license suspended for 90 days  

             o Over 0.6 mg/l /// 1.1 g/l – 1200E, immobilization of the vehicle, license plates suspended from 10 up to 60 days, driver’s license suspended for 180 days and minimum 2 months of jail time. Those who relapse in less than 2 years and are caught again DUI, with blood alcohol levels of over 1.1 g/l are fined with 2000E, license suspended for 5 years and minimum 6 months of jail time. 

· Not wearing the seatbelt – 350E

· Breaking the overtaking rules and restrictions – 700E

· Not stopping at red light or STOP sign – 700E

· Not allowing the pedestrians to cross at the pedestrian crossing – 200E

· Using your phone while driving – 100E

· Parking violations: from 40E to 150E, license plates can be taken off for up to 60 days. In this case, you have to pay the parking fee for the entire duration.

· Dangerous maneuvers – 700E

Fines can be paid at local post offices, look for the ΕΛΤΑ sign (it’s an acronym of ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΤΑΧΥΔΡΟΜΕΙΑ, literally meaning Hellenic Post). The fine must be paid in full, there is no “grace period” when you can pay a smaller amount. It used to be, but it was removed in 2018. Police officers are not allowed to cash any fine, they will just give you the ticket. You can ask them where you can pay, they will assist you with info and directions.

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 In my opinion, there are three major traffic participants that can be considered a potential danger:

1. Scooter drivers. Usually, to drive a 2 wheels scooter you need at least AM category on your driving license. This applies to small ones. For the bigger ones, you need at least A1 category or even A (the category for motorbikes). The thing is that most locals do not have a license, they appear from where you least expect, the scooters are old or not properly maintained and their signal lights do not work and the drivers forget to indicate their direction change with their hands (like a biker would do). Also, tourists rent scooters (as they are cheaper than cars) even though some of them never drove one. 

2. Sorry to say it, but the second on my list are British drivers. Or those that are used to driving on the other side of the road 😊 they usually create some sort of  chaos at roundabouts or when it comes to steep turns, especially to the left. Also, when they have to double check (when they enter a main road or a main boulevard from a side street), they first check their right side (out of habit) instead of their left side (which is what we normally do, as the first car would be coming from the left). Unfortunately, rented cars do not have special license plates (as there is in Cyprus, for example) so that the locals can avoid them 😊 

3. Last but not least, people who mainly drive automatic cars and rent manual transmission vehicles. This is understandable, as automatic cars are not so popular in Europe or in Greece mainly because of the costs, as they are way more expensive than the manual ones and also their maintenance is more costly. Therefore, the rental companies do not have so many automatic cars in their parking lot and they are usually all-booked, especially by US tourists. So, knowing when to press and release the clutch and shifting gears can be a little more than difficult for someone who never used the 3rd pedal or used it a veeeeery long time ago 😊 

So, as a conclusion, follow the traffic rules and signs, as you would do in your home city or country, don’t drink and drive. Try not to drive vehicles you are not comfortable with (scooters or ATVs) or a type of car you last used a gazilion years ago or never used (manual or automatic). Don’t overspeed, as speed cameras are working and you might receive a nice surprise gift from the rental company (usually they receive the fine, as the police sends it to them, based on the license plate). Although you might not see as much traffic police in Crete, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Also, they do not pull you over for non-existing traffic violations. If they ask you to stop, you surely did something bad (most drivers are pulled over as they are seen not wearing the seatbelt or using their phones or they are overspeeding, or the police saw then breaking the overtaking rules, etc). Try not to ruin your vacation or exceed your budget because of a parking ticket or an Instagram story 🙂