Driving in Denmark

The minimum age of a driver is 18 years. Children under 3 years of age must be seated in a special child restraint. The use of seat belts is compulsory for front-seat passengers. The legal blood alcohol limit is 80 mg. Speed limits are as follows: 50 kph (30 mph) in built-up areas, 80 kph (50 mph) outside built-up areas, 110 kph (68 mph) on expressways, and 70 kph (44 mph) for cars with a caravan or trailer traveling outside built-up areas or on expressways.

If a line of triangles is painted across the road, it means you must yield. You must also yield to buses. Beware of bicyclists.

Headlights must be used at all times. Use your lights instead of your horn to signal warning in circumstances not involving immediate and extreme danger. When wiaitng at a level train crossing use only sidelights, headlights should be off.

Police are empowered to collect fines on the spot.

The Danish Tourist Board distributes a leaflet on intra- and international ferry services.

The completion of the new 18 kilometres-long Great Belt bridge and tunnel linking the islands of Sealand and Funen revolutionised the infrastructure of domestic travel with the first seamless surface connection all the way from the European continent to Copenhagen. The technological masterpiece includes the world's second longest suspension bridge (6.6 kilometres). The opening of the Øresund bridge and tunnel for cars and trains in 2000 now links Copenhagen with Malmö in Sweden.

Parking

Parkering/Standsning/Stop Forbudt means no parking/no stopping; you are, however, allowed a three-minute grace period for loading and unloading when in such a zone. Parking discs allow parking for usually one hour and are required where no parking metres are in place in central Copenhagen. Discs are available at banks, fuel stations, post offices, tourist offices, and the motoring club (FDM) offices. Parking metres usually allow up to 3 hours of parking. metres are checked on weekdays from 9am to 6pm and on Saturday from 9am to 1pm, they accept 1 Kr and 25 øre coins. In other large towns, parking on the street is often restricted to one hour; this is indicated by the standard No Parking sign bearing the words 1-times zone. (A series of slashes across this sign indicates the end of the restriction.)

Licence

Foreign licences are accepted until their expiration date passes.

Fuel

Fuel stations that are not in large towns often close at night; many, however, offer self-service pumps which accept 100 Kr notes 24 hours a day. Major credit cards are generally accepted. Leaded super petrol has an octane rating of 98. Unleaded petrol is known as blyfri benzin. Regular unleaded has an octane rating of 92; the octane rating of super is 95 or 98. Diesel is called dieselolie. LPG goes by its English name.