driving to finland

callan · Post by **callan** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 1:07 am

Hi guys, me again

... Well i come up with a crazy? idea, i was planning on visiting well pretty much all of europe after xmas, so instead of stupid airfairs, im now thinking of just driving.. but as you know come xmas, comes snow

(except in england LOL).. So the question is, never driven abroad or on the wrong side of the road, what do i have to observe in europe/eastern europe, and in regards to finland, i maybe staying there a while, so what will i need to do?

Kiitos

Callan

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karen · Post by **karen** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 2:08 am

Winter tires (tyres to you). You will need those.

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:09 am

No, we drive on the right side of the road. You drive on the wrong side.

mumboman · Post by **mumboman** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 9:29 am

I agree with Hank

Emi · Post by **Emi** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 11:48 am

in every meaning Hank

gon2o · Post by **gon2o** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 5:17 pm

Snow chains!! Sometimes even the best tires are not enough (especially if you are around the Alps).

karo · Post by **karo** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 5:27 pm

In Finland, the use of snow chains ("lumiketjut") is actually forbidden. Also, in the earlier discussion about winter tires here I think people were mainly just talking about studded tires, but it's also okay to use "friction tires" ("kitkarenkaat" in Finnish), which aren't studded/spiked, but often work as well (IME) and can be used all year round.

mookoo · Post by **mookoo** » Thu Aug 25, 2005 6:11 pm

karo wrote:but it's also okay to use "friction tires" ("kitkarenkaat" in Finnish), which aren't studded/spiked, but often work as well (IME) and can be used all year round.

Unless you are one of those &^$&!%$ who like to drive 2 meters behind other cars. The stopping distance is increased with the non-studded tires, but the noise is reduced. Safty first!

johnmcc · Post by **johnmcc** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 12:12 pm

You'll get used to driving on the right side of the road fairly quick. If u drive a RHD motor, then it can get tricky overtaking lorries. And remember, u drive the other way round roundabouts in Europe, so u give way to the left!!
As far as I'm aware, its illegal to use winter tyres in England, so u cant buy them there. I'm told u can get them off the internet, but they cost a fortune! Better to find a scrap yard in UK, buy the steel rims with useless tyres on them, then take these to Kwik-Fit or somewhere and get the tyres removed. Take the rims abroad with u and find a tyre supplier there. I hope u have a big motor, coz u'll need 4 wheels, they heavy and take up space..

SteveS · Post by **SteveS** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 3:09 pm

Hi Mate,

You can use what the Finnish call 'Kitkarenkaat' on your car. Commonly known in the UK as M&S tyres, short for Mud and Snow.

You can freely drive in the UK on these tyres (think what 4x4s use)! and also on Finnish roads here in the winter. You can find these in normal tyre sizes and I know of people in Scotland who always pop these on in the cold winter months.

Easy solution..

Cheers..

Hank W. · Post by **Hank W.** » Tue Aug 30, 2005 3:50 pm

Just keep a 1/4 mile behind me with those go-on-go-on-go-on-go-on-tyres

Emi · Post by **Emi** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 12:03 pm

btw, I think I can use this topic to ask my question - are you (due to law) allowed to drink anything before driving in finland? cos i heard 3 different opinions - one person told me you need to be 100% sober, another said you can drink one small beer (means 0.3 or 0.2) and the last one said it's allowed to drink the big one (0.5) so i have no idea now and i got really confused

potty · Post by **potty** » Wed Aug 31, 2005 1:20 pm

Sure you can drink and drive! Under the Penal Code, the driver of a motor vehicle is guilty of drunken driving if he/she has a minimum of 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or a minimum of 0.22 mg per litre of exhaled air. The limits for aggravated drunken driving are, respectively, 120 mg (blood) and 0.53 mg (exhaled air).

SteveS · Post by **SteveS** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 8:11 am

Regarding the drink drive limit, it is 50 mg in Finland as noted earlier compared to 80 mg in the UK. You can work it out from that. Be warned though, Finnish police quite frequently block off entire roads and breathtest everybody! They normally do this on Sat or Sun mornings. Be careful you don't have a skinful and then drive the next morning..

Regards Steve

dave071061 · Post by **dave071061** » Sun Sep 04, 2005 6:07 pm

SteveS wrote:Hi Mate,

You can use what the Finnish call 'Kitkarenkaat' on your car. Commonly known in the UK as M&S tyres, short for Mud and Snow.

You can freely drive in the UK on these tyres (think what 4x4s use)! and also on Finnish roads here in the winter. You can find these in normal tyre sizes and I know of people in Scotland who always pop these on in the cold winter months.

Easy solution..

Cheers..

Yep, Just make sure you had good insurance! I had M&S tires on my 4*4 Ford explorer when I first arrived in Finland, and neither the tyres or the 4*4 stopped me ending up in a ditch

M&S tyres will help in the snow,but not when every road is covered in sheet ice!

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