Driving in Spain- or the Koala in the Monkey Cage part II

It's a little too much to say that the Spanish are bad drivers, because they spend their driving lives performing dangerous operations that require considerable skill and coordination. Hurtling along the road too fast and too close, they like to move without indicating and overtake with warning on tight bends.

There is a surprising level of tolerance generally for this egotistical behaviour. Carmen even referred to it as 'good driving' once which was so counter-intuitive that I had no reply. If you have never driven in Spain you might find these pointers useful.

First, the speed limit is a suggestion unless there is a camera about and, since these are almost exclusively on motorways, you can drive as fast as you like through mountain villages. The normal speed for built-up areas is 50km per hour, but if you are on the main road passing through a village you can add another twenty to this.

You may feel a little nervous at roaring past the front doors of houses. They almost invariably give directly onto the road, because pavements are rare in the country and front gardens rarer. You can be confident that the residents are aware of the dangers, however, and will take precautions against getting squashed.

It can be more dangerous if, in English fashion, you stick religiously to the speed limit. Any drivers behind you will start to do dangerous things out of impatience at this unexpected behaviour: driving too close in an attempt to push you to go faster, for example, or overtaking in the middle of the village.

Considering the dangers of country roads people are remarkably blasé about going for a walk along the highway. As I said, there are few pavements in villages and the corollary of this is an almost total lack of footpaths for walking in the country. It is not at all unusual to come around a tight bend and see some old fellow taking his wheelbarrow for a walk or a couple of old ladies in wellies and aprons chatting as they stroll along. The normal response is to veer into the other lane without touching the brakes: you wouldn't want the car on your bumper to crash into you.

As you approach a town there are a couple of things that are immediately apparent. First, there is no culture of 'letting someone out'. If you are half out of a parking space you can expect the traffic to swerve around you rather than wait for you to finish the manoeuvre. Likewise, if you think you are being polite by letting someone out, think again. The cars behind will think you are waiting for the space and will swerve around you as well.

You are probably getting the picture that what you consider to be polite and 'good' driving is actually unexpected and dangerous in Spain. No example of the difference in culture is clearer than the use of roundabouts. On a roundabout it is perfectly acceptable for someone to roar around on the outide lane and beat you to the exit. In the UK this would be called 'cutting up' and would be a justifiable cause for road rage.

Lane discipline does not exist: a car in the right hand lane could be taking the first, second, or third exit. This means that if you are in the left hand lane you will probably have to cut across the traffic. For this reason, Carmen always sits in the right hand lane no matter where she is going, even if there is a huge queue of traffic- most people agree with her.

On the open road you need to get used to people driving close to your bumper. No one is aware of the three second rule here. Ricardo, who learnt to drive in Finland, asked a friend of his why he was driving so close. What would happen if the car in front suddenly braked? 'But he would have to be crazy to do that!' was the incredulous reply.

People are working on the assumption that you can drive fast and close if everyone shares the same expectations. Don't get all nervous and English: it makes it dangerous. You can have a car on your bumper for many miles on a road that is deserted and far too windy to overtake. There is no benefit in driving so close, people just like it that way.

Conversely, if you leave a space between you and the car ahead of you, you can expect a succession of cars behind you to see that as an open invitation to overtake. There may be little to gain in a queue of traffic miles long but there is a general rule of the road that if you see an opportunity you should take it, even if it makes no sense and is dangerous.

Modern technology has made a great impact on the fatality rates in Spain: new brakes are better than the old ones and the steering in a new car is much more responsive. There has also been a concerted campaign to reduce drink driving, although it continues to be surprising that there are bars in service stations. You can expect to have a number of shocks and surprises driving here, but you should return in one piece. Just don't be too English about it and you will be just fine.