Website of the week: www.theaa.com
Are you driving to the Continent this summer? If so, you should gen up on
what paperwork and kit to take, and the local rules of the road.
The AA's website is supposedly one of the best places to do this. So what does it
tell you?
Know your facts: The open road in Italy
Strengths
The European driving section of its motoring advice is a mine of information. There's a general checklist on what documents to take, along with the low-down on GB stickers and headlight adjustments.
Even more useful is the detailed country-specific advice, which spells out local drink-drive limits (lower in many European countries than in the UK), and laws that you
might unwittingly fall foul of.
For example, you will learn that France brought in a regulation last year requiring a reflective jacket and warning triangle to be carried in cars, and that in Spain you need to travel with a spare set of bulbs, and if you wear glasses, you should have a replacement pair in the car.
The advice for Italy wisely advises drivers to look out for Zone a Traffico Limitato signs
in towns, which indicate that traffic is restricted to residents only.
Mine of information: Theaa.com
Other helpful European information includes toll prices. For UK driving, there's a nifty interactive route planner, and you can search for, and read reports on, AA inspected hotels, B&Bs, campsites and restaurants.
There are also tips on minimising fuel consumption and what to do if you break down - how to change a tyre and use jump leads, that sort of thing.
Weaknesses
The European route planner is pretty basic - use www.viamichelin.com instead.
And the site is a mess. Too much prominence is given to the stuff on sale, such as the AA's various forms of breakdown cover, its car and home insurance and credit card, which rather drowns out all the useful info on the site.
Ratings
Inspiring 2/5
Useful 5/5
Easy to use 3/5
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