In the United Kingdom you drive on the left, with the steering wheel on the right, and roundabouts go clockwise.
Watch for fixed, mobile, average speed and red light cameras.
The most important first.
Traffic keeps to the left. At roundabouts you give priority to traffic coming from your right, and go round clockwise. Look right first when you join.
A white disc with a black diagonal band means the national speed limit applies. For a car that is 60 mph on a single carriageway and 70 mph on a dual carriageway or motorway.
On roads with street lights, a 30 mph limit usually applies unless signs show otherwise. In Wales the default on these roads has been 20 mph since September 2023, and there are no repeater signs.
You must not cross the stop line while the light is red. There is no left turn on red. Only a green filter arrow lets you go.
Holding a phone or sat nav while driving is illegal even when you are stopped at lights or in traffic. The penalty is £200 and 6 penalty points.
A red X above a lane means the lane is closed, and driving in it is a £100 offence with 3 points, caught by cameras. A speed limit shown in a red circle on an overhead sign is the legal limit.
The limit in Scotland is 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, against 80 mg in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The safest choice is not to drink at all before driving.
Criss-cross yellow lines mark a box junction. You must not enter the box until your exit road or lane is clear. You may wait in it to turn right if only oncoming traffic or other right-turning vehicles stop you. In London, a penalty for this is £160.
Don't drive in a bus lane during its hours of operation, shown on the signs. You may enter one to stop, load or unload where this is not prohibited. In London, a bus lane penalty is £160.
Central London has a Congestion Charge of £18 a day, from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 12pm to 6pm at weekends and on bank holidays. All of Greater London is an Ultra Low Emission Zone. Hire car drivers must pay these themselves online, or face a £180 penalty plus a hire company fee.
The M25 crossing east of London costs £3.50 for a car between 6am and 10pm. Pay online, by phone or at a Payzone shop by midnight the day after you cross, or you get a £70 penalty.
When turning into or out of a side road, give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross it. At a zebra crossing you must give way once a pedestrian has stepped onto it.
Charging hours are 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 12pm to 6pm on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. TfL suspended the charge from 25 December 2025 to 1 January 2026. Driving in the zone during charging hours costs £18 a day if paid in advance or on the day, or £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after travel. Electric cars get 25 per cent off only when registered for Auto Pay. Where: Central London. Fine: £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. It rises to £270 if not paid or challenged within 28 days. When you hire a car, paying the charge is your job. If the hire company has to deal with a penalty for you, it adds a fee. Budget charges £25 plus VAT.
Petrol cars must meet Euro 4 and diesel cars Euro 6, or pay £12.50 a day. The zone runs 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day. Where: All London boroughs, up to but not including the M25. Fine: £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. Vehicles registered outside the UK must be registered with TfL's partner EPC plc, even if they meet the standards.
Only Birmingham and Bristol charge private cars. Cars that meet Euro 4 (petrol) or Euro 6 (diesel) don't pay. Other cars pay £8 a day in Birmingham, inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, and £9 a day in Bristol, where the charge runs midnight to midnight every day. Where: Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead). Fine: £120 plus the daily charge in Bristol, reduced to £60 plus the charge if paid within 14 days. Birmingham's penalty is also £120. Pay on GOV.UK up to 6 days before you travel or by 11:59pm on the sixth day after you drive in.
Petrol cars must meet Euro 4 and diesel cars Euro 6. Vehicles that don't meet the standard can't pay to enter. Cameras check every vehicle 24 hours a day, including public holidays, and the registered keeper of a vehicle that doesn't meet the standard gets a penalty charge notice. Where: City centres of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Fine: £60 for a car, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days. It doubles with each further breach, up to £480, and goes back to £60 after 90 days without a breach. You can't register or pay in advance. The online vehicle checker can't check vehicles registered outside the UK.
The Dartford Crossing on the M25 east of London charges cars £3.50 between 6am and 10pm, paid online, by phone or with cash at a Payzone shop by midnight the day after you cross. Two tunnels in east London also charge. The M6 Toll near Birmingham has barriers where you pay by contactless card. Dartford Crossing: crossings between 10pm and 6am are free. Dartford Crossing: the charge applies at weekends and on bank holidays too.
Where no sign says otherwise, in miles per hour.
The app animates all 5 junctions for the United Kingdom, including the ones above.
Open it in the appThe national speed limit applies: for cars, 60 mph on a single carriageway and 70 mph on a dual carriageway or motorway.
The maximum speed in miles per hour until another speed limit sign.
Cameras enforce speed limits or other traffic rules on this road.
Speed limits on this road change and are shown on electronic signs. Cameras enforce them.
Average speed cameras measure your speed between two or more points.
Give way to traffic on the major road.
Stop and give way.
No entry for vehicles.
Mini-roundabout ahead. Give way to vehicles from the immediate right.
You must not enter the box until your exit road or lane is clear.
The lane is closed.
You are entering the London Congestion Charge zone.
Fixed speed cameras are painted yellow or covered in yellow reflective sheeting, and are signposted with a camera sign. Police also use marked mobile camera vans, average speed cameras, red light cameras and cameras that enforce red X lane closures on smart motorways.
Speed camera (safety camera)
Looks like: A box on a pole beside the road, painted yellow or covered in yellow reflective sheeting. Some photograph the back of the car after it passes. Others photograph approaching cars from the front, including the driver.
Catches: Speeding.
Guidance says the camera should be visible from 60 metres where the limit is 40 mph or less, and from 100 metres elsewhere.
Mobile safety camera van
Looks like: A van in enforcement livery parked at the roadside. An operator working away from the van wears high-visibility clothing.
Catches: Speeding.
Police officers also use hand-held laser or radar speed guns from the roadside or from police vehicles.
Average speed cameras
Looks like: Yellow cameras at two or more points along the road, which read number plates and work out the average speed between them.
Catches: An average speed above the limit between the camera points.
Used along stretches with scattered collisions and through roadworks, often with a 50 mph limit on motorway roadworks.
Every camera type in the United Kingdom, the warning signs and how fines reach you
| Licence from | Permit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| the EU, Iceland | Not needed | Visitors with an EU or EEA licence can drive for up to 12 months from when they enter Great Britain. GOV.UK does not ask for an International Driving Permit. |
| Australia, New Zealand, United States, Canada, Switzerland | Not needed | Visitors can drive any small vehicle, such as a car, listed on a full and valid licence for 12 months from when they last entered Great Britain. GOV.UK does not ask for an International Driving Permit. |
| Japan | Recommended | GOV.UK lets visitors drive on a full, valid licence for 12 months. Hire companies such as Enterprise require an International Driving Permit when a licence is written in a different language or script, so bring one. |
Charging hours are 7am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 12pm to 6pm on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays. TfL suspended the charge from 25 December 2025 to 1 January 2026. Driving in the zone during charging hours costs £18 a day if paid in advance or on the day, or £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after travel. Electric cars get 25 per cent off only when registered for Auto Pay. Where: Central London. Fine: £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days. It rises to £270 if not paid or challenged within 28 days.
Tip: When you hire a car, paying the charge is your job. If the hire company has to deal with a penalty for you, it adds a fee. Budget charges £25 plus VAT.
Petrol cars must meet Euro 4 and diesel cars Euro 6, or pay £12.50 a day. The zone runs 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day. Where: All London boroughs, up to but not including the M25. Fine: £180, reduced to £90 if paid within 14 days.
Tip: Vehicles registered outside the UK must be registered with TfL's partner EPC plc, even if they meet the standards.
Only Birmingham and Bristol charge private cars. Cars that meet Euro 4 (petrol) or Euro 6 (diesel) don't pay. Other cars pay £8 a day in Birmingham, inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, and £9 a day in Bristol, where the charge runs midnight to midnight every day. Where: Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead) Fine: £120 plus the daily charge in Bristol, reduced to £60 plus the charge if paid within 14 days. Birmingham's penalty is also £120.
Tip: Pay on GOV.UK up to 6 days before you travel or by 11:59pm on the sixth day after you drive in.
Petrol cars must meet Euro 4 and diesel cars Euro 6. Vehicles that don't meet the standard can't pay to enter. Cameras check every vehicle 24 hours a day, including public holidays, and the registered keeper of a vehicle that doesn't meet the standard gets a penalty charge notice. Where: City centres of Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow. Fine: £60 for a car, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days. It doubles with each further breach, up to £480, and goes back to £60 after 90 days without a breach.
Tip: You can't register or pay in advance. The online vehicle checker can't check vehicles registered outside the UK.
The Dartford Crossing on the M25 east of London charges cars £3.50 between 6am and 10pm, paid online, by phone or with cash at a Payzone shop by midnight the day after you cross. Two tunnels in east London also charge. The M6 Toll near Birmingham has barriers where you pay by contactless card.
| At the pump | Means |
|---|---|
| Petrol | Gasoline |
| E10 | The standard grade of petrol, sold as unleaded |
| E5 (super unleaded) | Super grade petrol, 97 octane or higher |
| Diesel | Diesel |
Central London has a Congestion Charge of £18 a day, or £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after travel. It applies from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and 12pm to 6pm at weekends and on bank holidays.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone covers all London boroughs and charges £12.50 a day to vehicles that don't meet the standards.
The Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels under the Thames in east London charge cars £1.50 off-peak and £4 at peak times.
Red lines mark red routes, where stopping is banned.
Bus lane and yellow box junction penalties in London are £160, halved if paid within 14 days.
You must not park on the pavement anywhere in London.
Both city centres are low emission zones. Petrol cars must meet Euro 4 and diesel cars Euro 6, and cameras check every vehicle 24 hours a day.
A car that doesn't meet the standard brings a £60 penalty, doubling for repeat breaches. You can't pay to enter.
The drink-drive limit in Scotland is 50 mg per 100 ml of blood, lower than in England.
Pavement parking and double parking are banned in Scotland.
Roads inside the A4540 Middleway ring road form a Clean Air Zone. The ring road itself is not included.
Cars that don't meet Euro 4 (petrol) or Euro 6 (diesel) pay £8 a day. Pay on GOV.UK up to 6 days before or by 11:59pm on the sixth day after you drive in.
No. You must not cross the stop line while the light is red. Only a green filter arrow lets you go.
It means the national limit for the road type applies. For a car that is 60 mph on a single carriageway and 70 mph on a dual carriageway or motorway.
Yes. Visitors can drive a car on a full, valid licence for 12 months from when they last entered Great Britain. Northern Ireland also allows 12 months. Hire companies may ask for an International Driving Permit if your licence is not in English.
50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or 22 micrograms per 100 ml of breath. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland it is 80 mg and 35 micrograms.
Yes, if you drive in the zone from 7am to 6pm on a weekday, or 12pm to 6pm at a weekend or on a bank holiday. The driver pays it, not the hire company. It costs £18 a day, or £21 if paid by midnight on the third day after travel. An unpaid charge brings a £180 penalty and usually a hire company fee.
The lane is closed. You must not drive in it. Cameras enforce this, and the penalty is £100 and 3 points.
Pay online, by phone or with cash at a Payzone shop, by midnight the day after you cross. A car costs £3.50 between 6am and 10pm.
No. Holding a phone while driving is illegal even when stopped at lights or queuing. The penalty is £200 and 6 penalty points.
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Checked 15 October 2026. Official sources first.