Just back from a fabulous holiday in Rhodes which involved quite a bit of driving. My one regret was leaving car hire last on the list of things to book, and since the ubiquitous wealthy Russians had snapped up all the big cars, I was faced with three weeks of mostly short drives at the wheel of a lethargic Citroën C1 "Eco" or half a grand to upgrade to a Corsa. No brainer!
The car was incredibly sluggish at the mere sight of a hill. Quad bikes and scooters abound in Rhodes ( I was overtaken more than once, ahem...), as do tiny "category 0" hire cars like mine: the incredibly narrow winding streets of most small towns explain why.
As on other Mediterranean islands, seat belts, motorcycle helmets, no overtaking markings, traffic lights,...pretty much all rules and regulations are ignored except by tourists. Roads regularly flank terrifying precipices and as they begin to snake, there will suddenly be only room for one car. A section of one road I once drove along in the afternoon had actually slipped away by the time of my return trip, necessitating a long detour. Never was a "beware falling/fallen rocks" sign so relevant.
The one saving grace of driving in Greece is the advance warning of traffic lights changing to red: a previous pair of amber traffic lights start to flash, giving plenty of warning and time to stop. I really didn't want to try and beat the lights in the C1, and in fact I didn't see anyone else doing so. It seems to be the one rule that is universally observed.
Roundabouts are in a state of flux between "give way to the right" and "give way to the left" - France changed overnight; in Greece it's been a few years - but luckily *most* drivers slow down and even stop for a rest while they decide what to do. The approach to a typical roundabout shows, at 50m gaps, a sign for a non-existent staggered junction, a STOP sign (these are usually placed up to 200m in advance in Greece and there is no line to indicate where to stop), a roundabout sign and finally a give way sign. I was never sure whether Give Way trumped Stop, but those aforementioned Russian tourists generally did neither. Curiously, the last two signs are all on a yellow background, which would suggest a temporary, perhaps experimental, set-up.
Catseyes are only to be found in town centres, but as a series of consecutive groups set across the road as an ad hoc speed hump-cum-zebra crossing. It would be hard to place them alongside lane markings outside built-up areas as the paint is all worn off anyway!
Warning signs for deer (both printed on the road in English and as official traffic signs) are actually used to warn of goats: there are no deer in Rhodes, but there is no official road sign for goats either.
Greek taxi drivers now pay over 3000 Euros (15 times more than last year) for their annual licence, so you can imagine the consequences on their driving. The words Troika, Merkel and austerity are best avoided during the course of a taxi ride and a decent tip is always appreciated!
And finally - the "Parea". Similar to the Spanish "cuadrilla"; it is a group of friends who have known each other all their lives and regularly meet to hang out, socialise and chew the fat, and this often happens at the wheel, regardless of surounding traffic conditions. I have seen Pareas yakking away on a roundabout and once a group of three cars in the middle of a four lane highway. (two cars heading west and one going east!) But the flip side is that if you are not a member of their Parea, the other drivers will simply drive as if you don't exist.
Next year - Malta: all tips gratefully received!

Edited by Bilboman on 03/09/2014 at 00:00