Efficiency drive

Imagine yourself as a foreign citizen new to Hungary, suddenly thrust into the melée of Budapest's busy streets.

Busy Budapest traffic

And there you are, dodging yellow trams, screeching to a stop as a girl with a dog steps off a corner, praying you haven't turned the wrong way on a one-way street … and in the middle of it all you realize you have no idea what the speed limit is.
Or whether your car is properly registered.
Or what will happen if you get a speeding ticket.
There's so much information to juggle when you're new to a country, and much of it revolves around driving and vehicles.
To help you, we've devoted this issue of Expat Success to the issues a foreigner can face when driving in Hungary. We'll deal with such topics as speed limits, parking tickets, and highway tolls.

To get you started, here are some basic traffic regulations in Hungary:

Hungarians drive on the right side of the road.
Seatbelts are required for drivers and all passengers.
Speed limits for passenger vehicles are:

130 km/h on motorways
110 km/h on two-lane roads
90 km/h on open roads
50 km/h in the city
Or else as noted

It is illegal to speak on a mobile phone while driving unless you have a hands-free set installed in your vehicle.
Driving lights must be on while driving outside cities, even during the daytime.
Helmets are mandatory for motorcyclists.
A driver flashing lights is offering you the right of way or trying to let you know of something (perhaps that the police are checking for speeders on the road ahead).

Can't stop now

One of the biggest headaches when driving in Budapest is what to do when you have finished driving.

Parking zone sign, showing when you can park, and what happens to violators

Parking spaces are hard to find, even in the zones where you have to pay for the privilege. And each district has its own rules and tolls regulating those zones.
Prices can quickly mount up, especially in central Budapest, and you have to top up your parking meter every two hours.
What's more, with traffic wardens growing increasingly aggressive, things are even more costly and inconvenient if you violate parking rules. Your car can be chained or towed away, or your windshield might be decorated with a parking ticket wrapped in a red bag - a familiar Budapest sight. The fine is relatively modest if you pay it promptly, but if you don't, it increases as the days pass.
But did you know that you can park for free in your own district of Budapest

Parking permits on display

if you hold a parking license? You can get this if you have an official registered permanent address.
Another money-saving tip is that businesses can obtain a company parking license, providing discount parking in the district in which the company is located.
In case you were wondering, Hungarian authorities do take parking penalties pretty seriously. After a trip outside Hungary, one of our clients found himself stuck at Ferihegy airport unable to re-enter the country until he had paid

The famous red bag

a months-old parking fine amounting parking fine amounting to a modest 2,000 forints (about 8 euros). With no bank or post office available where he could pay the fine, he had to make an emergency call to his contact person at ERC, who rushed out to make the payment at a post office and rescue him from the airport police!

Erika's attic

Did you know that you can use the ERC website to buy used electronics, furniture, baby accessories and other items? And you can often get excellent prices!

We have a feature called Erika's Attic, where people post advertisements to buy and sell different household goods. The site is regularly updated, so many people visit it frequently to find great bargains.

To get to the Attic, go to www.erceurope.com, click on the Hungary flag, and then click on Erika's Attic on the pull-down menu on the left.

Keeping children safe on the roads

No matter which nation you call home, one tenet remains universal: parents want to protect their children from any harm.

So anyone driving with a little one should be informed about the proper - and lawful - use of car safety seats.
In Hungary, a car safety seat is mandatory for any child under 12 years of age, or under 150 centimeters tall, who is riding in the front seat. The front right-side airbag must be taken out if children are riding in that seat, because an airbag can seriously injure a child. For infants under one year old, special rules apply:

• If there is only one adult in the vehicle, the infant must be seated in the right front seat next to the driver, in a special car safety seat that faces backwards.
  
• If there are more adults in the car, the infant should be in the safety seat in the back of the car, next to one of the adults.
  

This way, there is always an adult sitting next to the baby to calm it if necessary.
Children over one year of age can sit in the back in a proper child safety seat. If the child is under eight years of age but cannot fit into one of these seats anymore, you need to buy a special cushion called an ülésmagasító in Hungarian. It will lift the child so that the back safety belt can be fastened securely.
ERC is happy to provide a list of stores where these can be purchased.

Freeways aren't free

As of the beginning of this year, every motorway in Hungary is subject to a toll - and it isn't cheap.

Payment takes the form of buying a sticker from a filling station, which is then displayed in the windshield. The sticker comes with a card, to be filled out with various details about the car and the driver. Computerized scanning systems mean that it is simply not worth attempting to use the roads without the right sticker.
Stickers are available for durations of a week, a month or a year.
Our staff can provide more information on this topic.

Wheels to go

Many foreigners passing through Hungary decide to buy a car here and take it home with them.

One thing that can dampen the appeal of this is the hefty value-added tax imposed on vehicle purchases in Hungary. But the VAT can be reclaimed later, as long as the purchaser jumps through a series of bureaucratic hoops.
For example, to verify that the car was not purchased for local use, it must be exported no more than 90 days after the date of purchase, and the VAT refund application must be submitted no more than 183 days after the date of export.
Moreover, the car, like any other item subject to VAT reclaim, must be "brand new." That means it must not be licensed for use until the actual date of being exported.
Which raises the question: how do you drive it to the border? Answer: after purchasing it, you can obtain a license and an export plate for the sole purpose of exporting the vehicle. This is valid for 30 days, and you must drive the car straight to the border, using the shortest possible route.
And make sure the car dealer gives you an invoice for the VAT and fills out a VAT reclaim form.
Otherwise, you will find your reclaim being automatically rejected.
More information from ancsa@erc.hu.