DRIVING IN CZECH REPUBLIC: BEWARE! (Tips from a California driver) 

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Posledně když cizinec řekl "Bye Lidice" tak se dostal do učebnic.... :))

"Bye Lidice!" To je drsný :-D

Our lights don't go from red -> yellow -> green. They go from red -> red & yellow -> green and on the way back they go green -> yellow -> red. So that you can always tell which light will light up after the yellow even if you didn't see the light before that.

13:35 German SS officer 1942

To že se u pumpy platí až po natankování, není poctivostí ,ale kamerovým systémem. 😊😊😊

For the gas stations, almost every gas station has cameras, so when you leave without pay, in a minute police has your license plate, so i dont see how it could happen in USA if they adopted this pay system.

It is actually prety easy at an intersection: make yourself comfy waiting, file your nails if need be ... and when you hear honking from behind, obviously the green is on (probably has been for a while) and you can go. :D

13:30 "Hi Lidice, Bye Lidice" is pretty solid Czech humor! Did you realize the name of the town you chose? Hahaha

I would say the best thing about the day lights is that both pedestrians and other cars instantly know whether your car is "active" or not, and thus whether it poses any danger. Also a lot of people can really take their time with turning the lights up when visibility worsens, which create even more danger. Some around my house in Žižkov don't even turn their lights off when they park it for the night. /a joke/

That Lidice joke is dark as hell and I love it! 😄😄

Just a note on the alcohol in blood - we generally do not use the unit "per cent" (%) for that here, we use the unit "per mille" (‰), which is "parts per thousand". The legal limit in California would better be explained to Czechs as 0.8 ‰. This is actually a lot, because if you have 1.0 ‰ or more here, it is no longer a minor traffic offence, rather a criminal offence (the less severe type of a crimianl act). This means you face a criminal court and if you are convicted, it will be entered into your criminal records, nowadays available internationally, which may come bite you in your behind later.

Tailgaiting and honking is definitely not what you are supposed to do. Just chill. Most likely it's just a crazy guy in BMW or Audi.

13:37 1942 colorized

Pro tip from an ex-professional driver: ALWAYS have your lights on! It's super helpful because it tells about your presence, your distance and this way helps determine your speed. It also helps identify between active and parked vehicles. It's also mega helpful when you have to go through an intersection with a mirror because those distort everything to hell. By the way, on a clear summer day visibility of a regular car with lights off will be at about 200 meters at best when you can tell it's really moving. With lights on the car is visible all the way to the horizon, even if the horizon is a hill 10000 meters far. Now, you don't necessarily need to see stuff that's 10km far, but it helps during the summer when far vehicles are just a shaky smudge and you can't even see them.

About the traffic lights, there are the ones on top, those are meant for cars further away. But when you are the first one in the line and can't see the top lights, there are ones on the sides (either left or right depending where you turn) that are easier to see. Usually it is combined for going straight (normal traffic light system) and turning right (only green arrow on/off). Sometimes there is a pedestrian indicator that tells you the pedestrians also have green and you should let them pass.

"Bye, Lidice" and "you pump first, then you pay". Excellent.

If you are on a multi-lane road and in the city (especially in Prague), you can legally drive in any lane. On the right you drive only outside the city. This is because in cities there are often crossroads with lanes for a specific direction.

One day my mom was returning from a trip and was extremely tired. She took a gas at a station and in the shop she bought some things. When she was paying, she forgot to tell them she took gas as well and they only charged her for the things she bought in the shop. As she was tired she didn’t realise the price is much too low and left, not knowing she didn’t pay for the gas. Half an hour after she came home she had a phone call from the police, demanding she goes back to the station to pay for the gas. Only after she explained them, that if she gets behind the wheel right now she would definitely crash because of the fatigue, they agreed she can go the first thing the next morning. So that’s about the not-paying-for-gas thing 😉

Semafor přepíná na zelenou tak, že nejdřív svítí červená a žlutá najednou. Tak se pozná jestli bude zelená nebo červená, ale to bych asi moc rýpal :)

Já mám vždycky takovou radost z nových videí. A to ani neřídím, nechci řídit a nezajímá mě doprava. A stejně to bylo skvělý video 😄

"Hi Lidice... bye Lidice". - German Army 1942 :D :D You are really almost Czech. This dark humour is our cup of tea :D

hele, ale to s těma Lidicema rozhodně NEříkej, až půjdeš na tu zkoušku z češtiny kvůli občanství )))))) nemuseli by to pochopit )))

8:50 - Traffic lights placed ahead of the intersection is deliberate. The general idea is that if you can't see the light anymore, you've stopped too late and are now stopped in the pedestrian crossing or the intersection. Ergo, it makes drivers stop early and not inconvenience/endanger (usually) pedestrians.

"Hi Lidice, bye Lidice" I am dying 🤣

Daylights should be mandatory everywhere. Can't believe it wasn't a thing here until 2006.

"Hi Lidice! Bye Lidice!" ....that's morbid :))))))

in the Czech Republic, we also have the give priority sign, but the "crossed out priority road" sign only says that the road has become secondary.

8:45, zkus někdy se podívat vedle semaforové lampy, tam by měl být nižší semafór pro nevysoká vozidla.

Roundabouts are amazingly simple and safe but even though they are quite common in Europe not everyone knows how to use them :D I lived several years in Malta where Majority of drivers uses indicators when entering a roundabout but they are not using indicators when leaving 🙈 also If a roundabout has more than 3 lines then the outermost line is occasionally used as a parking space 😂 so, be careful, roundabouts are a big mystery for many drives 😂

Hi, Jen. I was in the U.S.A. and I had a car with an automatic transmission, but this car did not have a lock for the possibility of engine braking. On the way from Death Valley, the road leads down the hill for about 20 km. We had to stop and wait about 45 minutes for the overheated brakes to cool down ... I really missed the manual transmission here.

Daylights make a whole lot of sense. I realised it myself after having some experience of driving in EU. It improves visibility of a moving vehicle even in daytime, especially when it's cloudy or in the hours after sunrise and before sunset, when the sun is low.

Mandatory all day light. You will appreciate how good is that when you drive in a country where it is not mandatory and you see cars not visible in a tunnel or fog or rain. Or even when you are on intersection and you automatically look around car lights..

Oh you are so true on the lights! Thats what i always really liked about intersections in the us when driving. Love your videos!!!

IMHO, gas stations want you to visit the shop for the marketing purposes. Because when you visit it and wait in the queue, there is a solid probability that you will buy some of the overprised products, like snacks, souvenirs, coffee, some car accesories etc... Not mentioning the situation when there are kids bored to death in car with you :DD

Regarding "honor system" on pumping stations: there are videocameras. If you don't pay, you get a visit from the police with a hefty fine. And most europeans are not so adventurous as to play hot pursuits or shootings with the police. As for the daylights: it really helps a lot with the visibility. Also helps to diferentiate which cars are "alive" and which just parked.

Nice vid, Jen :-) Keep up good work. I was driving in California and it was my best driving experience in my life. It was such a calm, beauty, sightseeing driving, nobody bothers me, no crazy drivers, truck drivers were using passing lines, sometimes even they slow down to make the passing possible. And I fell in love with automatic transmission.

You forgot to mention than in America you can get driver license from 16 in Czech you have to be 18 and i honestly think 16 is too early.🤔

One rude joke againts americans: Do you want to have car in america which thief can't steal? Just bought car with manual shifter.

Jako obvykle dobré a zábavné paní Jenn. K tomu dojíždění a blikání na dálnici bych poznamenal, že tohle dělají jen lidé mdlého rozumu. Bohužel i takoví mají řidičský průkaz a ohrožují ostatní. V Americe jsem řídil také a řekl bych že tam naprostá většina lidí bere auto jako dopravní prostředek a ne jako nástroj na dokazování si, že jsem lepší než ostatní, jako je tomu bohužel dost často u nás.

bout that tailgating, light flashing situation...some people do it all the time, I am usually patient and keep my distance if I see, that the car in front of me is passing someone. BUT if there is like 1km of empty right lane and he still won't move, I flash him, if that doesn't work, I get closer. For me it's all about respect like "okay you're passing, I won't push you, but once you've passed let me pass you.

Hello Jen, I'm totally obsessed with your videos. I love your humour and always have so much fun. Thank you, Jana from Liberec❣️🤗

You are correct, if you pass your driver test with a car with automatic transmission, there will be a note in your driver's license that permits you to drive only cars with automatic transmissions.

you should come visit & drive in Paris sometime. Most of the intersections without lights have a right-hand priority rule and no signs. And, the biggest roundabout at the Arc de Triomphe has no lights, no signs, there's right-hand priority rule, about 10? lanes (unmarked, so it's hard to say) and 12 exits. :) Also, the thing of generally having 3 main speed limits (in a town/city, outside a town/city on a "normal" road and on a highway) is not a Czech thing, it's a European thing. Whenever you cross borders in Europe, a big board with these three speed limits is the first sign on the road after the border crossing.

“And you can never see the light” Oh Jen so true in Slovakia the same problem 😂

getting too close to another car and flashing lights on slower drivers is actually considered an aggressive driving and it is a very bad habit. even worse is when they overtake you and then hit the brakes as a petty revenge- vybržďují

Bye Lidice! 🤣🤣🤣 Today's coffee was extra dark Jen eh? 😁😁😁

This is sooo true!!! About overtaking, about round about, about the gas station.. basically this one is spot on!

Trams don't actually have that much priority on roads. As a pedestrian you always give way to a tram, in a car the tram becomes an almost equal road user. If you have priority the tram must yield (like the roundabout at Dejvická, trams must yield to traffic going round, it's just customary to let the tram pass), even on uncontrolled intersections the right hand rule applies. The exception is when you're going parallel to a tram (in the same direction), then you have to yield to it (tram is turning right and you're going straight on a priority road, you still give way)

7:32 that Mattoni eagle totaly killed me :D Nice detail.

3:28 Světla mají být taky zapnutá aby se poznalo jestli to auto jede a nebo stojí bokem zaparkované

I love your videos I am so in love with Czech Republic 🇨🇿

Velmi zajímavé video, díky. Nejvíc pobavilo "You have a driver's license?!" a kruhák na Dejvické :D

9:20 Na semaforu než skočí zelená tak svítí červená a oranžová zároveň, takovej detail :P Na červenou se u nás odbočovat doprava nesmí to je pravda, ale často je křižovatka doplněna zelenou šipkou doprava, která v podstatě znamená to stejný. Long story short v USA se smí odbočovat pokud to není zakázáno, u nás se nesmí odbočovat pokud to není povoleno :) Jinak ty značky hlavní silnice jsou většinou opatřeny doplňkovou značkou jak ta křižovatka vypadá, ať člověk ví na čem je :D

Hey Jen. For cases of people running away after filling up at gas station there are few things. 1. They have you and your license plate on camera so you can expect a visit from cops in near future if you run 2. There are a few gas stations where this trick can earn you a complimentary brick trough rear window In case of US i would imagine that it could earn you a few bulletholes in your car so it's more of a culture thing.

I just love, that you picked an audi picture, for the tailgating 😂

6:05 Yes Jen, there is the same rule (right hand rule) also in California. Only there is very little chance to use it, ie 2 cars arrive to a 4 stop intersection at the same moment? But I think even here the eye contact would resolve it before the right hand rule would have to be inforced.

Vidím, že černý humor už jsi pochopila, i když tenhle byl takový drsnější :D

9:31 It's incorrect. When switching towards green, the red and yellow shine simultaneously so you can distinguish which way the signal is going. To green is red+yellow and solely yellow is towards red.

Hi Jen, Thank you for new word: dingbat. Brilliant :-) BTW Left lane disease is quite common on Czech roads. In general - don't worry about it, if you are aware of that you are slower and act accordingly - try to speed up or wait when there is enough gap in left lane. P.S. - in municipally areas it's allowed to pass on the right. It's called "souběžná jízda". But, common courtesy is still treat left lane as the fast one. And about the traffic lights in intersections- American system looks good, but I think to change it in whole country would be economical burden, so we have them on our side of intersection :-) But Yea, I'm 195 cm and being first car in the intersection mean I do little stretching exercise. But, whenever it's convenient, they add one more light in about 2 meter height, so it's visible from side window. Also - turning left -> you can enter the intersection on green and the rest is not important to you (meaning if the red is behind you). You have time when the opposing trafic get red light to clear the intersection (there is artificial time pause before other lanes get green) or you have green exit arrow pointing left on the left corner of intersection. My driving teacher called them "vyklízečka" which is nice nickname :-)

Really funny video. As usual... Thanks for your work!

Bye Lidice 😅👋🏻

S kruhovým objezdem si zapomněla na případ, kdy při příjezdu na něj nemáš značku dej přednost v jízdě. V takovém případě platí přednost zprava a tudíž auta jedoucí po kruhovém objezdu ti musí dát přednost :-D Ovšem takové kruhové objezdy jsou v celé ČR už asi jen dva nebo tři, ale to pravidlo stále platí ;-)

The most dangerous thing what I see here is a lack of the yellow line. In North America the yellow line always divides the opposite traffic. Here the yellow line is just a temporary line in a reconstruction area. This might be very confusing for Americans, since our roads without the yellow lines look like one way highways. Second problem is the flashing amber traffic light - that means always the right to drive in America - it is saying to you dont worry, you are on the main road. Well that is not so in Europa. This is another big confusion which can be fatal.

In some cases you are not completely correct, but OK. Overtaking: You are not allowed to overtake if you wold dangerously slow down the car in the left lane. Therefore we have mirrors. If you see any fast traffic in there and you can not speed up enough, don't go there. Wait for a large enough gap. Actually slow drivers on a highway are one of the common cause of crashes. Those are usually the ones who don't keep eyes on the road and mirrors. If you drive 150 and more, you have to keep eyes on the road and there is no way you can let yourself being distracted. Also they are not used to use mirrors before changing lanes. Highway: Technically the speed limit is 130, but if you keep it under 150, it is kind-of-OK. It happens I need to speed up to 160/170 sometimes if there is no space in the right lane and I don't want to slow down anyone behind me, but normally I keep 140.

Daylighting is an important safety feature. I think it really helps to make your car visible, especially against the back light, when sun is low. It saves lives no doubt. The only disadvantage to me is that I am so use to it, that I totally ignore those with lights off in the traffic:)

Another lovely video, thank you! In my view, a major difference is when people can get a driver's licence in the US vs. Czechia. I recall I found it very strange, that Americans could drive when 16, but buy beer only at 21...

The traffic lights that are above arent for the first car in the front but for the cars in the back, usually you´d have a traffic light on the pole down below that is meant for the cars in the front.

Omg, the lights on the other side of the intersection are super helpful. I hate going back to Czechia and not having those. As a driver or as a cyclist. What I do like about Prague/Czechia is that we have signs indicating the lanes waaaaay before we hit the intersection. In London they show you the lanes on the ground right before the intersection so you are driving and only notice very last minute you are in a turning lane and you have to indicate you want to change the lane and somebody has to let you in and you are slowing the whole mega city down. Luckily, unlike CZ driver, Londoners don't give you hard time for that but anyway, having signs indicating the lanes is super helpful.

😱79 years back "Bye Lidice" would have totally different meaning.

In California as a Czech I could not figure out the way you are supposed to approach the gas station pumps. It seemed completely random to me, people entering the station and stopping in either direction without any order. So once in a relatively crowded station I did just that and ended up being yelled at by a local in a big truck what an a*hole I was. No idea what kind of unwritten rule I broke back then :-) The thing with paying up front is also funny if you want to pay cash. So, elsewhere, I went inside and got asked how much I wanted to pay. What? I want to fill it up, how am I supposed to know how much? Took some further time until I realized I would get the rest back afterwards :-) And last but not least, the gas prices may be worth mentioning too.

The priority roads work a bit differently than you think (or at least differently than you described in the video). You don't have to remember whether you are on a priority road or not (even though it's better if you do). Every road leading to the marked intersection has a sign describing to you if it's a priority one or not, together with additional sign with approximate shape of the intersection. The other sign you described, 'end of priority road' is used mainly between two close intersections where your road had priority for the first one, but not for the second one.

jenny could do videos about any topics and it still will be a great one.Jenn,you are predestinated to be in front of camera, to explain us any topic,to entertain us etc. ,cause you can do it so nicely and entertaining!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻You are so talented,I could be watching your videos for hours.Jenny thank you🙏✌🏻tom

I'm American moving from Panama (no rules) to Prague (lots of rules I'm not used to). I am so used to Latin American chaos on the road... I literally just took notes to email to my husband. I also felt my blood pressure go up as I watched this :-D

In many ways we have different traffic regulations. None of them is worse. You have to simply learn them if you wanna drive a car.

Well, there are two other system for paying at petrol station I met during my tours around Europe. The american one, not so common but sometimes awaylable in the night only or all day but only at a small station. I saw that in Austria and in Czechia I also see like 2 or 3. And one, I met in Bosnia-Herzegovina which I think is the system used in the US in history. That there is guy who you tell you how much and he will fill it for you. It's because of the honor problem as you were talking about, but also because they usually don't have a technology to see how many litters did you get from the shop in BiH.

I would like to ask you, Jen, about one situation in the US on the crossroads without lights. If I recall correctly, such crossroads have the STOP sign on each incoming road and the rule says "first come first drives". So what if two cars arrive at the same time. Or what if 4 cars from all directions arrive at the same time? The stronger wins then? The right hand principle creates similar issue though...if four cars arrive at the same time, they get stuck with the right hand rule, but at least it does not happen with 3 or 2 cars. Thanks

7:31 In this situation it would be valid to use the signal, if there was a sign, that the smaller road on the left is considered as going straight (from the picture I would almost guess it would be so), even if you stay on the main road.

Hi Jen, I learned to drive in Czechoslovakia, so stick shift and even double-clutch are a second nature to me. I've driven all over the world, on both sides of the road, no problem Clearly, the Czech driving school prepared me well. A friend from NJ visited me in Stockholm once and asked to use my car. He came back some 20 minutes later and asked me to be his driver. The first roundabout was what changed his mind! You be sure to pay extra attention next time you visit San Diego. They started putting roundabouts in neighborhoods here as well, those with a concrete pie in the middle to really make sure you don't blast thru the intersection, which you could do when there's a stop sign. I guess that's why they started to with these. One big difference between California and Czechia is a "T" intersection. In Czechia, the right hand rule applies, while in California, the road that dead ends yields to both directions. Unless of course the driver is past his legal limit in blood alcohol level, in speed, or both. Then, the outcome has multiple choices! Drive safely!

On the "kulaťák" (Dejvice), the trams give way so you don't have to "watch out", but people usually let them go - being polite.

When reds goes towards green, then red and yellow are on together, but the orher way (from green to red) yellow is on on its own. In Austria, it's even better. When green is about to finish, it starts to blink first before the yellow is on so that you can estimate whether you went through the intersection.

As for roundabouts - google for "roundabout from hell" or "Swindon magic roundabout". One big central roundabout, with five smaller ones attached to it. To make it even more confusing, remember, that the British drive on the left, so the cars go in the opposite direction than in the mainland Europe. :-)

Yes there are some schools that offers automatic only driving licence but I think it's worthless and I don't know anybody personally who has it

Agree about priority signs. I wish they were duplicated at each intersection. Instead, it's supposed that you should remember that you're on a priority road, and if you forgot, you can look for a yield sign that has to be installed before the intersection on a secondary road. Which is really inconvenient and may be even dangerous, comparing to having a clear sign right in front of you on the road you're on.

Interesting diffs. One small additional thing in CA regarding running lights/headlights is that they are to be on if there is enough rain falling to require windshield wipers to be operating. I'm glad that I don't need to drive L.A. traffic these days. Thanks for the heads up before I hopefully come over.

Hi, first time driving an automatic was when I was at university in Oregon. First time I approach traffic lights I put both feet on the brake pedal, pressing hard on what I expected to be the clutch pedal. The car about did a forward roll 😁😁. The right turn in red rule was confusing as it can change from state to state so I always stopped, much to the annoyance of anyone behind me. Myself and the other students from the U.K. used to entertain ourselves by sitting on a bench watching the drivers of Corvallis trying to navigate the only roundabout in the town 😂.

"Lidice" is the famous sledding area?

In most cases when lights are above your head in Czech republic, there will also be one for the first driver on your right, not so high. The top ones are for drivers at the back so they can (theoretically) start accelerating all in the same time (it works great in the Italy)... :)

Lovely video, thank you, in USA se mi líbilo, že auta se rozjíždějí díky automatům plynule a doprava tam byla díky automatům taková klidnější, děkujeme za krásná videa...Bo.

Concernin the trafic lights... Yes, we have them on "your" side of the intersection. And we have two sets of trafic lights. One set is above the road, the other set is on your rights side, where is the column of the trafic lights. This second set is much lower so you can see it. There is always this double-set. And the reason why the lights are on that side of intersections is simple. They are on the same line the red light tells you you should stop. And we know the upper light is becoming unvisible, when you are in the first row. We have it covered with the second set of the lights :-) As for the yellow light, your animation of switching lights is cool, but you made a little mistake. When it goes from green, there is a short time when only yellow light is on. To let you know it is going to be red. But when it goes from red, both lights, red and yellow, are on. To make a different signal. To let you know you stil need to stop, but get ready, its going to be green. When only yellows light is on, it is always a sign its going to be red soon, not the other way. A simple trick how to give four different messages with three lights :-) And it is not only for giving you time to get ready. It is also helpful when you are approaching the intersection and you see the red and yellow lights on. And you know what it is going to be there, so you can just slow down and give it a time to switch the green and you may pass smoothly throug without stopping even if there was a red light when you were approaching. With US system you would see only red to the last second and that would force you to stop, because you wouldn't know its going to be green again soon. A minor detail but kind of helpfull I guess. The gass stations are not just about the trust. When someone tries to fill without paying, security system records the person, the car, the registry-plate of the car, so it is very shortsight decision to try that :-D I am not saying it never happened, but it is almost self-solving crime :-D And yes, I watched a number of your videos and I always like them :-) You are cool ;-)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my friends in the USA also told me that the police can't do random checks for alcohol. It is against the law. Here you can be stopped by the police anytime for no reason.

Jen the most dangerous car ride I ever had was in the Czech Republic. It was 2005, and I was traveling with a Czech Puppet troupe from Hradec Kralove to Prague. Absolutely anarchic passing. One guy pass three cars behind us on a narrow road and then five more in front of us with a semi tractor trailer coming straight at him. He only pushed his way into the front of the line at the last second forcing the truck to swerve. I was panicked though I didn't react outwardly much. But the Czech puppeteers? Didn't even flinch.

Anglicky moc neumím a proto to napíšu raději česky a to, že sleduju všechna tvá videa, protože víš o čem mluvíš, seš mě sympatická a držím ti palce.

7:29 - why is at that picture "hidden" Mattoni eagle?

Hi, great video. You reminded me one important thing with the first aid kit, which can be surprising to Americans. There is a legal obligation in Czechia to provide first aid to a stranger, if you don't, you can be sentenced to probation or even jail.

One of the main reasons that the 00 alcohol level wouldn’t work here in the states is because the lack of adequate public transport. For example in Prague, the tram and metro work beautifully. I’m in central jersey and there’s one bus but don’t ask me where it stops/goes. It doesn’t stop remotely close to my home or even a feasible walking distance

3:17 I think it's for safety reasons. Not for your safety but for the safety of others. It works like reflective lights, which you put on yourself during the night and walking close to the road. Some people don't turn the main lights on the car but they turn the fog lights. They aren't that brightly like main lights, but you can still see them. Sometimes at the last minute.

14:53 Jsou zde benzínky, kdy zaplatíš takovou čásku, kolik chceš natankovat.

2:35 Opravu automatické převodovky vyjde dráž. Opravte mě jestli se mýlím.

A bit late but I'll mention that in most cases there's a smaller traffic light on the low right, (or left in certain lines) usually the same pole that main lights are. You're supposed to look at that one when first in line if you can't see the main lights.