Driving in Czechia is dangerous - beware of psychos

This article is intended as a warning for foreigners, who decide to try such a lethal sport as is driving a car in Czech Republic. There are many crazy things, which Czech drivers consider as standard (some of them also consider them conformable with driving rules, what definitely is not true). Drivers from many other European countries and from USA would not understand behavior of Czech drivers and this article would prepare them for the jungle that they will meet on Czech roads.

Highways

Highways are typically in quite good condition in Czech Republic. You can only be surprised by continuous flapping of tires when driving on some of them, because those older highways are made out of concrete panels covered by tarmac. The highway, which definitely is not in good condition and it is continuously repaired (though it is not much visible on it) is D1, which leads from capital to the second biggest town in Czech Republic (Prague - Brno). Otherways the condition of highways is not an issue while driving on them.

The situation, when you are typically in lethal danger is, when you are overtaking some car on the highway with two lanes for each direction. In this case there is typically at least one psycho, who will stick few meters behind your car - no matter that in front of you there is a truck which overtakes the same car or truck like you - and he will stay there until you start to move back to the right lane. At this moment the psycho behind you starts to accelerate and misses your car just about one meter and continues in the left lane with speed heavily exceeding speed limit 130 kmph. If there are three lanes each direction, it is typically in long climbs, where the rightmost lane is there for slow trucks. When the truck enters this lane, it should not leave it before its end. Do not rely on it. The truck driver will leave this lane whenever he will reach any slower truck in front of him.

"First class" roads

The main transit is mostly lead on those roads where the highway is missing. The condition of those roads is very different in particular parts of Czech Republic. Although the situation is slowly getting better (or worse after tough winter), you can still meet bumpy patched quite narrow roads marked as "first class". Psycho will overtake you on this road no matter that he cannot see if there is a car in the opposite direction behind the trees inside the nearest curve. There are also wide main roads with well laid tarmac and wide enough emergency lanes. The psycho will start overtake you on such road even though he sees a car close in the opposite direction. He suppose that you and the car in the opposite direction will swerve into the emergency lane and he will "safely" overtake you. This is very common behavior in Czech Republic and some of psychos insist that this is in line with driving rules (which definitely is not). If you will not swerve into the emergency lane, the psycho will stick few meters behind the back of your car and overtakes you on the first occasion - no matter how risky - once again missing you car for about one meter and continuing with a speed much higher then the speed limit 90 kmph.

Some of the psychos think that it is your duty to swerve into the emergency lane whenever they want to overtake you. No matter that they overtake you using the lane dedicated for left turn. The only more dangerous driver you typically meet on those roads then average Czech psycho is Polish driver. Polish drivers flout driving rules yet with more easy mind then Czech ones. Many Czech drivers are merely crazy, Polish drivers are typically insane.

Country roads

Typically bumpy heavily patched and tree lined roads so narrow that save passing around cars in the opposite direction is possible only in quite small speed. But it doesn't stop some of the psychos to pass around you in full speed missing your wing-mirror for few centimeters. Moreover you will meet there really historic cars (like Škoda 105 or Wartburg) whose technical condition often (but luckily not always) corresponds to their age. So be prepared either on psycho driving hard on such road or on historic Škoda whose owner has problem to keep it on the narrow road.

Cities and towns

The most effective traps for driver in historic city centers are wet cobble stones with tram rails. They are nicely slippery and thus there are many little crashes. But such crashes are not typical only for cobble stones, because - and you may acknowledge it from the text above - many Czech drivers do not understand meaning of the save distance between cars. All is yet improved by motorbikes zigzagging between standing or slowly moving cars. But anyway cities and towns are probably most safe places for driving in Czech Republic, because the worst things that can happen to you there are damaging your car in a small accident or street fight with crazy cab driver. Of course the exception is city Ostrava, where there is high concentration of heavily drunk drivers. I suspect them that this is their way how to cope with the fact that they are living in the most polluted city in Europe.

Little positive conclusion

Although it is not true that every driver in Czech Republic is a psycho and more and more Czech drivers accept standards typical for western countries, like keeping safe distance behind you when you are overtaking on highway, there is still high percentage of those dangerous one and it is perfectly visible in statistics of accidents. I hope that in 20 or 30 years the situation on Czech roads will somehow improve. But today think twice before you decide to drive a car on Czech roads.