Safety Tips

Driving in Iceland

We at A Car Rental want you to have a good and joyful experience driving around Iceland. Therefore, all rental company’s have been working hard with the authorities to improve information and road conditions.
We would like to emphasize the importance of driving carefully on the Icelandic roads. We care for our customer and want you to have a wonderful experience when driving in Iceland. Iceland has so many things to give and so many wonderful things to see, but at the same time Iceland can be very unforgiving to anyone that is not careful whilst driving.

There are few things that you should be aware of when driving in Iceland:

Maintain distance

Maintain a safe distance from the car in front to avoid gravel hitting your car and to account for sudden stops.

Gravel roads

There are many gravel roads in Iceland. Often they come straight after a nice asphalt road with a small sign that is easy to miss. If you drive fast onto a gravel road and the car starts to slide – slow down steadily and don’t panic.

Maximum speed

is 90 km (55 miles) per hour on regular roads and 80 km (50 miles) per hour on gravel roads. However, always drive according to the circumstances and in a way you feel comfortable with!

Sheep in Iceland roam around freely

They don’t know the traffic rules and might sprint across the road in front of your car. Hitting a sheep is dangerous and will result in damages to the car (and of course the sheep). No insurance covers damages caused by animals.

The sunlight

The sunlight in Iceland is different. You might get drowsy while driving and easily fall asleep during driving after hours of hiking in the country. If you feel you are drowsy please pull over and close your eyes for a short time and you will feel refreshed again.

The wind

Be aware of strong winds in Iceland and take precautions to secure your doors, especially when parking, park with the front end facing the wind and open the doors carefully.

Traffic signs

In Iceland some traffic signs are unique. You may not have seen them before. Visit https://safetravel.is/driving/road-signs and select your language.
Please watch the video on how to drive in Iceland.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNjXsAc1y88

Remember

if you are driving a car you have not driven before, it may behave differently to your own car, so we encourage you to drive with extra care.

Again it is our honest wish that you have a wonderful experience in Iceland and that your travel will bring you home safely with great memories. By driving in Iceland you’ll experience the country to the utmost but let’s do it without accidents.

Insurance does not cover:

  • Intentional damage or damage due to gross negligence on the part of the driver.
  • Damage resulting from the driver being under the influence of alcohol, stimulants or sedatives, or in any other way incapable of driving the vehicle in safe manner.
  • Damage due to race or test driving.
  • Damage due to war, revolution, civil unrest or riots. (not likely in Iceland)
  • Damage done by animals.
  • Holes burned into seats, carpets or mats.
  • Damage affecting only wheels, tires, suspension, batteries, glass (other than windows), radios, or loss by theft of parts of the vehicle and damage resulting from this.
  • Damage caused by driving on rough roads to the vehicles transmission, drive, other parts that are in or attached to the chassis; damage to the chassis resulting from scraping the bottom on rough roads as a result of ridges being left by the road graders; stones lodged in the road surface or on the shoulder of the road. The same applies to damage occurring when stones are thrown up, striking the underside of the vehicle during driving.
  • Damages resulting from driving in places where vehicle traffic is banned, such as paths, tracks, banks of snow, ice, unbridged rivers or streams, beaches, places only accessible at low tide, or other trackless areas.
  • Damages caused by sand, gravel, ash, pumice, or other kinds of earth material being blown onto the vehicle.
  • If the vehicle is transported by sea, no compensation will be paid for damage caused by sea spray/seawater.
  • Damage to vehicles caused by driving on roads marked with an F in public maps as well as driving on Kjölur (Road 35) or Kaldidalur (road 550)
  • Lessors loss because of the vehicle being stolen.
  • Water damage to the vehicle.

Current road conditions: https://umferdin.is/en