Traffic and left-hand drive
When you rent a car in Malta, you give yourself the freedom of exploring this breathtaking country in your own time, and at your own pace. However, one has to keep in mind that due to Malta being previously a British colony, where they drive on the left-hand side of the road. Malta has no real highways, they have a few bypasses which are like mini highways and therefore, means that to get from a place to another, you are mostly in the centre of all the traffic. Most of the Maltese people do not use the indicators and often do not give the right of way. The simple route from Sliema to Cirkewwa (28 km) can become a journey of 45 minutes in the wrong time of the day.
As a general rule, you should always try to use alternative roads, especially during the mornings and after office hours due to high amount of traffic.
The Age
To rent a car, you must be at least 18 years old and have had a valid driver’s license for at least one year. Your driving license should be either a European one and if you are not from Europe, you are requested to present an international driving license (even if many do not ask for this). Being over 25 can reduce drastically the cost.
Most car rental companies would charge and extra insurance fee to drivers over 70 years old (some companies might refuse to rent the cars due to their insurance company not insuring people at this age). If the driver is over 75 years old, there is a high chance of not being able to rent a car, in the event that a company accepts renting a car to people at this age, expect that they will ask for a medical note which is basically a declaration by the doctor stating that the driver is fit to drive.
Road regulations and fines
The speed limits are generally lower than in other European countries due to the lack of high ways or any high speed roads in Malta. The maximum speed limit inside the towns is 40km/h and outside is usually 60km/h. However, all speed cameras are marked with various road signs.
Speeding fines are Eur 34.94 if exceeding by not more than 15km/h of the speed limit and Eur 74.94 if exceeding the limit by more than 15km/h. If you get a speeding fine or any other fine for that matter, the car hire company gets notified by the police department. It is highly advisable to be careful for not getting any fines when renting a car, due to the fact that with each fine you get, the car hire company usually charges clients a processing fee. We recommend that if you are aware of getting a fine, to contact the car hire company as to maybe avoid paying this fee.
The alcohol limit is 0.8 mg of alcohol per ml of blood, 107 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of urine, or 35 micro-grams of alcohol in 100 ml of breath.
As in most countries, all passengers are required by law to wear a seat belt. Using a mobile phone while driving is strictly forbidden.
In case of an accident, you are requested to call the traffic police to submit your report on 21 320 202. After filing the report, you are then expected to inform the car rental company so you can fill in the claim forms and all required documentation.
Credit Card and Deposit
To rent a car in Malta, the majority of the car hire companies will ask for a valid credit card on the main driver’s name. If you do not have a credit car, we recommend you contacting the company directly and not through any agency, inform them about the matter and you might find some companies that would accept this against some conditions. Namely; taking full insurance, leaving zero excess and having a certain amount of money blocked on a debit card in case of any contraventions incurred.
If you do have a credit card, but have a low limit, you will most probably be forced to take full insurance with zero excess, since the company would normally block the excess from your card.
Parking and Accommodation
Due to the island having too many cars per square metre, Malta suffers from parking problems. In summer, in the more touristic areas such as St. Julians or Sliema, the problem tends to increase and becomes close to impossible to find a parking spot anywhere in the vicinity.
The ideal would be finding accommodation that has a private parking. Or ask when booking a hotel if in the area there are private or public parking areas. The police are very strict with parking, especially with hired cars.
CVA in Valletta
The CVA – Controlled Vehicular Access is a tax to enter the capital city of Valletta. It is valid for the all streets of Valletta from 8.00 until 18.00 o’clock for the all streets and here you can see the Map. If you enter the above mentioned zones after 14.00hrs, the car will not be charged any fees. We suggest to either park the car in one of the car parks just outside Valletta or to enter the zone after 14.00hours. The car rental company will receive invoice for your fees and will therefore charge an additional processing and handling fee which would probably be much more than the Congestion fee itself.
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