G
Guest
Guest
Thanks to all of you who replied. I am surprisingly now in Alfold, Surrey
(Tuesday), so the story...
Bosnia exit control - 'are you exporting?'.... The the man saw my US
Embassy ID card that I keep clipped in my passport for just such occasions
and he let me go. He liked the palm tree plates though. I put them on as
they look like diplomatic plates as used in all FRY countries.
Entering Croatia - over a river bridge 200metres on. Again the US embassy
pass worked, and after close scrutiny of the passport the leader of a team
of 3 gave me a Gallic shrug and said 'OK'.
But the insurance office was shut (at 11.30 on a Saturday morning) so I
moved on uninsured through Croatia.
Entering Slovenia I got a good going-over without uncovering trailer or the
contents of the 80 - again thanks to Dubya's pass. But they are not yet
using their new EU paid-for inspection post, maybe when finished then they
will be more cautious!
No insurance available in Slovenia, so on I continue uninsured once more -
but its only 40 minutes to cross the country.
Austrian border, not interested, but from previous experience they were
very interested in insurance, to the point that they parked me up,
confiscated my passport and waited till I got the insurance at the 'office
opposite'. (I told them I expected to buy it there anyway). The office
denied they sold insurance despite the border guard's insistence that they
did. I found a commercial motorist's centre where the lady said I wanted a
certain sticker - didn't believe her as she did not write my details on it.
I bought it for a year validity as she said it applied for the entire EU,
took it to the guard, who was just going off-duty, and he said it was a
road tax sticker for visitors. He took me back to the building which by
this time was locked - it was 2 minutes past 5.00. (Well, Austria does shut
at 12.00 noon Saturdays usually, but the international convention on
frontier insurance is that it should be available for 12 hours every day of
the year).
The guard eventually got the lady in the shop out to the back door where he
told her about the insurance and she remembered that in the dim and distant
past she had seen a pad of papers that looked like something to do with
insurance. So she completed the form, rebated the tax sticker and charged
me a total of 96 Euros for just 30 days cover in the EU ! (This is why that
odd company in Vienna offering 12 month green card insurance - details
posted here a month ago - is very interesting to folks like me). No
problem with my gear as they assume that as Slovenia is now the new EU
frontier they gave me the once-over.
Calais, they did not like the car number but had to accept it, after
looking at it in the car park. issued me with a ticket for 276 euro (Tunnel
is 409), glanced at the passport and let me on.
Oh yes - Dover. The sign above the two queues of cars running through the
shed read - 'drive slowly through, and stop if requested' . I drove
through, did not stop, 2 police gave my 'palm trees' close scrutiny, but I
kept going. Drove into UK a free man !
Thanks all
Jon
'92 HZJ80 ex UN surplus from Bosnia, now sharing time between Alfold,
Surrey and Tring, Herts.
(Tuesday), so the story...
Bosnia exit control - 'are you exporting?'.... The the man saw my US
Embassy ID card that I keep clipped in my passport for just such occasions
and he let me go. He liked the palm tree plates though. I put them on as
they look like diplomatic plates as used in all FRY countries.
Entering Croatia - over a river bridge 200metres on. Again the US embassy
pass worked, and after close scrutiny of the passport the leader of a team
of 3 gave me a Gallic shrug and said 'OK'.
But the insurance office was shut (at 11.30 on a Saturday morning) so I
moved on uninsured through Croatia.
Entering Slovenia I got a good going-over without uncovering trailer or the
contents of the 80 - again thanks to Dubya's pass. But they are not yet
using their new EU paid-for inspection post, maybe when finished then they
will be more cautious!
No insurance available in Slovenia, so on I continue uninsured once more -
but its only 40 minutes to cross the country.
Austrian border, not interested, but from previous experience they were
very interested in insurance, to the point that they parked me up,
confiscated my passport and waited till I got the insurance at the 'office
opposite'. (I told them I expected to buy it there anyway). The office
denied they sold insurance despite the border guard's insistence that they
did. I found a commercial motorist's centre where the lady said I wanted a
certain sticker - didn't believe her as she did not write my details on it.
I bought it for a year validity as she said it applied for the entire EU,
took it to the guard, who was just going off-duty, and he said it was a
road tax sticker for visitors. He took me back to the building which by
this time was locked - it was 2 minutes past 5.00. (Well, Austria does shut
at 12.00 noon Saturdays usually, but the international convention on
frontier insurance is that it should be available for 12 hours every day of
the year).
The guard eventually got the lady in the shop out to the back door where he
told her about the insurance and she remembered that in the dim and distant
past she had seen a pad of papers that looked like something to do with
insurance. So she completed the form, rebated the tax sticker and charged
me a total of 96 Euros for just 30 days cover in the EU ! (This is why that
odd company in Vienna offering 12 month green card insurance - details
posted here a month ago - is very interesting to folks like me). No
problem with my gear as they assume that as Slovenia is now the new EU
frontier they gave me the once-over.
Calais, they did not like the car number but had to accept it, after
looking at it in the car park. issued me with a ticket for 276 euro (Tunnel
is 409), glanced at the passport and let me on.
Oh yes - Dover. The sign above the two queues of cars running through the
shed read - 'drive slowly through, and stop if requested' . I drove
through, did not stop, 2 police gave my 'palm trees' close scrutiny, but I
kept going. Drove into UK a free man !
Thanks all
Jon
'92 HZJ80 ex UN surplus from Bosnia, now sharing time between Alfold,
Surrey and Tring, Herts.
