If you’re planning on driving in this European country, it’s important to familiarise yourself with the rules of the road before taking your car out for a spin there
If you’re planning to drive abroad, it’s crucial to acquaint yourself with any unfamiliar traffic regulations before hitting the road. It might feel strange to suddenly adapt to new rules, but it’s essential to comply with them to ensure your safety and that of others.
That said, a French holidaymaker was left utterly bewildered after discovering a ‘maddening’ driving regulation that motorists in Corfu, Greece, must observe on particular routes. Taking to TikTok, a woman called Angeli revealed how the renowned Greek island had ‘tested her road rage’ after becoming trapped at traffic lights for what felt like an eternity.
“Not Greece testing my road rage issues,” she captioned the video whilst focusing on a particular road sign while sat in a car waiting for the traffic light to go green.
To share what was going on, Angeli went on to zoom in her camera on a road sign positioned underneath a traffic light.
The sign initially outlined the traffic rules in Greek, before providing an English translation stating that the lights change every seven and a half minutes.
So if you don’t make it through the lights at the first attempt, you could find yourself stranded there for 15 minutes or even longer. All for one single crossing!
Whilst the footage was recorded in Lakones village on Corfu, you can find similar regulations in other parts of Greece.
Despite the lengthy and ‘infuriating’ wait times, they do fulfil a significant function. Because of the exceptionally narrow roads, particularly for large vehicles such as buses, a solitary traffic light is employed to manage vehicle movement, resulting in possible hold-ups of several minutes for motorists.
And don’t think about ignoring the red light, as this could leave you with a €700 [£611] fine, which wouldn’t be a fun thing to have to spend your holiday fund on.
The notice has been circulated on social media numerous times as visitors frequently become puzzled upon seeing it. This instance was no different – as viewers rapidly flocked to the comments section of Angeli’s video to express their bewilderment.
One person jested: “Sorry I was take to work, the lights took seven minutes and 30 seconds to go green.”
Another commented: “What?!?!?! Why??? I can only presume it’s to act as a big disincentive to go that route? No one needs be penalised like that though.”
A third person slammed: “Seven and a half minutes is diabolical.”
Nevertheless, others mentioned they had encountered similar rules in different countries in the world, as one viewer went on to say: “In Poland I have seen similar but with 30m intervals. Locals ignored it totally.”
