Car
Driving Rules
- The headlights must be on all the time
- Speed limit in the build-up areas of towns and villages is 50 km/h
- Speed limit out of urbanized areas (except highways and expressways) is 90 km/h
- Speed limit on the highways and expressways is 130 km/h
- Driving on the right side of the road
- Age of 18 at least is a must
- Complying with the instructions of the traffic lights
- Alcohol tolerance is zero
- Seat belts has to be fastened for all passengers, for the passenger sitting on the back seats, too.
- Eating and other activities interrupting driving are not allowed
- Using mobile phone or smoking during the driving is forbidden
- Children with age less than 12 have to sit in the rear seat
- Buses, trolleys and trams have always the right-of-way
- Pedestrians at the crossings have an absolute priority
Driving on Highways
Payment for driving on highways and some express roads is required. A driver has to buy and display a sticker or a stamp. The price of the sticker is settled according to the weight of the vehicle and can be valid for different periods of time (from 15 days up to a year). They can be bought on a border crossing, post offices or petrol stations.
Police checks
Police checks are not unusual on roads in Slovakia. All drivers have to stop in case of a Stop Signal coming from the police. They have the right to stop you for a random check, even if you did not break any law. The reason of this kind of check is mostly the vehicle’s papers checking. Occasionally (after dark) they may check the alcohol level of the passenger.
Documents necessary to show to the police upon request:
- A valid driving license, Slovak or International
- Registration papers of the vehicle
- Insurance documentation
- ID, passport – personal identification
After breaking the driving rules, driver might get a fine. Driver is allowed to defer payment until later. The highest fine a police officer can issue on the spot is 650 €.
Requirements for tourists
A driving license issued in the United States is not valid in Slovakia until the driver does not have an International Driving Permit. This type of permit can be issued in more offices, for example in AAA offices in US. The application form for requesting the permit can be provided by the US Embassy. There is a possibility to request it by mail as well.
Insurance
It is possible to get insurance in Slovenská kancelária poisťovateľov (Slovak Insurer’s Bureau). To purchase the insurance it is necessary to visit the office in person.
Documents required:
- ID, passport – personal identification
- Registration papers of the vehicle
- Information about the car and its owner
Highways, Expressways, Roads
Highways
- D1 (511 km) – Bratislava-Trnava -Trenčín-Žilina-Prešov-Košice-Border Checkpoint Záhor
- D2 (80 km) – Border Checkpoint Brodské-Malacky-Bratislava-Border Checkpoint Čunovo
- D3 (61 km) – Hričovské Podhradie-Žilina-Čadca-Border Checkpoint Skalité
- D4 (50 km) – Border Checkpoint Jarovce (Bratislava)–Border Checkpoint Devínska Nová Ves
Expressways
- R1 – Trnava-Nitra-Zlaté Moravce-Žarnovica-Žiar nad Hronom-Zvolen-Banská Bystrica
- R2 – Trenčín-Bánovce nad Bebravou-Nováky-Prievidza-Handlová-Zvolen-Detva-Lučenec-Rimavská Sobota–Rožňava-Košice
- R3 – Šahy-Krupina-Kremnica-Turčianske Teplice-Martin-Dolný Kubín-Oravský Podzámok–Polish Borders
- R4 – Hungarian Border, Milhosť-Košice-Prešov-Svidník–Polish Borders
- R5 – Czech Borders–Svrčinovec
- R6 – Czech Borders, Lysá pod Makytou–Púchov-Beluš
- R7 – Bratislava–Šamorín-Dunajská Streda-Nové Zámky-Šarovce–Šahy-Veľký Krtíš-Lučenec
- R8 – Hradište–Partizánske–Topoľčany-Nitra
July 6th, 2009 at 4:26 pm
Hi.
I have an Indian driving license. Is it valid in Slovakia? If not, where in Slovakia I can get driving permit (I am currently in Slovakia as a tourist)
Kind Regards
[Reply]
Slovak-Republic.org replies:
August 8th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
No, unfortunately, it’s not. You should obtain an international driving licence, but you can only get it in the country of your residence/where the driving licence was issued.
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July 9th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
I think that you can print here map with high/expressways from http://ndsas.sk/mapa/12389s
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July 14th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Just arrived from Slovakia with car. It was irritating how local police (Zilina, 11th of July) was handling foreigners. We had paid a motorway fee. The problem came, when we had a trailer behind our mobile home and the total weight was over 3,5 tons. Instead of giving advice and possibility to correct the mistake, the police officer gave 100 Euros fine (which is a lot more than the highest fine 66,35 Euros mentioned on the web page). A very expensive few kilometers!
When bying the ticket, normally people selling them do not understand foreing language. They are not asking, what kind of car you are using. It is not easy to understand, what kind of motorway ticket you need.
Our friends also got same kind of fines during our stay in Slovakia. We think, that the way we were handled, refers to a police state with no western ability of handling things. My aim is to plan future trips around Slovakia if there is a need to travel to tha region.
Best regards,
Hannu Halonen
Finland
[Reply]
January 5th, 2010 at 2:46 am
does the drivers license in Slovakia have a photo fo the licensed person.
[Reply]
Slovak-Republic.org replies:
January 5th, 2010 at 11:58 am
Hi Georgina, yes, of course, the Slovak driving licence has a photo of the licence holder on the front side. Maybe, you have seen this page of the Ministry of Interior? http://www.minv.sk/?vzory-dokladov-vodicske-preukazy and it confused you? There is white space under the EU flag where the photo should go.
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January 14th, 2010 at 2:58 pm
I am holding a permanent residence card from Slovakia, but I don’t understand very well the slovak language. Is it possible to get a drivers licence presenting the test in English?
Regards
[Reply]
Slovak-Republic.org replies:
January 15th, 2010 at 2:37 pm
Dear Gabriela,
yes, it is possible. You have to find an appropriate driving school.
[Reply]
March 8th, 2010 at 11:00 am
As Hannu mentioned above, I had a very bad experience with Slovakian Police whilst driving there.
Three times out of three driving in Slovakia I had to pay a fine fpr travelling their territory, first starting from 150 Euro then down to 30/40 Euro.
As the site mentions, I asked to defer the payment of the fine, but the officers always threaten me to
take me to the Police station and keep my driving license, which then meant the inability to drive
drive at all, aka you pay the fine or you are screwed.
I am still believing they do this especially with foreigners, as they are sure a foreigner will
not argue and also another thing I noticed is that they do not release any report or contravention with
what happened, names of the officers, date and time, etc. Probably they take those money for themselves
and go for a beer celebrating or something.
Thanks Slovakia for being so nice to us!
[Reply]
Slovak-Republic.org replies:
March 8th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
Hi Al, by no means I would like to defend Slovak Police, it certainly has some issues to improve, but I would like to correct you:
1. Why do you violate the driving rules in the first place? You will pay a fine in every country for that.
2. Defering payment vs. keeping the driving licence… well, it’s not threatening, it’s just how the Slovak law dictates and no matter whether you are a foreigner or Slovak. How else can they be sure that you’ll pay?
3. Report or contravention… first, I guess, they asked whether you want to see the picture with your speed on their computer in the car (a proof). Then when you paid, they should have given you a ticket stating how much fine you paid.
4. Names of the officers, numbers, etc. … according to the law, they are not obliged to inform you about these beforehand, but you have the right to ask and then they have to inform you.
I just wanted to ensure you that this is not only against foreigners… Also, I got a fine in Austria and it was pretty the same – they showed me the proof and gave me a small ticket stating how much I paid for it.
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