Romania for Swedish Drivers — Buy the Rovinieta, Mind the 0.0 Limit

Swedes arrive in Romania with an advantage: right-hand traffic, an EU licence, and a legal alcohol limit that is already close to zero. Two things differ. Romania’s limit is exactly 0.0, against Sweden’s 0.02, and every national road runs on a payment you have to arrange yourself, the rovinieta. If you search for the drink-drive rule before the trip, the answer is short. There is no margin at all, and the sensible plan is no alcohol on any day you drive.

The rovinieta, and what it is not

Romania does not use toll booths on its national roads. The rovinieta is an electronic vignette linked to your number plate, with no sticker to display. You need a valid one before you drive on a national road or motorway, and cameras read plates to catch cars without one. Buy it online or at a petrol station before you set off from the border, and check that the plate on your receipt matches the car. It is a road-use charge for a passenger car, and it has nothing to do with the heavy-vehicle road charge that some Swedish searches mention, which applies to a different class of vehicle. The vignette guide and the vignette calculator show how the idea works across the region.

Your licence, no IDP

A Swedish licence is an EU licence, so it is valid in Romania as it stands. You do not need an International Driving Permit or a translation. Carry the licence, your passport or ID card and the car’s papers. For a rental, check that the contract names you as a driver before you leave the desk.

Speed limits compared

Romanian motorways are short, and most trips run on single-carriageway national roads at 90 km/h, shared with farm vehicles and horse carts. A Swedish driver used to a 70 or 80 km/h rhythm on rural roads will find that the number is higher but the road is not better. Overtaking is bolder than at home, so leave a longer gap and decline to race anyone who wants past.

How Romania penalises speeding

Speed fines come with penalty points rather than a flat table. Going 10-20 km/h over carries 2 points, 21-30 km/h over carries 3 points, and 31-40 km/h over carries 4 points. At 41-50 km/h over it is 6 points. Above 50 km/h over, the penalty is a Class IV fine and a 90-day licence suspension with no points. A red light brings a Class II fine and a mandatory 30-day suspension. Holding a phone costs a Class III fine and 4 points. Without a seatbelt the fine is RON 580-1,450. A suspension can wreck a trip because it applies to the driver, not to the car, so there is nobody to hand the keys to unless a second licensed driver is with you.

What the car must carry

Romania lists four items as required: a warning triangle, a reflective vest, a fire extinguisher and a first-aid kit. Spare bulbs are recommended. A hire car should arrive with these, but open the boot and look. Missing items are easier to sort out at the desk than at a roadside stop.

Your first day

Plan the route to avoid driving at night on the first evening; the rural roads are less forgiving when tired. Set the map app before you leave the airport, buy the rovinieta, and keep the receipt on your phone. If you are bringing your own car from Sweden, the plate on the receipt must be the one on the car.

Emergencies

Romania has one number for everything: 112, the same as in Sweden. Save it anyway, along with the rental company’s roadside line. More rules for the country are in the Romania driving guide, and the speeding fine calculator can model an offence.

Sources

• CNAIR, official Romanian rovinieta portal (electronic road-use vignette): erovinieta.ro