Page 9 - aruba-today-20240801
P. 9

A9
                                                                                                           LOCAL Thursday 1 augusT 2024






























            Did you know about...


            Basic driving rules on Aruba (part 2)


            (Oranjestad)—In     Yester-  also  paired  with  a  similar  main road or cross it, either  abouts,  sign  or  arrows  on  stop  sign  is  generally  used
            day’s  issue,  we’ve  provid-  sign crossed out.          from an intersection or from  the road, is to always yield  for  tricky  intersections  with
            ed some basic rules when                                  a dirt road, must all wait un-  for  traffic  on  your  right.  minimal  view  of  opposite
            driving  on  the  four-lane          Priority signs       til traffic on the main road  However,  if  you  encoun-  incoming traffic.
            highways and roundabouts     On the main roads of Aru-    is clear. In other words, you  ter this sign on your side of
            on  the  island.  Today,  we   ba (not the highways), you  do  not  have  to  stop  for  the  intersection,  you  have  These are some of the ba-
            want to offer you more tips   may see a yellow, squared  them.  This  sign  too  has  a  priority over the other cars,  sic  rules  that  you  would
            and  tricks  when  it  comes   sign  with  a  white  border.  counter part that indicates  even the one on your right.  have to know if you decide
            to driving on the roads and   This  sign  tells  you  that  on  that your priority is over.                         to drive on the island. These
            highways of Aruba.           this road, you have priority                              However, be careful not to  are  of  course  other  traffic
                                         and all other traffic should  Another  priority  sign  you  confuse this sign with a simi-  signs, and we recommend
            Speed limit in certain areas  yield  to  you.  This  sign  can  may encounter is a triangle  lar  up-side  down  triangle,  you visit aruba-travelguide.
            As  mentioned  in  yester-   be seen in Savaneta for ex-  sign with a red border and  also found on intersections.  com for an extensive over-
            day’s issue, the legal mini-  ample. So, if you are driving  something that looks like a  This sign is a prohibition sign,  view of all traffic signs used
            mum and maximum speed        on the main road in Sava-    cross. You’ll see this sign in  telling you that you have to  on Aruba.
            limit on the island is 50 and   neta going to San Nicolas,  an intersection. The gener-  stop  and  give  other  cars
            80 km/h respectively. How-   you are driving on a single  al rule of thumb for crossing  priority. Of course you also   Picture credits: aruba-travel-
            ever,  there  are  some  ar-  long  road,  and  other  cars  an intersection that do not  have  a  “stop”  sign  that       guide.com
            eas  where  it  is  mandated   that  want  to  get  on  this  contain traffic lights, round-  mean the same thing. The
            to  drive  up  to  a  certain
            speed.  This  is  always  indi-
            cated  by  a  circular  traf-
            fic  sign  with  red  border
            and  the  number  50  on  it.
            Signs like these are always
            paired by a similar sign with
            the  number  crossed  out
            further down the road. This
            means  that  the  mandate
            for this speed is now over;             bebouwde kom                         end bebouwde kom                          end priority
            you  may  increase  your
            velocity.  Red  borders  on
            traffic  sign—whether  it’s  a
            circle  or  triangle—usually
            signal  a  warning,  prohibi-
            tion or preference.

            Besides  the  “50”  sign,  you
            may also encounter a traf-
            fic  sign  that  says  “bebou-          end speed limit                      intersection priority                       priority
            wde  kom”.  These  can  be
            found  in  San  Nicolas  and
            Oranjestad.     Bebouwde
            kom  sings  are  rectangular
            and  blue,  and  essentially
            tell  you  that  you  are  in  a
            heavily inhabited area. The
            maximum  speed  limit  in  a
            bebouwde kom is 50 km/h.
            Just  like  the  previous  pair,
            bebouwde  kom  signs  are                 speed limit                             stop sign                          triangle stop sign
   4   5   6   7   8   9   10   11   12   13   14