Most visitors assume Icelandic road rules are the same as at home, with fewer cars. Mostly they are. The exceptions are the ones that end in a fine forwarded by your rental company weeks after you fly home, or in a bent bumper on a single-lane bridge. This is what's different, and what it costs when you get it wrong.
Speed limits: 90, 80, 50
- 90 km/h on paved roads outside towns. This includes the whole Ring Road. There are no motorways and nowhere with a higher limit.
- 80 km/h on gravel roads outside towns.
- 50 km/h in towns and villages, often 30 km/h in residential streets and around schools.
Limits are only posted where they differ from the default, so if you have not seen a sign, assume the numbers above. The town limit starts at the village name sign, not when the houses start, and police like to sit just inside it.
Cameras and what speeding costs
Iceland has fixed speed cameras on main routes, usually announced by a blue sign with a camera symbol a few hundred metres ahead, plus unmarked police cars and mobile camera units. Cameras photograph the plate, the ticket goes to the registered owner (your rental company), and they pass it on with an admin fee of roughly 3,000 to 6,000 ISK on top.
Fines depend on how fast you were going and what the limit was. Roughly:
- A modest 10 to 20 km/h over costs tens of thousands of ISK, commonly somewhere in the 20,000 to 50,000 range.
- More than 40 km/h over in an 80 or 90 zone runs to about 75,000 to 85,000 ISK.
- Well above that, you are looking at a court case and a driving ban rather than a ticket.
Pay within 30 days, or on the spot by card if you are stopped, and the fine drops by 25%. On a 90 km/h road, just drive 90. Nothing on the Ring Road is far enough away to justify the risk.
Headlights, always
Dipped headlights must be on at all times, day and night, all year. Most rental cars do this automatically, but check at pickup: some only switch the daytime running lights on, which leaves the rear lights off. Turn the dial to full headlights and leave it there.
The signs that confuse visitors
- Einbreið brú (single-lane bridge). There are still dozens on the Ring Road, especially in the South and East. Whoever reaches the bridge first has priority. Slow right down, look at the far end, and if a car is already on it or about to be, wait. Don't race for it.
- Blindhæð (blind hill). The road crests and you cannot see what is on the other side, which is often an oncoming car in the middle of the road. Keep right and ease off. The sign sometimes comes with two arrows meaning the lanes are separated on the crest; if not, assume they aren't.
- Malbik endar (paved road ends). The tarmac stops and loose gravel starts, sometimes with barely a warning. Brake before the transition, not on the gravel. This is where most single-car rollovers involving tourists happen.
- Lausamöl (loose gravel). Slow down and give oncoming cars room; the stones they throw are what the gravel protection on your rental insurance pays for.
Roundabouts: the inner lane wins
In two-lane roundabouts, the car in the inner lane has priority when it exits. If you are in the outer lane, you must give way to someone crossing in front of you to leave. In practice, use the outer lane only if you are taking the first exit, and stay alert for cars cutting across from the inside. Plenty of Reykjavík fender-benders start here.
F-roads and off-road driving
Roads marked with an F are mountain tracks, legally open only to 4x4 vehicles and only once the Road Administration opens them for the season, usually late June or July. Driving one in a 2WD voids your rental cover completely.
Driving off the road is illegal everywhere: on moss, sand, lava or a riverbed, even for a few metres to get a photo. Tyre tracks on moss can last decades. Police in the South fine tourists for this every summer, and the amounts are serious: several hundred thousand ISK per person is normal, and the worst cases go well beyond half a million. Pull over only where there is a proper parking area or a gravel lay-by.
Sheep
From May to October, sheep graze freely and the verges are theirs. Lambs often stand on one side of the road and their mother on the other, and they will cross just as you arrive. Slow down when you see them. If you do hit one, you are expected to report it to the police (112) so the farmer can be traced. Don't just drive on.
Parking
Central Reykjavík is divided into paid zones, payable at meters or through apps such as Parka and EasyPark. An unpaid meter fee costs around 4,500 ISK, rising if you ignore it. Many nature sites now charge for parking too, usually 1,000 ISK or so for a car, collected by app or number-plate cameras. Unpaid site fees end up with the rental company, admin fee included.
Compare rental cars with gravel and full collision cover shown up front, so a stone chip on a gravel stretch doesn't cost you the deductible.
Compare rental prices →Drink-driving: 0.2‰
The legal limit is 0.2 per mille, among the strictest in Europe. In practice, one beer can put you over. Don't drink and drive at all, and remember that a late night in Reykjavík can still be in your blood the next morning. Also: phones must be hands-free, and seatbelts are compulsory in every seat.
Before you set off
Check road.is for closures and conditions every morning, and read winter driving in Iceland if your trip is between October and April. If you are driving electric, plan your stops with the station map and the EV charging guide; on the South Coast, the chargers are close enough together that you never need to rush between them.