1. In the Reykjavik and Keflavik area (roughly one-percent of Iceland)....you can drive 12 months out of the year without any problem. From October to March.....the rest of Iceland may present various hazards and I might recommend some avoidance. The best description of traffic and road conditions....if you've ever been to Mississippi....it's about the same condition of roads. Picture Jackson at rush-hour.....it's the same for Reykjavik. Regional roads outside of the urban zone? All are marginally OK.
2. One-lane bridges. Well, outside of the urban area....I'd say that 97-percent of all bridges are one-laners. So you'd best prepare yourself to continually pay attention when crossing a bridge.
3. Speed? 90 kph is the max. Generally, with the condition of roads.....I wouldn't go faster than that.
4. Cops? Well, in the urban area.....there are cops around. Outside of Keflavik, you might drive for twelve hours and never see a single cop.
5. Blind cresting? I don't know which idiot designed these but about every 20 kilometers.....you come up on a ridge (man-made) and you can't see over the other side. So you advance and get to the top where you suddenly notice some semi-truck coming up real quick.
6. Gas stations are fairly spread out and all run by some computer network. I'd guess and say that 80-percent of all stations are unmanned. They sell on basic unleaded and diesel.....that's it. You need a functional credit card or ATM card to buy gas around the nation.
7. They don't put up any barriers on roads along cliffs usually. So you could be driving on some hill and notice a 200-ft drop-off.
8. Bathroom breaks. Well, this is an odd factor. You'd best plan every two to three hours when in a decent sized town with a grill or restaurant to stop and have a bathroom break. You could easily be out in some area.....two hours from civilization and no place to do your business.
9. Any road that a "F" in the beginning.....is not really a road that you ought to be on. We aren't talking about a asphalt or gravel road.....we are talking about a trail at best and you are assuming some risks.
10. About 30 kilometers outside of the urban zone......you start to notice sheep wandering around.....freely. So, you need to wise up and face facts.....you might take a curve and there's two sheep in the road....that you won't be able to avoid. It gets pretty ugly at this point.
11. You need just about every kind of insurance that the idiots at the car rental place offered....to include volcanic ash damage or window damage. These guys are continually repaving various roads and loose gravel occurs all the time. You might also want to inquire if the car rental place offers roadside service or help. In the middle of nowhere, it might be helpful if someone would come to help jump a battery or fix something.
12. Lots of hikers hitchhike around the country. About every hour or so, you will notice such folks. It's up to you if you want to pick them up.
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