Speeding & Parking offences in Iceland
Driving in a foreign country can be exciting, stressful and educational. Driving in Iceland is no different. There are new traffic signs to learn, different driving styles, a variety of different road types and situations, speed limits and different laws. One thing making Iceland stand out to many countries are the swift weather changes one has to be prepared for, especially driving around Iceland off season, like low sun, snow blizzards coming from no where, slippery roads and so on.
As in every country, Iceland also has speed limits to keep and there are police all around Iceland measuring the speed and not to be forgotten, the speed cameras. The different speed limits in towns and out on the countryside are always well marked and needs to be followed. Fines for driving too fast differs with the offence. Here is a short list of of speeding fines in Iceland and how they increase with the offence:
| Type of offence | Fine (USD) |
| Driving 26km/h or faster over allowed top speed. (30-35 km zones) | 195 |
| Driving 36km/h or faster over allowed top speed. (50-60km zones) | 300-390 |
| Driving 41km/h or faster over allowed top speed. (70km zone) | 460 |
| Driving 41km/h or faster over allowed top speed. (80-90km zones) | 615-690 |
20% will be added to this if:
1. A bus is driving faster over the legal limits
2. A vehicle over 3.5000 kg is driving over the legal limits
3. A car pulling any type of trailer is driving over the legal limits.
What happens if a customer is caught in a speeding camera?
The Icelandic police will trace the speeding car and if the car belongs to Go Iceland Car Rental, the main office gets an E-mail with the all the information of the offending car. Such as time and place and the number plate, the staff finds out who was renting the car at the time and is then by law, required to send this information back to the police. The police will send the speeding ticket to the registered driver. Go Iceland’s office will then withdraw a handling fee of 5000ISK (39USD) as stipulated in the car rental agreement.
Parking violations
It can be difficult to determine at times as to where you are allowed or not allowed to part but there always are traffic signs informing the driver of the rules and obligations surrounding parking.
There are two types of parking offences:
The first one is the ordinary parking fine when a driver has not paid for the full time or not paid at all to park on an ordinary parking space. That fee is 2500ISK (20USD). If its paid imediately upon receiving the fine, it’s 1400ISK (11USD). If it’s unpaid after 14 days, the fee goes up to 3750ISK (29USD). If the parking fee is still unpaid after 28 days, it goes up to 5000ISK (39USD).
The second one is when a parking offence has been comitted. A parking offence is when you park a car where it’s simply not allowed to park at any time like on a curb or streets where parking is never allowed. That fine is 10.000ISK (77USD) but goes down to 8900ISK (68USD) if paid imediately. If unpaid after 14 days, the fine goes up to 15.000ISK (115USD). If still unpaid after 28 days, it goes up to 20.000ISK (154USD).
If someone parks on a parking space marked for handicapped individuals, the fine is 20.000ISK (154USD). It goes up to 30.000ISK (230USD) after 14 days and after 28 days to 40.000ISK (307USD)
What happens to the parking fine for a rental car?
Bílastæðasjóður who takes care of the parking system in Reykjavik sends an E-mail to the main office of Go Iceland Car Rental with all the detail of the offence.The staff finds out who was renting the car and sends information to the driver of the car. They can also go to the website of Bílastæðasjóður and see pictures of the car. The driver has then a chance to pay the fine but if that is not done, Go Iceland Car Rental pays the fine and withdraws that sum from the drivers credit plus a 5000ISK handling fee as stipulated in the rental contract (see above)
Parking in Akureyri in North Iceland
Parking works differently in Akureyri. Parking is free but you need to get a parking clock at a gas station, tourist information and there are shops that carries them too. One sets the time upon arrival and then, depending on the parking zone, one can park for free for 15 minutes up to several hours. If the clock is missing or the parking exceeds the allowed time, one can expect a parking fee. Then the same procedure takes over as with parking offences in Reykjavik.
Drive safely! #GoIceland
Disclaimer: The fines changes with foreign exchange rate. These numbers were valid at the time of writing.