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I have not driven in Hungary since 2000.

My husband and I always are together and he is/was a professional driver.

Not fun to drive with him assessing every move.

Personally I enjoy having my own driver then doing it myself.

50 plus years of driving under my seat belt so had enough.

I get a bit over excited at other drivers when they do lame things so best to keep my BP under control and just sit there, mouth shut.

I do notice many people are not great drivers as they used to be here; It was much harder to pass a driving test under the communists.

People are purchasing wide cars and do not seem to know how much room they are taking.

Just a few weeks ago hubby driving and 2 cars coming towards us, both taking more room they they were allotted; Hubby pulled to the right to let the first car pass then slowly moved forward with enough time and space for the next car to pass; The young male driver flipped out and spit on our window as he passed, a real sweetheart.

People here are more then ready to honk and be rude, I am not interested in having a shouting match with them so not even interested in driving here.

Our experience showed that driving on some narrow country roads at night is dangerous, no street light and fast cars coming towards you with huge trees to crash into lining the road.

Need experienced refreshed drivers for those conditions.

Also many bike riders without light on roads at night.Most seem a bit tipsy too.

IDK about traffic rules being enforced or not. Like I said my husband is an experienced professional driver who does not push it; Years of needing patience while driving taught that being in the right does not matter, if a idiot wants to pass fast, then let them. If someone wants to run the light, just stay away from us.

Never got any traffic tickets in Hungary as of yet.

My husband started driving in Budapest in 1966 as an 18 year old . He paid for a 6 month long professional driving course; In commie times really the only way to be able to drive was to be a professional driver unless you were wealthy enough to afford your own car.

He learned to driver double clutch trucks from the 1940s and 3 speed manual cars as well and basic manual, had to drive passenger trucks, bus, car and a motorbike to pass his driving exam; The oral test was all in front of a board of several stern men asking question after question. No time to go over notes, had to have the answer in a flash for every question thrown at you.

First time he missed on question and failed the test. Got them all correct the next time he did the exam; Had to spend about a week during the test with a guy rating your skills in all sorts of vehicles.

His first driving job was as a personal driver for a Hungarian businessman.

Loved the job, had a custom suit and all.

As a young man however, he was silly. 2 cute girls on a tram were flirting with him at a stop. He took his eyes off his driving for a moment and crashed into another car from behind. The girls looked all sad for him as the tram drove on. He got fired; 

After that was a driver for a construction co; Just waited while a truck was loaded and took it to be dumped.

Drove a taxi in Budapest and in Las Vegas.

If he says people can not drive these days in Hungary, I believe him.

I have not driven in Hungary since 2000.My husband and I always are together and he is/was a professional driver.Not fun to drive with him assessing every move.Personally I enjoy having my own driver then doing it myself.50 plus years of driving under my seat belt so had enough.I get a bit over excited at other drivers when they do lame things so best to keep my BP under control and just sit there, mouth shut.I do notice many people are not great drivers as they used to be here; It was much harder to pass a driving test under the communists.People are purchasing wide cars and do not seem to know how much room they are taking.Just a few weeks ago hubby driving and 2 cars coming towards us, both taking more room they they were allotted; Hubby pulled to the right to let the first car pass then slowly moved forward with enough time and space for the next car to pass; The young male driver flipped out and spit on our window as he passed, a real sweetheart.People here are more then ready to honk and be rude, I am not interested in having a shouting match with them so not even interested in driving here.......Drove a taxi in Budapest and in Las Vegas.If he says people can not drive these days in Hungary, I believe him. - @Marilyn Tassy

Your hubby is not wrong!

Driving here is dangerous.  People crash here all the time.   I am not sure why people are worse at driving here than other places.  But you do see the same kind of lack of precision in their parking.  Instead of trying to park between the lines, they are just lazy and park at all sorts of angles.   And for some reason, everyone parks next to other cars, leaving no space to open their doors without bashing the cars next to them.   Do they not understand that parking one car away from other cars lessens the likelihood that doors and cars will not contact each other?

There are systematic issues here.  Giving way to the right on some junctions is a crime against humanity.  I think we have Napoleon to blame for that.  Lighting is poor.   There are places - like my village - where there are no pavements (US: sidewalks) for pedestrians or even cyclists.  It's really a problem here.  We have cycle paths but they are incomplete and aren't that helpful. Presumably it's a money issue or cooperation issue between two local governments. 

One area where they need to build these paths runs next to a couple of rifle ranges.  It'd make it interesting for cyclists and pedestrians.

One huge reason I am not interested in driving in Hungary is the people.

They are very short tempered and always right, in their own minds at least.

I can not deal with dumb.

My husband has the patience of a saint when driving;He learned to let it go over the years being a driver. 12 hour taxi shifts in Vegas on holidays!

Yikes! I would flip out.

When he drove as a taxi driver in Budapest as an older teenager, the road rules were enforced and only good drivers were on the roads.

Only people such as high level doctors, businessmen or gov; people could afford a private car and most had their own private drivers.

Before the commies, it still was only drivers from wealthy families who could afford a car.

My husbands father had his own car before WW2 as a young man. His family was loaded though,nothing left post war however.

My husband knew as a teenager that he could not afford a car on his own so became a professional driver just to be able to enjoy driving. He worked 10 to 12 hours in a machine shop which took well over an hour to get to each way and still had the energy to take driving lessons for 6 months at his own expense.

Wish he had half that energy now days!

He was given a company suit to wear which he took to the tailor and had recut into a MOD style suit.

His father also was a private driver post WW2; He loved it, had the chance to travel and stay in different hotels , have dinners out with his job.all paid for by the company he worked for.

My BIL was a long haul truck driver in Hungary; He was allowed to go to the west to pick up and deliver.

It was a big deal in the 70s to see the west and get paid to do so.

After a few years his back gave out, had surgery and never was the same; He had to work at a desk job after his surgery so no more travels west.

Driving is in their blood.

Our son however refused to learn to drive until he was in his early 20s. Good thing too, he drives like a mad man, scares me to death being in his car.

I used to drive all around lake Velence when we rented a house there, all by myself. It was fun but no longer interested.

My step FIL bought 2 brand new cars over time in Hungary in the commie days.

They paid cash 5 YEARS before delivery and could not pick the color, you got whatever car came down the ramp at pick up time. One car was a Walburg, he really thought it was a flashy car. Maybe for the times it was?

My hubby says as a child in Budapest, they still had horse drawn carts on the roads! At least the speeds were slower.