Driving in Chile

Similar to the United States, Chile is a car-dependent country, with most people in Chile owning cars. Public transport is only frequent in a very few major cities like Santiago and most often poorly served in other major cities, and there is only a very little portion of a passenger rail network.

The highways of Chile are the network of separate carriageways in Chile that are generally under concession and tolls, while a number of these are free and are maintained by the State, somewhat similar to the Interstate Highway System of the United States. The roads in Chile are very well maintained, even the dirt roads are regularly scraped and in good condition. Most highways are well-marked with road signs, and it is easy to navigate around the country using a map or GPS.

Highway 5 is the highway with the most concessioned sections in the country. It is the longest route with 3,364 kilometres (2,090 miles) and is part of the Pan-American Highway, and runs from Chiloé Island to Puerto Montt where it borders Peru. It continues as Peruvian Highway 1.

Carretera Austral (Highway 7) runs from Puerto Montt to Villa O'Higgins, passing through rural Patagonia, with a distance of 1,240 kilometres (770 miles).

There are also other Chilean highways like Highway 68 which runs from Santiago to Valparaíso.

There are three emergency numbers in Chile: 131 for the ambulance, 132 for fire and 133 for police. Most of the time, English proficiency tends to be poor among Chilean emergency services, so it is important that you speak in Spanish in order to tell the emergency situation.

Car rentals are widely available throughout most major cities, but not in smaller towns. Usually a credit card, a valid driver's licence and a passport, all three issued to the same person, are needed to rent a car. If your driver's licence is not in Spanish, you also need an International Driver Permit (IDP). Many rental car companies will not ask for an IDP, but it's a good idea to have one, just in case you encounter the police. Rental rates in Santiago are very similar to those in the U.S., but prices can be much higher in other cities. If you want to bring rental cars across South American borders (as part of a road trip), you will need to notify the rental car company in advance, pay additional fees, and obtain extra paperwork to show that you are authorized by the company to drive its vehicles across borders. Rental cars in South America all come with hidden GPS transponders (even if there is no navigation system in the car) so the company will know if you try to take the vehicle out of the country without their knowledge or drive too many kilometres per day (if your vehicle has a per-day limit).

Parking spaces and street lanes are quite narrow, so it's a good idea to get a small vehicle. However, like most Latin Americans, Chileans prefer to drive vehicles with manual transmissions to conserve fuel. As a result, the smallest vehicles available for rent with automatic transmissions are usually standard-size sedans, which are more expensive. Those who don't master manual transmissions (or don't have the paperwork) should be prepared to pay up to US$100 per day to rent such vehicles.

Driving is on the right. On expressways, keep to the right lane except for overtaking, like in Europe.

There is no right turn on red, except for signs (rarely seen) which expressly authorize right turns on red with caution after making a complete stop.

Santiago and other cities have reversible lanes and roads. They also have bus-only lanes (also used by taxis) which private vehicles are supposed to stay out of, and which are enforced by photo and video surveillance. If you enter bus-only lanes and proceed to cruise straight down several blocks, without any indication of making a turn or merging into regular lanes, don't be surprised if the rental car company informs you that you have been fined.

Like many countries, Chile prefers to use yield or give way signs whenever possible, and uses stop signs ("PARE") only when absolutely necessary (usually because it's a blind intersection and someone was killed there). If there aren't any visible traffic signs or markings governing priority, and two vehicles reach an intersection simultaneously, priority belongs to the vehicle approaching from your right.

Traffic signals are usually on timers with no sensor loops, so you will have to sit and wait even if it's the middle of the night. Unlike most Latin American countries, carjackings are relatively rare, so running red lights and stop signs late at night are not tolerated by police.

Chileans generally obey red lights, stop signs and other traffic control devices, and their driving is much more sane than most of Latin America. However, some visitors find their driving to be more aggressive than at home. This is most evident when merging, especially when traffic from multiple lanes has to merge together in order to detour around road closures or accidents. Chileans also sometimes follow the "European" model of gently bumping into other vehicles while parallel parking, in order to squeeze into very tight spaces. Thus, many Chilean vehicles have chipped or scratched paint from such close encounters.

Also, despite steep fines and frequent use of radar guns, photo radar, and speed traps, speeding is rampant. When driving on intercity expressways, you will often encounter the "autobahn" problem seen in Germany, where you might merge into the right lane behind a truck or subcompact vehicle barely able to sustain 80 km/h, then have to patiently wait for the opportunity to merge into a left lane dominated by regular vehicles driving at the speed limit of 120 km/h, as well as occasional speeders exceeding 140 km/h.

• It's mandatory to always have the car lights on, even during the day.
• It is mandatory to put on seatbelts before driving a car.
• You may not eat, smoke or have your phone while driving.
• Pedestrians always have the right of way, especially at crossings.

Chilean roads are generally good compared to most of Latin America. Expressways are virtually always well-maintained, paved, painted, signed, and largely free of potholes, cracks, litter and debris. However, many older streets in cities are in poor condition, and drivers must be alert to avoid cracks, dips, drains and potholes. Country roads are also sometimes in poor condition; they are not paved to the same thickness as in some countries, and even slight deterioration may cause the underlying dirt base to show through.

In big cities, it is a good idea to avoid rush hours, between 07:00 and 09:00 and between 17:00 and 20:00.

In 2017, Chile introduced a new law which regulates the price of parking and makes parking companies liable if your stuff is stolen.

Many private parking facilities in Chile are just like parking facilities anywhere in the world. You take a bar-coded ticket upon entry, pay at a vending machine before returning to your vehicle, and then insert the ticket into a reader at the exit gate. In Santiago, the parking concessionaire Saba uses orange RFID "ChipCoins" for the same purpose, as well as for access control to parking garages (so that the only people who can enter underground parking garages are those who already obtained ChipCoins at the vehicle entrance).

Otherwise, public parking on streets and in some surface lots is more complicated, because Chile does not have parking meters. Instead, you will see signs saying that so-and-so curb (or lot) has been reserved for a specific person or company, between certain hours, for so many pesos for every 30 minutes. If you don't see anyone present, it's usually OK to park there (unless the sign also advises otherwise), but if the concessionaire is present, they will print out a receipt on a handheld machine and tuck it under your windshield wiper to record when you arrived. You then pay them the parking fee when you come back.

In some public parking areas, even if there isn't a sign declaring that a particular street has been reserved, you may see self-appointed car guards who will demand tips in exchange for watching your car when you are absent (and who might sometimes help you back into spaces and back out of them). This is a racket (and quite annoying to people from places where car guards are not tolerated), but it's generally a good idea to cooperate; 500 pesos is usually more than sufficient to secure their cooperation, but be careful and never tell them that you will be away for a few hours, as these individuals can be associated with some shady people. Car guards are usually not seen in private parking facilities, as they have private security guards on patrol who are paid out of parking fees.

Petrol in Chile is normally unleaded and comes in 93, 95, and 97 octane. Diesel is also available at many stations. Due to high taxes and Chile's distance from major oilfields, expect to pay about 1½ times the average U.S. price for equivalent fuel (but still less than in most of Western Europe). There are some self-service and usually you pay a little less per liter (8 pesos), but it's only available to pay by card and the machines are only in Spanish.

• Tips for road trips