Some tips and advice to help you during your car rental in St. Maarten:

• Drive on the RIGHT side of the road.
• Seat belt use is mandatory.
• St. Maarten drivers are very courteous and will stop to let cars merge or back out of their parking spot. Pay close attention as this often means cars stop suddenly ahead of you.
• St. Maarten drivers are also very chatty – and you may get stuck behind a car stopped in the middle of the road to have a chat with a driver going the opposite direction. Honking won’t do any good – they’ll only say goodbye when they’re ready.
• Buses stop often and randomly. Try not to get stuck behind one.
• There is only one stoplight on the island – and the law says you are not allowed to turn right on red.
• Most intersections use roundabouts. Yield to drivers in the roundabout and use your turn signal when exiting the roundabout, but don’t expect that other drivers will do the same.
• Stop for anyone in or approaching the pedestrian crossing.
• A flash of the headlights generally means “go ahead”.
• Two quick short honks means “thank you” – not to be confused with one or a serious of long honks which generally means either “what are you doing…” or “I’m coming fast and not planning on stopping for you”.
• Unless you want to come back to your lock jimmied or your window broken, never leave anything locked in your rental car. Not even for just a quick second.
• Drinking and driving is a dangerous pastime; especially with the French police randomly pulling over drivers to do breathalysers.
• Using a cell phone and driving can get you a fine on either side of the island.
• Watch out for the wildlife – cows, goats, donkeys, dogs and iguanas can be right around the next curve in the road.