Driving in Sweden

Briefing

Sweden's driving rules cluster around two facts every visitor needs to absorb on day one: the 0.2 promille BAC limit (one of the strictest in the EU, set in 1990) and the mandatory daytime headlight rule, in force since 1 October 1977 — Sweden was the first country in the world to require varselljus on all motor vehicles. Drive without dipped lights at noon in July and you're committing a fineable offence.

The motorway network is shorter than tourists expect — around 2,100 km of motorvägar — but well-built. The default motorway limit is 110 km/h; 120 km/h applies only on about 300 km of recently upgraded sections, mostly the southern E4 (Helsingborg–Stockholm) and parts of E6 down the west coast.

The E18 carries you Stockholm–Karlstad–Oslo. Speed cameras (ATK boxes) are dense and well-signed.

Two cities charge trängselskatt — congestion tax — by ANPR. Stockholm hits 45 SEK in the 07:00–08:29 and 16:00–17:29 peak windows with a 135 SEK daily cap during peak season (Mar 1–Jun 20, Aug 15–Nov 30); Gothenburg tops out at 22 SEK per passage and 60 SEK per day.

From 2026 EVs and plug-in hybrids pay the standard rate — the previous exemption is gone, and so is the taxi exemption in Stockholm. The quirk to know: passages aren't paid at the cordon.

Skatteverket bills the registered owner monthly. Rental companies will pass each charge through with an admin fee, often weeks after you've flown home — same trap as Italian ZTL fines.

Bridge tolls work the same way: Sundsvallsbron 9 SEK, Motalabron 5 SEK, Skurubron 4 SEK (added 1 October 2023), all camera-billed via infrastrukturavgift. The Öresundsbron to Denmark is the exception — pay at the cash/card lanes (470 DKK / ~720 SEK one way for cars in 2026, or 182 DKK with an ØresundGO contract).

The biggest practical hazard outside the cities is älg. Around 4,500 moose-vehicle collisions a year, plus 40,000+ with roe deer and wild boar.

The risk peaks in late September through October during the rut, and again in early summer at calving. The worst hours are the few before dawn and just after dusk.

The E45 inlandsvägen up through Dalarna and Norrland, and the E10 across Norrbotten, are the routes where you genuinely brake for the warning signs.