I happen to be one of those people who absolutely loves driving and, for some reason, have no fear about it.  Now, I know that it isn’t for everyone but as I have driven thousands and thousands of kilometres (and miles) in Europe, here are a few suggestions for people who are interested doing it.

1. First off, if you don’t know how to drive a standard car, learn!  Most cars in Europe do not have not automatic transmissions and you will pay dearly to rent a car that has one!  And, yes, the Europeans drive fast, particularly in Germany; however, they also drive very well and rarely, if ever, do anything unpredictable.  So, if you learn the rules and pay attention, it is not as terrifying as you might think.
2. Get familiar with international road signs.  They are the same in every country and that standard makes it easy to figure out when to stop, yield, not stop, etc.
3. One of the most important things to remember when driving on the continent is that people never (at least almost never, ever) pass on the inside.  It just does not happen.  People pull out to pass and get back over to the right lane as soon as they are done.  It is like a well-orchestrated dance.  I can probably count on one hand the number of times in all the years I’ve driven over there that someone has passed me on the right hand side - and they were probably tourists!
4. In most countries, the speed limits are clearly posted and there are plenty of warnings about when to slow down.  There are also plenty of speed cameras to catch you if you do exceed the limit.  There are some autobahns in Germany, however, where there is no speed limit.  Unless you are brave (or somewhat crazy) stay out of the fast lane.  Also, spend as much time looking in your rear view mirror as looking forward.  The cars can come up on you very quickly.  At least the law now forbids them to flash their lights at you, unlike years past.  They seem to have found an alternative to let you know to get out of the way:  they just leave their left indicator light on.
5. Unlike North America, at uncontrolled intersections in towns and villages, the car on the right has the right-of-way.  That means even if you are on what appears to be the main street, you must stop for a car approaching from right unless they have a stop or yield sign.  It can be tricky so watch out.
6. For the most part, when you are entering a roundabout (both on the continent and in the UK), you have the priority.  However, there are some tricky ones (Italy, in particular, comes to mind) where, in fact, the car IN the roundabout has priority.  Again, just watch out for those – and there aren’t that many of them.  You just need to ensure you know going in whether you have the right-of-way or not.
7. If you can, get at least a little familiar with some of the written road signs.  It is good to know, for example that “Einbahnstrasse” means one way in German BEFORE you start heading toward an unsuspecting oncoming vehicle!

If there any general overall driving tips I’d suggest it is to drive “defensively assertive” and be decisive!  If you don’t know where you are going, move over and get out of the way.  At least roundabouts let you go round and round in them until you know which exit to take!  And, as the Germans say, “Gute Fahrt” – safe journey.