My husband and I were talking about doing a self-driving tour of Great Britain. This isn’t “need answer fast” - it may not happen for a year or more.
For those of you whose travels had you sitting behind the wheel on the opposite side of the vehicle from where you usually sit, how difficult is the transition? Do you eventually get used to it or does it require extra attention and concentration on your part? Is it awkward to use controls indifferent locations?
I was on a cruise around the British Isles a few years back and it was weird for me being in buses that drove on the “wrong” side - I couldn’t seem to become accustomed to things from the different point of view, and I was just a passenger. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to drive. Am I worried for nothing? Please do share your experiences.
I did South Africa 15 years ago. Wasn’t too hard of an adjustment, but I had an advantage, having driven driving sims for a number of years (which reward constant situational awareness).
Once I had a lapse and almost turned onto the “American” side, but caught myself in time.
When we rented a car in Australia several years ago, it was pretty straightforward to get used to - I stopped thinking about it and just drove within an hour or two. The fact that the driver sits on the right side makes it easier, IMHO - you don’t wind up with the wrong reflexes. Since your brain already knows something is “wrong”, it doesn’t try to make you drive on the “correct” side of the road every time you stop thinking about it.
Having said that, I suspect the roads in the UK are smaller & busier than in Australia.
ETA: Just so you know, the gas pedal and brake stay in the same positions - gas on right, brake on left, so you don’t have to re-train your feet. I’d strongly recommend getting an automatic transmission though, since you’d have to shift gears with your left hand in a manual.
I didn’t have any problem. I was more worried about shifting, as most rental cars are manual transmission (or they were back when I did this). Just remember: Left turns are easy, Right turns are hard.
I actually found it a bit more difficult to re-adjsut upon returning. I got used to paying strong attention to driving, and I found myself questioning which way to look for oncoming cars all the time!
In my visits to New Zealand and Australia it took me a couple of days to get used to it. The hardest part was making right or left hand turns, but you learn pretty quickly when you end up in the wrong lane and nearly have a head-on collision. What worked for me, especially when leaving the car-rental place was to get behind a car going in my general direction and follow it. (Assuming, of course, they weren’t tourists as well…:D)
I recently came back from a vacation in England. Drove out of London and all around the Cotswolds. Initially, the most unusual thing was operating the car from the right side of the cabin. Operating in traffic and staying on the correct side of the road took a little getting used to but not terribly difficult. Once you get behind the wheel, it’s actually much easier than you’d think.
In contrast, I find it much more unsettling as a passenger.
I’ve rented cars in the UK several times and adjusted pretty quickly. When there are other cars, just stay in the lane and follow the ones in front of you. If you’re in a narrow little country lane, there often isn’t enough left and right to worry about unless somebody else comes up in the other direction and you have to scoot over close against the hedgerow.
The one thing I do recommend: if you know the places you’ll be driving, rehearse the roads you’ll be driving on on Google streetview. It’ll make you more familiar with how the area really looks, landmarks etc; you can make notes like “turn left at the red barn” that are (to me anyway) more helpful while you’re actually driving the car than trying to keep an eye out for the little sign for the B2231 crossroad. And you’ll know when all the roundabouts coming up and can prepare for which exit to take off of them.
The one thing I never got used to, and did every time I got back in the car–I always reached up to my left shoulder for the safety belt strap, and down toward my right knee for the gear shift; in a British car, they’re on the opposite sides.
I did it when I visited Ireland in 2008. Had to drive the rental car to our B&B after our flight got in. I managed to adapt in an unfamiliar area, with an unfamiliar car, on two hours of sleep and six hours of jetlag (my brain thought it was 6AM, IIRC). Managed to pull it off without getting in an accident. I adapted quickly, with only a few screw ups. Just take it slow and you should be fine. Once I got back, I nearly drove on the “wrong” side WRT the US a couple of times.
I should add: the last time I did this was in Australia, and I was traveling with a buddy. I volunteered to drive since he was a bit nervous about the whole left lane thing, and I was a veteran. On the last day he decided he wanted to try his hand at driving. After about 30 minutes and 2 near-death experiences, I took the wheel back.
It’s vastly easier than you think. I do it frequently - the other way round. The biggest problem is the temptation to veer off into the ditch at the side of the road as your position on the road feels unnatural at first. But you do adjust quickly.
One thing to take note if you hire a car - make sure you request an ‘Automatic’. Manual transmission is still mostly the default here (particularly in smaller cars), and if you’re coming from the US, where most people drive an automatic, you’ll have the dummy whammy of having to change gear, and with your left hand.
I drove for two weeks in Ireland, about 20 years ago, and this was definitely an issue for me. The shift pattern is the same as in the U.S., but not only are you shifting with the “wrong” hand, but what I discovered (at least for me) was that my brain uses the ideas of “first gear is up and towards me” – and the second half of that is no longer accurate when you’re on the other side of the car. I can’t tell you how many times I threw it into second gear when I was trying for fourth.
At least at that time, automatic transmission cars were uncommon in the rental car fleet, and would have been substantially more expensive.
Other than that, it took a day or two to adapt to the idea of being on the other side of the road, but it wasn’t too bad. Remembering where to look for oncoming traffic when you’re turning can be challenging. And, on two occasions, I went to get in the car, opened the door, sat down, and said, “where’s my steering wheel?” (I’d gotten into the left hand door. )
I’ve driven on the opposite side of the road (for me) in Jamaica and Ireland.
The first challenge: Remembering what side of the car to get in.
The second challenge: Driving a manual has some things on the opposite side from what I was accustomed to (like the shifter), but part of that is that a lot of the other things are just like getting used to any rental car (finding the lights switch for example).
The third challenge: Staying on the correct side of the road. In both car trips, Jamaica and Ireland, I wasn’t alone. The passengers’ duty was to constantly remind me what side of the road to drive on. Years of driving and staying on the right side of the road is “natural”.
The fourth challenge: Roundabouts. As a lifelong USA person, I’m still not fully acclimated to these. They’re becoming more frequent but still require a bit of thought. Going in the “opposite” way is a little bit more challenging.
The fifth challenge: Blind spots. A bit of retraining to know where to look is needed.
The sixth challenge: Drive-thrus. They’re on the opposite side of the car, naturally. It seems like this would be obvious until it’s not.
Recommendations:
Don’t practice at home. This is a bad idea.
Don’t drive alone. At least not at first. You’ll want someone there to remind you how traffic works and keep you on the correct side of the road.
If you’re on a trip, try and stay in that city the first night so you don’t drive too far. It’s a bit more intense, especially if there’s traffic, and requires a bit more brain power.
Get a GPS. I installed the TomTom app on an old iPhone 4S and use that whenever I travel. All of the maps are offline which is important when you get way out of service range. It came with us to Ireland (as well as Poland, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, France, and Mexico) and made driving around so much easier.
The first few days, deliberately nag yourself to Think whenever you’re about to make a turn.
My right hand could operate stick-shift subconsciously, but I was afraid I’d have to relearn for the left hand. Nope, the left hand knew right away, as though it was already a trained understudy. My biggest problem with hand placement was reaching across myself to flick cigarette ash in the ashtray! (You’re thinking: if my left-hand could operate the stick-shift so well, why didn’t I let it hold the cigarette also? I dunno; I’ve foolish ingrained habits. BTW, I’ve not smoked for 20+ years.)
Very very rarely I sometimes find myself driving on the wrong side of the road. It’s happened twice … when leaving a cremation funeral. :eek: Another psychological oddity: I’m almost always the driver and head straight for driver’s door. But I’m rarely passenger; when I am … I head for where the passenger door was when I was frequent passenger long ago, get half-way there, “Oops, that’s the driver’s door, silly.” :smack:
It took me no time at all when I rented a car in London. The driver was on the right and the gear shift on the left, giving me constant reminders. I just mentally switched left and right. It was much harder to learn to look left first when crossing streets. On another trip, I had a new car set up for North America delivered in London. It was somewhat harder since I was in the left seat and the shift lever on the right. Still, I had no problem.
I just had to drive on the “wrong” side of the road for a few weeks last month. It was very easy for me to adapt, with the exception of the turn signal. The turn signal lever is on the opposite side of the wheel compared to what I’m used to, and I signaled every turn by flipping on the windshield wipers. Every damn time.
Staying on the correct side of the road, turning left, shifting - all a piece of cake. Signaling a turn? Impossible unless I concentrated on it a full minute leading up to the turn.
My fist time was in Cyprus, and it was no problem all, except for roundabouts, which are bad enough in my own country. It took some new muscle-memory re-development to learn to shift gears with left hand.
It’s even harder to hitchhike. First, you have to stand on the wrong side of the road and hitch with your left thumb. Then, when you’re riding in the front left seat, you have a compelling urge to reach up and grab the rear view mirror and adjust it.
Not hard in my experience. I don’t drive often, as I’ve not owned a car for 29 years, but I have driven from time to time in Thailand, which drives on the left, and rented cars in the US. Never had a problem.
Even more dangerous than driving, don’t forget to look right before stepping off a kerb into a busy street.
I had a hilarious experience last year when I flew into Bangkok, and had to get into the shuttle van at midnight. Being blind, I have to feel around for a seat, and I couldn’t figure out how to get in. I had forgotten that in a keep-left country, the seats behind the sliding van door face to the left. The group of young Thai ladies in the shuttle, luckily, had a good-natured sense of humor.
Driving on the wrong side is more comm0n than you think. On that trip last year, I went to five countries, and four of them were keep-left traffic: Sri Lanka, Thailand, Australia and Japan. The only normal one was Cambodia.
I’ve never driven on the left but I’d concur that country lanes and London are not confusing to walk in but A-level roads with medium traffic and no crossing lights do seem daunting. Even worse was walking Weston Road from Honeybourne to Chipping Campden: even though I had looked at the intersections on Google Street View, I didn’t look at it anywhere else and assumed it would be a medium-traffic road with good shoulders, or a hardly used country lane with just a hedgerow on the side. Instead, it had medium-to-light traffic and bad shoulders: there were times I ran around a curve so I would limit the time I exposed myself (and I had to remember both which way the cars were coming and trying to walk on the opposite side of that.)
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