I may be going to the UK in October or November and I plan on renting a car. But I have never driven on the left side of traffic before, nor have I ever driven a right-hand drive vehicle (a handful of them exist in America, mostly imported JDM (Japanese domestic market) sports cars, but I’ve never had any time in one.
I want to minimize my chances of fucking up on the road, so I plan on dedicating one day of the trip to just getting used to driving there. Does anyone who has visited the UK as a tourist and rented a car there, have any experience to share regarding how long it took to get used to driving there? Were you able to feel comfortable on the road after a day or two, or were you perpetually paranoid and hesitant?
If you rented a manual car, how quickly did you get used to shifting with your left hand? I’d like to rent a manual car there but driving a stick is largely about muscle memory and all my muscle memory for shifting is in my right hand. (And I’m right-handed.) I guess I could practice sitting in my passenger seat and shifting with the left hand but without actually being able to control the car I wonder how useful of an exercise that would be. Should I just rent an automatic and save myself the headache of adjusting to the left hand shifting?
Any other random tips about UK traffic? I’m not planning on driving in London or any other congested urban area - primarily between smaller cities and towns.
I was able to drive on the “wrong” side right off the bat in both Scotland and Ireland (I’ve never driven in Britain). The only time I had to pause was one time coming around a traffic circus (we called 'em “traffic Circles” in NJ, but here in MA they’re “rotaries”), when I had to think about which was to go. But at least in those countries the protocol is to stop before proceeding. In the US you’re often supposed to, but nobody does.
My experience was the same driving in New Zealand. You get used to it after a day or two, or at least I did. It’s just the mirror image of what you’re used to doing. My biggest problem was flipping on the wipers when I meant to signal a turn (since they are on opposite sides).
It’s actually less of a problem where there’s traffic, since the other cars remind you where you are supposed to be driving. In deserted areas, you can absent-mindedly find yourself driving on the wrong side. As a pedestrian, a few times I narrowly avoided an accident because I instinctively looked the wrong way when crossing a street.
Driving in Ireland, my brother found the narrow roads a problem, and that could be the case in the UK too.
No idea about how it is driving a manual. I deliberately got an automatic so I wouldn’t have to deal with that.
I took to it like a fish to water. Started out in the deep end by driving from downtown London to the Cotswolds and surrounding area. Obviously rural roads are a bit easier than urban. But even driving in London and other towns was quite easy. Mostly you just end up following other traffic. Do what they do. Not that complicated. They really hoon it on the highways. I was doing 85-90mph and was still being passed by some.
I drive a stick as well but decided to rent an automatic. I figured why add another variable into the mix. I’m sure I would have done fine but honestly, what’s to prove?
One thing I found a must was the GPS in the car. Country roads (lanes) are not well marked and impossible to navigate at night without a GPS. Can use a phone I suppose. A good navigator is essential.
Ditto for me. I drove for six days in Ireland without issue or incident (and the roads there are MUCH narrower than anywhere in the US.) It really wasn’t bad, as I quickly became accustomed to driving on the wrong side of the road. But every time we started in the morning, I had to mentally remind myself which lane to drive in.
We had an automatic transmission, so I cannot speak to driving a manual-shift car.
It doesn’t take long, and they are pretty good about separating the two sides on the bigger roads. As for driving a stick, I’m lefty so it wasn’t a big issue for me. The hard part to me was when I had to back up about 100 yards on one of those tiny roads to let a utility truck go by – backing up while looking over my left shoulder was basically impossible for me, so I had to open the window and look over my right shoulder like I would in the States.
I rode a motorcycle in Southern Africa, so I didn’t have to acclimate to different controls. The biggest issue I had was turning at lightly traveled cross streets - you have to remember the cars are coming from different directions. If there is a lot of cross traffic, the reminder is already there.
It took 5 minutes, in a “thrown in the deep end and see if he drowns” kind of way.
They gave me the keys to a rental at Heathrow, with absolutely no “driving in the UK for yanks” cheat sheet.
The biggest problem was roundabouts–getting lost. The rules of roundabouts were clear, but there are so many of the things that a town map looks like a huge Tinkertoy construction and it took about 30 seconds to get spun around enough to not know where I was headed.
One more thing: it snowed once while I was there, and all of the road markings were hidden. I thank the bus driver who didn’t kill me as I drove where I wasn’t supposed to.
When we went, automatic transmission was hard to get in a rental car, and more expensive, which is why I did all the driving (Pepper Mill doesn’t do Manual). Despite having to work the levers and pedals on the “wrong” side, I had no problems.
It took me a couple of days when I was stationed in Australia in the USAF.
But to be honest–the scariest part of my first day was walking across the parking lot at the airport. The cars were coming from the “wrong” direction.
I had my car shipped over (a Honda CRX) so shifting was no problem. Passing a slow vehicle was the hardest as I’d have to really swing out to see around the other car.
I did drive some Aussie cars when I was there. It was awkward shifting left-handed.
Anyway–after two and a half years, it was almost normal.
Then, I had to come back to States and quickly get back to normal.
For a trip to england some years ago, we rented a car. We opted for an automatic just to not have to deal with the shift lever on the “other” side.
I would say the actual “driving” on the left side wasn’t as much of an issue. Especially on the “freeways” (the "M"s) - that is particularly easy.
What was the most difficult were the traffic circles - and all the bizarre variations of them: multi-lane, circles with lights, multi-lane circles with lights. We ended up giving directions like "take an ‘effective right’ " (because of the circle, you will be going clockwise around, so an ‘effective right’ is 270 degrees around, and then left).
Adding to this, a lot of the signage was of dubious help…for those not familiar with what else is in the direction you want to go. That is, the signs will name these more major cities (sometimes), and none of them were that familiar. I guess with GPS, this will be less of a problem.
My last advice is to not become complacent. This one time, after stopping for lunch, I instinctively pulled out onto the right lane (made a “right”). Neither I nor my friend even noticed until we came upon a car heading right toward us. As the thought of “what’s that guy…” was gelling, I realized I was the one in the wrong lane/going the wrong direction.
I also manage the transition pretty quickly, as far as keeping on the correct side of the road. It’s more the automatic reflex stuff that’s a problem–every time I return to the car, I automatically head for the passenger-side door and, once sitting down, reach up to my left shoulder for the safety belt and down by my right knee for the shift. I’ve never driven for more than a day or two at a stretch when I’m in the UK, but I imagine these reflex actions take longer to get over.
I drove in Ireland for two weeks, in a car with a manual transmission, a few years ago. I concur with the earlier posters that one can get reasonably comfortable with driving on the other side within a few hours to a few days, though you’ll still sometimes be fighting reflexes and muscle memory (i.e., looking over the wrong shoulder for your blind spot).
Also, regarding shifting a manual: what I discovered is that, at least for me, my muscle memory for shifting is relative to my body. That is, the shift pattern in the car I drove was the same as in a US car (i.e., first gear is in the upper left, second gear in the lower left, etc.), but when you’re shifting with your left hand, it’s a mirror to how you shift with your right hand. Driving in the US, second gear is “down and towards me,” while in the UK, second gear is “down and away from me.” This led to more than a few occasions in which I was trying to go from third to fourth, and momentarily put the transmission into second gear at highway speed.
Interesting. When I’ve driven in the UK, the indicator stalk and wipers were in their usual positions (left side and right side, respectively) as on a left-hand drive car.
For me, it was pretty easy to get used to left hand shifting and driving on the left side of the road. The only thing that took getting used to is my spatial awareness. I"m not sure how to explain it, but driving from the right side of the car made me feel that the car was a little bit farther over to one side than it actually was (I seem to remember driving a bit further to the left side than I intended to.) It took about a day or two of driving for my brain to spatially correct itself and picture my car’s placement correctly in the lane.
We go to Ireland every year and I do all of the driving. Shifting with my left hand required no adjustment. I got that immediately. Driving on the left was simple, too, though it required thought at roundabouts and turns. After a few years I stopped thinking about it at all and now I can switch between the US and Ireland with no trouble.
Something drivers do in Ireland that they may also do in the UK, but don’t do in the US in my experience, is to signal your intention when entering and leaving a roundabout. If you’re entering and will be taking the first exit, signal left as you enter and continue signaling left as you exit. If you’re not taking the first exit, signal right as you enter and then signal left as you approach your exit. For example, if you’re taking the third exit, signal right while entering and continue signaling right until you pass the second exit. Then signal left and exit. This helps other drivers determine whether they’re safe to enter the roundabout. I do it in the US now (and it’s the law in MA where I live). I’m hoping to start a trend.
