I rented a car in London and drove north and almost had a bad accident, don’t do what I did:
1 - Rent car in London, all focused on driving on correct side of road and everything
2 - Drive north for an hour or two, everything is going good, still focused
3 - Stop for gas and snacks at a little gas station
4 - Got back in car and lost my focus about lanes and directions and almost got hit bad. I went into the correct lane going the correct way, but I had to cross a lane of traffic and I looked the wrong direction for whether there was anyone coming in that lane or not, the guy jammed on his brakes and barely avoided hitting me.
I still start to go to the wrong car door whenever I’m in the UK, whether or not I’m the driver. Also, every time I get in, I reach reflexively up toward the wrong shoulder for the seatbelt strap and (if I am driving) down toward the wrong knee for the shift.
I’ve never had trouble keeping on the correct side of the road, though.
Came to mention the shift lever, others got there already.
Don’t cheap out, make sure you pay extra and guarantee you will have an automatic shift car–that’s one less thing to be overloading your brain with.
Besides that, the hardest thing for me to deal with was not the side of the road, it was all of the roundabouts. UK towns have very few traffic signals and many many roundabouts, all connected at crazy angles looking on the map like a flattened Tinker Toy structure, and it’s quite easy to totally lose your sense of direction. I did.
Thankfully GPS is available these days–use it.
I picked up a car at Heathrow when in London. First problem was getting out of the parking lot. Got to the gate, oops, wrong side; it has those tire-shredders, back up and go the other side. First problem - how to reverse? Turns out to get into reverse, the shift pattern is the same, but on our model of car, there was a ring under the shifter knob that you had to pull up to shift into reverse. (to prevent serious oops at high speed?)
Same as Australia, driving on the proper side was easy in traffic. It’s when you are on lonely country roads that you tend to forget which side and go by instinct until you see the big bus coming straight at you… (Or also in parking lots)
Watch for the traffic cams. From what I’ve read, the traffic cops are dicks. One news item was a girl who was caught on camera eating an apple while driving, and the ticket was for not having both hands on the wheel. Probably a really good idea not to be seen holding a cellphone to your ear. Speed cameras (and as mentioned, cameras for other crap) seem to be everywhere. There was a website a while ago that documented all the different speed cams where people had put a old tire full of gasoline over the camera and set it on fire… 
Not sure what the rule is in Britain, but New Zealand was once thinking about dropping the margin of grace from 10km/h to 5km/h over because “the cameras were not making enough money”.
The “look both ways” is serious. Even walking in London, let alone driving, you don’t notice how instinctive your sense is that “traffic comes from that direction” and I almost got hit stepping off the curb a few times. London has “look left” painted on most crosswalks by the curb.
Stay in the outside lane on the motorways unless passing (sort of like the autostrada or autobahn - Americans love to occupy every lane and sit there, but in Europe generally, stay to the outside unless passing. We were in the middle lane of a motorway near Birmingham in the middle of the night and some copper patrol car almost took off my front driver’s fender buzzing us to impress on us furriners to GTFOver to the outside. The nice thing about European driving, nobody seems to think they own the road and you are intruding by trying to occupy it too.
If you don’t know how to use a roundabout - simple - whoever is already in the circle (or will be before you ) has right of way; yield. So if you can’t easily beat that car over there into the circle, don’t cut him off…
As for insurance - why would you not buy the best possible insurance? Not sure what all it covers, but does it cover you? (Not sure what the uninsured driver risk is in Britain; and is it no-fault?) After all, you are a newbie driver in a weird situation. You are likely more at risk than back home. Also, hope you have travel health insurance that covers “fly me home sick” plus covers any stay in the hospital. Plus, some rental places will ding you not just for car repairs but for lost revenue on that car while it’s out of commission being repaired. Having insurers to argue things out is better than you trying to settle things long distance with assorted people in different time zones.
True. However they are endlessly polite and don’t beep at you like they do when you drive on the left in the States 
So they just run right into you without a rude, warning beep? :dubious:
No, my experience getting lost in a small village near the border between Yorkshire and Lancashire* is that they either drive around you, or wait patiently until you sort yourself out.
My advice:
[ul]
[li]Avoid driving in big cities, and not just London. Public transport or walking are almost certainly faster and cheaper, once you factor in the time to find and pay for parking.[/li][li]Don’t drive long distances, unless you want stop and see things on the way. Train will probably be faster, and is reasonably priced if you book in advance and go off-peak. Buses are reasonably priced, and less stressful than driving between cities.[/li][/ul]
- I know, it was probably between West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, but I still haven’t become used to the changes in counties of 40 years ago.
I also live near the Peak District!
I love the twisty narrow roads. I also like turning off the motorway option and taking the longest craziest routes.
My 75 year old uncle rented a car when his came to visit. It was scary. He took turns too sharply and spun out the back tires, narrowly missed hitting parked cars, etc etc. I thought I was gonna die a few times. However, he made it through his one month road trip without a ding. I still don’t know how.
The hardest part is undoubtedly the roundabouts. Especially if you’re driving a manual; it’s a fast sequence of changing gears, signalling and turning. For brits learning to drive it’s something we have to focus on.
The TL;DR version is give way to traffic already on the roundabout (which means looking to your right as you approach) and take it as slowly as you feel comfortable (drivers on a roundabout make no assumptions about what other drivers are going to do next. Better to go slowly and indicate correctly than try to go round fast and make mistakes).
Oh and there is no “turn right on red” (or left, which would be the equivalent). If there’s a red light in front of you, and no green arrow light (specifically saying you can turn), you must stop.
When we went to Greece, we were given a stick, even though my uncle reserved an automatic. I was the only person who drove stick on a regular basis, so I had to drive the car part of the time, and it was horrifying, because the roads were about four feet wide, and people drove around at about 50mph, or so it seemed, and the country was a mass of blind corners, with a bus around every one. My uncle, who used to drive stick a long time ago, practiced in the car for a while, and eventually got up to speed on the car. He had more experience driving in Greece, albeit in an automatic, so he took over. He still couldn’t park it, and needed me to park it every time, because it had to be parallel parked on a steep hill.
Later, when we met up with some friends of his who were Greek, and used to driving there, he let them drive the car, I assume illegally, but it was rented in his name, so, his business.
Anyway, being good at driving stick cannot be overstated.
Also, if I’m not mistaken, the UK has requires an endorsement on your license to drive stick. I don’t know if that means that you are more likely to get an automatic if you request it, or exactly what the implications are for people driving with international licenses.
I would second the advice to get a train then rent a car nearer the Peak District, rather than in London, if you haven’t already arranged the rental. You won’t miss out at all by doing so, just miss a few stressful hours’ drive. For all we love to complain about the trains, just try not to book at rush hour or trains that will be jam packed due to events, and it’s a pleasant way to travel. Book in as far in advance as you can on trips over half an hour or so, it’s cheaper and you’re guaranteed a seat.
I grew up just outside the Lakes, it is a very pretty area, but some bits can get very crowded with tourists, especially around Windermere. I would advise you to avoid the best known treks in July/August, as they can be so busy it’s not very pleasant. There are lots of lesser known routes, of all lengths.
UK residents have to pass a test driving ‘stick’ or they are limited to auto only. This does **not **apply to foreign visitors.
I forgot to mention cellphones (mobile phones here). Using one while driving is a really bad idea and if you get caught, means a £200 fine and a road safety lecture from the cop who stops you. “Using” includes holding or even touching the phone, so unless you have hands-free, and the phone is secured in a holder, leave it alone. "I was just picking it up to turn it off/stop it falling on the floor simply doesn’t wash.
On the upside, driving here can be an enjoyable way of seeing parts of the country not accessible in other ways. Beautiful views and amazing bed and breakfasts are there to be found. B&B is highly competitive here and they try very hard to give good service. Just don’t expect huge rooms and air con.
Thanks for all the advice, and the driving stories, too. Keep them coming.
We’ve learned that when driving roads unknown to us, a small car is much easier to get around in. So we’ve rented whatever their smallest car is. I’ve been driving manuals for 40+ years, so I specified manual. I’ve been imagining shifting with my left hand; I think I’ll get used to that pretty fast. I hadn’t thought about the turn signal/wiper thing; I guess I’ll be running the wipers at every turn.
Wife has pretty much refused to drive there, so it’s all me. I’m ok with that. I love being behind the wheel. I’m only worried about the first day. I’d have preferred to take the train from Heathrow to the hotel in Kensington, as we won’t need a car for 2 days, but some of the trip is kind of pre-structured. So I’ll be driving on the ‘wrong’ side, from an airport, through one of the busiest cities in the world, on our first day there. Is there a route that might add up to an hour, but be less stressful?
Again, thanks for the help, and keep it coming. This board is great, ain’t it?
I urge you to change your plans and not drive after a long international flight. I assume you’re flying from North America. And yes, I’d give the same advice to someone who tells me they always sleep on planes and never have jet lag.
You’re putting yourself at risk, your wife at risk, and the other people on the road at risk. The National Health Service isn’t a tourist attraction, so try to avoid it by not driving when your brain thinks it’s the middle of the night and you’ve just had the ‘fun’ of getting to the airport, the TSA, and the long lines at immigration at Heathrow and rent an unfamiliar car in a city you’re not familiar with.
It may vary by manufacturer, but every car I’ve driven in the UK has had the indicator lever on the left, and the wiper control on the right.
I changed from a Mini to a Ford Fiesta (I think) and the levers were on different sides - same problem.
Y’all are so concerned about driving, but remember that you’ll be walking some of the time. As a pedestrian, remember that they still drive on the other side of the road. In other words, when you cross the street, look right first, then left, then right.
May I add my voice to others urging you to stick to public transport for the London part of your trip. I would never dream of driving in Central London if I could possibly avoid it: The congestion charge (£11.50 a day), the high cost of parking (no hotels have free parking), the difficulty of finding a parking space, the speed and intolerance of the other drivers (Think New York but worse), what more can I say. You will be paying through the nose for a car that is stuck in a parking garage while you use the excellent public transport to get around the sights. Add to this strictly applied rules about yellow boxes, red parking zones, bus lanes and sharing the road with suicidal bicyclists and it’s a no-brainer.
Behind the wheel of a car, trying to work out which lane to be in while 18 metres of truck is right alongside you and your nearest and dearest is cowering in the passenger seat is no way to enjoy London. Take it from those who know.
At least in major cities, there will be “Look Right” and “Look Left” signs painted on the street to remind people which way to look for oncoming traffic.
The traffic signals are also slightly different. Here’s a video showing one Notice the yellow light comes after a red light and is indicating that the light is about to turn green.
We will be there in August, so can you recommend some off-the-beaten-path treks?