tuscl

OT: Anyone ever driven in England/Australia/etc …

Papi_Chulo
Miami, FL (or the nearest big-booty club)
Sunday, March 5, 2023 2:54 AM
… where driving is on the opposite side of the road? Just curious how easy/difficult it was to pick-up/adjust?

31 comments

  • Tetradon
    •
    a year ago
    Driving in the UK was an adjustment. I felt perfectly safe but I was getting angry drivers shaking their fist at me and shit like that. Driving on the left side of the road in the remote Scottish highlands at night? That was harrowing.
  • ATACdawg
    •
    a year ago
    I bet londonguy has....😂 Seriously, your biggest adjustment will be turns and stop signs. Instead of looking left-right and left again before crossing, you'll want to look right-left and right again to avoid getting creamed.
  • motorhead
    •
    a year ago
    I had a rental car in the Bahamas where they drive on the left side of the road. But most cars are American with steering wheels that are on the left so I think it makes it harder to drive than in the UK where most cars have the steering wheels on the right. It wasn’t too hard to adjust - except I did make a left turn once and automatically turned into the right lane and almost had an accident. What was more difficult was dealing with more aggressive drivers. They pull out in front of you, don’t obey speed limits and round-a-bouts are common. The worst invention in the history of transportation.
  • Papi_Chulo
    •
    a year ago
    I’ve never driven a car w/ the steering-wheel on the right – I don’t think it would be a big-deal unless it was a stick-shift – it would feel kinda-odd to change gears w/ my left-hand (although I’m actually left-handed).
  • londonguy
    •
    a year ago
    You are right ATAC lol. Most people that drive on the right adjust fairly quickly to driving on the left. It helps to make sure you drive an automatic vehicle so you don’t have to worry about gear charges. Most Americans struggle with roundabouts but they are much better for traffic flow than junctions. Driving over here can be stressful, especially in or around the cities at peak times. Driving brings out the worst in a lot of British drivers, lack of patience is high on the list.
  • Papi_Chulo
    •
    a year ago
  • mark94
    •
    a year ago
    I had trouble on rural roads, where the lack of traffic caused me to forget which lane I was supposed to be in, and roundabouts. Shifting gears with the left hand was also strange.
  • Mate27
    •
    a year ago
    When I went over there I got the rental car and opened the drivers door, or what I thought was to be the drivers door and when I figure it out it was the passengers side I laughed out loud and high fives my wife before getting in the right side (I was the driver$. Anyway, after a 10 hour flight and then driving, o kept singing in my head “to the left! To the left!” Just so I knew to drive in the left and make left hand turns as being safer than right hand turns. Yiu get the hang of it quickly but yiu need to container my remind yourself which way is which she first starting out.
  • whodey
    •
    a year ago
    Never driven in a country where they drive on the left side of the road, but I can attest to the fact that shifting a manual transmission with your left hand takes some getting used to. A buddy of mine used to own a 71 Ford Falcon that he had imported from Australia that I drove a few times. The first time I drove it was when he drove us to a bar and planned to be the designated driver for the group but he ended up getting drunk and I stayed sober. I thought I was going to end up owing him a new transmission by the time I made it back from the bar. After driving it a few times I got the hang of it and kind of enjoyed it.
  • Electronman
    •
    a year ago
    For me, the adjustment was pretty quick with four exceptions: 1) when you have no other cars to "lead the way" (e.g., rural roads), you have to concentrate a bit more; 2) round abouts; 3) emergency situations where years of driving experience in the US can send you in the wrong direction; 4) getting in to the "passenger side" and wondering why someone moved the steering wheel. In rural areas of England and Scotland, the roads can be narrow and ofter lined with shrubs. When I rent a car, I typically do a walk around to verify any preexisting damage. I commented that my rental had scratch marks all over the passenger side. The rental agent said that all the rental cars were scratched as a results of driving close to the hedges.
  • loper
    •
    a year ago
    I drove around Australia and never got used to it. I didn't have trouble shifting, but I did have trouble knowing how close to the edge of the lane/road I was. Narrow mountain roads were the worst -- my wife was often terrified that I was about to go over the edge, and truthfully, without her help, I may well have.
  • Fuckit77
    •
    a year ago
    If you’re worried about it you can go on YouTube and watch videos of people driving around downtown Melbourne or whatever city to get yourself used to it before you arrive.
  • drewcareypnw
    •
    a year ago
    I lived and worked there for a number of years. It takes getting used to, but as others have stated, the left side is only part of the problem. Looking left at intersections is hard to remember until you nearly get creamed by a huge lorry. Roundabouts are fucked. Chaos. ESP the big ones. I don’t think the English really even know how to drive in them. Narrow dark country roads are sketchy. London driving is still hairy, but much better since gps. That city makes zero sense, esp if you are used to American style grid streets.
  • wallanon
    •
    a year ago
    "That city makes zero sense, esp if you are used to American style grid streets." A lot of those streets were laid out before automobiles existed and they probably didn't feel like demolishing the town to make it easier to navigate. The large cities in the US states that were in the original colonies also have those issues. The larger cities in the US that were mostly built up after the colonial days have less of the windy roads to nowhere.
  • londonguy
    •
    a year ago
    Roundabouts are easy drew, though a lot of people don’t adhere to the rules. I have to drive to London on Thursday, every time I go it gets worse, thanks largely to that dickhead of a Mayor.
  • ATACdawg
    •
    a year ago
    I'm old enough to remember when Swedes drove on the left. I also remember the day - yes, the day! - when the made the changeover to driving on the right. I can only imagine the chaos that ensued when an entire nation switched overnight and we're largely driving right-hand drive vehicles😧😵
  • crosscheck
    •
    a year ago
    We have no shortage of roundabouts in Massachusetts. We call them rotaries here. Sounds like being used to them might make the adjustment a bit easier.
  • shadowcat
    •
    a year ago
    In California where I learned to drive they were called traffic circles and I had no problems driving on them. Here is my sub division we have a roundabout that pisses me off. There is no traffic. So it just an inconvenience and adds driving time. Here is Chevy Chase in London: [view link]
  • motorhead
    •
    a year ago
    “We have no shortage of roundabouts in Massachusetts“ Probably my first experience with a lot of roundabouts was in Massachusetts. But they are becoming more popular in the Midwest. People don’t follow the rules so they’re just a mess. The internet says the cost of installing a traffics signal is as high as $500,000 plus $8000 per year to maintain. Seems high to me, but I still understand the argument that a roundabout is cheaper than a traffic light. Ok, that’s fine for new installs, but I’ve see instances where they’ve took out a traffic light and installed a roundabout That’s sheer lunacy.
  • twentyfive
    •
    a year ago
    We have plenty of traffic circles here in Florida they serve their purpose and allow for smoother traffic, AFAIK there doesn’t seem to be a lot of complaints about them, most drivers here find them easy to navigate.
  • drewcareypnw
    •
    a year ago
    @wallanon: I used to live in camden town. The tube station there is a weird pointy building in the shape of ships prow or similar. For a while I wondered why the fuck they would build a building for that use in that shape. The one day I saw an old map of when camden was the countryside, maybe the mid 1700's. There was the answer, a farmer's field was that exact shape where two roads came together. I think a lot of these old towns are just built on 3000 year old cow paths.
  • origamiguy
    •
    a year ago
    I've driven in Britain twice, in Scotland and northern England. Pulling out of a car park was the easiest to get wrong. You'll probably get a manual transmission when you rent. Roundabouts are not a big deal if you relax and take a second trip around if you have to. They are always well signed but you have to know the code. A road number in parentheses means the exit is to an connecting road, e.g. B1234(M4) means minor road B1234 will take you to the M4 motorway (freeway). The signs in the Highlands can be confusing because the names may be in English and Gaelic. On the single track roads, knowing the rules about laybys (pulloffs) is very important. If you meet someone near a layby, the car which comes to it first pulls into it and stops if the layby is on their left. If it is on their right, they pull all the way to the right across from it so that the other car can drive into the layby. Take it slow and make eye contact with the other driver.
  • misterorange
    •
    a year ago
    Sometimes I drive on the opposite side of the road, on my way home from the strip club after a few too many. It doesn't seem to be any more difficult than regular driving.
  • Studme53
    •
    a year ago
    I drove in Ireland- no problem but it’s pretty rural there. I also had a automatic transmission rental. Might be a little harder working a manual shifter with your left hand if you get a manual rental.
  • StudlyJohn
    •
    a year ago
    Deiving no problem but as a pedestrian was always looking for cars to cone from the wrong way
  • Garfield84
    •
    a year ago
    I just can't do it. I'll take an Uber or public transportation
  • rickthelion
    •
    a year ago
    This rick can drive anywhere in any vehicle on any side o’ the road. All I need is sufficient drivin’ whiskey to keep my buzz goin’. Only difference between Kentucky and the Scottish highlands is the specific whiskey I’m drinkin’. ROAR!!!
  • motorhead
    •
    a year ago
    Would Rick the Lion be King if he went to the UK?
  • londonguy
    •
    a year ago
    No, we have one already Motörhead.
  • RockAllNight
    •
    a year ago
    I've regularly driven in England and Scotland. Driving down the road or highway is not difficult at all. The areas where I really had to pay attention were - Gear shift is in left hand - Roundabouts are common and you have to go around the "wrong" way and watch the incoming traffic from the "wrong" side. This is especially problematic in double and triple roundabouts - Need to pay extra attention at intersections whether walking or driving because the traffic comes from the opposite side that I was accustomed to
  • emilio42
    •
    a year ago
    After the first day you will be fine. It may take you a day to adjust back to USA when you return.
You must be a member to leave a comment.Join Now
Got something to say?
Start your own discussion