I wonder, how the Brits do it..

[herr_oberst]

I'm thlnking about making that transition from driving on the left to driving on the right. Go through the chunnel into France, swap sides, no problem!

Back to England, no worries, mate, I've got this!

I think if Americans and Canadians drove on different sides of the roads, there might be carnage on the Trans Canadian Highway. Heck, it always takes me a minute just to adapt to KPH from MPH!

[GH85Carrera]

Back in the olden days when I was a kid, one of my buddies, a fellow Air Force brat was also into model airplanes. He got his mom to drive us over to the Navy base hobby shop so we could get a new balsa wood kit to make an airplane, and the Ambroid glue that we could not buy as kids, an adult had to buy it for us. The Air Force base hobby shop was out of what we wanted.

Anyway we got in the car to go back home and I was a kid that never talked back to an adult, but she started driving on the wrong side of the road. I could not help myself, so I blurted out, you are on the wrong side of the road! and she just changed lanes and said sorry, we just moved back from England. I think it was the first time I ever corrected an adult.

[Adrian Thompson]

I don't think it would be as big of an issue as you think. The only time it's confusing is the first five mins when you do it for the first time. After that it becomes simple. The biggest danger is once you've been in, or back to, a country for 4-5 days and you are becoming complacent, it's easy to forget at that point. More than once leaving my parents after a time back in the UK I've pulled out on the wrong side, but a large part of that is that my parents live in a rural area, and there is often no other traffic visible for a subconscious reference point. I'll bet 95% of people crossing boarders have done it many times before so are used to it. It would only be a big issue if suddenly 100% of people crossing the boarder were doing it for the first time.

[GH85Carrera]

From what I hear, right and left turns are the hardest to get right. And shifting gears with the left hand.

[Adrian Thompson]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

From what I hear, right and left turns are the hardest to get right. And shifting gears with the left hand.

I've never understood the confusion people have about shifting with the other hand. I drove right and left hand drive cars in the UK, and on the European continent. I've also driven RHD cars here in the States. I have never once even thought about which hand I shift with, it was always a non issue.

[ckissick]

I had lived in London for a year before I drove there for the first time. I was very accustomed to people driving on the left side of the road, in terms of being a pedestrian or bike rider. The only thing that I found difficult about driving was the fact that I had about 4 feet of car to my left instead of 1 foot. If I wasn't careful I could have taken out a mailbox or something. But I got used to it after a while.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Adrian Thompson

I've never understood the confusion people have about shifting with the other hand. I drove right and left hand drive cars in the UK, and on the European continent. I've also driven RHD cars here in the States. I have never once even thought about which hand I shift with, it was always a non issue.

If you were in your 50s or 60s, or even 40s, and had always driven a vehicle that was left hand drive (or right hand drive) and had always driven on a particular side of the road. You'd probably mostly drive without thinking about driving, because you'd be that used to it, it would be a learned habit, practically instinct at that point. If you then had to change to something different than you'd ever done, that would probably take a little getting used to.

[MFAFF]

You get used to it reasonably quickly, however you do need to pay attention rather more at junctions and in town.

Country roads can be a challenge, especially after a turn....making sure you stay on the correct side.

Used to mix driving in France in a rental with driving in the UK in a LHD car... on the same day and having an RHD car as well.

Lots to think about each time you get behind the steering wheel.

Fun times... Still have a LHD car here... as well as a RHD one....and have driven both in Europe.

[matthewb0051]

I had a LHD car when I lived in England. Brutal, makes over taking a bit problematic. What is worse though is sitting in left seat in a RHD car and looking up at the rearview mirror and seeing not what you would expect. It is pretty un-nerving.

You just get used to it though. I had been living there long enough that when I saw Bull Durham (set in North Carolina) in the theater, I got a bit freaked out when the baseball team bus took a right turn and stayed in the right lane. I fully expected the bus to move to the left lane to continue the journey.

[look 171]

I have driven in countries that drive on the "wrong" side of the road for a bit. Not too big a deal after the first 10-15 mins of getting use to doing thing opposite from us. The issue I had was the width of the streets, the slower speed, and the amount of people and vehicles on the roads and not getting use to the street signs. Making a left on red and staying on the left was a bit different the couple times. Tried and done it so taking public transportation was way more efficient and much easier.

[Bill Douglas]

Me being a "Other side of the road" driver, and like going to Europe...

My logic is the DRIVER is always next to the CENTER of the road. In a few intersections I had to put my thinking cap on, but 99.9% of the time my game plan works fine.

[Alan A]

Put the drivers side on the centerline and towards the center of roundabouts.
Hard to go wrong if you remember that rule.

[Captain Ahab Jr]

I find it easy driving on the wrong side of the road in a wrong hand drive car

If I'm out of the UK driving in Europe I just keeping repeating to myself 'steering wheel in the ditch'

[oldE]

I think my father said Canada switched to driving on the right a while after the USA. Late 20s or early 30s?
Over several years I have spent 7 weeks driving in the UK. The only time I had a problem was in a parking lot in Stratford-upon-Avon on my second day.

Best
Les

[Jeff Higgins]

I spent a lot of time in the U.K. fixing airplanes. Not that they were prone to breaking them, just that they have a couple of very good MRO's (maintenance, repair, overhaul stations). Shannon, Ireland; Cardiff, Wales were frequent stops for me.

One of the most terrifying "near misses" I ever saw was when we were heading from downtown Cardiff out to the British Airways hangar, about an hour commute. We were a small team of only six or seven, so we just rented a couple of cars for the daily commute.

We had been there several weeks already and were about halfway to the hangar on what I think they call a "B" road. A rural highway, one lane each direction, just a center stripe dividing. We came up to a roundabout, the kind where they temporarily increase the lane count to facilitate traffic movement around it. And, well, unfortunately the kind with the center circle planted with trees and shrubbery, making it impossible to see through it. I hate those things - who on Earth thinks limiting visibility like that is insane.

So, anyway, sure as hell, as I'm following our structures guy just ahead of me driving the other car, he goes around the right side of this blind roundabout, at about 50 mph. My relief when we came out door to door on the other side was overwhelming. I was sure that he and everyone in his car was going to die, along with some hapless Welsh. He got very, very lucky.

[Neilk]

It's easy with traffic, it only gets tricky taking a right or left on barely used roads with no traffic when you suddenly remember you're on the wrong side.

I also hate how the turn signal is on the other side of the steering wheel, at least it was that way on the car we rented in New Zealand.

[bugstrider]

Mrs. Bugs n I visited St Thomas in December of 21. That was a wild ride to drive a left had drive car on the right side of the road. Especially on twisties, bad roads and crazy local drivers. Was able to hold my own and run with the big dogs. LOL Didn’t have a problem with it once you got the proper mindset.

Several years ago when we visited friends in Australia we got to drive on the right. Again, no worries once in the proper mindset. The funny thing with that, was when we returned home, on the first drive after getting back home, I pulled out from our driveway and promptly began driving on the right in the wifey’s left hand drive Mini.

Obviously, I was “NOT” in the proper mindset back home…..


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