I've travelled in England before, but never driven there. It looks like I'll be renting a car there in a few months, and I'm wondering about learning to drive on the left.

A friend told me that turning onto cross streets is the biggest challenge.

I've started to wonder if there is an automotive video game with the cars on the left, to get some practice. Has anyone seen one?

Thank you!

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Middle_Seat

My first trip to England, I got a free rental car (back when you got those coupons with your award ticket). Within 15 minutes I had done $500.00 worth of damage to my "free" car & just left it parked for the remainder of the trip. In case you're wondering, no I DIDN'T have the brains to take out extra insurance. Why torture yourself? It's not as easy as it looks.

I have driven several times in UK and Bahamas.
Take a car with automatic transmission; I had troubles changing the gear with the left hand.
I always followed other cars if possible - the show you the right way (on crossings, round-abouts etc.)

I spent several years in Japan while in te military. Although I didn't own a car while there (why bother with the wonderful rail system?), I was elected as the designated driver whenever we went anywhere as a group, as I was the only one to have the guts to speed down the narrow Japanese roads with traffic. I even got used to shifting the opposite direction.

The best way to learn is to find a relatively empty parking lot and drive around for a while. Also, see if your local Saturn dealership has a left-handed drive car available (Saturn builds them for postal service employees).

No major problems, drive sedately and read up on rights-of-way. An automatic will indeed facilitate things.

The only time I got in trouble was early in the morning in Australia, when I was volunteered to go fetch some breakfast, and started driving on the wrong side.

Having grown up (and lived for 25 years) in a country which drives on the left it does take a little concentration but not that difficult. Suggest you make a little sticker KEEP LEFT and place on the dash or windscreen in your vision ( I believe most rental cars do have a reminder sticker) On the major highways you wont have too much trouble but if you venture in to the countrysides be careful at roundabouts (traffic circles)just always remember to enter the circle on the side of the road your are driving on = left.
Many roads have passing lanes with arrows which will help greatly and find some other driver to follow if you can.

Its amusing Monachos mentioning getting up in the morning and driving off on the wrong side, since even though I have lived in the USA for 24 years I find myself needing to concentrate just a little when I return from my former home, yet when I go back I just get in the driver's seat and off I go.
Mike

P.S. if you have a British standard VCR I am sure one of our Brit members could get you a road driving/code tape.




[This message has been edited by MIKESILV (edited 06-29-2002).]

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[This message has been edited by MIKESILV (edited 06-29-2002).]

No, don't have one.

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Middle_Seat

I've driven on the opposite side in Ireland and Australia. My biggest challenge is still roundabouts, as we don't have those in the U.S. I still can't tell who has the right of way in those, and more than once have circled around a second time to get out of one (have you ever seen the Vacation movie with Chevy Chase, where they continuously circle a roundabout in Rome because they can't get out?).

My first experience was in Dublin, leaving from the airport, which is on the outside of the City. Most of it was two lane country road, until you got to a stretch of motorway. I felt comfortable from the start, as I was not contending with a lot of traffic.

Have you considered flying into a smaller airport, or training out to somewhere where the traffic might be more managable? I would not want London Heathrow to be my first experience, knowing the traffic in and out of there.

You'll just as easily find roundabouts in France as you will in the UK, though they'll be driving the opposite direction.

Rule of thumb: Anyone in the roundabout has right of way over anyone wanting to enter it. Once you're in the roundabout, you have right of way over anyone trying to enter.

I've driven right-hand drive cars in Australia and the UK. I've never had a problem making an adjustment, save a few sheepish moments when I tried to enter from the wrong side of the vehicle, or reached to the incorrect side looking for the seatbelt.

I've found it pretty easy to drive on the left and actually find it easier in traffic than out on quiet country roads. In traffic there's usually a car in front of you to follow through turns, but on those roads with no other traffic I've found myself drifting over to the right and eventually getting honked at by a car coming head-on. I love roundabouts and wish we had them in the US. If you do get a little confused it does make it easy to just go around once again.

I did this in a rental VW several years ago, standard shift. I was grateful for the freedom, but it definitely added stress. I had access to an old mail jeep I was able to practice in prior to leaving.

Yes, roundabouts are the most challenging. My prayer life improved quickly.

Do try to head directly for an interstate or area where there isn't much traffic to practice a bit. If you have a passenger, that should help tremendously with watching and reading maps (I didn't).

After getting home, jet lagged, driving out of the airport, I was on the wrong side of the road. Our friendly PHX drivers quickly notified me of the error of my ways.

JP

One trick I learned for entering roundabouts: Memorize where to look out of the car for oncoming traffic--it's the driver's right side window. As you approach the roundabout, just remember to look out in this direction and bear left.

More recent roundabout signs have a gap in the circle indicating the direction NOT to travel: in the US it is in the lower left, in the UK, in the lower right (car enters at bottom of circle).

OK, here is my patented 100% guaranteed method for feeling comfortable and stress-free driving on the left. It works in all LH-drive cities in the world except Bangkok. The secret? : Learn to drive in Bangkok first.

The major problem is that we tend to drive TOO far to the left. (One's instinct is that the drivers coming in the other direction on the right are too close for comfort.)

When I returned my rental car in Ireland, the first think the agent checked was for scrapes on the left side of the car, mentioning that is where damage is most likely to occur.