Driving in America, are the cars much different?

PeacefulWaters

getmore4less wrote: »

That's a lot of luggage.

== BIG vehicle.

I'll go a step further.

It's an unnecessary amount of luggage and the OP should cut back.

eDicky

zagfles wrote: »

In some states you can't even carry unopened alcohol in the car except in the boot!

Ah reckon ya mean trunk, ya foot's in the boot...

John259

This is a link to the Adobe Acrobat/PDF version of the California Driver's Handbook, which is a somewhat similar document to the British Highway Code. The early chapters on driving licences probably won't be of any interest, but the later chapters on the rules of the road might well be. Other states are basically the same, sometimes with a few minor differences.
https://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf

zagfles

John259 wrote: »

This is a link to the Adobe Acrobat/PDF version of the California Driver's Handbook, which is a somewhat similar document to the British Highway Code. The early chapters on driving licences probably won't be of any interest, but the later chapters on the rules of the road might well be. Other states are basically the same, sometimes with a few minor differences.
https://apps.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl600.pdf

Just make sure you understand "American"

Eg "pavement" in American means the road surface not the bit at the side of the road for pedestrians (that's "sidewalk")

John259

zagfles wrote: »

Just make sure you understand "American"

Very true!

cj2011

cubegame wrote: »

You should have no worry about driving in the US though, the standard of driving is much higher than the UK.

Citation needed.
Interestingly, the driving test in the UK is much more difficult to pass (in bigger cities, certainly) than the equivalent test in many US states.

Marmaduke123

Americans are very steady drivers in our experience, and the speed limits are low. One thing which hasn't been mentioned is "Right lane must turn right" in many towns and cities at sone road junctions, not always easy to see in advance.

EssexExile

Lots of advice about driving, the question was "are the cars much different?" No, you'll recognise most of them nowadays.

ferf1223

cj2011 wrote: »

Citation needed.
Interestingly, the driving test in the UK is much more difficult to pass (in bigger cities, certainly) than the equivalent test in many US states.

Agree - I had been a licensed driver in the US for 17 years when I took the UK test. I failed the test here twice (at a greater London test centre with a 33% pass rate, so I suppose I was due to pass on the 3rd attempt, statistically speaking). It was rather horrifying to me.

neilbond007

After driving in the UK for 20 years I've now lived in the US for 6 years.

The most difficult part of driving in the US is making sure you get in the correct side of the car. I must have got in the wrong side 20 odd times when I moved over. Mostly after filling up with petrol. You then have to either
- pretend you were getting something from the passenger side
- jump over to the driver seat if possible
- get out looking sheepish
I normally went for option 3!

And OP - Don't worry about driving in the US. People, for the most part, drive much slower and more courteously than the UK!