Driving on right hand side

WellKnownSid

Also remember, if you're stopped by police in the UK it's polite and gentlemanly to turn off your engine, get out of the car and approach the officer.

Try that in parts of Europe (or the U.S.) and they'll probably shoot you

Iceweasel

DominicH wrote: »

Maybe people are simply not used to Stop signs, since they are pretty rare and the regulations do not encourage their use. I can't think of a single one near me or on the routes I usually drive. That said, yes, the word "Stop" is a pretty big clue to what you're supposed to do.

That's certainly not the case in Scotland - every town and city is full of them.

Gloomendoom

Iceweasel wrote: »

That's certainly not the case in Scotland - every town and city is full of them.

I read that post earlier today before a 120 mile drive home from Wales. I didn't encounter a single stop sign on the journey.

AdrianC

I drove home from Wales today, too. There's not a single Give Way sign on the way.

Guess that means they don't exist, either?

(It's about a mile from the nearest bit of the border, but...)

movilogo

I recently drove in right hand side for the first time in Iceland. I also drove at Reykjavik town center.

The thing which helped me immensely is that I hired an automatic car. It made me concentrate entirely on driving - otherwise I'd find it weird to change gears using my right hand

I got used to the situation in no time. In fact, after first 10 minutes or so, it just became natural. When you drive a LHD car on right hand side of the road, everything seems just easy.

Remember to traverse roundabouts via right and side though. Also, when turning left on junctions, be aware of oncoming cars (similar to turning right in UK if you don't have filtering traffic lights).

Just do it and have fun.

jbainbridge

Don't take this the wrong way ... consider taking out car hire excess insurance. Do it before you go, much better value than doing it through the car hire company.

Richard53

Driving on the right is a lot easier than you would think. When I get off the ferry in France, I usually take it very easy for the first few miles until the brain has adjusted, and after that it's quite straightforward. The one situation that used to catch me out was getting going again after a stop on a quiet road. You get chatting, old habits take over, there is nothing to tell you which side to drive on, and you set off merrily on the left hand side. I'm aware of this now, and so I don't do it, but we had a few amusing moments in the past. I think the record was half a mile before letters on the road (why is this upside down?) gave it away.

Iceweasel

Richard53 wrote: »

Driving on the right is a lot easier than you would think. When I get off the ferry in France, I usually take it very easy for the first few miles until the brain has adjusted, and after that it's quite straightforward. The one situation that used to catch me out was getting going again after a stop on a quiet road. You get chatting, old habits take over, there is nothing to tell you which side to drive on, and you set off merrily on the left hand side. I'm aware of this now, and so I don't do it, but we had a few amusing moments in the past. I think the record was half a mile before letters on the road (why is this upside down?) gave it away.

I've done exactly the same - (not for many years thankfully) but one must never become complacent about the possibility of making that kind of mistake.

The problem is highlighted coming out of a filling station or car park late at night and entering an empty road.

Of course the same applies coming home - when you pull out of the docks in Dover - and it feels funny going round the roundabouts clock-wise.

IamNotAllowedToUseMyName

We were in a bar chatting to the locals in France once, and they could not understand how the British managed to change from one side of the road to the other coming over the channel (this was in the days of using the hovercraft, shows how long ago that conversation was!).

Gloomendoom

I don't actually find it that hard now and adjust without actually thinking about it, although as has already been said, it pays not to be complacent.

I've just returned form a nearly 2k mile trip on the continent in a RHD car and didn't have any issues at all. My wife as a passenger admitted that she found roundabouts unnerving though.

Reading up beforehand on the various motoring idiosyncrasies of the countries that you will be driving through definitely helps.