Driving on the unaccustomed side of the road

I have 15 years driving experience in germany (right(hand) side). I had
no problems driving in Australia 4 years ago. The only problem was the
switches for windshield wiper and turn signal, because it was changed in
the rental car as well. So I needed 3 of 4 weeks in order to accustom me
to it. And then, back home, another 3 weeks to turn it over again.
But realy dangarous is to go with an continental european car (right) to
England or Ireland (left).

Burke & Wills wrote in message ...
That said, a good piece of advice I received was, "think of the centre line
as being beside you,"

According to an Aussie mate of mine, it's "mother-in-law in the
gutter, mother-in-law in the gutter..."

Nancy

ojunk (John0714) wrote in message ...
This past November and December I drove extensively in the area bounded by
Adeaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne, or whatever I am an American who has driven
in the USA and Canada for 40 years. I found driving on the left often quite
disconcerting. Several times I got on the wrong side and got pulled over by the
police. No tickets or accidents unfortunately. But I feel I am living on
borrowed time and thus may never be back to anywhere you drive on the left
since vacations without automobiles I have found very unsatisfying.

I would be interested in others' experiences on driving on the unacustomed side
of the road anywhere in the world. Would you care to share?

No problem for me, the hard part was remembering which side of the car
had the steering wheel when you got in.
Ed

"Gerrit 't Hart" wrote in message .au...
"Alastair J. Smith" wrote in message
...


The Aussies drive quite courteously, you need to come and practice in the
UK
where slow or hesitant drivers are not tolerated very well.



I have done it several toimes now in Europe, and only twice have had a
problem with the wrong side of the road. Both times during 1972 when I was
young (and stupid) but later trimes have not proved a problem and I have
actually driven further each time.
I would like to dissagree on the relative courtesy of drivers here in Oz
compared with those in the UK. Invariably I have found the UK drivers very
tolerant. Once in London driving down Victoria Embankment, realised I had
taken a wrong turn off a bridge and, finding a break in the median stopped
to do a U-turn. Held up traffgic behind me but not so much as a beep!
Luckily it was a Sunday morning. :-)
Also on narrow country roads I continually was astounded at the courtesy
shown by drivers.
Here in Australia is a different matter. Only yesterday a road rager killed
a little kid, who had got out of his parents car in their driveway and the
offender crashed his car into the parents car and squashed the kid. The
offender was taken to hospital with serious injuries after the parents had
got to him and beat him up.

Gerrit - Perth
by accounts in tonight's tv news the driver had been seeking help at a
local mental health hospital but had been turned away
Ed SW/Wa

"Raffi Balmanoukian" a
wrote in message
news:BC71E4BA.21B97%walkabout@TAKEOUTTHETRASHTOREP LY.ns.sympatico.ca...
in article UES2c.19381$Zp.16969@fed1read07, 4000 psi at
wrote on 3/8/04 12:28 AM:

pull up/pull out ... what is this ancient means of birth control?

"Raffi Balmanoukian" walka

Yeah, many European cars ARE too small for "back seat activity," now that
you mention it 8-)


this explains the population shrinkage

John0714 wrote:
This past November and December I drove extensively in the area bounded by
Adeaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne, or whatever I am an American who has driven
in the USA and Canada for 40 years. I found driving on the left often quite
disconcerting. Several times I got on the wrong side and got pulled over by the
police. No tickets or accidents unfortunately. But I feel I am living on
borrowed time and thus may never be back to anywhere you drive on the left
since vacations without automobiles I have found very unsatisfying.

I would be interested in others' experiences on driving on the unacustomed side
of the road anywhere in the world. Would you care to share?

Like the others, I can only stress to keep concentrated and preferably
have someone else in the vehicle who is also concentrated (instead of a
distraction). In my experience, it gets (much) better with time. We have
made four trips to Oz and driven a total of some 40,000 kms. Last time,
after some 30 hours of travelling, I had to jump in a campervan and make
a direct U-turn across multiple lanes. It was a piece of cake. That
doesn't mean that you should take it lightly, because one error at the
wrong time can be fatal (said he who thought he had a protecting
'shadow', but hadn't, and a road train missed him by a few seconds). And
always, if you have to make a difficult maneuver, then take your time
and if that is not possible, then (try to) pullover or continue on your
way and backtrack later.

"Niels Osmers" wrote in message
...
I have 15 years driving experience in germany (right(hand) side). I had
no problems driving in Australia 4 years ago. The only problem was the
switches for windshield wiper and turn signal, because it was changed in
the rental car as well. So I needed 3 of 4 weeks in order to accustom me
to it. And then, back home, another 3 weeks to turn it over again.
But realy dangarous is to go with an continental european car (right) to
England or Ireland (left).


Or vice versa so watch out Niels my trusty Rover and I are headed
for Switzerland in June

Keith

in article , Keith Willshaw at
wrote on 3/8/04 3:20 PM:


"Niels Osmers" wrote in message
...
I have 15 years driving experience in germany (right(hand) side). I had
no problems driving in Australia 4 years ago. The only problem was the
switches for windshield wiper and turn signal, because it was changed in
the rental car as well. So I needed 3 of 4 weeks in order to accustom me
to it. And then, back home, another 3 weeks to turn it over again.
But realy dangarous is to go with an continental european car (right) to
England or Ireland (left).


Or vice versa so watch out Niels my trusty Rover and I are headed
for Switzerland in June

Keith



A trusty Rover....now there's a concept!

4000 psi wrote:
Automatics are easier than manuals. With an Auto you have one less thing
to
get wrong.

is the H pattern universal or is that also reversed down under?

Well I wouldn't say "universal", as there are some [mostly older] cars which
do things differently, but yes the gear change pattern never reverses with
left/right hand drive conversions. Likewise the footpedal configuration
stays the same while switching sides.

Normally the indicators and wipers swap sides though, so you'll find
yourself trying to indicate turns with the wipers. On some cars however
[notably Fiats and Alfa Romeos] they did right-hand drive conversions
without switching the indicators and wipers over, so if someone used to left
hand drive struck one of them they'd likely feel more at home.

On 08 Mar 2004 15:05:14 GMT, Frank Slootweg
wrote:

John0714 wrote:
This past November and December I drove extensively in the area bounded by
Adeaide, Brisbane, and Melbourne, or whatever I am an American who has driven
in the USA and Canada for 40 years. I found driving on the left often quite
disconcerting. Several times I got on the wrong side and got pulled over by the
police. No tickets or accidents unfortunately. But I feel I am living on
borrowed time and thus may never be back to anywhere you drive on the left
since vacations without automobiles I have found very unsatisfying.

I would be interested in others' experiences on driving on the unacustomed side
of the road anywhere in the world. Would you care to share?

Like the others, I can only stress to keep concentrated and preferably
have someone else in the vehicle who is also concentrated (instead of a
distraction). In my experience, it gets (much) better with time. We have
made four trips to Oz and driven a total of some 40,000 kms. Last time,
after some 30 hours of travelling, I had to jump in a campervan and make
a direct U-turn across multiple lanes. It was a piece of cake. That
doesn't mean that you should take it lightly, because one error at the
wrong time can be fatal (said he who thought he had a protecting
'shadow', but hadn't, and a road train missed him by a few seconds). And
always, if you have to make a difficult maneuver, then take your time
and if that is not possible, then (try to) pullover or continue on your
way and backtrack later.


In re-reading this thread, I realised no-one had mentioned the main
problem I found, and which also occurred to an American friend who
visited me here.

It's OK to say "keep the white line on the driver's side" but I
consistently allowed insufficient room between the passenger side and
the kerb. Your brain is used to seeing a certain distance between you
and that white line, whether on the left or right; you have become
trained to position your body in a certain location relative to those
lines. Also, you automatically stay a little further away from oncoming
traffic in that unfamiliar position. At least, that's what happened in
my case.

So the result was, after wiping out the passenger mirror a few times
(thank goodness they spring back now) I learned to consciously remind
myself to move closer to that white line on the left in the US and
Europe.

For a week or two there I'd hear a strangled "too close" from my wife
and look across to see electric poles flashing a few inches past her
window. Like I said, I hardly hit anything :-)

Cheers, Alan