The friendliest drivers in the world. . .

I had a big-rig truck on South Island approach from behind like a bat out of hell on a one-lane road. The driver was approaching at least 20mph over the speed limit and then continuously honked the truck’s horn. There was no shoulder on the highway and tons of hills and blind curves— no safe way to get out of his way. Since he apparently wasn’t brave enough to pass me—he just had to suck it up.

It’s not Kiwi-specific—- simply put—there are some crazy as-hol-s in every country on the planet!

While I do agree that you can find bad drivers everywhere, I think the three of us could share Kiwi experiences. We had drivers that had to have been speeding tailgate us until we could find a place to pull off and their tailgating made it more difficult to pull off. We also were forced into a guardrail when an oncoming truck was at least a foot over the center line. It was just strange, because except when they were behind the wheel, people were so genuine and friendly. My husband commented that it was easier to drive in Palermo!

Maybe it’s an extreme sport among NZ Lager-lovers!

We have driven in the U.K. a few times and have always been aware of and grateful for what we perceived to be the patience and understanding of British drivers. We’ve made some major boners in a moment of American reversion to 60 year old driving habits that resulted in a wave or a nod (once they caught their breath) that here at home could result in a horn honk from hell or worse.

Denny, when we were in NZ, just one time, my husband turned into the wrong lane. It was a rural road, with no stripes, no cars, so it was less obvious that he was turning into the wrong lane. Another driver also pulling out of the beach parking lot pulled up to us at the stop sign and went absolutely ballistic. It really upset my husband, me, I told him to just roll up the window. It was more of a reflection on the local than us.

Happy to hear the brits are more forgiving.

I am not surprised that drivers in the UK are the friendliest. Now a week back from an 11 day roadtrip there and my impression is, is that everybody really take care of eachother and gave me the feeling driving around is safe, even they drive fast. Even if things go (a bit) wrong drivers remain calm giving more room to solve a problem, it works better this way.

It was more of a reflection on the local than us.
Happy to hear the brits are more forgiving.

Nope.

Head on collisions are what get people killed. If you need road markings and other cars to remind you which side of the road you should be driving on, you need to ask yourself if you should be driving at all. I'm British and I would have been effing and blinding too. I've seen similar talked about on here before. Someone posted about driving on the wrong side of the road in Devon or Cornwall and said something along the lines of "There's lots of tourists. Locals will be used to people driving on the wrong side of the road." Jeez!

Do Americans and Europeans from the Continent really have a problem figuring out which side of the road to drive on in the UK and Ireland? Gee, I hope not! I agree that those who have trouble with the concept need to limit themselves to public transit. This has nothing to do with friendliness; it's a safety issue.

@Gerry, I can assure you we are very safe drivers and took great care to learn the rules of the road for New Zealand and everywhere else we drive. My husband was on the wrong side of the street for seconds, I would say about 20 feet. The local's screaming did absolutely nothing but create hard feelings. This happened after we'd already been driving in New Zealand for about a week. And again, there was no one else on the gravel road and the local was pulling out of the parking lot behind us.

There are a lot of driving maneuvers by locals and travelers that cause accidents. A couple years ago, my son and his wife could have been killed in Ohio when they were visiting for a wedding. The elderly woman clearly should not have been driving and t-boned them after running a red light. The rental car was totaled. It ruined the weekend. My son and his wife didn't scream at her.

Yesterday, I was driving home on the interstate in bumper to bumper traffic. Suddenly, people were slamming on their brakes. We were at a point on the four lane highway where people were merging onto the highway as well as an exit ramp. Then, I noticed that there was someone with out of state plates that had passed the exit ramp and was trying to back up a bit to exit. This was on a major highway. NO ONE blasted their horn. This was rush hour, and folks patiently waited for this person to exit the interstate. It was obvious the driver was already upset. What purpose does it serve to be nasty?

"What purpose does it serve to be nasty?"

Not a purpose => the very existence of it was enough to trigger going ballistic.

Yeah, my reply was maybe a little harsh, apologies Jules. It's a serious business though, ending up on the wrong side of the road. If people think you're driving in a way that could potentially cost lives, they are pretty justified in getting upset.

I can assure you we are very safe drivers

You did tell us all here on the internet about doing something that was very unsafe, to be fair :) I probably would have kept that to myself if I did something similar tbh :)

As far as backing up if you miss your exit on the freeway (motorway in the UK), that's the sort of thing that would have you in front of a judge if the cops (or cameras) saw you over here. Big no-no. People would be horrified if they saw that going on. Take the next exit. It's another thing that puts people's lives in danger, more so of course if the traffic is free-flowing.

I'm generally a very tolerant driver. I've never once taken it upon myself to have an argument with another driver.

Going back to the topic, you need to be able to co-operate with others on the road in the UK. It's a game of give and take. Communicating with flashes of your lights and waves of acknowledgement is how it's done and I suppose that feeds into the "friendliest" idea. Knowing when to proceed and when to yield is important on our roads. I think jphbucks has a few miles under his belt in the UK, so he would probably be better at picking up on the US vs UK differences than me.

Again, sorry jules. I always enjoy your contributions to the forum and I wouldn't want to be lecturing you. I always think back to Hill Street Blues; "Let's be careful out there"!

I've seen some crazy driving in the rural areas where I grew up here in the US. Still goes on a lot of places here and I would suspect places like Australia (for example). Might have something to do with a more casual attitude towards such here; the loose structures, not the lack of consequences. The only places I've seen more consistent attitudes toward safety is in the more dense/traffic-heavy areas of this country.

One thing I was warned about by a local while on The Isle of Mull in Scotland was drunk drivers, especially on a Friday and Saturday night. In many rural areas it's still more socially acceptable than in urban areas. Less chance of getting caught and fewer options to get home after a night on the lash.

"...was drunk drivers, especially on a Friday and Saturday night."

That was only one of the things that was common in a lot of areas where I grew up. It got less common over the years but the rural thing still matters.

I can remember going out late at night, holding bottle rockets set in Coke bottles out the side windows aimed ahead of us, letting them fire off, then driving so they would explode when we finally got to that spot in the road driving through it. We did a lot of stupid crap.

Good communication is key, it’s indeed a game of giving and taking. I appreciate if someone raises his of her hand if you just move a little bit sideways to give the room needed to let the other drive further more easily. We in the Netherlands can learn a lot from this.

It’s the time you need to get used to driving at the other side of the road that can be hazardous. It’s very easy going back to the mindset you have at home, especially if you are distracted by something. That is the period you can get in serious trouble if you are not focused well enough.

Once at home I had to get used to my old mindset and to my surprise leaving a parking I was driving at the left side. First didn’t noticed anything, till I saw a bus approaching me…….

One thing we did for New Zealand and again for the 4 days we'll be driving in England, was to get a car with automatic transmission. While we both can drive manual cars well, we drive automatic transmission at home. My husband felt that in a situation where he might have to react quickly, he didn't want the clutch to be an added issue when he is already working with driving on the correct side of the road.

D. Lindstrom from Rioja on this forum recommended a great podcast that I really enjoy, "Join us in France". There was a whole episode on driving in France. I listened to it a couple times making notes, and will listen to it again when we drive in France, next. I was surprised with some of the nuances. For example, there was something about the pavement markings which determined right of way at an uncontrolled intersection.

I found something similar for New Zealand and will seek out the same for future countries where we will drive.