Driving on left side of road

Do it all the time here in Australia. Now driving on the right, that's a challenge.

The most dangerous part is when you start up again after a stop. You need to think left. Some people tie a ribbon on the steering wheel to remind them or stick a note on the dash board. At road juctions or turning onto a road, you need to remember to look the right first as that is the direction traffic is coming from on your side of the road.

The other thing to remember is on narrow roads with approaching traffic - pull in to the left!

Don 't forget, you will be hiring a left hand drive car, and that helps Once driving, you quickly adjust.

As mentioned, the only danger comes at intersections, parking lot exits, etc. when your instincts try to take over. When you go though a complicated intersections, just stay left! Then there's the embarrassment of always walking up to the wrong side of the car to get in.

Edit after another post: When you're on a single track road with passing bulges, if the bulge is on the right, don't pull into it - just stop on the far left across from it so the opposing driver can use it. If you think you're being polite by pulling into the bulge, you'll get shaking fists and stares.

In the late 90's, we took a first three week drive around the UK (including Ireland, Scotland, Wales) and my only problem arose when I got home. I was a volunteer firefighter in a rural area, and the night we got home, we had a fire at 2am. Due to my distance to the station, I ended up driving the water tender ((4000 gallons of water) solo, and I drove the entire five miles to the fire and back on the wrong side. Luckily it was 2am and there were few cars and I had flashing red lights. The Captain was quite amused.

I always pay extra for an automatic so I don’t need to think about shifting. Adapting is easy, but as someone mentioned, you need to concentrate more to remember that when turning left it’s into the close lane, and far lane when turning right. There is traffic circle/roundabout protocol that takes some getting used to. One thing Americans need to remember is you don’t just hang out in the fast lane on highways even if there are no other cars on the car. If you pass a car, pull back into the slower lane as soon as practical. Not doing so is a sure way to get run over (figuratively) and make other drivers mad. Maybe the most important thing is to drive at or below the speed limit to avoid getting a ticket.

It might take a day or two to feel comfortable, but it’s not that hard. You can find YouTube videos about driving in Ireland that you might find useful. I’ve always paid extra for an automatic so I have one less thing to worry about, but after driving in the last few months over an 18 day span in Ireland and Scotland I think if I go back I would get a manual. I drove one for years and even though I’ve been driving an automatic for the last 30 years it’s like riding a bike and comes right back to you. My biggest challenge this fall was that after driving on the left we went to France for 3 weeks. I drove a manual there without any problems, but initially I found myself trying to drive on the left. Lol!

From this thread it looks like "most Americans adjust...pretty quickly," which puts me in the minority. I found it surprisingly difficult, even with an automatic shift. A few times I turned into the right lane at intersections. It helped to have my wife yelling "left left left!" before anything untoward happened.

It wasn't just which side of the road, it was how my body was placed in the car and how my brain responded to things like oncoming traffic to the right. I was often over-correcting to the left, getting too close to the non-existent shoulder (or stone wall, or 200-year-old hedge). I wrecked a tire hitting a stone at a bridge entrance in a small town (and learned about the kindness of British auto repairmen). It did get better with experience over a three-week trip, but I'd rather not drive on the left again.

Your mileage may vary, as they say. I had an easier time in Britain on a moped at age 19 than in a car at age 67. It helps to have a navigator and "left left left" whisperer next to you. ;-)

Assuming you are not getting off a trans-Atlantic flight and immediately jumping into a car, I suggest two things to help you get used to driving on the left. First, if riding in a taxi, ask to sit in the front to help get you used to seeing traffic coming towards you on the right. Second, just walk around. Crossing the street will quickly remind you of the need to look right.

Trotter's advice about the taxi is good. I had an easier time driving after we took a taxi to explore one of the Yorkshire Dales. I sat behind the driver and got a better feel for the oncoming traffic (such as it was) than when I had to drive. Also he went faster than I would have, which somehow helped me feel more confident at my typical lower speeds.

Trotter is also right about not driving the day after an overnight flight, whichever side of the road you're on. (Unless you got a good night's sleep, which is rare.) And the pedestrian skills he mentioned are important whether you're driving or not.