The BBC has posted an article, with dashcam videos, about tourists driving on the wrong side of the road in Scotland. Apparently it is a common problem, possibly caused by concentrating on the scenery.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-47851582
Distracted driving can be deadly. Our visit to Skye a few years ago included sharing the road with a number of motorhomes and campervans, many with Italian or Belgian license plates. While they were mostly on the left side of the road, they often strayed beyond the centerline of the road. Being extra wide, and driving from the left side of the vehicle on the left side of the road probably didn't help. Sheep wandering or lying in the road can be a challenge, but they're not hurtling towards you nearly as fast as a car or truck can go, and their bodies aren't nearly as hard.
I watched that video and I'm wondering how they knew they were tourists and not just local distracted drivers. Did they stop the cars and interview the drivers? Lots of people in the US die every year in head on collisions by drivers on the wrong side of the road - not necessarily tourists.
Don't get me wrong, I know how hard it is to drive on the left when you're not used to it, it takes concentration and constant vigilance. And I'm all for the campaign. But it's not just tourists concentrating on the scenery. It's distracted driving in all it's forms - cell phone usage, looking at gps screens rather than the road, reading, lack of proper sleep and alertness, etc etc etc.
"In all probability foreign tourists". And the crash example was a foreign tourist.
The problem is actually worse on roads with little traffic. If there is a continuous flow of oncoming cars, these reduce the risk of drifting to the wrong side.
When I drove in Ireland I just used a little saying " passenger in the ditch driver beside the center line" When in doubt wait for traffic to pass and follow suit
Caroline
