Driving in England

Susan - When will you be in England, and where are you planning on going? I would suggest renting a car with automatic transmission. Also just relax, and take your time.

Well, don't forget to keep to the left!

Seriously, I've driven in the UK on a half dozen trips over the years, and for the most part don't have trouble remembering which side of the road to be on. Where it occasionally gets confusing is when exiting someplace like a parking lot it can be easy to have a short mental lapse and end up on the right. My wife's job as co-pilot consists mainly of saying "Left! Left!" in every intersection.

I'm pretty OK with driving a manual transmission at home and I really don't think it's all that big an adjustment to use a manual transmission in the UK - it's just the same pattern shifted with your left hand rather than your right. Of course your own experience with a stick might affect how easily you adapt. I acutally have more trouble with confusing the turn signals and the wipers.

One final word of advice: Beware the Magic Roundabout!

We are enchanging houses and cars with a couple in East Sussex. We want to drive to Bath and drive up south to do some exploring. Driving on the left side has me a bit concerned. When we go into London we plan to find somewhere like a park a ride to avoid driving there.

The steering wheel being on the right helps remind you to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. It comes pretty naturally, really, and in fact, you'll be much more road-aware over there than you are at home where you can manage without even having to think about it. Believe me, you'll be thinking over there.

Also, in the roundabouts you'll go clockwise rather than counter-clockwise as you would in a right-driving country. Just slow down or stop as you enter, yield to anybody in the roundabout who's coming from your right, and you'll do fine.

You can read the whole of The Highway Code online (it's what we have to learn to pass the driving test).

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070190

The section on roundabouts has a very good diagram!

http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070338

Susan,

I've driven in England on a number of different trips, and driving on "the correct side of the road" didn't seem too difficult at all. Of course, not everyone will feel the same about that.

If this is your first visit, I'd recommend getting an automatic transmission as it will be a bit easier if you don't have to concentrate on shifting (especially in "busy" traffic). It will be more expensive than a standard, and the rental firm may not have too many available so it's a good idea to reserve early!

I usually take a few minutes to become familiar with the layout of controls in the rental vehicle. If there's something I don't understand, I can ask the staff at the rental agency.

You might want to have a look at This Site OR This Site for some tips on driving in the U.K. Be sure to note the protocols for roundabouts!

Be especially careful with parking, as if you return to your Car and find "The Boot" has been applied, it will be expensive! It will be even MORE expensive if the vehicle is towed!!!

You may want to travel with a GPS unit (equipped with European Maps). I've found that extremely useful on past trips, but I also pack along a Michelin map for "backup" (really "saved the day" when I got onto the wrong connection to the Bristol airport!!!)

Finally, DON'T drive in London and mind your speed or you'll get 'nicked'.

Happy travels!

I wouldn't worry too much, especially since you will be driving a British car the steering wheel on the right side of the car for England. At first, just drive slowly until you feel more comfortable, the one thing that you must get used to more than anything else is to get into a roundabout, that's what I personally found the most confusing part when I first drove in the UK - but if you drive when there is traffic around, you just have to follow the other cars, that helps! Enjoy your trip!

While not in England, We just returned our car yesterday into Edinburgh. It was my first time ever driving over here and I must say I really enjoyed it. We also ended up (not by choice)getting a much bigger car than we ordered. Here are some things that are freash on my mind.

If you order an automatic, be prepared to handle a bigger car. We ordered a Ford Focus automatic, but because they were out of them, we were upgraded to a Mercedes. My friend was like YES! I was like how big is this thing!? It all worked out.

Find TWO really good maps. We used both of ours. We found out that if one map didn't have a town or road, the other did.

Stop and watch the traffic, for me those were the best guides. The girl with me was too busy with her phone to help me much. So I learned to stop, watch the traffic and then pull out behind the car going in the direction I needed to go.

Round abouts. I don't know about the area you are going in, but if they are marked, then you get the hang of it fairly quickly. I learned that they lanes are marked way before you read the round about. If you can catch that, get in that lane and follow it around, it's a great help. Also it works like an American 4-way stop. The person to your right has the right away. But if all else fells, close your eyes and go for it!

I found the red lights the hardest to spot. I am use to ours hanging over head. So it was hard for me to spot them on a post to the left or right. Also I am still confused as heck to what a red light with a green arrow means!? Do I go or do I stop?

Slow down and learn to give and take. As people will be parking in the road and you will have to get into the other lane to go around them. Just as on coming traffic will. Making it a one lane road going both directions. Learn to take turns going around. They will motion you around.

But most of all enjoy it!

A red light with a green arrow means that you can only go in one direction at a junction. So red with a green arrow to the right means you can only turn right, not go straight ahead or turn left.

Susan,

One other point - as I recall, it's illegal to turn on a red light in the U.K. as we do when turning right on a red light (when safe to do so).

After a couple of hours driving you will relax. I suggest an automatic so you don't have to worry about driving on the wrong side, shifting on the wrong side, etc. I found that it took me a couple of days before I really adjusted to the rear view mirror being on the left instead of the right.

Have a great time and don't stress!

Get a talking GPS !!! first exit at a roudabout means turn right, second exit at roudabout means go straight thru, third exit meands go round and it is really a left turn.

Get ready for the feeling of driving for the first time again. White knuckle, stressful, I sweated a lot "is it hot in here or is it just me?"

By the third day it was better. It is easiest on divided highways, worst on country road with no traffic, you forget which side to be on

How is "first exit" at a roundabout really a right turn? You go left onto the roundabout, and the first exit would exit off left.

That brings up something I was wondering about- when we were on the bus back from Silverstone twice I saw someone exit the roundabout (to the left) from the right hand lane- cutting across a lane of traffic and in front of our large bus. Is that how it is supposed to work?

Yikes, Jeff ! Wrong advice. First exit off the roundabout would definitely be a LEFT turn.

Marcie, there are bad drivers everywhere you go.

Having learnt to drive in N. America and then moving back to the UK, I found it quite easy to make the change, except for roundabouts (as already discussed here) and reversing into a parking space. I practised in an empty lot and got it horribley wrong the first time. Gave the parking guy something to laugh at though!

Nancy is right, the first exit off the roundabout would be onn your left.

I'm the same with everyone else. The only real trouble I had was when turning onto a small road with no lines and no traffic...I tended to drift to the right. But when there are cars on the road, it is surprisingly easy to navigate. Basically you just keep yourself in the middle, just like here.

I also agree that backing up is a bit tricky, because your spatial awareness of the car is different than when you are on the left. Also, the roundabouts can be tricky simply because many of them are multi-lane. The rule to remember is that the outer lane is always supposed to take the next turn off. If you simply try to go around in the outer lane, you may cause some trouble, because other drivers will assume you are getting off rather than staying on. You can always go around more than once if needed. They are actually incredibly efficient.

All that being said, I was still nervous every time I got in the car - but some of that is because I hate driving somewhere for the first time (even here) - the whole not knowing where you are going and what the exit looks like, and being worried that it won't be marked as expected, etc.

But relax and have fun!

Regarding roundabouts, if you are taking the first exit, signal left. If you are taking later exits, signal RIGHT (even though you go left to enter the roundabout) until you are about to pass the exit before your exit and THEN signal left. This lets the other drivers know your intentions and whether or not they can enter the roundabout or need to wait for you to pass them. For example, you are planning to take the 2nd exit. Signal right and as you pass the first exit, start signalling left.

Not always, only signal right if you are turning right. If you are going straight across the roundabout (usually the second exit) don't signal initially and the signal left before you take the exit. With roundabouts that have exits other than at the cardinal points you need to use a bit of judgement as to what signals indicate your intentions the most clearly.

See rule 186 in the Highway Code reference given by Laura above: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/TravelAndTransport/Highwaycode/DG_070338

ok ok already

that's why i hated driving there!

I lived, and drove, in England for 7 years. When I go back, I find the same areas of concern every time:

Be careful when you use your rearview mirror. For a few seconds, things look like they did in the States, and it is easy not to refocus when you return your eyes to the front.

Be careful with divided highways without controlled access. I just always found this confusing when entering from a driveway.

Remember, if you are driving and you are not sitting next to the traffic lane going in the opposite direction, you are in the WRONG lane!

The key is to stay alert and not be shy about second-guessing yourself. Oh, and in case you are wondering, I was never in an accident.

We're in Cumbria right now. The most difficult part of driving in England is the narrowness of the A roads. B roads are a bit better but still narrow. You can't believe the traffic that runs on these roads. This includes buses and lorries (22-wheelers). In many places, the road is barely wide enough for both of you. They don't slow down. Speed limits are usually 40MPH (yes they use MPH). Most locals exceed that speed. These are roads that should be 25 MPH.

In Cumbria, they don't seem to know what a straight road is. Roads are lined with walls made of stone and they twist and turn. It's really scenic but no give when you hit a really narrow patch. It's often 2nd and 3rd gear for miles and miles.

Still, I wouldn't trade it for public transportation in the rural areas. We are seeing so much more.

Larry:

Wait till you try Ireland - particularly the west!