Driving onthe left hand side

This is, potentially, a safety issue. I'm guessing there's a tendency to over-report "successes" and under-report "difficult situations" on a public website (people like to talk about their wins).

A number of travelers have reported, here, that (if truth be told) they had what to do was a significant problem adjusting to driving on the left. Others have reported a similar experience to that reported by Steve.

No one else can really say, even based on their own experience, how you will do. The travelers who have reported that they had a significant problem seemed to have the most problem off the "freeways", in traffic in towns and cities. Roads off the freeways are narrower than here.

A number of travelers say they pay the extra for automatic transmission vehicles in the UK (unlike here, the norm in the UK is for rental cars to be manual shift, unless you make specific arrangements to rent an automatic).

Roundabouts....master them and you'll be fine.

kellipaul,

Driving in the U.K. takes a bit of practise and constant vigilance so that one doesn't revert to old habits. You might enjoy reading www.britainexpress.com/driving.htm and gouk.about.com/od/tripplanning/tp/leftdrive.htm for some specific tips.

A few recommendations based on my experiences....

Renting an automatic would be a good idea, even though the cost will be slightly higher. Especially in cities, it's easier to focus on traffic if there are no distractions for shifting.

Starting in a smaller location with less traffic would be a good idea, however in your case that probably won't be possible as you're starting in London.

Before starting the ignition, sit in the driver's seat for a few minutes and familiarize yourself with the location of controls, and just with the idea of sitting "on the other side". If there's anything you need to clarify, the best time to do that is when you can ask the rental staff.

Happy travels!

I would recommend you picking up a car outside of London, St. Albans is just outside of London (north) which would be a good place to pick up a car. Also, when you get to a roundabout remember that the cars in the roundabout have the right away. If you have to circle the roundabout acouple of times before you know which exit you want that is fine.

I found that having a GPS was a great help in dealing with driving on the left. Being able to listen to exactly where to turn made for one less thing to try to think about. And it made for far less fights with the navigator. Our Garmin was great with the roundabouts. It told us which exit to take, such as the "first exit" or the "second exit". While the signs for roundabouts are well-marked, the GPS telling us the number of the exit made for one less thing I had to concentrate on. Look into either buying one (make sure it's got European maps) or just renting one from the car rental company.

We have made 4 trips to Ireland and will make our 5th in May. We found the roundabouts the most challenging. We have a roundabout rule: go around twice if necessary! Better to repeat the roundabout than cause an accident. Relax and take your time

I think that the recommendation to be vigilant is the best advice. I've driven in the UK many times and I drive stick. I enjoy it, but I am always trying to stay vigilant about where I am. I find that the times that you make mistakes are when you're first starting out from having stopped. For example, if you are in a parking lot you get into your car, back out, and get to the exit to the road and can immediately drive on the right. The reason is that the parking lot is familiar territory and even though you're sitting on the right, you can slip. You just need a little mantra that you say say as you get in the driver's seat. Mine is just, 'left, left left, drive on the left. " I repeat it for roundabouts and when I face an oncoming car in a single track road so that I stay on the left at the passing place.

Pam

The roundabouts were challenging. There could be several exits off of them and each exit had a sign with I swear at least 10 different names on them. Go around the roundabout as many times as you need and enlist everyone's help to read them so you can find your exit! I guess this is where a GPS would be very useful. Otherwise, it felt like I was with Chevy Chase in "European Vacation"!

I found that after about an hour it was not too difficult. That first hour I'm sure my husband thought it would be his last! The hardest thing for me was remembering to look up and to the left for the rearview mirror. I did rent an automatic and was glad I did. I also had GPS, which was a lifesaver.

Claudette points out another issue of driving in the UK. The signs and navigation. When you plan a trip you don't just look at route numbers, but rather should map out the cities / villages and towns that are between your starting point and your destination. With a city/town list in hand navigation becomes much easier as the signs generally point you in the direction of the next city / town. When I travel solo I write out this list and have it on the dash so that I don't have to go around the round about multiple times. ; ) Pam

The hardest part for me is when pressed into a sticky situation (after turning and approaching truck on small road) my reflex is to get right.

One more thing that no one has mentioned. . .it helps to be thinking about keeping yourself near the center line of the road. I found I had a tendency to drift to the side unless I remained hyper-aware about that.

I'll generally agree with what has already been said but I'll be more emphatic about it. This is a serious safety issue and needs to be taken seriously. It is not a question of CAN you do it. Of course you can. But there is more to consider. On our visits we often joked that any accidents were likely between to American drivers.

1) DO NOT rent a manual transmission. An automatic will be the best $50 you ever spent. You have enough to think about without having to devote one second trying to visualize the unnatural movement of your left hand.

2) In addition to thinking "left left left" remember that on 2-lane roads, that always means that you, the driver, are next to the center line of the road, never the shoulder. (just like here)

3) The differences in signage is stressful. Never depend on a road number as you do here. Many signs omit the number or only print it small. The emphasis is almost always on a town/city in that direction.

4) If you have a good map reader in your group, give them the map even if that means they don't drive. The map/sign reader is the more difficult job. Driving is actually the easier job if your only obligation is not hitting anything. This is especially true on round-abouts. The driver should not be the sign reader.

5) The motorways are easy to drive. They work a lot like our interstates. You can relax and make really good time. But they are unattractive. Rural roads should be your tourism choice whenever you have the extra time. On multi-lane motorways slower traffic stays RIGHT. This is taken very seriously there, as opposed to here.

6) Don't speed. There are cameras there to catch you. You will get a notice in the mail from your rental car company telling you your credit card was charged for the infraction. You will have no choice in the matter and no recourse.

Having said all that, you do get used to it after a while and you can enjoy the experience.

Re: roundabouts.

Remember that there will be two direction signs as you approach the roundabout. The first will show the major towns/cities that each exit leads to. The second sign will show the more local areas each exit leads to. If you have had a look at your map before you start out this can really help. E.g. if you know your B&B is in a little village on the road to Town X then you can look at that first sign and start to get an idea of where you need to place yourself on the road before you get near the roundabout.

And remember you can go round the roundabout as many times as you like! I have seen a lot of near-misses where someone has suddenly realised that they are about to miss their exit and suddenly swerves across the road. Just go round again.

And, use your turn signal in a round about. If you watch what the locals do you'll figure it out quickly. It makes it all a lot less stressful if people know where you're going and you understand where they are going. ; ) Pam

Driving in Ireland my daughter would start each day saying "keep left, keep left". I would start each day saying "rock wall, rock wall". Take your time and don't worry too much, especially if you'll be in small towns mostly. I noticed that here, the rental car signs are very small but in Ireland, they're huge! The locals know to watch out for those.

Once you get use to driving on the left side...roundabouts are fun!!

I love roundabouts as done in Europe. We don't do them as well here. I will also reinforce getting an automatic AND a GPS and I am among those who didn't find driving on the left all that difficult--except in Galway when we were all hungry and I didn't have an exact address to give my GPS to get us to our hotel (and it was rush-hour). My mother and I came close to blows that day... Luckily a very kind gentleman in a financial planning office gave me the address and directions to the hotel we were trying to find. That brings me to another bit of advice. Stop and ask for help at places other than tourist offices. Gives you a chance to connect with locals who may never have much contact with tourists and would love to visit for a minute or two. I think my stop at the financial planning office was one of the highlights of my trip.

Nancy, I love roundabouts too, and I think driving in the UK is easy.

Nancy, you have certainly received much good advice! I'll add my 2 cents (and may be repeating some items). 1) Buy a good Auto.Assoc. (UK) Road Atlas - they are very reliable and even show you accurately curves in the road! 2) Be VERY careful the first day or 2 until you get adjusted. 3) The driver must ALWAYS pay attention while driving - no looking at the scenery or the sky - it is more intense than driving here. 4) Have your navigator say "keep left, keep left" every time you deal with an intersection, and have them tell you where you need to exit a roundabout - 2 o'clock or 11 o'clock, use that dialogue. 5) Be especially aware of where your LEFT tire is - to learn where that side of your car is takes longer than anything. My sister hit a curb and burst a tire - it's easy to do. If possible, practice on a rural road with little traffic and a flat solid shoulder - keep edging over til you feel the shoulder - this helps you learn where that side of the car is. 6) All said, the British are much better drivers than the usual American and they follow the rules (rather than weaving in & out of lanes, etc.) SO if you always signal what you're going to do and don't make any sudden unusual moves they will compensate for any mistakes you make. I've driven in Britain and Ireland for years and now find it great fun, but it takes some adjustment. Enjoy! Julia

Kellipaul, You're going to have a wonderful time!! Driving on the correct side of the road is fun. Another thing to remember is that the entrance to the round-about is often more than one lane wide so you need to pay close attention to how long you will be in the round-about. If you're taking the first exit you'll want to be in the left lane so as to get out right away.

Just thought of a couple more points. I drove in London for a year. (I don't recommend it, but I was working.) People parked on both sides of the street, no matter which way they were headed. It's quite unnerving when you make a right turn, already a tension-filled maneuver, and you see cars facing you on both sides. My first reaction was to think that I'd turned into a one-way street; my next was to wonder where am I supposed to be. Also, in cities, people, especially delivery van drivers, double-park a lot, leaving the traffic to swing around them on some pretty narrow streets. I'd use the car to get to York and leave it parked until departing. It can't be overemphasized, be very focused at all times. All this being said, you will adjust. I got so used to it, when I got home, for a while I had to really think about how to make left turns!

1. Rent a car with automatic transmission. Thinking about shifting gears, when you are most probably not accustomed to doing that anyway, is one thing you don't want to have to think about. It's a little more expensive, but not much.

2. Don't even consider driving in London. We rented at Gatwick airport. It was easy from there. The same is true for several locations outside London proper.

3. The motorways (freeways) are actually the easiest roads. Just remember that the slow lane is to the LEFT as are the exits.

4. Roundabout have big signs before you get to the actual roundabout. Count the number of exits before the one you want. A good navigator really helps -- as does a GPS. But a GPS can be distracting. Just like here, if you miss something it keeps saying "recalculating, recalculating." However, a GPS in the countryside around Thirsk will really help you because you can just wander around, then set it to take you home.

5. Since you are going to Thirsk, are you a Herriot fan? The museum there was a lot of fun, and the countryside was georgeous. If you go in the tourist information office in Thirsk, they will guide you to some great country drives. We stayed in York, but wished we had stayed in Thirsk.

6. Take out all the insurance to cover your car for full coverage as well as liability. The extra cost is fully worth the peace of mind. We had a friend who had a wreck. With the insurance, they were on their way again at no cost within about 2 hours in a new car the company brought to them.

7. Don't worry about driving on the left. Just go do it.

Several years ago I was traveling to York and Thirsk with my Mom. We flew into Manchester and rented a car. I had intended to start with small roads to get used to the difference, but the old guy at the rental company gave me great advice. He said, take the motorway. Once you are on it you will have time to get used to being on the 'other' side of the road. Then when you get off the motorway, you can concentrate on negotiating turns and roundabouts.