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Driving in the UK

Posted by (New York) on

We just came back from our trip which included driving in England, Scotland and Ireland. We had a lot of fun and were able to go to places that were not available using public transportation. Relax, take your time and you too can have an enjoyable trip.

Here are some hints about driving in the UK:
1. We adapted to driving on the left very quickly. Still need to get used to making right turns.
2. Buying gas was easy. You fill up first then go inside to pay.
3. Parking lot stalls are much narrower than in the US. I had to let passengers out before getting into spots. Most people were backing into spots.
4. People observed the speed limits. 60 MPH meant not to exceed 60. There are normal speed cameras and cameras that time your speed between cameras.
5. For the most part, other drivers were polite. However, if you are not quick on the go when the light turns green they will honk you.
6. Everybody stops when a pedestrian approaches a cross walk. People crossing expect this and rarely look up from their cell phones when crossing.
7. Roundabouts are everywhere. It was unusual to see a stop sign. The car in the roundabout has the right of way. Some places had two lanes entering, if you are leaving after the first exit, you should be in the right lane and signal when entering and leaving. Some roundabouts are very small amounting only to a small circle painted on the roadway.
8. Watch out for tolls! London has a congestion charge and charges for using their two tunnels. When using their web site to pay, you will not see your vehicle listed but are expected to remember how much you need to pay.
9. Parking lots can charge by issuing a ticket to display on your windshield, entering your plate number when entering and paying when leaving, automatically reading your plate when entering and charging when leaving.
10. Heathrow and London City Airports charge if you use the passenger drop off area near the terminal. You will be hit with a penalty if you exceed the maximum! Again when you pay, you are expected to know how much to pay.
11. Roads in London are very narrow and a lot of them are two ways. You are expected to pull over to let oncoming cars pass.

Posted by
9281 posts

Sounds like a great experience, and thanks for all the details. We were in Wales and a bit of England in July, and my husband did the driving (stick-shift Fiat). If you think roads and parking spaces in London are narrow, wait until you drive in the countryside and towns in Wales! Several people mentioned they were surprised we were in a little Fiat, but we were glad we didn’t have anything wider. Also:

.5. For the most part, other drivers were polite. However, if you are not quick on the go when the light turns green they will honk you

That must be why the light turns from red to yellow, before turning green. It lets the (potentially impatient) person behind you know the light’s about to turn green, and you have “fair” warning ;-)

Posted by
2077 posts

I’m not sure what you mean by being expected to know what the charges are for using the Blackwall and Silverton tunnels (I assume that they are the tunnels you’re referring to).The tfl website has a clear list of the charges and you can also input your vehicle reg number into the website and it will tell you what you owe.

All major UK airports charge a fee to drop off passengers by car, not just LHR and LCY, and again the relevant fees are display on the website - they are different for each airport. It is designed to deter you from driving there and encourage you to use public transport.

Apart from a few roads those in London are not particularly narrow, although they may be narrower than you’re used to. You will find many roads in the countryside across the country much narrower.

Posted by
9281 posts

Johnew52, you’ve probably experienced this a time or two, and Daniel, you too, on your trip. In Wales, we were following a slow motorhome on a narrow road - too narrow to pass. It wasn’t an enormous Winnebago like in the U.S.A., but it was big enough. Suddenly, it stopped. Another British motorhome was coming the opposite direction! Our motorhome started backing up, so we had to back up, and so did the car (SUV) behind us, and the one behind it, and the one behind it, and so on, and so on! All the while, watching for the hedge on our left (our side of the road), and the fence (wall?) behind it, so we didn’t scratch up the rental! I had to warn my husband not to get too far to the left as he backed up, trying to use the side-view mirrors, and not back into the SUV behind us, who didn’t want to back up very much.

Once everyone was stopped, we then watched for 12-15 minutes, as the two motorhomes tried to maneuver past each other, with millimeters to spare. Their side-view mirrors had to get turned inwards, to get by one another. After much repositioning, inching forward, then easing to the edge of the road just a bit more (did I mention the hedge and the wall behind it?), our motorhome finally squeezed forward, and past the other one. We glided past it, not going too fast, and waved at its driver, who looked like he’d been through quite an ordeal.

“Our” motorhome turned left onto another road shortly thereafter, just before a really steep uphill climb, so we weren’t poking along behind it anymore, but there were several other motorhomes coming toward us in the next few miles of curvy, steep, up-and-down road. I’m glad I wasn’t doing the driving, although I frequently reminded my husband to not get too far to the left. He made sure he didn’t get too far right, either, and the centerline helped keep us on our side of the narrow road.

That centerline, by the way, is white, not yellow, so keep that in mind.

Posted by
2990 posts

The Brits are also fed up with the narrow parking spaces - especially since many now have bigger cars. It is generally safer to reverse into parking spaces as you have a clearer view when driving off again. In some car parks, it is better to drive forwards in through one space into the next space so that you are good to go forwards when leaving. Most Brits would avoid driving in London and just use public transport.

Posted by
9281 posts

many now have bigger cars

It seems that in London, for every economy car, there are three Range Rovers! I guess the congestion charge doesn’t affect the more affluent people very much who can/do drive into London, and those folks drive bigger vehicles.

Posted by
2077 posts

Cyn - I certainly have. Not always as serious as your example but I did have one in Cornwall in August where I gave up , turned round and went round the “block” about 3 miles to get around it. That option isn’t always as easily available of course.

If you are planning to drive anywhere in the UK countryside particularly in the Summer you need to be prepared.

I don’t understand why anyone would voluntarily drive in London’s congestion zone unless they had to. I’ve only ever done it once when I had to collect some exhibition material from an office by the Tower.

Posted by
13201 posts

Roundabouts have been in the UK forever. I still remember driving through England in the mid-90s and coming to a roundabout, and I thought they were the coolest thing. They'd hardly made an appearance in the US at that point. Now, of course, you can find more in the States, but I still love roundabouts. 😊

Although I will say that UK roundabouts are a whole lot easier than Iceland's. For some reason, Iceland has an informal rule that the inner circle has the right of way over the outer circle, which seems counterproductive to me. Luckily, it worked out.

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