Visitors to the uk be warned

[CBH]

I grew up driving a manual with the shifter on my left so it comes naturally to me, but have driven a couple of vehicles with the shifter on the right. My father in law has a WWII Jeep which is Left Hand Drive. My Father has a collection of historic cars, which are all Right Hand Drive, but two of them have the shifter on the Right Hand side in the doorway. A 1917 Buick tourer and a 1951 Bentley.

The thing I could not get past when shifting with the left hand, is that the shift pattern itself is not reversed. 1st gear is closest to the driver on LHD cars in America and Europe. But when sitting on the right side of the vehicle, the lowest gears are furthest away. That just never felt right.

Can manual transmission vehicles still be rented in the UK or Europe ? I haven't tried renting a car there in 20 years.

[Rama4390]

The thing I could not get past when shifting with the left hand, is that the shift pattern itself is not reversed. 1st gear is closest to the driver on LHD cars in America and Europe. But when sitting on the right side of the vehicle, the lowest gears are furthest away. That just never felt right.

Can manual transmission vehicles still be rented in the UK or Europe ? I haven't tried renting a car there in 20 years.

The other quirk of Dad's three vintage Buicks is that the three speed shift pattern is the opposite to the modern H pattern. First gear and Reverse are on the Right Hand side of the pattern.

There were lots of manual transmission cars available for hire when I looked.

[Pleater]

If you do decide to drive here, GPS might be useful as it prompts the correct lane to be in and how to get around the sometimes complicated combination of roundabouts - there is one in Christchurch which used to worry me but it is a doddle now as there is the blue line on the screen to show which exit to take, all I have to worry about are those drivers trying to negotiate the situation without guidance other than the road signs, which look as though they were based on a spider's web spun under the influence.

Anne the Pleater

[MacKenzie]

...the road signs, which look as though they were based on a spider's web spun under the influence.

That's no different in the US.

Until a few years ago roundabouts were few and far between here in North Carolina. Now they seem to be the solution for every point of congestion. And people are about as adept at navigating them as they are 4-way stops.

[SF Jeff]

That's no different in the US.

Until a few years ago roundabouts were few and far between here in North Carolina. Now they seem to be the solution for every point of congestion. And people are about as adept at navigating them as they are 4-way stops.

There's a great video on youtube about why roundabouts never took off in America, and why 4-way intersections dominate. They are slowly catching on now but it's a hard sell, which is also addressed in the video. I think it's on the Wendover channel. Well worth a look.

[OC Richard]

There's a great video on youtube about why roundabouts never took off in America, and why 4-way intersections dominate.

I've watched a couple videos on roundabouts in the US.

The bottom line is that study after study has proven that they vastly decrease accidents. At least one study showed that they decreased fatal accidents by 90%.

For people outwith the USA, note that the vast majority of accidents here occur at intersections, and the vast majority of those are cars making left turns.

Numerous cockamamy intersection designs have been created to avoid having cars make left turns. Here's a type I experienced in Utah, called the "diverging diamond" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnjqAwtkEkM

The simplest, most effective, and most obvious solution is roundabouts but Americans resist them simply because they're different.

[MacKenzie]

Numerous cockamamy intersection designs have been created to avoid having cars make left turns. Here's a type I experienced in Utah, called the "diverging diamond" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnjqAwtkEkM

Thanks for that video. A bit south of me they re-did an I-85 overpass/interchange like that. It is impossible to describe it to someone that hasn't seen it without a visual aid.

[BobF]

Strangely, we seem to be sort of okay with what we call traffic circles in Connecticut. I can think of three in my immediate area, and two of them have been around for as long as I can remember, and I’m 64. The other was just built a few years ago on US Route 1. The only time they’re a problem is when drivers don’t understand how they work, usually stopping when they should exercise the right of way or vice versa. The only other detriment I see is that they take more real estate than an intersection, and trying to take the necessary land by eminent domain and possibly razing buildings would cause quite the dust-up.

I've watched a couple videos on roundabouts in the US.

The bottom line is that study after study has proven that they vastly decrease accidents. At least one study showed that they decreased fatal accidents by 90%.

For people outwith the USA, note that the vast majority of accidents here occur at intersections, and the vast majority of those are cars making left turns.

Numerous cockamamy intersection designs have been created to avoid having cars make left turns. Here's a type I experienced in Utah, called the "diverging diamond" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnjqAwtkEkM

The simplest, most effective, and most obvious solution is roundabouts but Americans resist them simply because they're different.

[geomick]

I've watched a couple videos on roundabouts in the US.

The bottom line is that study after study has proven that they vastly decrease accidents. At least one study showed that they decreased fatal accidents by 90%.

For people outwith the USA, note that the vast majority of accidents here occur at intersections, and the vast majority of those are cars making left turns.

Numerous cockamamy intersection designs have been created to avoid having cars make left turns. Here's a type I experienced in Utah, called the "diverging diamond" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnjqAwtkEkM

The simplest, most effective, and most obvious solution is roundabouts but Americans resist them simply because they're different.

IL uses a variation on the diverging diamond theme on some local road / highway interchanges.

Another way to avoid left turns are the "jug handles" they use in New Jersey. "Left turns" are made by going thru the intersection and having a loop to right which brings you to the street you crossed pointing the way a left turn would have gone. A little weird the first time but easy to get used to.

[SF Jeff]

The thing I could not get past when shifting with the left hand, is that the shift pattern itself is not reversed. 1st gear is closest to the driver on LHD cars in America and Europe. But when sitting on the right side of the vehicle, the lowest gears are furthest away. That just never felt right.

I think that's what made it so easy for me, no new pattern to learn. The engrained muscle memory did all the work and I didn't even have to think about it. Learning a new shift pattern would have taken longer and probably done some damage to the transmission as well.