Visitors to the uk be warned

**Rama4390** · 2nd July 25, 03:24 PM

Nothing to do with kilting of course, but I appreciate Jock's warning and have enjoyed the conversation. I've decided against hiring a car for my upcoming trip to Scotland and have booked a small group tour for the limited free time that I have.

There is a region in Eastern Australia not far from where I live where lots of fruit is grown and a lot of European backpackers are employed to pick it. Following a spike in road accidents attributed to European drivers driving on the wrong side of the road over a decade ago a lot of work has gone into signage, road marking and education in the region. From what I have heard it has been successful. I am a Civil Engineer for the adjacent Local Government area, so these issues are of particular interest to me.

In Australia we drive on the Left Hand side of the road, so I'm not too concerned about my upcoming visit to Scotland, but have experienced the need to concentrate and remember where you are when visiting the USA, Mexico & France.

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.

**CBH** · 2nd July 25, 05:03 PM

Originally Posted by MacKenzie

The only place I have been where I had to drive on the left was the USVI. It wasn't a problem. However, the cars are American, so the steering wheel is on the left.

Wow..........that would be the worst of both worlds !!

At least you're getting into the vehicle on the correct side. That always through me in the UK

**CBH** · 2nd July 25, 05:07 PM

Originally Posted by Rama4390

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** · 2nd July 25, 05:39 PM

Originally Posted by CBH

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.

**Canadian Vet** · 2nd July 25, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by Pleater

the road to the west of Ringwood is just one roundabout after another - we use the Wessex way which is to the south of it and often slower, but the roundabouts are manic even for a local.

I have just got the MoT test done on my campervan - 21.5ft long 6.5ft wide and 7ft tall not counting the chimney, with 6 wheels - people carriers with dark tinted windows reverse out of the way for me.
I travelled East to get the test done and there are not only roundabouts but joined together roundabouts going that way - I think that this must have been some sort of experimental area for novel traffic management - it was the first place in England to have traffic lights, I am told

Anne the Pleater

I was in South Wales last year and experienced chains of roundabouts near the Severn River. The driver was Welsh (thank gawd) and did it all from memory. They happened so fast that l doubt I could follow a GPS plot through them. Here in Canada we can drive many roads for hours without having to make a decision. I also drive with a manual transmission day-to-day but I shift subconsciously after a half century and the reversed gear shift throws me as well.

Save our UK cousins some grief. Save yourselves. Leave the driving to British Rail, Scots Rail and tour operators. You can't hear the rude words being directed at you as you are driving away from them.

**stickman** · 3rd July 25, 05:41 AM

When I worked I traveled all over the world. Sometimes I would have to drive on the right side and sometimes on the left side of the road. Never had a problem driving, I did get stopped at a checkpoint in Korea one time, when the police saw that I was not Korean they waived me on. The only problem I had was reading road signs. Korea wasn’t bad, I could read their signs. But the Chinese signs no way I could read them. Thank goodness for a good map.

**Janner52** · 3rd July 25, 02:19 PM

Having lived in Germany and Canada with the military, I never had a problem driving on the other side of the road. Even in a right hand drive car. The only issue in Germany was swapping from a LHD work vehicle to a RHD private car and getting in the wrong door. Now I am much older I am not so sure I would trust myself driving on the right.
I would suggest to anyone visiting the UK from a country with big open roads and light traffic to be very mindful about driving in the UK. There are miles of single track roads in the rural and remote areas.

**OC Richard** · 3rd July 25, 04:24 PM

Originally Posted by Rama4390

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.

Interesting! In like manner my father used to drive an English car here in the US so he was ambidextrous in that way. Too bad he sold it before I started driving- I would have learned to drive that way from the get-go.

**SF Jeff** · 24th July 25, 10:37 AM

For my first trip to the UK, my then-girlfriend and I rented cars in Ireland Scotland and England. Automatics were twice as expensive to rent as manuals so we rented sticks. To prepare, I started practising my left hand shift. She and I carpooled to work back then and she would drive and I would sit in the passenger seat and shift with my left hand (obviously she worked the clutch with her left foot). Surprisingly it was very intuitive and easy, almost no adjustment time at all. We did not practise driving on the left side of the road.

**SF Jeff** · 24th July 25, 10:44 AM

Originally Posted by CBH

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.