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Old 04-09-2017, 09:43 PM
 
Location: Shawnee-on-Delaware, PA
8,000 posts, read 7,354,956 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cavsfan137 View Post

I have known people who have rented a car and done this, and there experiences have been varied.

My only experience with this is renting a motorbike in Bermuda. I got used to it pretty quickly. Even negotiating the roundabout was pretty simple.


But my boss had a negative experience in Scotland once. He was out in the country where the lanes were very narrow, only wide enough for one vehicle, but there were wide spots where you could pull over to let another vehicle pass. Since they drive on the left, you're supposed to pull over to the left, but my boss forgot and pulled over to the right! The driver of the other vehicle who nearly crashed into him was not amused in the slightest and was not forgiving of the hapless foreigner.
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Old 04-10-2017, 12:25 AM
 
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Driving on the other side was really not as difficult as I had expected. The greatest difficulty was shifting the car using my left hand. Fortunately, I had a vehicle with automatic transmission.
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Old 04-10-2017, 03:26 AM
 
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I have driven in England, Scotland & Australia & the hardest thing to remember was looking the correct way to turn so that I didn't get T-boned. The other problem, especially in the countryside, was very narrow roads with no area to pull over, usually about 1/2" from an ancient rock wall.

The biggest problem for me was the roundabouts...so many spokes, and often my destination was not listed on the road signs. The solution was to just keep driving around & around until I figured out which one to turn on.

I've driven manual transmissions since learning to drive, so shift lever & clutch in opposite of what I was accustomed to was not a problem.

I dropped my rental car off in London after 6 weeks of driving all through England & Scotland without a scratch on it...the rental car staff was so impressed that they came out to the car & applauded me!

You should be fine if you just concentrate 100% on driving & keep reminding yourself of where you are.
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Old 04-10-2017, 04:37 AM
 
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Since I live in the States part time and in the Caribbean part time I deal with lefthand and righthand driving all the time. The biggest issue for me is remembering where I am and which side to sit and which side to drive. It's not difficult, but I will say I enjoy watching newbies on the roundabouts..lololol
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Old 04-10-2017, 05:11 AM
Status: "Wishing all the best of health and peace!" (set 10 days ago)
 
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Many years ago I traveled from Israel to Australia for 6 months and then continued on to USA/California and I drove in all 3 places. I didn't have any major issues switching as it is really a mindset but perhaps that is because I also lived for 2 years as a child in England so my mind usually switches over to look in the opposite directions first relatively quickly.
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Old 04-10-2017, 06:21 AM
 
14,993 posts, read 23,822,706 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cavsfan137 View Post
I was just wondering, for anyone who had the opportunity to do this, how was your experience? What I'm talking is more than just strolling around a main port center, like say, going to the UK and visiting just London.

I have known people who have rented a car and done this, and there experiences have been varied.

For example, I would very much like to go to Ireland at some point, and perhaps explore the countryside, see ancestral graves, Giant's Causeway, Cliffs of Moher, etc. However, I can imagine this might be quite difficult to do, unless one was on an expensive guided tour. Are there other options out there? Or if I were to drive the country (which also sounds really fun), how difficult would it be to pick things up?

Thanks everyone!
Tons of people do it, not a big deal. It's strange for about an hour. If you get a manual transmision that get's tricky.
You will have a tougher time with the narrow inner city roads and bad traffic in the city areas.
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Old 04-10-2017, 08:36 AM
 
Location: Copenhagen, Denmark
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cavsfan137 View Post
I was just wondering, for anyone who had the opportunity to do this, how was your experience?
Best characterized as "near death". I almost always started to go the wrong way into roundabouts and almost entered several freeways on the wrong side a couple of times. Fortunately, everyone in the back seat was from South Africa and their screams of terror alerted me just in time to avoid certain death.
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Old 04-10-2017, 10:39 AM
 
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Intersections take some concentration at first & being sure you are looking for traffic in the correct direction
when entering a highway from a side road.
Other than that it's not hard.
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Old 04-10-2017, 10:58 AM
 
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As others have said, it's not too difficult once you get used to it. I've driven manual all my life, but I did find it odd that first gear wasn't towards my leg. I had assumed at first that the gears would be reversed as well, but they stay in the same position. The roundabouts were rough at first due to sheer habit, I always wanted to head right. My wife and I just made a deal, as we approached one, she'd say "left, left, left" and that took the worry out.

One other time while in Scotland with my Irish cousin, we stopped at a particular scenic spot along the coast in the remote north. When we got back in the car, I pulled onto the road and a moment later my cousin asked me, "What did I ever do to you, cous? We're family. I'm just not sure what I did to deserve this." I wasn't catching on and quite confused. Then he grins and says, "Why are you trying to kill me? Are you ever going to get in the proper lane?!?!" At that moment, I quite sheepishly realized I had driven a mile or so in the right lane.
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Old 04-10-2017, 04:05 PM
 
Location: Saint John, IN
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I personally have never done it and would be TOTALLY afraid to!
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