Anyone here driven on the "other side" of the road on vacations?

[purbeast0]

i'm just curious if anyone here has ever gone on vacation where they drive on the opposite side of the road (and opposite side of the car) that you are used to where you live and rented a car. i'm going to be doing this in a couple weeks in turks and caicos and i'm kind of nervous about how it is going to feel driving on the left side of the road but sitting in the right side of the car. when i picture it and think about it, just that alone feels awkward.

but has anyone done this before? was it awkward or did you get used to it very quickly? it's going to suck driving around for a week if i feel uncomfortable the whole time heh.

 

[MixMasterTang]

I have driven cars in Ireland and Australia, and motorbikes in Thailand. It's fairly easy to get used to except I always have problems turning into parking lots.

 

[OutHouse]

yes and its not bad, just keep left, you get used to it quickly.

 

[dank69]

Other? You mean wrong.

 

[yuchai]

The first day or so will be pretty awkward, but you'll get used to it quickly.

 

[glenn1]

yes and its not bad, just keep left, you get used to it quickly.

This, you adjust fairly quickly although you'll still approach the car towards the "wrong" side door for the entire trip. However, just remember that your instinctive reactions in an emergency will default to a left-hand drive mode, so make sure you're well-rested and minimize distractions while driving.

 

[purbeast0]

Other? You mean wrong.

that is why i put it in quotes!

 

[Anubis]

i do it every year
it takes about 8 seconds to get used to it. Just make sure the rental you get is NOT A US Variant

that will F you up

the hardest part is the traffic circles, and yes those exist in the T&C


you WILL however turn your wipers on every time you want to use your blinkers

 

[Blackjack200]

It was easy, for me, the hardest part was getting used to how far the car extends to the left of you. I kept rolling off the edge of the road until I got used to the idea that I need to drive uncomfortably close to oncoming traffic to the right. That took about a day.

It's actually really fun once you get used to it, I was even driving a stick shift, shifting with my left hand.

you WILL however turn your wipers on every time you want to use your blinkers

For some reason I remember the turn signal stalk being on the left. Does that vary by model?

 

[tontod]

What is interesting, but still not hard is driving on the "wrong" side, but sitting on the left side, did that in St. Croix, USVI

 

[blackdogdeek]

It was easy, for me, the hardest part was getting used to how far the car extends to the left of you. I kept rolling off the edge of the road until I got used to the idea that I need to drive uncomfortably close to oncoming traffic to the right. That took about a day.

This was the hardest part for me, too. I kept drifting uncomfortably close to the next lane over on the A roads in England. I had to keep readjusting.

 

[NetWareHead]

you get used to it. I drove in singapore and malaysia and you must always be conscious about where to turn and how to navigate roadways.

The most dangerous part about ti wasnt the driving, it was actually crossing the road on foot. In a country where the traffic keeps to the right, when crossing the road on foot, you typically look to the left for oncoming traffic. Instead you need to look to the right. I forgot to do this and was almost mashed into the pavement by a bus.

 

[cronos]

The turn signal vs. wipers will happen a lot (funny at first and then it'll get annoying fast), but otherwise you'll get used to it pretty quickly. The only dangerous part that you need to be careful of is if you perceive something bad that is going to happen (from other vehicles on the road). Your directional split second reaction (where to turn the car, etc.) is likely the opposite of what it should be. So just be extra careful.

Edit: oh and one thing is it's probably going to be a little hard to keep in the middle of your lane because you're used to drive on the left side instead of right. Your car will have a tendency to drift towards the left edge to balance that perception.

 

[MomentsofSanity]

Have to do it in Barbados. Isn't a big deal except on tight roads where judging distance throws you off a bit as others have said. A lot of the back roads were very tight windy roads.

Then there's roundabouts. Not difficult on their own but easy to screw up when you're used to being on the other side of the road!

 

[NetWareHead]

Its harder to drve a manual transmisssion when you need to shift with the left hand instead of right. I always got the turn signals and windsheild wipers levers confused since the controls were also reversed.

 

[rcpratt]

I didn't drive when I was in the UK last summer, but I was with my parents (temporary residents) who were driving. It's not so much the side of the road that confused me, but all of the other weird crap (zebra crossings, weird intersections, weird signs) that threw me off. I probably would have injured a few people if I had tried.

 

[purbeast0]

another thing that came up when reading about turn signals and the stick being on the opposite sides as well - are the pedals on opposite sides too? do you have to drive with your left foot or are the pedals still the same and you can use your right foot?

i drive a manual here at home, but in t&c it's going to be an automatic so i won't have to worry about clutch/stick.

 

[blackdogdeek]

another thing that came up when reading about turn signals and the stick being on the opposite sides as well - are the pedals on opposite sides too? do you have to drive with your left foot or are the pedals still the same and you can use your right foot?

i drive a manual here at home, but in t&c it's going to be an automatic so i won't have to worry about clutch/stick.

Thankfully, the pedals are on the sides where you expect them.

 

[glenn1]

Thankfully, the pedals are on the sides where you expect them.

Yep, makes it easier to do this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zavsd6etz_Q

 

[Ryland]

I have drive in Scotland, its really not too bad and the only time I ever had an issue was at a confusing intersection that wasnt clearly marked out.

 

[AViking]

i'm just curious if anyone here has ever gone on vacation where they drive on the opposite side of the road (and opposite side of the car) that you are used to where you live and rented a car. i'm going to be doing this in a couple weeks in turks and caicos and i'm kind of nervous about how it is going to feel driving on the left side of the road but sitting in the right side of the car. when i picture it and think about it, just that alone feels awkward.

but has anyone done this before? was it awkward or did you get used to it very quickly? it's going to suck driving around for a week if i feel uncomfortable the whole time heh.

Confuses the shit out of me. Drive slow when you're turning and think before you execute.

 

[AViking]

Try to get a car that has a spot to rest your foot when it's not on the clutch. That is probably the thing that annoys me the most. Driving on the left is exhausting if you have to hover your foot the whole time.

 

[Anubis]

It was easy, for me, the hardest part was getting used to how far the car extends to the left of you. I kept rolling off the edge of the road until I got used to the idea that I need to drive uncomfortably close to oncoming traffic to the right. That took about a day.

It's actually really fun once you get used to it, I was even driving a stick shift, shifting with my left hand.



For some reason I remember the turn signal stalk being on the left. Does that vary by model?

every time im in one of thoser POS suzukis or whatever they give me when im on the caymans i mess it up, happens every year. pretty sure its on the right

 

[Anubis]

Try to get a car that has a spot to rest your foot when it's not on the clutch. That is probably the thing that annoys me the most. Driving on the left is exhausting if you have to hover your foot the whole time.

or just rent an auto, makes it a bit easier

 

[BurnItDwn]

I've been to several of the islands in the Caribbean where they drive on the left, but, wasn't there long enough to feel the need to rent a car.