jamesdeluxe
Administrator
How long does it take to begin feeling comfortable?
Driving on the "Other" Side of the Road
- Thread starter jamesdeluxe
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jasoncapecod
Well-known member
on the highway , not long...city driving , never...
biggest problem for me was, the damn windshield wiper stalk is reversed with the turn signal stalk...
and the urban areas are loaded with traffic circles, i can still hear my kids and wife yelling at me..
45 yrs of driving muscle memory is hard to undue
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jamesdeluxe
Administrator
That's the way it is in most of the world. I believe North America is an anomaly in that regard.
Depends upon the city. Clean grids are OK. Sydney was more challenging. London must be the worst. I did not mind the traffic circles. Parking lots can be problematic.
Yes. Amusingly, on the way home from LAX in my own car today I once turned on the windshield wiper instead of the turn signal. My first car, 1971 BMW Bavaria, had the turn signal lever on the right.
Patrick
Well-known member
Driving left:
3400km in Australia in 2022 and probably maybe 3000km in 2018.
4400km in NZ in 2016.
I don’t recommend driving 750km solo towards Hotham from Sydney on your first day, especially if you barely sleeping across Canada and over the Pacific to Sydney.
First roundabout is always the worst.
3400km in Australia in 2022 and probably maybe 3000km in 2018.
4400km in NZ in 2016.
I don’t recommend driving 750km solo towards Hotham from Sydney on your first day, especially if you barely sleeping across Canada and over the Pacific to Sydney.
First roundabout is always the worst.
Lonnie lives about 5 miles from LAX. We leave Liz' mother's 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe there and take a $25 Lyft from there instead of $80+ from home.
And I was in my 2010's decade Lange RX100's. We donated both to Afriski at the end of the day. This freed up room for 4 bottles of South African wine in our checked luggage.
New Zealand 1982, 1997, 2010, 2012, 2019. I was with NASJA in 2006 and didn't need a car.
Australia 1997, 2012, 2019, 2023. I'm still wanted in WA for those obnoxious speed cameras.
South Africa 2002, 2024.
I drove up to the Blue Mountains upon arrival in Sydney. The drive back to our hotel at Manly Beach was tough. I was sticking my head out the open window to stay awake.
First time in US I drive up the coast highway from LA to San Fran. No problems adjusting.
Then hit San Fran peak hour on a Friday afternoon trying to reach our hotel near Union Square. Wow. Major adjustment issues with trams and cable cars and general madness.
But Milan and Turin with their crazy drivers would be the toughest ‘wrong side of the road’ driving for me.
Then hit San Fran peak hour on a Friday afternoon trying to reach our hotel near Union Square. Wow. Major adjustment issues with trams and cable cars and general madness.
But Milan and Turin with their crazy drivers would be the toughest ‘wrong side of the road’ driving for me.
Rome is "right side" for me but was still nuts. But ski country in Italy is like other places. I like the Italian autostrada for higher speed flow of traffic than the other alpine countries.
If you want to get into the weeds about left vs. right hand traffic, check this out. Patrick may be interested to learn that several non-French Canadian provinces were left hand traffic until the 1920's and Newfoundland until 1947.
EMSC
Well-known member
For a 600 vertical ski area with only one real run located forever away from home, I suspect I would never bring boots in my luggage and just rent whatever terrible stuff they had on hand. For bringing back more than planned, I would just buy some sort of bag on the spot for cheap...
The extra bag might be cheap but the excess charge for checking it on the way home won't be. We anticipated that the ski boots neither one of us would use again would be replaced by wine. With the T-bar not running I was glad to be in my own boots for the unplanned hiking.
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sarahontrack
New member
It usually takes a few days to start feeling comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road. The first time I did it in the UK, I found city driving quite challenging as there is more traffic to contend with and more decisions to make at junctions/roundabouts.