Has anyone here driven a RHD car?

"Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras" (jegoingout)
04/12/2018 at 09:30 • Filed to: None

I’m asking for...uh reasons, future reasons. If anyone has, how hard was the adjustment from LHD to RHD? What about the learning curve, if there was one, to shifting with your left hand rather than right?

DISCUSSION (36)

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/11/2018 at 21:36

I have. It isn’t hard to drive the car, but when tires I found it very difficult to drive on the correct side of the road. After I got a good night of sleep and got used to the environment, it was no problem at all.

chaozbandit > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:31

Actually operating the car isn’t hard, it’s adjusting to how to position it in the lane and left turns at intersections.

duurtlang > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:32

Oppomeet Wales, last week of March this year. It was my first time in a RHD car (manual obviously) driving on the left side of the road. You’ll get the hang of it very soon. Just drive calmly at first.

pip bip - choose Corrour > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:36

every day.

but as for LHD, once only. for no more than 100m indoors

tromoly > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:39

1974 RHD Mini Cooper, an Automatic so didn’t worry about shifting. Driving RHD on roads meant for LHD really wasn’t too bad, just had to keep the lines in mind and everything was gravy.

someassemblyrequired > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:40

If you are driving in a country with RHD, the toughest thing is getting used to looking in the opposite direction for breaks in traffic. Look right then left. The shifting part isn’t as much trouble in most cases, though a friend has a good story about a trip to Australia where he nearly put his sleeping friend through the window when he went for third by pushing away and 1st engaged. Gotta love old Ford Falcon wagons I guess.

Dark chocolate > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:42

I have driven it on few international visits. It’s very very easy to drive. but in the absence of other vehicles on he road, the mind kinda tends to switches over to the LHD mode. lol.

Cé hé sin > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:42

Yes. It’s LHD I find awkward...

You get used to it after about half an hour of terror.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Cé hé sin
04/12/2018 at 09:44

Pretty much the same with the other direction. But being well rested and accustomed to everything being RHD/left side of the road for a little while helps tremendously.

vicali > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:45

From my jdm import friends I’ve heard it takes about half an hour to learn the car, and a week to learn on the road. Left turns and passing are the worst bits.

Cé hé sin > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
04/12/2018 at 09:47

Also, I found it easier to begin with driving a rhd car on the right before going the while whole hog with an lhd car on the right.

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > Cé hé sin
04/12/2018 at 09:47

Thankfully i like to live dangerously..just not re teaching myself to drive dangerously (yet)

  > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:48

I’ve driven manual and auto LHD from RHD in Europe and the US. You adapt very quickly when you follow surrounding cars’ lead. The only times I goofed up were at night when roads are empty, turning out from a carpark or something. Habit takes over and you cross onto the wrong side, but it *feels* wrong immediately. I was actually better at parallel parking from the other side.

One small thing though, be prepared to bang your elbow on the door. A lot.

Your first drive back home will feel just as weird as your first drive there. I kept walking up to the passenger side for a week.

SilentButNotReallyDeadly...killed by G/O Media > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 09:49

It’s not which side of the car you drive on that is the problem... it’s which side of the road that’s the issue.

Dash-doorhandle-6 cyl none the richer > Eric @ opposite-lock.com
04/12/2018 at 09:58

Have heard this from Brits in Canada. Drive on wrong side when tired. Accent comes out when drinking.

nerd_racing > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 10:01

It was like second nature for me shifting and what not. Negotiating turns was tricky, and you have to be constantly aware of lane drifting, your subconscious is used to being in a certain lane position. If you are driving a normal sized car you are going to have to be very vigilant about not daydreaming. Lucky for me my car is a Kei car so it doesn’t matter as much.

jimz > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 10:02

yes, I’ve driven RHD cars:

2013 Honda Amaze

2012 Maruti Suzuki Ertiga

2013 Ford Ecosport

2015 Ford Mustang

The biggest adjustments were:

remembering where to look for the rear view mirror

remembering that the turn signal and wiper stalks were reversed

remembering to re-adjust my “reference point” for lane position. if I didn’t I’d tend to drift too far to the left.

all were stick shift, and I didn’t have much trouble adjusting to shifting with my left hand. Though I hit between gates a lot more with the Mustang, but I blame that partly on the MT-82.

Now, I think it would be a lot harder to adjust to RHD and driving on the opposite side of the road. in fact, I think changing to the other side of the road would be a LOT harder.

4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30 > duurtlang
04/12/2018 at 10:06

Yes. Because you did exactly that.

MonkeePuzzle > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 10:06

yes. I learned to drive ina LDH auto, then learned manual in a RHD manual.

then returned to the US and drove LHD manual.

personally, I prefer RHD manual, as my dominant hand, right, does the steering, and left hand does gears (and handbrakes, for the ladies).

not hard to switch between. The feet do the same job, and the order of gears is unchanged (because the gearbox is still in the middle of the car regardless)

duurtlang > 4muddyfeet - bare knuckle with an EZ30
04/12/2018 at 10:10

I did drive calmly. At first.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 10:10

How often do you go through toll booths, drive-thrus, etc?

I have a parking pass for my garage at work. To go RHD, I’d have to rig some contraption that would let me swipe my card at the reader across the passenger seat...

Just making sure you’re thinking of every scenario!

duurtlang > jimz
04/12/2018 at 10:13

remembering that the turn signal and wiper stalks were reversed

Depends on where you are and which car you have, I guess. The RHD car I borrowed in the UK last month had the indicator on the left and wiper on the right.

AddictedToM3s - Drives a GC > chaozbandit
04/12/2018 at 10:19

Also the slight millisecond of freakout when you look to the right for the rear view mirror and don’t see it there.

jimz > duurtlang
04/12/2018 at 10:21

now that I look back, I think that was only on the Suzuki (India market car.) I don’t remember the Honda, and the Fords had the indicator stalk on the left.

E90M3 > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 10:23

I’ll find out in a few days.

Kinja'd!!!

Got the rental for England and Scotland booked.

Cash Rewards > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 10:24

Yes, but only in Britain where it was proper, so no driving near the shoulder. But as for getting used to left hand running the gear shift, that took all of two minutes.

Klaus Schmoll > duurtlang
04/12/2018 at 10:25

Any witnesses to that?

duurtlang > Klaus Schmoll
04/12/2018 at 10:51

My first time behind the wheel was going from mr. BiTurbo228’s place to mr. Chinny Racoon’s cottage, while following a certain BRZ. We drove quite gently. At least, I believe the BRZ didn’t step on it too much. There’s your witness right there!

Klaus Schmoll > duurtlang
04/12/2018 at 11:33

DocBRZ as your only witness? So glad I’m not your attorney!

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
04/12/2018 at 15:41

Well in theory, if i were to buy such a vehicle it wouldnt be a daily driver. Id be going through the occasional toll but EZ pass eliminates the need to chuck change out of a window. As for drive thrus, yeah thats gonna suck

Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras > E90M3
04/12/2018 at 15:41

I loveeeeee those

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 15:49

Will make you healthier! You’ll at least have to park and walk in to get fast food.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > E90M3
04/12/2018 at 21:21

A road 4muddyfeet recommended was to take A686, Hartside Pass if crossing from the west side to east side heading north.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/12/2018 at 21:27

You pick it up very quickley. Random things to remember is to be careful you don’t start drifting in your lane.

Parking is a bit weird.

Also remember which side you’re getting into.

gmporschenut also a fan of hondas > E90M3
04/12/2018 at 21:37

Driving on teh left was easy. What was more difficult was getting use to the speed they drive with poor sight lines.

Kinja'd!!!

Hopefully you’ll have a better view than me.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Supreme Chancellor and Glorious Leader SaveTheIntegras
04/15/2018 at 12:53

I learnt to drive on RHD and am now driving a LHD. It’s not that tough. If you have a automatic, its fairly easy to switch sides (it was for me). I guess it depends upon how comfortable you were with judging the extremities of the vehicle before you switch.

Rowing your gears was a bit tricky. I had to start off really slow and then was able to quicken by shifting speed. 3rd to 2nd was tough.