Tips for driving on the wrong side of the road?

"Wrong Wheel Drive (41%)" (rduncan5678) 06/21/2018 at 14:25 • Filed to: None

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From July 3rd to July 6th this year I am going to be renting a car in London and driving out to the Cornwall coastal area as the last part of my trip to Europe. I have never driven a RHD car nor have I driven on the wrong (left) side of the road. So it will surely be an interesting experience shifting with my opposite hand and somehow navigating roundabouts without dying. The one thing I know to consciously think about is that the turn signal and wipers are backwards. Any other tips for an American driving for the first time in the UK?

I’ve driven before in Europe in LHD countries but that was pretty much the same as anything in the US, just with narrower roads and insane mopeds. Although people seemed to follow general rules of law MUCH better in Norway and Italy than they do in the US for sure. The roundabouts EVERYWHERE was an odd experience but its easy when people follow the rules and dont drive like dicks.

Also, any tips on how to affordably get something cool to drive? I will surely be happy in a piece-o-shit 3 cyl hatch that gets 50mpg but something more like a real car wouldnt be bad either. Although my dream would be to go cruising in an MG for the trip, but then I would be fixing the car every 35 miles or so.

jimz > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 14:41

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adjusting to a RHD car isn’t that hard. I found that I didn’t have any trouble shifting gears with my left hand. actually the thing that takes me the longest to adjust to is where to look for the rear view mirror.

(the only trouble I had with shifting was occasionally hitting the gate between gears, but it was a Mustang with the “lovely” MT82 so I blame the trans/shifter.)

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 14:41

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For such a short trip, I’d look into at least taking a train to closer to your destination. The trains follow the same pattern as cars, so that’ll help you wrap your mind around it.

Also ensure you’re well rested, because your natural tendency will be to do what you’ve been conditioned to do from years of driving LHD cars on the right hand side of the road.

The pedals, turn signals/wipers, and everything else is in the same location as on an LHD car. The only difference f rom a driver’s perspective, aside from the side of the car you sit on,  i s that the gear stick is to your left.

OpposResidentLexusGuy - USE20, XF20, XU30 and Press Cars > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 14:43

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Don’t go the wrong way.

E90M3 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 14:45

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Here’s my thoughts on driving on the other side of the road, if you missed it.

As far as renting a car, I’ve rented from Sixt twice in Europe and had good results. Might be a little more, but the extra money is worth having an interesting car. 

Minardi Gras > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 14:50

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I don’t think the turn signals/wipers will be backwards -I’ve never had to think about it driving in the US. Indicators are on the left stalk, wipers on the right. I think it’s just Japan (despite being RHD) that switches them.

Also I’m Cornish so if you need any advice on that front let me know. Enjoy the most beautiful part of the UK.

My hovercraft is full of eels > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 14:56

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I asked the same question almost exactly 1 year ago.
Shifting with your left hand will be the weirdest thing (at least it was for me), but you’ll get used to the roundabouts pretty quick. I even got through the magic roundabout in Swindon.

Some smaller roads have these artificial bottlenecks, which were pretty tight for even the small Hyundai we rented. I wonder how trucks get through.

fintail > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 15:04

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Probably easier when you are also on the wrong side of the car, and watch out for roundabouts

djmt1 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 15:17

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Our 1000 year old roads (this isn’t an exaggeration) are gonna be much more of a problem than roundabouts or RHD especially in the West C ountry. 

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 15:19

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Turn signals and wipers are only backwards on JAPANESE market RHD cars! On Aussie, UK, New Zealand rides, they are on the same side as everywhere else, it’s just that the seat is on the opposite side!

SmugAardvark > Minardi Gras 06/21/2018 at 15:21

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Also I’m Cornish so if you need any advice on that front let me know.

Oooo, I have a question. Why are your hens so delicious?

KevlarRx7 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 15:30

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You ain't seen narrow roads yet... Cornwall will be a shock for you ;) feel free to ask me for route ideas ect (London born, living in Cornwall) 

Minardi Gras > SmugAardvark 06/21/2018 at 15:46

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I think the Cornish game hen is a US creation so can’t help there :)

Svend > SmugAardvark 06/21/2018 at 15:53

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Wait until you try their ice cream.

Oh yes. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Eric @ opposite-lock.com 06/21/2018 at 16:05

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We kind of wanted to go driving anyways. I am in London for the earlier part of the week Saturday-Tuesday. So after that it should be fun to go driving. Plus we will get the car from the same airport I am flying home from which will make things convenient. Its part of the adventure to experience it lol.

I didnt realize the swapped wiper/signal thing was a JDM only thing. Interesting, should be easier to figure things out. I imagine after a couple hours it will feel somewhat normal. But yeah staying focused will be the plan. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > djmt1 06/21/2018 at 16:07

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I love that part about Europe in general. I definitely learned what narrow roads were like in the Amalfi coast in Italy. Many times I was soooo happy to have a Smart Car as my rental and wondered how the hell anything larger would fit down that street. It was harrowing but I loved it. Made me further appreciate small cars. Certainly gave me more perspective as to why Europeans always scoff at “giant american cars”. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/21/2018 at 16:08

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I totally would have never known lol. I would have been very disappointed to get there and find out that it was “normal”. I wonder why the hell the Japanese did that then.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > KevlarRx7 06/21/2018 at 16:10

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Definitely would love to hear some route ideas! Just planned on plugging in avoid tolls and going for an adventure. Will have an airbnb right on the coast and just enjoy some relaxation. I figure an interesting  route out there would be ideal. Would gladly detour to take a more scenic road rather than the highway, or motorway or whatever they are called over there. 

CaptDale - is secretly British > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 16:12

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I have driven RHD vehicles in the US, but I assume if you pay attention you will be good to go

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > jimz 06/21/2018 at 16:12

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I’m used to having trouble shifting in both my Miata and the Subaru. The Miata needs engine mounts because 200k miles on the OEMs is a lot of miles. And the Subaru is a Subaru. Any time I get in economy cars with manuals, it is so ludicrously easy to shift. With some newer cars, its not even mechanically connected to anything so it’s really hard to miss gears. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > My hovercraft is full of eels 06/21/2018 at 16:14

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I want to be a tour bus driver in the Amalfi coast of Italy . That shit looked INSANE. My smart car rental barely fit down the street with another car coming the other way. 

Driver_41 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 16:35

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I took a trip to Scotland last year and drove a RHD car for the first time. Let me start by saying that it’s great and you should definitely do it if you enjoy driving, but the first day is really going to screw with your head. Surprisingly, at least to me, shifting with my left hand wasn’t really the most challenging part of it. The most challenging part is over-riding so much of the muscle memory you’ve developed to drive that you don’t even realize you have. For example, I kept looking at the driver’s A pillar because that’s where the center of the windshield usually would be. And then I would look up from there for non existent rear view mirror. As you’d expect, it requires constant conscious effort to keep the car centered in the lane, since you want to put yourself in the left half. The first few left turns will mess with you and you might clip a curb. I hit one the first day . I flew into Glasgow, which means I picked up the rental and then was immediately dumped into city traffic.

I just had a VW polo, which despite it’s rear drum brakes, was actually a pretty fun car for getting around on the B-roads. But if you want to bring it up a notch, and I did, find a place that rents something sufficiently British and open top. A Morgan, or Lotus, or what I did, a Caterham. Then spend a day or 2 where you just drive and make the experience about driving. Plus, if you go up to Scotland, you can hit up lots of distill eries.

ZHP Sparky, the 5th > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 16:41

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If you’re going to be driving IN London look into what that involves – there are some automated tolls I believe, look in to how those work (same goes for any other major cities you might be driving in to). Also in general not sure what the toll system is for motorways? Research it and check if you need/want to get an automated toll reader. When we went to Ireland we didn’t bother – they weren’t that common and we were on motorways only for a small portion of our trip so just going to the cash booth was simple enough.

Prepare for TINY roads. Way smaller than anything you’d be used to. Same goes for parking spots – so maybe kind of pay attention that in your driving/parking before you go and challenge yourself a little! Maybe practice parallel parking on the other side of the street (albeit still not the same side of the car you’d be doing it on) if that’s not something you’re used to? This combined with tiny streets and tiny parking spots could be a challenge.

When driving – as others have mentioned unline in Japanese cars the stalks will be in the same side as you’re used to – and the gear shifter isn’t that hard to get used to. You’ll hit the door card with the wrong hand a couple of times looking for the shifter, but you’ll learn soon enough. Just drive carefully at first and give yourself time to get used to it.

As far as making sure you don’t exit on to the wrong side of a road or something – what always works for me is reminding myself that OK I (as in my body) needs to be on the side that is closest to the center of a (2 way) road. If I’m driving down a road and I’m next to the sidewalk I’m either on a one way street or something is very wrong (thankfully this has never happened)!

Make sure you take whatever driving aids you think you’ll find most comfortable. Aux cable (in case you get a budget car with no Bluetooth) and cell phone dock so you can comfortably attach your phone in a safe and easy to use spot. Also download offline maps of the areas you’re going to on your phone – Google Maps works super well most places on earth, and even works if you have data turned off.

As for renting cars – I’ve always had great experience with AutoEurope. I’ve found they’re able to offer better rates than if you went to the rental agency directly, and their customer service is top notch (US based, 24/7, helpful staff, etc.). Look in to insurance requirements too to see if you can skip coverage through the rental agency if you have a CC that provides primary rental coverage, that can save you a decent chunk of change you could put towards justifying a higher tier car. But speaking of which – remember roads can be super tight, so a larger car can be a curse both driving and parking. We got upgraded to a 3 series in Italy – was great to drive around Tuscany in but I practically had to climb out the window after parking in the spot we had where we were staying. I’d say don’t worry about getting a small car, maybe research the common options and see if there’s something in particular you’d like to drive in those categories so you can always ask the counter if they can give you one of those if available (we ended up with a Fiesta in Ireland – nothing special but was still plenty pleasant to drive through the countryside and have a little fun with).

That’s all I can think of so far…you’ll be fine, just keep your wits about you.

Eric @ opposite-lock.com > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 17:02

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Personally, I’d still use the trains to get where I was going (generally), then hire a car at the station.

I haven ’t had any trouble with it except when I was tired... My original plan on my first trip there was to do it as a road trip, but I was so tired after a night of an English English professor talking my ear off and keeping me awake , I was completely toast and ended up barely able to drive, so I returned the car and found the trains awesome. I picked up another car in Carlisle to check out places far from the trains in the Lake District and southern Scotland.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 17:55

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No idea! :)

f86sabre > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/21/2018 at 20:57

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Pay attention to roundabouts and signal as approprate when you exit. If you have reasonable hand eye coordination then shifting should be fine.

On narrow roads keep an eye on your mirrors and hub caps. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > ZHP Sparky, the 5th 06/21/2018 at 23:25

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Lots of quality advice, thank you! Definitely not driving into London. Will be renting from STN which as I'm learning is far from the city. But flights there were very affordable and public transit actually works there. 

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > Driver_41 06/21/2018 at 23:28

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That would be very fun to do something like that! I think a separate trip is in order to go north into Scotland and check out some of my heritage. I’m sure there are fun roads up that way. I think a tiny cheap car will be perfect. Tiny slow  cars feel fast on small roads anyways, and being a Miata owner I'm a slow-tiny car fan. 

KevlarRx7 > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/22/2018 at 01:37

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I don’t know where exactly you’re heading to here in kernow, but if you want scenic you can try going from

London to Poole Dorset, then take the Jurassic coast drive to exeter ( devon)

https://www.dorsetcamper.com/jurassic-drive.html

Then you’ll have a hour of motorway’s to the A30 but you can take the tourist route to Plymouth over the bridge to saltash Cornwall (few tunnels and a few fun bits) and head down into Bodmin (worth a stop at Trago mills on the way)

If you take that road you’ll pass castle motors

https://www.castlemotors.com

There’s a few different routes you could go, but I prefer the A39 for a bit of driving fun ;)

  If you want I can plan a couple of routes, direct, fun, non motorway's ect (: 

pip bip - choose Corrour > Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) 06/22/2018 at 08:01

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firstly enjoy Cornwall

secondly, get a small car as you’ll be reversing in Cornwall when you go down some of the roads there.

3rd, chant to yourself “keep left, keep left, keep left”