sobriquet,
@sobriquet@aussie.zone avatar

For me, the hard part isn’t driving on the “wrong” side of the road. You pick that up pretty quickly. You need to think a bit more when turning, but it’s not so hard. For me the harder part is driving from the “wrong” side of the car. I may have almost mounted a curb or two because I forgot where I was in the lane.

bradorsomething,

In my experience, turns at lights are the hard part, remembering what lane you are supposed to end up in.

OceanSoap,

Do it! I had. Lot of fun. Just be aware and you’ll be fine. :)

Naich,
Naich avatar

It totally depends on the person. I'm from the left-driving UK, and have friends who hate every second of driving in the rest of Europe. Personally, I find it takes about 10 minutes to acclimatise and then it seems normal and I'm fine.

metaStatic,

it's super difficult because there's oncoming traffic

Sanchokan,

Be extra cautious when parking on the left. The wheels are closer to the curb than you might think.

I learned that lesson. Twice.

eating3645,

In my experience it’s surprisingly easy. I found the break in routine snaps me out of complacency, making me more alert.

ATDA,

You get used to it after a few scares. Hell I was just a pedestrian in Japan and damn near got run over looking the wrong way out of habit. Only once!

1rre,

I find it’s harder as a pedestrian than a driver… You’re mostly aligning yourself as a driver and looking for pedestrians/cars coming but they can come from either side regardless of what side you’re driving on… For pedestrians though the side you look at first is switched so there’s a very real chance you just step out into traffic

eco_game,

I almost walked into traffic in England once, a friend had to pull me back. Scary stuff.

SkybreakerEngineer,

Judging by the drivers near me, quite easy

Chainweasel,

It’s like driving in the fast lane on the highway. If you can do that you can drive on the “wrong” side of the road

TheSpermWhale,
@TheSpermWhale@lemmy.world avatar

It’s not so bad if there’s loads of other cars, but if you set off onto a quiet road, it can be quite easy to zone out and forget where you are if you’re not careful

christov,

Did this when driving abroad, my partner also didnt notice and had to remind me.

Flax_vert,

I’ve seen a tourist do this 🤦 beware of junctions

sadcoconut,

This. Especially driving out of carparks.

Obi,
@Obi@sopuli.xyz avatar

Yeah that’s where I struggle, when transitioning back to the road from any random places where you were in the middle of the path.

dutchkimble,

I think the gear switching is fine but the oncoming traffic is definitely a big negative

JoBo,

Wise to hire an automatic, I think. Not difficult with so many rentals offering hybrids or electric now. My right hand would struggle with gear shifts and I’d imagine it is even harder switching the other way around (if you are right-handed).

Getting used to driving on the ‘wrong’ side isn’t too hard but understanding unfamiliar road signs at the same time might be quite taxing. Remember to read up on the local road laws, and whatever their equivalent of the Highway Code is.

prashanthvsdvn,

It’s quite easy if you’re right handed since your dominant hand is in control of the wheel and with left hand you are only moving the hand mostly in straight line and diagonals along with a feedback as well, so it’s hard to mess up.

key,

Make sure to practice using your right hand to make crude gestures out the window.

dingdongmetacarples,

Better brush up on local customs too. Some gestures are more crude than others in different countries.

Trollivier, (edited )

I visited Ireland and it took me maybe a day to get used to driving on the left.

Driving a stick shift on the left though took a little more time, I would often go from 1st gear to 4th gear. My muscle memory wasn’t developed in my left hand for this.

Be aware though that the streets are much more narrow in the countryside. I was often nervous driving there.

200ok,

Seconding the narrow roads. And sometimes the only automatic vehicle they have left to rent is a 7-seater wagon.

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