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Cheeks24
Living a dream
Member since 1/08 8589 total posts
Name:
Cheeks
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Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
If you've done this, how difficult is it to get used to driving on the other side of the car and road? We are planning to rent a car when we are in Scotland.
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Posted 8/7/14 6:40 PM  |
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klingklang77
kraftwerk!
Member since 7/06 11487 total posts
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Völlig losgelöst
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Re: Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
It isn't so bad. My husband is Australian, so he usually does this if we need it. He will do the cities and I'll do outside of the cities to split the driving.
That being said, I lived in a right hand drive country for 5 years and I only drove a handful of times. I just didn't like it. In cities, I find it difficult. I have difficulty in cities anyway, lol. Also with turns I had a bit of trouble. The blinker and windshield wipers are reversed, so that's annoying. I'd stick with automatic, as the manual gearbox is reversed.
Are you going to be in cities mostly? I would personally use public transport for cities and then get a car for the countryside. But really it's not that bad. When in doubt, drive slow, pay attention to turns, be very aware of the opposite side of the car, and get a small car.
Good luck!
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| Posted 8/7/14 7:08 PM |
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Cheeks24
Living a dream
Member since 1/08 8589 total posts
Name:
Cheeks
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Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
We will be based in Edinburgh. We are doing trips by train to Glasgow and Oban. The other 3 days we are in Edinburgh and driving to where we need to go.
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| Posted 8/7/14 9:20 PM |
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thewinterone
You make me happy
Member since 5/05 2474 total posts
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cause you are gray.
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Re: Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
My husband did pretty well in Australia...
He did clip someone's mirror in Melbourne but that's where we first picked up the car (automatic thank God!) and put me a little in the dirt twice on a highway.
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| Posted 8/8/14 4:58 AM |
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dianadrw
LIF Adult
Member since 5/06 2092 total posts
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Me
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Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
I've done it in England and Ireland. I found it takes a couple of days to get used to. The hardest thing for me was turning into the correct lane when making a turn, and also the roundabouts. There are TONS of them in the UK. You'll be find after a day or two. Then when you get home you'll forget how to drive the "right" way.
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| Posted 8/8/14 9:27 AM |
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dianadrw
LIF Adult
Member since 5/06 2092 total posts
Name:
Me
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Re: Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
Posted by dianadrw
I've done it in England and Ireland. I found it takes a couple of days to get used to. The hardest thing for me was turning into the correct lane when making a turn, and also the roundabouts. There are TONS of them in the UK. You'll be find after a day or two. Then when you get home you'll forget how to drive the "right" way.
ETA: When you book your rental make sure it's an automatic!!!
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| Posted 8/8/14 9:28 AM |
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Cheeks24
Living a dream
Member since 1/08 8589 total posts
Name:
Cheeks
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Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
Thank you! We are getting an automatic. I'm tempted to find a game that does this just for practice. My fear is turning into the wrong lane!
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| Posted 8/8/14 1:18 PM |
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Cheeks24
Living a dream
Member since 1/08 8589 total posts
Name:
Cheeks
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Re: Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
Posted by dianadrw
I've done it in England and Ireland. I found it takes a couple of days to get used to. The hardest thing for me was turning into the correct lane when making a turn, and also the roundabouts. There are TONS of them in the UK. You'll be find after a day or two. Then when you get home you'll forget how to drive the "right" way.
We're heading to London for 3 days after Edinburgh and won't be driving there. Hopefully we're back to normal when we get home since we're probably doing long term parking 
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| Posted 8/8/14 1:28 PM |
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klingklang77
kraftwerk!
Member since 7/06 11487 total posts
Name:
Völlig losgelöst
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Re: Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
Posted by Cheeks24
Thank you! We are getting an automatic. I'm tempted to find a game that does this just for practice. My fear is turning into the wrong lane!
When my in-laws come over and rent a car they have this thing of the other telling them which way to turn. If you could work out a way to do that, then that might help.
They say left turn- far turn and then right turn - near turn.
So you could do right turn- far turn and left turn- near turn. I hope that makes some sense.
I'd also have a look at the signs online somewhere. The signs can be slightly different from American signs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_European_road_signs
The UK is at the end. Luckily you don't have to deal with priority roads, so that's good. I'd look into roundabout rules. The UK loves a good roundabout . Other than that, the signs are pretty explanatory.
If you have any question on the signs, let me know. I'm doing my EU driving license now, so all this stuff is fresh in my mind.
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| Posted 8/11/14 3:46 PM |
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yankinmanc
Happy Days!
Member since 8/05 18208 total posts
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Car rentals in countries that drive on the opposite side
The hardest part IMO is remembering which way to look, I was in Edinburgh a few months ago and parking is very difficult and expensive, I wouldn't rent a car if you didn't have to, the train to Glasgow is like 40 minutes and not too expensive if you book in advance, Oban you would probably need a car for.
And omg, yes, we love a good roundabout in the UK, we have one by my house here called Sevenways!
When I first used to come back to NY from the the UK I used to out a post it note. On the dashboard saying "keep to the left" lol
Message edited 9/1/2014 6:11:47 AM.
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| Posted 9/1/14 6:09 AM |
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