My first experience with driving on the left side of the road we ended up snapping a rental car back together. It was in Ireland on my honeymoon. My husband did most of the driving and did a great job until he made a U-turn and thought he was back in America.
We drove for a week with no problems. I even took a short turn driving without incident. The day before returning the car we were driving along, missed our turn so my husband made a Uturn at the next crossroad but he turned right onto the road and stayed in the right lane. Queue oncoming truck. Instead of correcting his error and just moving into the left lane he panicked and pulled onto the shoulder, up a dirt embankment. There we are two idiot Americans with their rental perched at a precarious angle on a dirt pile on the wrong side of the road. I thought it was hilarious and wanted to take a picture. My husband was not amused (this difference in humor may be part of the reason we are no longer married).
The car is stuck so we have to push it. Luckily a nice English gentleman and his wife pulled over to help. The Englishman gets into the car to guide it and my husband and I push. It starts rolling down the hill. Unfortunately, as noted it was angled on the embankment, without the speed that we had going up it started to list to one side coming down. Fortunately some other good Samaritans ran up as we were pushing and helped keep it from rolling over. As it makes it down the embankment the front left fender and bumper comes off.
All of our helpers go on their way and we are left freaking out. We have insurance but there is a 2000 Euro deductible charged by the rental company if a car is damaged (they said it was to cover loss of rental income but really I felt like they were trying to scare us into purchasing their more expensive daily coverage which we passed on). We’re young and don’t have that kind of money, especially after the wedding and honeymoon. Freaking out, freaking out, freaking out. Then I look and I see these tiny holes on the fender and matching hook type things on the hood… I think we can snap the car back together! My husband thought I was crazy but I convinced him to try it anyway. We line it up and sure enough a couple good pushes and it snaps back together with a satisfying POP! We return the car the next day and go on our merry way. Phew! Crisis averted.
Flash Forward to 2023
Needless to say, almost two decades later, I was hesitant to drive on my trip to the UK. The plan was to take the train to the places I was visiting. It limited my itinerary but I was going to be alone so costwise it was smarter too. Then my sister and niece decided to join me so it made more sense to rent a car. We would save money and have freedom to visit some places not easily accessible by train. Let me state for the record I am an excellent driver, well I am a good driver but I was nervous. I searched to see other peoples experiences driving on the opposite side of the road. Not much out there. I saw one account where they found it so difficult they returned their car and changed their itinerary but no details as to why it was so scary. Others said it was no problem but again no details. So I took the plunge.
I drive a manual transmission everyday, always have. Driving an automatic is actually harder for me due to the fact that I feel the need to press two pedals when breaking but in an automatic that means you are hitting the accelerator as well as the break. Not great. When traveling in Europe most rentals are manuals which is awesome for me. This is also the case in the UK but the shifter is on the other side too which made me nervous.
We fly into Heathrow and pick up the car. Of course, I walk to the wrong side of the car. I am sure that gave everyone loads of confidence. Time to exit the rental site- it did not go well. I was tired, it was confusing and I ended up stalling while trying to make a three point turn. I am pretty sure the reps at the rental place were very concerned at this point or at least really amused. Finally we made it out. First roundabout was frightening but actually less frightening than I had built it up in my head. In the UK they tend to stop instead of just entering and yielding which is different from other countries I have driven in where you will get honked at if you stop. Normally it annoys me when people stop before entering the roundabout but it made it easier in this case, except for the whole shifting with the wrong hand thing. The first day driving to Canterbury and Dover, was mostly divided highways so it was a nice way to ease into it. Another thing that really helped was my niece navigating for me. She is excellent with directions but we were using Google Maps so she wasn’t helping with the actual directions as much as where I was going. For example at confusing interchanges she would say “See that white car? That is where you need to go.” It really focused me and allowed me to concentrate on staying on the right side of the road (which was, of course, the left).
The next day in Wiltshire was more challenging. Small rural roads, like really small. Barely enough room for two cars to go through- at least that is how it seemed. My niece’s main job became letting me know when I was too close to the curb on the passenger side, which was all of the time. I rubbed a lot of curbs. Driving on the right side of the road (and left side of the car) I am used to gauging where the passenger side of the car is positioned and how close it is to other things. Sitting on the opposite side of the car my gauge is complete off. Also with oncoming traffic on the small roads I would naturally try to move as far away as I could which meant I hit the curb because there isn’t much of a shoulder. As time went on it became easier and easier. That’s not to say I didn’t need my trusty navigator and I didn’t constantly go over verbally how to make turns (a left is like a right and a right is like a left) but I did not end up snapping any of our rental cars back together so I feel like it was a success.
Surprisingly I never got the hang of shifting with my left hand. The muscle memory is just not there. I had to think about it every time. First and second gear are the furthest away from you, which is weird. Narrow roads were still nerve wracking but I got better at gauging where the passenger side was, much to the relief of my niece. I would definitely do it again but maybe not alone. I cannot stress how helpful it was to have the guidance of a passenger.
My Advice
My tips for drivers considering a trip where they will have to drive on the opposite side of the road are as follows:
-Ease into it if possible. Divided highways are much easier than narrow rural roads with oncoming traffic. Duh
-Having a navigator to direct you to the correct exits, places to turn and keep you away from the curb is invaluable.
-Even if you are used to a manual transmission you may want to consider paying the extra money for an automatic. Personally I would still probably rent a manual because even though I have to think about changing gears it is still more comfortable for me but I am probably in the minority.
-Be honest and realistic. If you are a nervous or bad driver at home it probably isn’t going to go well abroad- whether you are driving on the right side or the left side of the road. Different rules of the road, foreign languages and generally smaller streets make it difficult even for good drivers. There is an extensive network of trains and public transport. Use them.
-Don’t build it up too much and freak yourself out. Our cab driver in Edinburgh was going to Spain and would be driving on the right side of the road for the first time and he was nervous (the words flaming ball of wreckage were used). Everyone gets nervous. It probably isn’t going to be as bad as you are expecting.
-Don’t get too comfortable. The second you feel like it is easy your brain will revert to your usual driving habits which includes driving on the right side of the road and you may end up on a dirt embankment.