American drivers drive on right, could you drive on left side of road in another country??

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perplexed

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If you were from USA and went to another country that drove on opposite side of road could you do it, or vice versa? I think it would take some getting use too.Have any of you had to do it?
 

Not American obviously... and of course we drive on the left here... but I have driven many times in countries overseas where they drive on the right. It's amazing how quickly you adapt. The only real danger is taking the wrong turning to go around a roundabout.

In the Uk we drive around the roundabout clockwise... in countries where they drive on the left...then it's anticlockwise...

After I'd lived in Spain for some years, I found it more difficult to return to driving on the left when I came back to the UK...
 
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A lot of rental cars here in Florida (where we get a lot of British tourists) have a big sign on the dashboard....DRIVE ON THE RIGHT!

The problem being that while it's easy to remember to drive on the "right" (and that might sometimes be the left) side of the road under normal conditions, in an emergent situation a driver might accidentally return to their "normal" driving habits.

I would prefer not to drive in a country that has left-side traffic, but I could if I had to, especially in the country or on limited-access roads. In the city? As I said, I'd prefer to take an Uber.
 

A well reported case in the UK..
The wife of a US diplomat who mowed down a British teen before leaving England got a wrist-slap sentence Thursday that’ll let her dodge prison time. Anne Sacoolas, 45, received an eight-month suspended sentence and was banned from driving for a year after pleading guilty to causing the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn in 2019 by driving on the wrong side of the road. She had faced a five-year prison sentence.

I've never found it a problem to drive on the right either in Europe or in the US - you just have to remember where you are and not get complacent.
 
The real challenge for American drivers is not just "driving on the left " but trying to operate a manual transmission vehicle at the same time. You would be shifting gears with your LEFT hand not your right. Perception of vehicle positioning is difficult too, as you are looking through the windscreen from the opposite side of the car than you are used to.

Now add in European traffic circles and traffic signs with no words, just pictures and symbols, and the American is an accident looking for a place to happen. Think about this.....In the USA as a driver or pedestrian, you look to your LEFT for oncoming traffic. approaching you. IN a country that "drives on the left " that look has to be to the RIGHT, as that is where oncoming traffic is coming from, towards you. It is the reverse of the American experience as either a driver, or a pedestrian. Jimb.
 
Years ago, when I was stationed in Germany, in the early 1960's, I took a weeks leave, and ferried my huge 1955 Buick over to England. Driving that huge car on the "left" side of the roads was quite a challenge....especially for the first few miles (km). Since most of the European cars were much smaller, I probably scared some of the local drivers as I tried to stay in the proper lanes.
 
jimintoronto said:
The real challenge for American drivers is not just "driving on the left " but trying to operate a manual transmission vehicle at the same time. You would be shifting gears with your LEFT hand not your right. Perception of vehicle positioning is difficult too, as you are looking through the windscreen from the opposite side of the car than you are used to.

Now add in European traffic circles and traffic signs with no words, just pictures and symbols, and the American is an accident looking for a place to happen. Think about this.....In the USA as a driver or pedestrian, you look to your LEFT for oncoming traffic. approaching you. IN a country that "drives on the left " that look has to be to the RIGHT, as that is where oncoming traffic is coming from, towards you. It is the reverse of the American experience as either a driver, or a pedestrian. Jimb.
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agree with almost all of this except in the UK and Europe just about 1/2 of the cars on the roads are now electric... or hybrid... and just this week I read somewhere that the majority of youngsters now taking their driving lessons are demanding electric cars only, with their eye on the future for electric vehicles only..
 
jimintoronto said:
The real challenge for American drivers is not just "driving on the left " but trying to operate a manual transmission vehicle at the same time. You would be shifting gears with your LEFT hand not your right. Perception of vehicle positioning is difficult too, as you are looking through the windscreen from the opposite side of the car than you are used to.
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I would go along with that assessment.

When receiving some driver training some years ago on Abbeville race track in France, using a mix of left hand and right hand drive cars, we found that people who normally drove LHD cars took significantly longer to get used to a RHD car then the other way around.

I put it down to most people being right handed, and can perhaps coordinate a stick shift with thair right hand better whilst driving a LHD car. But driving on the left side of the road requiring different set of awareness skills.
 
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Drive on the left, drive on the right, either or, it's never been a problem. But the weird/strange/uncomprehensive thing about driving on the right is, I find it so much easier in my right hand drive vehicle, than I do in a hired left hand drive. Go figure.
 
When I returned to Canada after several years of living in Australia, I found myself driving on the left side of the road, late one night. No other traffic was around, and my daughter alerted me that I was on the left .. good thing she was with me.
 
jimintoronto said:
The real challenge for American drivers is not just "driving on the left " but trying to operate a manual transmission vehicle at the same time. You would be shifting gears with your LEFT hand not your right. Perception of vehicle positioning is difficult too, as you are looking through the windscreen from the opposite side of the car than you are used to.

Your front car window is called a windscreen??? Here in USA we call it a windshield, it has been interesting hearing how different we call same things.
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Pinky said:
When I returned to Canada after several years of living in Australia, I found myself driving on the left side of the road, late one night. No other traffic was around, and my daughter alerted me that I was on the left .. good thing she was with me.
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I've actually done that too.. in the. Uk after driving on the right for several years..I found myself driving on the right in the Uk , and approaching a roundabout too, which would have meant a head on crash......very odd considering I'd driven on the left for 30 years prior...:unsure:
 
perplexed said:
If you were from USA and went to another country that drove on opposite side of road could you do it, or vice versa? I think it would take some getting use too.Have any of you had to do it?
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I’ve driven in a few countries who drive on the right. I start off by saying to myself, “keep right”, and keep reminding myself of that until I get used to it.

Driving in France for the first time was more challenging when trying to negotiate roundabouts. I paused for a little longer, remembering to turn right into the roundabout instead of turning left that I’m used to In the UK. On occasion being greeted on a roundabout in northern France by a car with British registration (licence) plates going around it in the wrong direction.

When driving in Florida Ive seen some other drivers driving on the left, to them to then quickly move to the right on realising their mistake. I presumed they were British on holiday?
 
Most car related stuff here in Canada uses the same terms that you are used to hearing/seeing. My use of windscreen was a personal choice at the time I was writing my response. On the other hand, British words for automotive things can be confusing for those who don't "Speak Brit ".

Some examples. A wing, a bonnet, a spanner, a lift, a carriageway, a central reservation, a zebra crossing, a motorway, a footpath, a lounge, it goes on and on. The Canadian would call those things........a fender, the hood, a wrench, an elevator, a divided roadway, the physical divider between directions on a highway, a pedestrian crossing/walkway, a highway with limited access on and off ramps, the front/living room of a house. JimB.
 
I never have but have thought it wouldn't be easy for me. I'd have to be very diligent. My town added some round a bouts in the last several years. I really like them but Holly's post mentioning the different directions for those would make me extra nervous.
 
jimintoronto said:
Most car related stuff here in Canada uses the same terms that you are used to hearing/seeing. My use of windscreen was a personal choice at the time I was writing my response. On the other hand, British words for automotive things can be confusing for those who don't "Speak Brit ".

Some examples. A wing, a bonnet, a spanner, a lift, a carriageway, a central reservation, a zebra crossing, a motorway, a footpath, a lounge, it goes on and on. The Canadian would call those things........a fender, the hood, a wrench, an elevator, a divided roadway, the physical divider between directions on a highway, a pedestrian crossing/walkway, a highway with limited access on and off ramps, the front/living room of a house. JimB.
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Thank you!
 

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