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

In the Bahamas where they drive on the left, I rented a motor scooter.
Within 5minutes I'd messed up on a left turn.
All the horns honking didn't help me get sorted out :eek:

Thereafter and for the remainder of the hours rental, I decided not to make anymore turns.
Drove to one end of the island, turned around (not in traffic) and drove straight back.
 

Remy said:
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.
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this is one you might have a problem with , which is quite near where I live...

There are 6 roundabouts surrounding a giant roundabout, with all the smaller roundabouts having the traffic going in different directions... :ROFLMAO: I can negotiate it easily, but I know many friends who won't go anywhere near it...

1000_F_526862072_sZLI227ScnM47PD9m8beC1tgQRCzPduy.jpg
 

Back in the day I bought a Lotus Elan, American version, and picked it up at the factory outside London. Driving it in London was very unpleasant, bordering on scary, but I got through it in one piece. Crossed the Channel. Drove through France and Spain to my duty station, a lot better experience.
 
In that picture of your round about, or circle as we here in America called them, it looks just like ours. Yes, ours were counter clock-wise, but that picture doesn't look different from what we had. Most are gone now as our highways are more efficient and higher speeds are definitely the norm.

We also called it the living room. Some call it the parlor, front room or great room. Matter of regional dialect or background of country origin.
 
I managed to drive left in England in 2008 at the age of 55 but it took constant hyper alertness. Not at all fun. Didn’t drive in London but we picked up our rental just outside the city and then through Kent, across the south to Cornwall them north before heading to the airport we came in by, Heathrow I think.

The thing that worried most were the twent foot hedges growing right up to the roadside. Strikes me as so unsafe.
 
Lewkat said:
In that picture of your round about, or circle as we here in America called them, it looks just like ours. Yes, ours were counter clock-wise, but that picture doesn't look different from what we had. Most are gone now as our highways are more efficient and higher speeds are definitely the norm.

We also called it the living room. Some call it the parlor, front room or great room. Matter of regional dialect or background of country origin.
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that's quite amusing to hear Lois because we're told that roundabouts have just recently been introduced to the USA...

All our roundabouts are in towns and cities, they're traffic calming measures to stop people speeding, and to act as junctions. We don't have roundabouts on open motorways where speeding traffic is..
 
MarkD said:
I managed to drive left in England in 2008 at the age of 55 but it took constant hyper alertness. Not at all fun. Didn’t drive in London but we picked up our rental just outside the city and then through Kent, across the south to Cornwall them north before heading to the airport we came in by, Heathrow I think.

The thing that worried most were the twent foot hedges growing right up to the roadside. Strikes me as so unsafe.
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Heathrow is here in the South. Cornwall is in the west... :)
 
Shoot, we had a jeep with the right hand drive for my husband's postman job. I could not even get the thing out of the drive way, no way I could drive on the left, would not even try!
 
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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Yep, do it all the time.....Actually, I think its the better way to drive.
Also, I find that people walk on sidewalks the same way they drive on the left or right of the street.
In Sydney, I was having trouble walking during the morning commute when I noticed I was walking towards people coming at me.

The problem in Ireland is the roads are much to narrow for two cars. That makes it even worse.....but, its Ireland, the best place on earth!
 
In our 4 years in England, the wife took to driving on left better than I did.
As noted in the thread, shifting with my left hand was my biggest problem.
Our second car was an automatic and I got better.
It took quite a while for me to remember to go to the proper door to get in and drive.

When we flew back to the 'States' one final time, a Van picked us up at the airport
to take us to the hotel.
As we were going along the hiway in New York, my youngest son (he was 5) kept telling our
driver he was on the wrong side and to get over.

I came to really enjoy the Round Abouts, even the larger ones.
 
Does the side of the road become a mindset? In America, when on foot and walking toward someone, the first reaction is to pass them like you drive, with them on your left. I've often wondered... do walkers in left side driving countries do the same and tend to pass with oncoming person on your right?
 
I did it, but it took me awhile to catch on that left turns were the most difficult and to watch out more carefully for passengers. The next day, I returned the car and used a taxi.
 
JeeperDon said:
Does the side of the road become a mindset? In America, when on foot and walking toward someone, the first reaction is to pass them like you drive, with them on your left. I've often wondered... do walkers in left side driving countries do the same and tend to pass with oncoming person on your right?
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we have people passing on the right... we've always been taught to take the stairs on the left for example, so people can pass on the right... Oddly..this doesn't apply on escalators where we're told to stand on the right and let people who are walking up or down move on the left
 
fuzzybuddy said:
I never drove in the UK, but just crossing the street, I was always looking the wrong direction. And if it weren't for a number of observant Brits, I'd be a hood ornament.
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yep easy done, I do the same when I'm overseas... and I'm overseas a lot but it still takes me a day or 2 to get used to it again.. been some very near misses
 
JeeperDon said:
Does the side of the road become a mindset? In America, when on foot and walking toward someone, the first reaction is to pass them like you drive, with them on your left. I've often wondered... do walkers in left side driving countries do the same and tend to pass with oncoming person on your right?
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Yes, they do. When I walk/commute in Sydney (when I travelled there on business) I was constantly fighting the walking traffic.
 
Naturally said:
In the Bahamas where they drive on the left, I rented a motor scooter.
Within 5minutes I'd messed up on a left turn.
All the horns honking didn't help me get sorted out :eek:

Thereafter and for the remainder of the hours rental, I decided not to make anymore turns.
Drove to one end of the island, turned around (not in traffic) and drove straight back.
Click to expand...
You were on the island of New Providence in the city of Nassau. That island is only 12 miles long and 7 miles across, and if you follow the coastal road you can go around the island's coastline in about an hour. My Wife was born in Nassau and she lived there for the first 21 years of her life before she came to Canada to attend University of Toronto. JimB.
 
Lewkat said:
In that picture of your round about, or circle as we here in America called them, it looks just like ours. Yes, ours were counter clock-wise, but that picture doesn't look different from what we had. Most are gone now as our highways are more efficient and higher speeds are definitely the norm.

We also called it the living room. Some call it the parlor, front room or great room. Matter of regional dialect or background of country origin.
Click to expand...
Here in Kentucky we do call them round abouts, not circles. They are starting to build more and more of the round abouts in my city as well as the whole state. It is said they reduce accidents, noise and pollution. The trend is continuing to grow, and many old intersections are being retrofitted with round abouts.
 

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