Driving on the Right
 

I am a 57 year old man from small town Canada but OK with driving in city including Toronto and Montreal but just how difficult will it be for me to get used to driving on the right in Sydney and Melbourne as well as country roads. Jan. 17 - Jan 28 th. Especially interested in comments from 50 yr old plus. If I were 25 I would do it in a heartbeat.Oh to be 25 again.
Warren Sheridan

Sorry about the wording .I mean on the right side of the vechicle, driving on the left side of the road

Hello Warren,

I'm in my 50s if that helps. I find it easy to switch between driving on the right and driving on the left as long as it's outside of the cities. Australia has good roads.

I do <b>not</b> recommend driving in Sydney and Melbourne. Traffic is heavy, parking is expensive, and the public transportation system is good and reasonably priced, so it makes no sense to me to drive in those cities.

Do take the free City Circle Tram to get an orientation of downtown Melbourne. It provides a pre-recorded commentary of the buildings you're passing. You can distinguish it from the regular trams because the City Circle Tram is burgundy and the others are green and yellow.

Here's a thread in which I gave detailed suggestions of things to see in and around Melbourne, if you're interested. You would need to scroll down some way to get to my message on the topic:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34547201

Really appreciate that info. I have been following Fodors for a couple weeks now and find it very informative.
Ironic but my Daughter in Banff gave me the web address.Looking forward to first visit to Australia.
Thanks
Warren Sheridan

Generally agree with the responses because we have the same challenge driving in Europe and the US. Absolute focus and concentration needed all the time. Daytime driving best. It helps if you have 2nd person to navigate but keep idle chatter to a minimum, one mistake and you are in deep trouble.

I was in my 50s before I embarked on wrong-side-of-the-road driving (in the US), and we both made the transition without too many scares. Pity about that old guy in the pickup truck on the foggy road at night in Gloucester, Mass., but heart surgeons can do wonders these days and I'm optimistic that he's living a full and active life. We both decided to guard against complacency and self-congratulation after that.

The fact that everything is reversed (i.e. driving position) etc) helps. The time to be especially alert is when you're on, or turning into, an otherwise empty road with no other traffic to provide a reference point. Be sure to head left when entering a roundabout (traffic circle).

Judy's right, as usual - only drive in big cities for the purpose of getting in and out, otherwise use public transport.

One thing you have to watch as a pedestrian is crossing the road - I find it difficult to keep in mind the need to look left, not right, for oncoming traffic.

I really haven't anything to add to all the advice above -- everything that everybosy has told you is exactly right, and Neil's comment about being a pedestrian in a country that drives on the other side struck a responsive chord in my memory (I lasted less than five minutes in Paris before running foul of a Citroen 2CV... I think it was the very first street I crossed in Europe! Luckily, I weigh more than a Citroen 2CV, so there was no damage done to either party, and, not being well-versed in vulgar French, I never did understand what the driver yelled at me).

I just chimed in on this thread to say that isn't it about time that one of the multi-national car rental companies -- Hertz or Avis -- foresaw this problem, which EVERY traveller ponders over just as you are now, and provided, at their major centres, a car with the controls on the other side, plus a specially designated &quot;off-road&quot; area for you to PRACTISE on while still at home? After all, it's THEIR vehicles that are most at risk when drivers set out for foreign climes!

Hi Warren,

Haven driven from the Toronto airport on the 401 to Lindsay Ontario MANY times to see my Grandma, it's tons more hair raising than driving in Australia or New Zealand! :)

That said, as Judy mentioned, you do not need, or WANT a car in either Sydney or Melbourne (or as I advise clients, any major city in pretty much...well, anywhere)!

It's actually very easy (I find) to drive in either country because there is so much less traffic -- a good way to think of it is that there are more cars in LA than there are in ALL of Australia!

That said, yes, there will be times that you forget -- say, when you're leaving your accommodations, dragging luggage behind you, and you go to the wrong side of the car to throw in your map and carry on bag. What I do is glance around to see if anyone's watching and then pretend that I MEANT to go to the passenger side all along...sure..yes, that's it! :)

Seriously, you won't have problems. Unlike the US (and unlike the 401) you will not have cars weaving in and out of lanes willy nilly. People pretty much stick to one lane unless &quot;overtaking&quot; which is a welcome relief. You will encounter &quot;roundabouts&quot; which may cause momentary panic, but hey! It's ok to go around and around until you feel comfortable with the lane that you're supposed to take - not to worry!

Regards,

Melodie
Certified Aussie &amp; Kiwi Specialist

We must have been lucky, as we noticed little difference in road behaviour and manners in the US compared with Australia.

A problem you won't have to worry about is what happened to an acquaintance of mine in NYC. When about to take a cab from his hotel to JFK, he decided to make himself comfortable while the cabbie stowed his bags in the boot/trunk. Being Australian, he popped into the front seat without thinking, but realised that something was amiss when he found himself sitting behind the steering wheel. Uh-oh ... wrong side. It was at this point that he heard a thoroughly panicked cabbie scream &quot;Hey, man, what you DOIN'??? It took him a while to explain that he had no intention of stealing a big yellow taxi in Manhattan.

One more thing- they charge extra for automatic transmission in Australia. PAY It! You have enough to deal with without having to use a clutch and shift on the other side!

We did okay, but really needed the person in the passenger seat to keep screaming things like &quot;keep to the left&quot; and &quot;look out for that lady!&quot; and &quot;STOP!&quot; (well, not really that dramatic, but it helped to have an extra set of eyes.

Neil - your story is oh so funny. Not so much that he was actually in the taxi drivers seat, but that it's not unusual for the passenger to sit up front. Something we found strange on our first visit to OZ.

But we rented in OZ, I as passenger and navigator which worked well. However, I would continually remind my partner &quot;wide right&quot;, &quot;short left&quot; when it came to turns... and going left into traffic circles. We survived, but not the front left hub cap. So much for the experience and at least we had insurance to cover the damage.

Now planning a trip to NZ and offering to share the driving, going with an automatic, we'll see how I do behind the wheel. Should be an experience... will let you know upon our return (but not for a few months yet).

sandi, we like to think that it's an egalitarian habit (less &quot;master-and- servant&quot;) and somewhat antisocial to sit in the rear, although it's acceptable for a couple to share the back seat. Late last year we spent some time in China and I was pleased to find the same democratic practice common there. That, and the fact that the Chinese tend to wear jeans to restaurants, made for less of a culture shock for a visiting Australian.

When we were living in St. Catharines, Ontario (near Niagara Falls), I (female) called for a taxi and entered by the back door as usual when the burly driver snarled, &quot;You think you're too good for me?&quot; I had no idea what he meant. Now I do.

We're in our sixties now (what a horrible thought) and have driven on the 'wrong' side of the road in North America several times. We found city driving easy as you usually can follow the car in front at intersections etc. We made a habit of reminding each other first thing in the morning that we were on the other side of the road - only had one nasty moment when I had to do a rapid U-turn and automatically went back onto our side of the road - the RV driver wasn't impressed.
Just count the number of times you put on the windscreen washers instead of your indicator and visa versa!
Incidentally our most worrying drive was on the freeway from Niagara Falls to Kingston - the traffic through Toronto was horrendous, much worse than anything we have in Australia.

Thank you all very much . I feel good about it now and I will use public transport in the city.Thanks and Happy New Years.
Warren Sheridan
Nova Scotia, Canada

I'd second third or fourth the recommendation to drive neither in Sydney nor Melbourne.

You can drive on either side of the country roads as there is very little traffic.

A/D

Melodie and Marj, congratulations on tackling and conquering the 401 through Toronto. YOU are ready for anything!

Warrsher, you've received some good advice. Go for it!
Some small tips to help. I find that one of the hardest things to get used to is my real view mirror. Remember to glance up to the left side instead of the right side on you upper windshield. It only takes a day or so to get used to it though.
And also remember, 'driver to the middle' on the roads. As the driver , you should never be on the curb side of the road. YOu should be 'driver at centre line' like you are at home. I find it helps when pulling out of a parking lot when there are no cars coming the other way.
Also, when you do get used to looking in your rear view mirror, trust me, there IS a person driving the car behind you!!!!
You'll be fine. Good luck.

Then there's that thing about making a right from the far left lane in downtown Melbourne. That brief moment of horrible truth...

Other than that and the occasional 90 degree turn onto the wrong side, it's been ok.