Neil_Oz

Kate, just to satusfy my curiosity, are UK speed signs still in miles per hour? I thought that the UK went metric years ago.

Neil_Oz

Sorry about the "satusfy" typo. I'm not really a New Zealander.

DCJones

The UK went metric for some items.
They still use miles rather than kilometers.

I normally drive automatics at home, but have not problem driving a manual transmission in the UK. The gears are laid out the same as the cars in the US. I didn't have any problems with the turn signals. The cars I have driven must have had them the same as at home.

We did rent an automatic once, but it not only

DCJones

sorry, hit the wrong button.

The automatic not only cost more to rent, but it uses a LOT more gas. With the cost of gas at about 1 GBP per liter and the horrible exchange rate, you might want to consider a manual transmission.

I don't have a problem driving in the UK, but by husband has a problem riding in the Uk, much less driving. He's afraid the other cars are on "our" side of the road and will hit us -- especially at night.

Enjoy your trip.

SaraLM

Funny story. We reserved an automatic and were reassured that we would get one. It was important because our driver (who was living in England) didn't know how to drive a stick (manual). We got there and they didn't have automatics. Mom was so upset, she didn't feel comfortable driving, brother was too young, and friend didn't know how - that left me. I said sure (with quivering knees). Got started no problem. Got to a hill, killed it and killed it and killed it.... It was in second gear!! Once I remembered to shift we were off.

Now I am sooooo glad that I didn't know ahead of time that I was going to be driving, because I would have worried totally unnecessarily! It was really easy as long as I rememered that I (the driver) was on the center line. The roundabouts are a bit confusing but just go around again if you get nervous. Don't try to keep up with traffic - they do drive much faster than I felt comfortable.

I also was very concerned about one-ways, they do park on the sidewalk/shoulder (as mentioned before) which makes the already narrow streets even narrower so I thought they were one way but they don't seem to have as many one-ways as we do in the US.

Do drive with a navigator (husband) a little so he can remind you (gently and quietly) to turn wide while you are watching for traffic so you can get a little practice before going on your own.

So try not to worry about it, I am sure it will be easier than you think it will be!

Sara

janisj

Kate: &quot;<i>A white circular sign with a black diagonal strip means 'national speed limits apply'</i>&quot;

I used to tell folks (only partly kidding) that sign meant &quot;Resume speeding&quot; - but now w/ all the speed cameras, not a good idea

kelcanrun: You have received some great info so far. Don't worry too much about single track roads. If you end up on any - folks tend to be REALLY good about using the turnouts/passing places.

Most visitors have the most problems driving through town and villages. The roads are narrow to begin with, then add in cars parked (or sometimes double parked) on both sides, plus bicyclists, pedestrians and delivery trucks. And -- those parked cars are facing both directions on both sides of the street! So you will <u>often</u> have to cross to the center line to get through the narrow gap. Don't worry - watch how other drivers handle this and it will become second nature. In this situation, if a car coming toward you flashes its headlights, it means they are waiting and letting you proceed first.

evvlabs

I did it right after a sleepless flight. My sister navigated and kept saying &quot;stay left, stay LEFT!!&quot; She was my &quot;brain.&quot; It was the most difficult thing I have done. I would not recommend it unless you have a navigator with you to read signs and keep you &quot;thinking.&quot;

brentp

Doesn't take too long, . . . a few days to get use to it I have found. During that time, stay left, stay left, stay left. After that - just like home.

Now, . . . remembering to look right before you start to cross a street as a pedestrian, . . . a much more important thing to remember!!!

DennyO

I agree with many people posting, you have enough on your mind as it is, rent an automatic. I did a lot of web searching two years ago and found a rental search company that got me a great deal on a little Mercedes automatic - just 169 pounds for a week. Mind you that was somewhat off season, it was November.

The first really strange thing about driving on the LH side of the road to me was the shock of seeing oncoming traffic in what my mind told me was &quot;my&quot; lane. The second thing was the narrowness of most of the side highways, and it takes awhile getting used to your car position, even though totally logical, your reflexes are not the same when you are situated on the opposite side of the car.

Watch for curbs, even country roads have them, and I did manage to ding up a wheel rim, turned out to be a minor repair, about 13 pounds to fix.

Overall, the road quality is good.

annhig

We Brits have the same [if other way round] problem whenever we rent in the US or Europe. From my experience, the gear shift should not present too many problems, if you are used to driving a manual at home, 'cos your brain quicklu adapts to doing the same thing with the other hand. But if you are used to automatic, the extra costs might just be worth it.
AS for remebering to drive on the right [no I mean left] side of the road, it's made easier by the fact that the steering wheel and driving seat will be in the correct place relative to the road. Just get into the habit of saying&quot;left&quot; to yourself whenever you start the car, and you should be OK.
When we took our own car to France on several occasions, our kids thought up a little song, sung to the Monty Python classic &quot;always look on the bright side of life&quot; which goes &quot;always drive on the right side of the road! Doesn't quite work in the UK though!