elvira

Oh lordy you had me in stitches, Kat! 3 years ago we did Northern Ireland (right after the truce was broken, I might add) in a car with a manual stick; 4 women (only two drove). The navigator is VITAL...especially in Northern Ireland where signs were more suggestions than actual directions. One of our drivers is from New England (rotaries are commonplace) but our Midwesterner was in awe. They actually do work well for tourists, because you can go around several times before you make your final decision (we found using a clock face worked well "the exit is at 3:00.. gerries at twelve o'clock!" oh no wait that was a different navigator's job). <BR>and thanks, Adrienne, I forgot about those fleet-footed woolies (maybe it was because I waved a bottle of mint jelly out the window every time we saw one). Too bad the donkey carts weren't as fast. As one of the drivers said "you know, I felt like I did when I first learned to drive...nothing is habit, nothing can be taken for granted...made me aware of how nonchalant I've become about driving!" <BR>I will say, though, that Dick (we name every car we rent) was a hardy beast; other than a good-sized gouge out of a front tire (yup, hit the kerb/curb) that car ran fine (do they make them with humvee bodies?). <BR>As for driving in France 1) FARM EQUIPMENT. Tractors in the middle of the road, going about 3/4mph 2) French driver neck: this is created by the driver facing square on to the steering wheel, then shifting one's neck to the left so that one can see around the vehicle in front for a tiny smidgeon of space to pass...the French LOVE to pass. It's some source of pride and honor, I think. Learn to do it, too...

Kat

Richard -- I certainly could have used your 'face saving' device because I must have approached the wrong side of the car 100 times. Naturally, the half-dozen times I approached the correct, driver's side of the car, no one was watching. <BR> <BR>CS -- you're 'spot on' viz. the scenery on B roads, often magnificent. You probably have better nerves than I however because I didn't dare look at anything besides the road . . . every once in a while we'd stop just so I could get a look around without having a heart attachk.

Tony Hughes

I honestly think most of you are really making a meal of this 'driving on the wrong side' nonsense. Where's the problem? I mean I have done/ do both and there is no hassle. Sure it takes a few minutes to get accustomed to things but then it's fine. We don't have 4-way unsignalised intersections here (unless its with a major/very minor intersection with low general traffic flows) but I didn't find them a problem when I first drove in America.

Kat

Tony -- I agree we're having a lot of fun with this topic although none of it is meant to offend. My personal experience informs my opinions -- driving in the UK was nerve-wracking for me and I'd do it all over again in a second! We had such a good trip and being able to ferry ourselves around in a car ensured a lively trip.

Dennis & Alice

I can only say this; I would never hesitate to rent a car (automatic) in England. <BR> <BR>We rented a car a few years back and traveled around England and Scotland. It took about a half a day to get used to driving on the left side. The best roads we found were the ones off the beaten track, especially on the way to the Lake District. It give you such an opportunity to see the beautiful countryside, wonderful pubs/restaurants, places to just stop for awhile, and to meet the local people. <BR> <BR>I did finally figure out that the reasons the import cars have fold in side view mirrors (even in the US-not just for car washes). It came in handy when we were on the small narrow roads with perfectly manicured hedges/walls and you saw a car coming. Just have the passenger open the window fold it in, no scratching mirror or getting it torn off. <BR>

Sheila

To the top.

Kay

SHEILA, thank you! This helps, too. <BR>It's still not the one I was looking for, the right thread thatis, but it is very helpful, and I couldn't get this pulledup yesterday either.

Sheila

topping for Charles

Sheila

I had a phonecall this evening from a Fodorite who left the cocoon of Edinburgh today and is going back tomroow to hand in her rental car. So, whilst I'm topping for MarySue, this is for you, Micki

Sheila

Hope this isn't a duplicate! <BR> <BR>I had a phonecall this evening from a Fodorite who left the cocoon of Edinburgh today and is going back tomroow to hand in her rental car. So, whilst I'm topping for MarySue, this is for you, Micki <BR> <BR>

James

Tony-it's much easier for someone from the UK to drive in the US than vice versa. Our roads are much larger, and most rental cars are automatics. Except that my wife has this nasty habit of driving WAY over to the right. <BR> <BR>"unsignalised"? What are you, a consultant?

Sheila

James <BR> <BR>pay attention; he SAID he's a Roads Engineer. You don't expect normal behaviour from such people. <BR> <BR>

Tony Hughes

I'm a consultant roads engineer. Sorry.

Sheila

Consultant? Did they sack you then?

Ryn

You forgot to mention the thrilling feat of downshifting -in- the roundabouts! The first time I tried to negotiate roundabouts in serious traffic I killed the engine once or twice when I had to slow too much for the gear I was in. At least the roundabouts with the stoplights eliminate that part of the problem. Now that I've gotten enough practice, I can even laugh at the dreaded double roundabouts (if you've never seen one, imagine a figure eight with perfectly round loops and a little open dot in the center so that you can pivot and go left again.) These pretty much -require- downshifting, I've found. <BR> <BR>Here is the crux of what I find makes navigating whilst driving nearly impossible for us Americans ... the British do not have the concept of blocks. There will never be a way to get back to where you came from by going around the block, so if you do get off on the wrong spoke of the roundabout, look for a place to turn the car around and go exactly back the way you came, to the same roundabout. Do NOT try to find an alternate route to the road you should have taken; it's almost guaranteed to be impossible without going further out of your way.

Linda

And remember that face-saving device when you get back home. You will just have trained your body that the steering wheel is on the right and you have to fall back into one on the left. The change back doesn't take as long to get used to, but I'll bet you make an error at least once!

Ben

Pasted from another thread: <BR> <BR>The road signing system is somewhat cryptic here. The speed limits aren't always posted, either. If you can get it in time, buy the U.K.'s official driving manual, "The Highway Code." You can get it on Amazon's U.K. site at: <BR>http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...886543-1904442 <BR> <BR>or you might be able to get a copy quicker from their U.S. site. <BR> <BR>The Highway Code will tell you all the rules of the road, including parking regulations, and will decipher all the road signs for you. <BR> <BR>The best advice you'll get, apart from renting an automatic, is DRIVE DEFENSIVELY. Always expect people to cut in front of you, overtake you on the left, etc. and expect motorcycles to overtake you on either side. <BR> <BR>Also, watch out for pedestrians. There are lots of them here and they _always_ have right of way, even when legally _you_ do. (If you hit one here, _you'll_ be the one found guilty in court!) Expect children to run out in front of you, too. <BR> <BR>Pedestrian crossings sometimes have traffic lights (these are called "Pelican crossings") but sometimes they just have white stripes running through them and flashing yellow globes each side (called "Zebra crossings"). If someone is approaching or waiting at a Zebra crossing on foot, you must stop and wait for them to cross. <BR> <BR>Signs directing you where to turn are usually right _at_ the entrance to the road you turn into, not 100+ yards _before_ the turning point. <BR> <BR>In addition to the lack of city blocks in most of Britain, there aren't street signs at every intersection ("junction") - but only at the beginning and end of most streets. Sometimes these are up high, on the side of buildings, sometimes on walls or fences, and sometimes they're down near the ground, but they're almost never on poles. <BR> <BR>And in case you don't realize it, you're supposed to go _clockwise_ around traffic circles ("roundabouts") here! <BR> <BR>And never pull over and stop or park on a roundabout. <BR> <BR>There are 4 types of road here: <BR>1) Motorways -- 6 lanes+ equivalent of Interstates, e.g. M25 -- London's ring road or "Orbital". Speed limit is 70 mph. <BR>2) A roads -- usually 4 lanes, but not always. Some A roads change from 4-lane ("dual carriageways") to two-lane, then back again, but these are the widest, straightest, and best maintained roads after motorways, e.g. A4021, A30, etc. Speed limits are 70 mph on 4-lane roads and 60 mph on 2-lane roads. <BR>3) B roads -- two-lanes, curvy but well maintained, e.g. B2456, B3177, etc. <BR>4) Unnamed roads - usually black-topped but not always, and not always wide enough for two cars (i.e., "single-track" roads). <BR> <BR>On motorways, the left lane is the slow lane. The middle and right lanes are technically just for passing ("overtaking"). The only time it's allowed is when a 4-lane (or more) road is really full of cars. USE ALL YOUR MIRRORS A LOT! People _will_ overtake you on the left, even when they shouldn't. <BR> <BR>If you see a road sign with a road name in parentheses - (A3003) - it means "leading to" the A3003. <BR> <BR>If you see a wide, short black sign in front of you with white chevrons on it, a sharp bend in the road is up ahead. Slow _way_ down. They're, like, serious curves - 90 degrees, give or take a few degrees.

Ben

Triple-A has a UK equivalent called The AA (rhymes with "gray day" - not called "Double-A"). And you don't have to be a member of The AA to get "trip tick"-style driving directions from their website: <BR>http://www.theaa.com/travelwatch/planner_main.jsp <BR> <BR>However, I find these directions a tad too detailed for convenient use while driving. The best thing to do is to use them to plot your route on a map, then make yourself a list of the roads you're going to take, which way you're turning at intersections, and the main towns along the way, and just follow the list. You will need to follow roads by town names because the roads here aren't labeled "north," "east," etc. like American roads are. <BR> <BR>Traffic jams are a problem in lots of countries, but in the UK they're especially bad in Summer because of road repairs going on. When you're driving in the UK, you can get up-to-date reports on traffic problems from The AA by calling 09003 401 100. This is really useful if you have a cellphone with you because you can change your route "on the fly" if traffic accidents happen and block roads along your way.

Ben

The on-ramps here (called "slip roads") are usually on your _left_ as you drive along, so watch out for this. Even though drivers are supposed to yield ("give way") to traffic already on a freeway, people will usually expect you to move over (to the right) a lane to make room for them to come on. They often have little regard for whether there is enough space in the lane on your right for you to move into, so be on your toes. In this case - and others - signalling means "Move over, mate!" not "I'm going to turn when it's safe to." <BR> <BR>Also, a lot of people here tend to pull out in front of you and then drive slower than you. This is especially bad in Wales, for some reason. Just expect it and keep your cool. <BR> <BR>You might be slowed down by cows or sheep being herded along or across roads, by horse-drawn vehicles, by people riding horses - and by bike riders. Bike riders aren't supposed to ride on the sidewalks here, so (annoyingly) you have to drive slowly _behind_ them - not next to them - until you can pass them safely. Bike riders can be hazardous in other ways, too - like when they weave all over the road, turn acroos in front of you without signalling, etc. Keep your distance from 'em. <BR> <BR>I once ran across a stop-light here where there was no intersection. I stopped, wondering why, when suddenly a low-flying airplane zoomed across in front of my car! The stop light was for a landing path near a small air strip! <BR> <BR>There are sometimes crucial markings (arrows, words, speed limits) actually painted on the road surface - and nowhere else. These sometimes indicate which lane you should be in for turning or going straight, but often they're painted so close to the intersection they don't really give you enough time to change lanes! And sometimes the paint is worn pretty thin. <BR> <BR>Signs that direct you to towns, places of interest, etc. are plentiful here, but they seem to assume you only need directions for where to _turn_. You can be following signs to a place and come to an intersection or roundabout where suddenly there is no sign for your destination. If this happens, it means you should just go straight through the intersection or straight over the roundabout; you don't turn. <BR> <BR>Directional signs are usually not overhead, but are on the left side of the road and sitting lower down than in the U.S. If a van or semi ("lorry") is in the left lane and you're to the right of it, it can block your view of a crucial directional sign, so try to stay in the left lane, even though it's the slow lane, or at least keep your eyes peeled. <BR> <BR>These signs are also covered by branches sometimes, making them unreadable (which I find unforgivable). <BR> <BR>You can take an online test of UK driving knowledge at: http://www.dsa.gov.uk <BR> <BR>Click the "Mock Theory Test" link in the navigation frame on the left. <BR> <BR>This site belongs to the UK's Driving Standards Agency which tests and licenses all drivers here. <BR> <BR>Their online mock theory test generates questions at random from the actual written test you have to take to get a UK driver's license. If you do it enough times you'll cover the whole test. Doing this might help you familiarize yourself with the rules of the road, the signing system, speed lmits, parking regulations etc. <BR> <BR>One last thing: don't eat food or drink beverages while driving in the UK. You might get fined for failing to give "due care and attention" to your driving. This law is also being used to prosecute people who use their cellphones while driving.

Ben

Speed limits - (pasted from another thread, as the above two also were) <BR> <BR>There are two speed limits in the UK, for dual carriageways (4-lane roads with a median or barrier) it is 70mph and on a single carriageway (2-lane road, no median) it is 60mph. <BR> <BR>You will however sometimes find speed restrictions on both of these road types. <BR> <BR>As you enter an area with a speed restriction on it there should be a large round sign on each side of the road telling you the new speed. Each sign is white, about 24 inch diameter, and has a red band aroung the black number, which is the speed limit - until you pass another pair of signs. <BR> <BR>Wherever there are street lights the speed limit is 30mph. <BR> <BR>When you return to the 'unrestricted' speed, instead of seeing a 60 or 70 in the sign, there will be a round, white sign with a black band across it diagonally. This means you may now do 60 or 70 depending on whether there is a median or not. <BR> <BR>The exception to this is on Scottish motorways where you will see a sign with '70' on it as you enter the motorway.