In the not too distant future I would like to take the car to Europe for a short break (I need the break, not the car). Although I passed my driving test abroad, in Cyprus, I have never driven on the right hand side (Ok... except for overtaking!).
Question, is there anywhere in the North West that provides instruction/experience of driving on the right?
CV
|
Claire
There's really nothing to it - the hardest part is getting used to driving on the left again when you get back!
I've been driving in France/Belgium/Netherlands several times a year for more years than I care to remember now and I still use a tip from way back to remind me which side to drive. For the first few days, I wear my watch on my right wrist instead of my left (any similar switch of habits would do) - it is supposed to give a sub-conscious reminder that things are being done backwards - seems to work anyway!
Being on the kerbside driving means it's much easier to keep tucked in out of harm's way.
The main danger times are pulling back onto the road after a fuel stop or similar and of course overtaking on single carriageways needs a good passenger to help, or a bit of extra periscopic kit I've seen advertised somewhere.
Where are you going?
To generalise horribly, the French are quick to criticise, slow to help. They always seem not to want to be behind you, neither do they want to be in front of you, in fact they want to be EXACTLY WHERE YOU ARE! They also don't seem to have mastered using roundabouts very well. On French autoroutes, if you reach a toll gate in a quicker average time than the timed ticket would indicate you should have done if you'd kept to the limit (81mph in the dry, 68 in the wet), expect the Gendarmes to be called and a fixed on-the-spot fine. The Belgians are possibly the worst drivers in Europe (arrogant) but the Dutch I've always found pretty well disciplined.
Oh, and the best advice (as ever) is don't drink alcohol until the day's driving is over. The limit (in France at least) is lower than the UK and the number of people I've seen putting it away on the ferry before driving off in France.....
Of course, the main thing is to relax and enjoy driving over there - the roads are MUCH less congested than the UK and generally better maintained and it really is a piece of cake and a pleasure to drive over there.
|
Thanks for all that, I have copied/pasted & printed it (I seem to be well known for copying/pasting on this forum...)
May be going to Centre Parcs in Holland or Belgium, not sure which yet.
I don't drink and drive (anymore... mis-spent youth!) so theres no problem there. My main worry is trying to navigate, concentrate on the road and if I missed a turning, being able to get back on route.
CV
|
|
|
I agree with terryb that
(a) it is not as hard as you think esp if you are in a car you already know
(b) the main danger is when you pull back on the road. IMHO the worst bit is when you do a U turn.
The only hassle is overtaking.
|
|
|
|
On the navigation side, French signposts seem to be at a different angle to ours and don't point directly down the road they are indicating, but OK once you get used to them.
As Terry and CM say, think and look twice when restarting after a stop, and also when crossing a dual carriageway.
It is easiest to slip back into UK mode when traffic is light and you don't have a local "guide" to copy.
|
|
|
Having lived in France for nearly 3 years there is still one aspect of driving in France that I have no idea about.
When driving in towns if there are no road markings at a junction then the car coming from the right has priority. And where I used to live there was quite a big round-about where you had to give way to traffic joining!!
Also if you are in a town be very careful of buses. They have complete priority when pulling out from stops and they do not care too much if they cause you to crash as you will be in the wrong.
|
|
|
Roundabouts need some concentration too, as do some of those large city crossroads where there are trams crossing the junctions (esp Holland).
Also some parts of France still have (or the drivers believe they have!) the rule regarding giving way to vehicles joining from the right. I found this unnerving on occasions, but now just drive very carefully in towns, watching the side roads like a hawk. However, their road signage is similar to ours, and where there is a solid white line across the road they really ought to stop.
Having said that, I thoroughly enjoy driving abroad and can agree that the roads are often far less congested, and usually lane discipline is considerably better than here on their (mainly 2 lane) motorways. They tend to overtake and move back in, especially if there is faster traffic approaching them, and they expect others to do the same, even into relatively small gaps. (If only that happened here...). Basically, they display more awareness and consideration of surrounding traffic on motorways than we bother to do.
The motorway (E40 I think) goes straight from the Calais port to Holland and beyond, so you will have a gentle introduction to right hand driving before needing to tackle any towns.
Have a great break...
|
|
|
|
if you plan ahead you can get a hire car in calais for not much more than paying to take your car across (depending how long you are going), if you use a discount hire car broker, its much safer to be driving a car with a wheel on the appropriate side, and you would have less stress worrying about the car, only real problem is if you want to bring lots back then obviously you are then limited to what you can carry...
|
|
Disagree with you a bit. Sure it is great to have the wheel on the other side but when I hire cars abroad for some strange reason I find it, not difficult, but a little disconserting to judge where the off-side wheels are.
|
|
Also, unless it is an automatic, you have to change gear with the right hand.
That switch was the bit an American friend found the most difficult over here.
|
|
|
Thank You all for your replies...
Comments have been noted, I guess I'll bite the bullet and go for it later this year.
As a thought, how would I get right hand experience if driving schools don't even teach Motorway skills...
CV
|
|
|
To qoute an earlier post,
"They (the French) also don't seem to have mastered using roundabouts very well"
That is a great understatement.
Assume nothing from the position of a car already on a roundabout (or the direction of its steered wheels), when you are waiting to enter a roundabout! On multi lane roundabouts they have the ability to go all the way round by using a great circle route, oblivious to other users who 'enter' and 'exit' across them to get to the inner 'circle'.
Apart from that I find it easier driving here than back in the UK. I also prefer a RH drive car, particularly in narrow streeted villages where the ability to go tight right is an asset.
Best of luck, concentrate, (and dont U turn ever!).
|
Hi Claire!
Happy Holidays!
Note to any males who fancy passing themselves off as female on this forum: if you want to totally convince us, just admit that you are considering taking tuition for an aspect of your driving.
Also, at university the girls would use up writing pads at note taking four times as fast as the blokes :0)
|
|
|
|
There are some people who hire French registered cars to drive in France, drive like the mad French persons and cut up Brit cars, and then they abuse the Brit driver (in Francais of course). This is scandalous and should not contemplated in any shape or form .......... whatsoever. Frequent use of the horn is "de rigueur" I understand ....... but I am not certain what warning device one should use whilst driving (Oh no, did I just write that? The spirit of Benny Hill lives on he,he)
AP
|
|
|
Hi Claire
I'm sure you won't find it a problem, everyone above have covered the main points. Just to bolster your confidence though my wife found herself having to drive in France about five years ago. For various reasons we ended up with exactly the right number of drivers for the number of cars in the party, good job we took a spare! She had had very little experience of driving distances in the UK and none of driving abroad but she drove from just outside Caen down to the Vendee and back to the UK with very little trouble. She said she thoroughly enjoyed the driving and as a bonus it certainly boosted her self-confidence. She reckoned the worst bit was trying to figure out which petrol to put in and pluck up the courage to ask for it in French!
Have a good holiday.
|
|
|
Claire.......
The first mental lapse that puts you back on the left will be etched in your mind forever, provided you survive!
After that, you'll have no problem with driving on the right.
Wouldn't it be wonderful if that lot over there recognised the error of their ways and resolved to drive on the correct side of the road? UK's net contribution to the EU should cover the cost.............
|
|
|
Claire,
I've probably missed the boat on this thread but here's a site with useful driving information and links:
www.day-tripper.net/drive-infrance.html
(sorry, i don't know how to do those glossy active links!)
HTH
|
|
|
