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Original poster

Is it hard to drive on the opposite side?

63 replies

pipor · 02/04/2023 12:26

Desperate to drive to main Europe but really worried about driving on the opposite side. I drive daily and I'm a confident driver but wouldn't want to drive around London.

Is it hard to get used to the other side? I worry I'll be an accident waiting to happen!!

OP posts:

Doyouthinktheyknow · 02/04/2023 14:36

I find it relatively easy in hire cars where everything is the ‘correct’ side. Just have to talk myself round roundabouts, feels very odd to be going the opposite way. You get used to it quickly.

I think it’s more difficult to drive off the ferry or via the tunnel and suddenly change to the opposite side. I struggle with that a bit more.

FunnyMunny · 02/04/2023 21:15

GiantKitten · 02/04/2023 13:04

As PPs have said, it’s a lot more straightforward in a LHD car, because everything is the “wrong” way round, which helps.
In a RHD car it is trickier to begin with. We used to keep a DRIVE ON THE RIGHT post-it note on the wheel for the first couple of days, esp useful when setting off after a stop and the first time you go out each day.

Yes, a 'Drive on the right ' post it is worth doing as sometimes when you set off first thing you can forget.

DogInATent · 02/04/2023 21:25

I get used to it quite quickly - but I've always been ok jumping between RHD and LHD in the UK, and can drive either on the continent. Our car is RHD and the MH is LHD, and I'll drive both in the UK and abroad.

Just take your time, don't go fast, don't let other traffic pressure you. As well as driving on the right you need to get used to different speed limits. different road layouts, different priorities (although the UK is now closer to the continent since the recent change of priority turning into side streets), etc.

Onesailwait · 02/04/2023 21:28

You get used to it pretty quickly. Remember the right lane is the right lane!.

Buttalapasta · 02/04/2023 21:31

I'm a nervous driver but I don't find this hard.

Floralnomad · 02/04/2023 21:34

I drive my car over to Europe quite often and find it very easy , but then I’m also happy to drive in London when we visit .

Kendodd · 02/04/2023 21:35

It's no harder or easier for you as it is for anyone else and plenty of people do it.

SnowyGiveAway · 02/04/2023 21:37

I don't get the 'me in the middle' thing. What does that mean?

GrumpyPanda · 02/04/2023 21:39

Parallel parking's a bugger since you lack your usual cues. Roundabouts not that bad unless they're multiple lanes. I'm extrapolating from switching the other way around fwiw.

Orangelover · 02/04/2023 21:39

Me and DH drove in France for the first time last year. We're both confident drivers here, countryside or city.

We both hated the other side of of the road Changing gear with the other hand took some getting used to. We were ok on the quieter country roads but in the busier bits to and from the airport we hated it. Constantly on edge incase we damaged something or had a little bump. Hiring a car is not cheap either these days! DH got used to it a bit more by the end of the week but neither of us are in a rush to do it again if we don't have to.

Pekkala · 02/04/2023 21:43

It's fine. I second the visual clue of a post it or similar on the steering wheel to remind you. And tell yourself that as the driver you should not be next to the kerb. Get a RH drive car and make it automatic if poss to reduce the mental load.
I regularly drive on both sides and the bit where I sometimes get confused back in the UK is coming out of supermarkets for some reason - think it's because it's low speed and few road markings.

Pekkala · 02/04/2023 21:45

...I think I mean a LHD drive don't I ...

Greentree1 · 02/04/2023 21:53

I was in a car in France with someone who nearly drove out onto a road turning in the wrong direction, with cars approaching at speed, a French man with us screamed a warning and we survived. One of my closest calls ever! Put me off driving abroad, I thought the person who nearly wiped us out was a really good driver and if they could make such a catastrophic mistake what hope did I have.

DomesticShortHair · 02/04/2023 21:57

As I found out the hard way, the real trick is to drive on the same side of the car, just on the other side of the road. Otherwise, reaching the pedals can be very tricky, and steering becomes wildly erratic. If the driver of the grey 2CV, travelling north on the A16 outside of Boulogne last Tuesday is reading this, I can’t apologise enough.

xogossipgirlxo · 02/04/2023 22:03

I find it hard in rented local car with steering wheel on the left hand side. If you drive in your own car, I think it's OK.

Mrsbclinton · 02/04/2023 22:08

I consider myself a good driver but I just cannot get my head around driving on the opposite side of the road, using right hand for gears, I feel disorientated even trying to imagine it!

Almostwelsh · 02/04/2023 22:14

I've done it in the US and I found it really difficult. I've not tried in Europe and don't want to.

MidsummerMimi · 02/04/2023 22:20

I drive abroad a lot, especially in the US.
Left and Right do not come naturally to me, so I have a simple rule that works for me, the driver is always sitting on the middle of the road/white line and the passenger always in by the hedge/ kerb.

junebirthdaygirl · 02/04/2023 22:26

My dh finds it easy as he is left handed but l am very anxious and don't find it easy. That may be because l have mostly left it to dh and not practiced enough

caringcarer · 02/04/2023 22:31

I found it ok but be careful at roundabouts. It is easy to forget and go wrong way around if no other cars around.

ILoveMyCaravan · 02/04/2023 22:44

I love it and actually find it easier! My husband drives for a living but he finds it really difficult. I drive both left and right hand cars in Spain, no problem. Although perhaps one of the things that makes it easier is that the roads are so much quieter...

Clymene · 02/04/2023 22:46

No, it's not hard.

GreenMarigold · 02/04/2023 22:47

I found it really easy to adjust but now, even 15 years on from a driving holiday in France, every time I get in the car at home I question whether I am on the correct side or not. I’ve not got it wrong yet, but do often have a little panic!

QuintanaRoo · 02/04/2023 22:49

Driving on the other side is fine. What I found worse is just he signs being different, so confused about where the exit was off a motorway in France. Some very fast and close driving, Paris and Tenerife are the main culprits there for me! It’s been easier for me if I was in a hire car rather then when I’ve taken a right hand drive to France but even then I managed.

notthedressiwanted · 02/04/2023 22:53

Keep your mind in the gutter and you'll be on the correct side 😉

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