Regional Boards > International Highways

Americans Driving on the Left

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KCRoadFan:
I gotta admit, when I saw the thread title, I thought it referred to places throughout the US where, for one reason or another, people find themselves driving on the left (such as that section of I-5 north of LA where the two carriageways swap sides for a few miles).

J N Winkler:
Just to add:  the adaptation that took the longest for me was for the inside rearview mirror not to feel incorrectly adjusted.  I think it was an eye dominance issue.

Alps:
When I flew to NZ, I got in the car, shifted it in reverse, got out of the lot (to show that I knew what I was doing so they wouldn't take the car back), and then was like "o KAY so i'm on the left now... now what" and I immediately saw old signs and had to photo them and "o KAY so i'm taking photos while left driving" and after an hour I just settled into it.
(I made 3 mistakes that trip - all 3 were pulling out of an overlook and going right before realizing my mistake. Fortunately no remote driving due to gas prices so no one came across me doing that.)

Duke87:
So, funny enough, my only experience driving on the left is actually in the United States. The Virgin Islands, specifically, where they drive on the left but the cars are all US-spec so as far as the vehicle itself is concerned everything is exactly where you're used to it being.

Adapting to that situation was very quick and easy and I found myself driving on the wrong side of the road exactly zero times, though I did have to wait an extra half second while navigating my first couple right turns to make sure I was doing the right thing.

The most interesting thing I found is that my way of handling this mentally was to simply swap the definitions of left and right in my head and then everything else clicked into place no problem. At least for handling driving - it made talking to other people a little confusing since I'd keep saying "left" when I meant right and vice versa. Indeed, even now, in the prior paragraph I almost typed "my first couple left turns" and had to catch myself and correct it. No matter where I am or what road I am looking at, I will always think of a "left turn" as being one which goes in the direction that crosses oncoming traffic and a "right turn" as being one which goes in the direction that does not.


What I haven't ever done is operated a RHD vehicle, so I can't speak to that from experience, but I imagine it would be more challenging.

J N Winkler:

--- Quote from: Duke87 on October 22, 2022, 01:23:17 AM ---What I haven't ever done is operated a RHD vehicle, so I can't speak to that from experience, but I imagine it would be more challenging.
--- End quote ---

The inside mirror issue aside, it isn't if it's an automatic.  If it is a manual, you are changing the hand you shift with (often from dominant to non-dominant or vice versa), and I believe the shift gating is also mirrored.

The LHT/LHD scenario is part of the reason Sweden ultimately had Dagen H.  The equivalent for Britons visiting the European continent, RHT/RHD, involves some advance preparation, such as buying transparent decals for the headlamps so that the beams will shine in the correct direction on the other side of the Channel.

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