Driving on the other side of the road
October 22nd, 2007 by Tim Uden
Most travellers experience some hesitation about driving on the opposite side of the road to what they are used to. American and European tourists are wary of renting a car in the UK and Aussies and Kiwis think twice before renting a car in the United States or Europe.
Although I normally drive on the left, I have spent a lot of time driving on the right - although that was over 10 years ago - and I hestiated a little before driving on the right after so many years of driving on the left.
It really isn’t too big a deal and it’s surprisingly easy to get used to. For starters you’re sitting on the opposite side of the car, which makes you naturally feel comfortable on the other side of the road; also it is fairly easy when there is other traffic to follow. The two things you really need to pay attention to are roundabouts (which flow in the opposite direction) and left-hand turns (or right-hand turns for Americans and Europeans driving on the left for the first time) particularly in small villages where there isn’t too much other traffic.
Half a day of driving on the opposite side of the road is enough to get used to it. That’s much easier than trying to get used to driving an automatic, fortunately most French cars are manual but the rental companies also offer automatics for those people that prefer them.
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