[LargeFormat] RE: Left side of the road country

[Diane Maher]

I went to the UK last year and was told by a lady who lives in Australia
to just keep the driver to the center of the road and I should be fine.
That is the way we drive in the US, i.e. with the driver to the center
of the road, but most of the time, people freak out about driving on the
wrong side and don't see it any other way except right or left.  It was
an interesting experience, though I did scare one guy who rode with me.
The other guy who rode with me was just fine with my driving.

I did have some problems with knowing exactly where the left edge of the
car was, plus I didn't have a clue regarding what the various gears (1,
2, 3) on an automatic are for (Hey, I live in the Midwest, all the roads
are flat!) and I never got the bright lights sorted out.  I drove
through N. Wales at 3 am holding the bright lights switch on.  I think
it took half an hour to go 9 miles.  Oh well, once I was on the highway,
I was fine again.

I found that the gears had something to do with going up and down steep
hills.  It turns out that I was trying to do the bright lights
backwards, but one doesn't think about that at 3 am.

Diane :)
 
A serene state of mind is a clear heart without ill feelings or a guilty
conscience.  It gives one the ability to surpass his own skills.
Schwarz Bruder - Mobile Fighter G-Gundam

-----Original Message-----


Message: 1
Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 22:16:42 -0800 (PST)
From: Brock Nanson <brock@nanson.org>
To: largeformat@f32.net
Subject: Re: [LargeFormat] RE:  Left side of the road country.
Reply-To: largeformat@f32.net

What I find is that I naturally want to sit my butt in the same wheel
rut, 
regardless of which side of the car the steering wheel is on!  What that

means is that when I go to a RHD country, I tend to hug the shoulder.  
After a few hours that tendency starts to go away, but I have to be
aware 
of it until it does!

I don't think I'd want to find out what my instinctive response to a 
crisis would be.  Not sure which way I'd swerve, or if I'd wind up on
the 
wrong side of the road.

The wheel rut /butt cheeks problem isn't peculiar only to me... My first

trip to Australia lasted 8 hours.  Landed at midnight and by 8 AM my 
travel buddy had fallen victim to this problem.  Asphalt was up several 
inches from what little shoulder existed and when the left wheel dropped

over, he overcorrected, lost control, and found the only gum tree in the

field next to the road.  100 km/hr to zero faster than possible even
with 
ABS brakes.  Lined my side of the car up with the tree pretty well ;-) -

He walked away and I waited for the jaws of life.  There was a silver 
lining - I met my future wife while in hospital!

I've driven many 1000 km's since that time without a problem, but 
having been bitten once, I'm more than twice shy...

Brock

On Wed, 19 Nov 2003, john frost wrote:

> When I was over there for the f32 workshop, Ada did all the driving.
She 
> wanted me to drive, so I clumb in, looked up the street, then across
the 
> car to the outside mirror, and discovered that the bicycle path I was 
> looking at was too narrow for that other car, and us to! I don't
believe 
> that I had even started the engine before she pulled me out and she 
> drove the 2 weeks we were there. She never had a problem, but I sure 
> did. She kept clipping grass on the berms, and the mailboxes and power

> poles were hiding in there, too.
> 
> john (:>))) it warn't too bad after I quit watching the road !!!
> 
> Jim Hemenway wrote:
> > For me it's those rotaries, (roundabouts).  I'm used to the counter 
> > clockwise circling here in New England but encountering the first
one in 
> > the UK was scary and very confusing.
> > 
> > Jim - http://www.hemenway.com
> > 
> > 
> > Alan Davenport wrote:
> > 
> >>
> >>> Anyone have thoughts on this --- is this do-able -- cost??  My
desire 
> >>> for
> >>> this is not to avoid having to drive on the wrong side of the road
(I 
> >>> often
> >>> do that here :( - but, it was to have the advantage of a local
guide 
> >>> and (if
> >>> I'm fortunate) perhaps an extra back to help pack some camera
equipment
> >>> in --- A necessity if I take both the 4x5 and 8x10 for sure.
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> It isn't as big a problem as you imagine.  Remember that the
steering 
> >> wheel
> >> is also on the other side of the car, so it takes very little time
to get
> >> accustomed to the arrangement.  Foot pedals are the same as you're 
> >> used to.
> >> Of greater concern may be what to do if you meet a lorry (truck!)
on 
> >> one of
> >> those little lanes with a stone wall on either side. You may be
taking 
> >> "your
> >> half" out of your side of the road, but when the lorry's half
amounts 
> >> to more
> >> like 2/3 of the road... scary stuff no matter which side you're on.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Vincent Dobson" <manitec@bellsouth.net>
To: <largeformat@f32.net>
Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2003 11:07 PM
Subject: RE: [LargeFormat] RE: Left side of the road country.


> No,
>
> I have no problem at all driving there.  I was just wondering the
> feasibility of hiring a guide/driver to take me to those quaint no
tourist
> spots.
>
> Vince Dobson
> Visions In Nature
> www.VisionsInNature.com
>