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Driving on the right.
Topic Started: Jun 2 2016, 08:46 AM (189 Views)
wrong cider 50
Paul Devlin
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My first experience of driving on the right was back in 1971 when along with a couple of friends we took my Mom's Morris 1300 across the channel and drove it all the way to Rabac in Yugoslavia.

From memory I seemed to adapt to it fairly quickly and after a while never gave being on the right hand side of the road a second thought. More concerning was the French rule of "Priorite a Droite" which meant you had to be on the look out for cars entering with priority from the right when you were least expecting it.

This rule is generally not so much in evidence these days and signs saying "Passage Protégé" which give you right of way are reassuring. The old rule still exists on the famous Arc De Triomphe roundabout at the end of the Champs Elyeeses and also on the orbital peripherique road that encircles Paris, neither of which I would recommend navigating to anyone of a nervous disposition.

What came as a shock was when I first drove a LEFT HAND drive hire car in Spain back in the late 90's. Straight away I felt uncomfortable. It was a manual car and it took quite a while to get used to changing gear with my right hand. The worst thing though was that when I needed to overtake a cyclist I found myself getting way to close to them. I reckon my mind still thought that I was in a right hand drive car and that the passenger seat to the right of me didn't exist. So a few scary moments.

In general though I love driving in France and last year invested in a Liber-t tag which you stick on the windscreen so that when you approach a toll booth on an Autoroute you head for the "telepeage" lane and the barrier will lift automatically. When you arrive back home each individual toll payment is listed as a debit on your bank statement. So much easier especially as previously my partner hated having to pay manually by credit card every time we reached a toll station.

This saved us a lot of time and was one less thing to worry about.





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PartisanBCFC
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Jack Wiseman
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When I first moved to the US in the 90's , I converted immediately with no problems at all ....all vehicles have the steering wheel on the left of course except for Post Office delivery vehicles which have them on the right as many homes have curbside boxes instead of the traditional British letterbox on your front door or patio

I rent a car in England on occasions when I'm back and in all honesty never have no problem switching back to the left at all ....I'm probably in the minority there though

The standard of driving is better and more courteous in GB though although many Americans who visit the British Isles feel the vehicles are travelling too fast (like my father in law who once asked me to slow down as I belted up outside lane of the M1 doing about 74 and he got a little nervous :whistle: ) but that's really because UK roads and lanes are much narrower so it's just simply deceiving for them....a lot of Yank drivers consistently break the speed limit by a long shot especially younger people or those fools who choose to drink and drive

One thing I hate about US roads are the lack of traffic roundabouts.....they do have more of them these days and they call them circles but they tend to install red lights at major intersections so during rush hours and busy periods it is very much stop and go traffic, some City and urban areas will synchronise the order of lights so you might get greens all the way but it's not always the case .......Nearly all vehicles in America have automatic transmission so there's no need to use a clutch and change gears all the time .....they last a long time too if you're a careful driver

Also on Inter-States and multi lane highways, even though it's illegal on some roads but almost everyone just ignores that fact , people will pass you on either side so you persistently have to use your mirrors all the time and stay alert ....when I lived in England the law on motorways was that you never ever passed another vehicle on the inside (you could only overtake on the right)


Worse experiences I've ever had were riding in taxis in Southern Spain and on the Algarve in Portugal....absolute maniacs and a white knuckle ride if ever there were one


In Germany the taxis really fly usually down to the fact that a lot of them choose to use a BMW, an Audi or a Merc .....no posted speed limit as far as I know.....I love those German autobahns , some of the best roads on the planet.....and still among the safest in Europe


I believe Australia, New Zealand and Japan still drive on the left too .....as do many British or former British territories around the world.....in the former colony and Caribbean island of St Lucia they'll drive on both sides.....they're just avoiding all the pot holes and crevasses on the roads that are long overdue for repair or resurfacing :LMAO: :LMAO:



Edited by PartisanBCFC, Jun 13 2016, 07:04 PM.
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wrong cider 50
Paul Devlin
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Quote "when I lived in England the law on motorways was that you never ever passed another vehicle on the inside (you could only overtake on the right)"

This is something that has puzzled me for a while. I use UK Motorways now and again and by choice tend to stick to the inside lane. Several reasons for this. Firstly, the gap between vehicles seem to be far greater than in the adjacent middle lane, even though typically middle lane speeds are on average 10 - 20 mph higher. I put this down to supply and demand. Most people have a fear of getting stuck in the inside lane and being unable to pull out to overtake - hardly surprising when middle lane traffic is so closely packed.

Secondly, being right next to the hard shoulder means that if a problem develops it should in theory be easier to deal with the consequences of say, a blowout, or avoid the worst of a crossover crash etc.

As the Motorway network is now so busy, and the demand for the middle lane so great, I often notice that while I'm doing 60 mph in the inside lane that the adjacent packed middle lane slows down to an even slower speed so that I'm effectively "undertaking" the traffic in the middle lane. Am I breaking the law by doing this? I should mention that in these situations there could be half a mile of clear road behind me in the inside lane which some may consider to be a waste of tarmac.

A helicopter flying overhead would see an endless stream of hundred upon hundreds of cars in the middle lane alongside a relatively traffic free inside lane.

I imagine these drivers in the middle lane all just a few yards off the rear bumper of the car in front all saying to themselves " If only this "*!*@* in front of me would pull over into the virtually empty inside lane then I could make some headway"

The solitary middle lane hogger is quite rightly vilified, but no one seems to mention mass middle lane hogging which occurs on a daily basis. Ironically the one place where this seems less of a problem seems to be on the M25 especially around Heathrow. That area is always so busy that vehicles have no choice but to use ALL lanes.


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Bart P. Cozner
Trevor Francis
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wrong cider 50
Jun 14 2016, 02:22 PM



As the Motorway network is now so busy, and the demand for the middle lane so great, I often notice that while I'm doing 60 mph in the inside lane that the adjacent packed middle lane slows down to an even slower speed so that I'm effectively "undertaking" the traffic in the middle lane. Am I breaking the law by doing this? I should mention that in these situations there could be half a mile of clear road behind me in the inside lane which some may consider to be a waste of tarmac.



The solitary middle lane hogger is quite rightly vilified, but no one seems to mention mass middle lane hogging which occurs on a daily basis. Ironically the one place where this seems less of a problem seems to be on the M25 especially around Heathrow. That area is always so busy that vehicles have no choice but to use ALL lanes.


I thought there are a number of situations where it is OK to overtake on the left, or the inside. As you say , if the middle lane is moving at a slower pace than the inside lane (for whatever reason), then what else is a driver in the inside lane to do?
If, however, both are moving at a "fast" pace, then I imagine that is is breaking the law to overtake in the "slow" lane.

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abblue
Frank Worthington
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Bart and Cider - from the Highway Code:

Rule 268

Do not overtake on the left or move to a lane on your left to overtake. In congested conditions, where adjacent lanes of traffic are moving at similar speeds, traffic in left-hand lanes may sometimes be moving faster than traffic to the right. In these conditions you may keep up with the traffic in your lane even if this means passing traffic in the lane to your right. Do not weave in and out of lanes to overtake.
Edited by abblue, Jun 14 2016, 07:53 PM.
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Des
Malcom Page
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Well pointed out Abblue
I was driving around the traffic Island on Wolverhampton rd heading towards Oldbury last night, a souped up low ride Citreon screamed past me in the inside lane and then immediately pulled into outside lane! Manic!
But drivers nowadays do it more and more!

KRO
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Jmackay
Bob Hatton
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In Australia you are allowed to overtake on the left in marked lanes, but obviously not in the same lane.
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Deleted User
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Motorway driving should be included in the UK driving test. I understand 'L' drivers aren't allowed on motorways, but some experience and general awareness of the differences would make commuting a lot more hassle-free.
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