How to drive on the other side of the road
Arm yourself with the right tips and tricks and you’ll be driving on the other side of the car – and road – like a seasoned pro.
When driving in another country, making the switch to the other side of the car – and road – is a tricky prospect made especially difficult confounding factors such as jet lag, new surroundings, and often a new car to come to terms with.
Daunting at first but like riding a bike once you’ve practised, driving a left-hand-drive car opens up opportunities to explore another country. Instead of simply sticking to public transport and tours, being the master of your own travels often allows access to lesser-known attractions – and you can control your own schedule too.
However, it’s not as straightforward as simply entering through the left-hand door and away you go.
Do I need an international driver’s licence to drive overseas?
In most cases you don’t need an international driver’s licence to operate a car in another country. However, they are often needed in countries that speak a primary language other than English and are generally an appropriate safety net to carry with you.
For example, a trip to the United Kingdom won’t require a special international driver’s licence. But in Japan, which speaks an entirely different language with different characters, you’ll need an international driver’s licence to rent and drive a car.
It pays to check with the authorities in each country, or reference Drive’s handy list here.
How do I know which side of the road to drive on?
A major but easily forgotten rule is to stay on the correct side of the road. But that can be easier said than done too.
The obvious way to tell is to check for contextual clues that should give you a hint. Following cars ahead within your lane, making sure you’re not about to have a head-on collision on the wrong side of the road, and using road signs will ensure you stay where you’re meant to be.
But the general rule to remember in any country is: always have your passenger side of the car next to the kerb.
How do I drive on the wrong (right) side of the road?
1. Starting from the very beginning, make sure you pick a car you’re comfortable with and collect it during non-peak periods. Not only do you want to be familiar with the car you’ll be driving overseas, but you also don’t want to become flustered with traffic or pedestrians.
Make life easy for yourself by selecting an automatic car (manuals are common in Europe). Spend extra time coming to terms with your car, and set yourself in the right driving position with good views of the mirrors, out of the windscreen, and right in front of the steering wheel.
2. Even before landing and becoming acquainted with your rental car, do some research on Google Maps to view the surrounding landscape and geography to get a general feel for which way you’ll be going. You don’t want to overload your brain by worrying about directions and navigation, so make sure to enlist the help of friends and family you’re travelling with to help out.
Pay particular attention when navigating parking lots – which are typically unmarked – and keep a slow speed when manoeuvring in these tight and constricted spaces.
3. Mapping apps are your friend. Using popular mapping phone apps like Waze can help to find the best route for a journey, and they’ll also ensure you stay as far away from the bustling traffic as possible. Waze provides a real-time GPS-based speed reading to make sure you’re not inadvertently breaking any limits, while it’ll also look out and alert you to hazards.
4. A trap for driving on the other side of the road is to lull yourself into a false sense of security when placing your car within a lane. When you’ve got different surroundings and an unfamiliar car it can cause you to wander inside the lane, but just remember to stay as close as possible to the centre lane markings.
This will ensure you’re as unlikely as possible to accidentally hit the passenger side of the car into kerbs, bushes, nature strips, and signage.
5. Take care around border crossings. Crossing between two countries could mean that you need to switch to the other side of the road, so it pays to keep vigilant when passing through border control.
Most notably, there’s a switch to driving on the right-hand side of the road when entering Europe from the United Kingdom, and vice versa on the way back.
6. Do some research on the rules and customs of the country you’ll be driving in. For example, roundabouts are less common in the United States and four-way stop signs are used in their place. You can also turn right at intersections even if you’re faced with a red arrow.
7. Leave the car at your accommodation when exploring cities. They’re tight and tricky places to manoeuvre a car let alone park one. They’re best experienced on foot so you can see the sights without having to worry about a prang!
Have you driven in another country? What was your experience like? Let us know in the comments below.
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