The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #39099   Message #553326
Posted By: Eric the Viking
18-Sep-01 - 01:56 PM
Thread Name: BS: Advice for North American driving in UK
Subject: RE: BS: Advice for North American driving in UK
Driving the car will be a fairly easy transposition. Controls are reversed on some models. Roundabout! Always give way to traffic coming from the RIGHT, it has right of way most time. Allow good braking distance. many of our roads are faster than the USA or Europe, 70mph on dual carriageways and motorways. 60 MPH on open single carrriage way roads.Look out for Warning signs (Triangular) Mandatory signs are round or hexagonal. Pay attention to inner city and suburb speed limits, mostly 30 MPH (the UK has 100's of speed cameras) If the junction has a solid white line across it, Stop and proceed when traffic is clear, If it has a dotted line it is a give way and you may emerge when traffic is clear. If there is a yellow X hatched box on the ground in front of you, do not enter the box until the exit is clear of traffic. Stop at RED lights, prepare to stop at Amber/yellow. go at green. When approaching a set of traffic lights if the ambeer show, stop and only go through it if there is not sufficient braking distance (Amber means be preparerd to stop).

You'll soon get used to it if you are careful, I guess drivers in the UK are like those everywhere, ignorant, cut you up, speed freaks, impatient.

I've driven both LH and RH cars in the UK and abroard both with correct side controls and also with opposite side controls, both are ok. The correct side is better, but you will need to rethink clearances and curvature on bends, since your perspective is different. Have fun. The Jug is only a couple of hundred miles from Scotland, and if you land at Manchester or London or Birmingham you come up this way anyway so call in!

Have fun

Cheers Eric