Driving in Europe

How easy do you find it to drive on the other side of the road than the one you’re used to? (In different countries, obvs)

I’m considering driving to the Netherlands but have never driven on the right. Is this a terrible idea? How difficult is it?

Feel free to share any stories of doing this.

In a left hand drive car it’s fine. Haven’t done it in a right hand drive car, wouldn’t particularly want to.

EDIT: Have just read your post properly.

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I have driven in Norway and it was fine. Wouldn’t recommend it if you aren’t confident though.

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It’s all right

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Did it for the first time this summer, in Iceland. Was initially very strange, mainly changing gears with the wrong hand (I tried to open the car door first time I tried to pull away), but I got used to all very quickly. Only once in three days of driving did I mess up and drift into the wrong lane coming out of a junction, someone honked behind me and I sorted it out (thankfully the road I was pulling onto was empty).

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Did it for the first time last month, in a rental. It was mostly fine after I stopped driving so far over to the right that I was basically on the hard shoulder.

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ftfm

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Driving in europe
Walking in memphis
Flying in the face of adversity

Any others?

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if you’re in a right hand drive car it’s totally fine. you get used to it in about 5 minutes. if you’re in a left hand drive car, it’s a bit annoying but also totally fine. but your brain will play tricks on you whenever you come to a junction with no other cars

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Ladies and Gentlemen, we are floating in space.

EDIT: I would drive my car rather than a rental but the TV will be in the passenger seat so could help with joining etc.

We got in to the habit that every junction we got to I would say out loud “I am driving on the right” and saying what I was doing. It particularly helped with not going the wrong way round roundabouts.

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Yeah this is what I’m worried about - making mistakes at junctions/roundabouts because my brain might not flip things round properly!

if you cover up the passenger’s half of the windscreen with a large piece of black card you can just focus on the road in front of you and not worry about sides.

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I scraped a Ford Focus hire car against the side of a bus in Perpignon about fifteen years ago, but have driven since with no issues. Just make sure your pickup point is somewhere that isn’t in a mad city centre where you’ll be forced to figure out the traffic system and a left hand drive at the same time.

:laughing:

John Crawley

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I battered the passenger side wing mirror three times in a week. It was surprisingly resilient.

Can take the man out of Scotland…

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