Last year, as we began making our England travel plans, we decided that we wanted to drive during our month-long trip. We made the decision with some seriousness, but without really knowing fully what it would mean. Well, now we have a much better handle on its benefits and challenges, but they weren't the ones we'd thought of.
The most obvious difference between home and the United Kingdom is that in the UK they drive on the left. The cars are also made with the driver's seat on the "wrong" side. That proved to be the least of my problems (although, once or twice, I did walk around to the left side of the car and try to drive it from there). We rented a car with automatic transmission to eliminate the need for me to shift with the left hand. But after that, everything for the driver is the same as it is in the US--turn signal on the left, wiper control on the right, etc.
The other concern I had were the traffic circles that are present in far greater numbers than in the US. This also proved not to be a problem. Since everyone over here is familiar and quite comfortable with them, traffic flows very nicely. We just have to remember to look to the right!
But there was one major difference I hadn't even thought of until I got behind the wheel and started driving. I had no good idea how far away from me the left side of the car was. This became a significant issue because of the narrowness of the British roads. Compared to back home, they are very narrow! Gravel shoulders do not exist in the UK. Rather than shoulders, they have curbs--even on the major highways. They also have no rules about how close objects can be to the roadway. We've been on many roads where a hedge, a stone wall, or even a building were tight to the roadway. In addition to operating the satellite navigation system (lovingly named "Sophie"), Steph's job has been to watch the left side to make sure I didn't scrape against anything.
I understand why things are that way in many places. These roads came into being when people drove narrow pony carts or road on horses. And some of these hedges and walls are a thousand years old or more. And of course, they can be quite picturesque. I just wish I didn't have to drive past them.
And rules governing street parking are hard for me to understand. Not only do they have narrow roads and streets, but they allow street parking without actually providing an extra lane for the purpose. This means that parked cars are usually filling over half of the driving lane, so the driver has to straddle the center line. This is a particular challenge when there are cars parked on both sides or if there's oncoming traffic. Why couldn't they simply restrict parking only to one side and then redraw the lane lines? I don't get it.
We've discovered too that UK drivers are more courteous than US drivers. There's much more of a "we're in this together" attitude than the "take no prisoners" one back home. When encountering a narrow stretch of road, one driver graciously yields to the other. Then, as they pass, they wave to one another. Much more cooperative, far less competitive. I like that.
It took a while to decipher the road signs and figure out how everything in the car worked (after many minutes of searching, it turns out there's no trunk release inside the car). Now, after more than three weeks, we're quite comfortable in our car. In a few days, we'll be returning it at the airport in Manchester. Won't the rental clerks be surprised when we turn it in with no additional scratches!
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