Driving on the left side of the road from what we think of as the ‘shotgun seat’ has taken some getting used to. Rick Steves suggests in his travel guide that it takes a few hours to get acclimated. I wish! Actually the driving, and even the roundabouts, is fairly easy to adjust to. You are fed into the roundabouts angled in the proper direction. The difficulty for me has been judging where the front left wheel of our small Vauxhall is tracking. I adjusted the passenger (left) side mirror downward so that I could see the white line or curb–with which I’ve become well acquainted, both visually and tactilely. Another benefit of this mirror position is that it gives Kathy something to look at (before she gasps) when she perceives me to be too close on the left.
I even taped a one square inch piece of paper to the dash, positioned so that when it reflected onto the windshield I could line up that reflection with the center line on the road! Then I was centered on the narrow roads we were negotiating. It was four or five days before I was confident (at least somewhat) that I could judge the position of the car on the road.
A totally new experience is driving for extended periods on single lane two way roads. Yep, that’s not a typo. The ‘single track’ roads are interspaced with turnouts, usually fairly often but not always, allowing one car (hope it’s not a bus) to pull over while the other passes. (“Kathy, you can open your eyes now.”)
About the time I became totally comfortable with the small Vauxhall, we flew to Dublin and when leaving, picked up not the expected VW Golf, but the considerably larger Passat for touring Ireland. Thus, a whole new acclimation period. Thankfully, the roads in Ireland are an upgrade from those in Scotland–even some divided highways, and very few single lane roads.
I’m thinking that I might have adapted more quickly to driving on the left thirty or forty years ago, but I am glad that we (and the cars) escaped unscathed. Now arriving in Paris for two+ weeks, I’ll have a chance to reset my driving instincts to driving on the right side of the road before we head to the Dordogne.
i never could master driving a car on the left, especially in Ireland. Last post I forgot to say, please don’t miss Kinsale in Ireland, but perhaps I am too late and that you have since moved to Paris. Good place to practice your driving.
I’m well acquainted with that gasp 😉 Glad you both made it through and are back to driving on the right!
Very ingenious! I enjoyed reading your clever way of mastering driving on the left side of the road.
Your suggestions are timely and so very appreciated, Rick! I am heading to Ireland for two weeks of touring on September 17. Although I’ve driven in Ireland in the past, the experience was not easy…and that was before the roads were as congested as they are now. I’m trying all of your tricks when I arrive and hoping for the best!
good work on the driving and figuring ways to be less nervous!!