Saturday
Sep182010
Driving on the Wrong Side of the Road
Saturday, September 18, 2010 at 4:06AM
Not only did this past week mark my first foray into electioneering, it also became the first week I drove properly in the US. By properly I mean, on roads, highways, and in a car by myself.
And it was pretty easy. Well, I didn't crash lets put it that way. And I managed to stay on the right hand side of the road too, which actually just seemed like the natural thing to do, what with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side of the car. There is no right and wrong, just right and left. I find it so strange why the UK and a handful of other countries drives on the left, while the majority of countries drive on the right. I mean, how did it come to evolve like that? If any two countries would be the same, one would assume it would be the US and UK, seeing as how Englishmen emigrated to the first colonies in North America. Did they decide to be rebellious and drive their horses and cart on the opposite side of the road. Surely that must have caused some confusion, along with some broken bones, in the first place.
On the whole, I found driving in Wisconsin to be quite a pleasurable experience. Without a clutch and gear stick to worry about (how I would've handled that with my right hand I do not know), the 'gas' and brake were easy to use, once I adjusted to the power of the car. It was a little weird at first, taking your foot off the brake and finding the car moving on its own before I had even touched the accelerator, but I soon got used to it. It was also a little strange turning my head to the right to look out of the rear view mirror instead of the left, but again, it was easy to adapt.
The hardest thing for me, was getting used to the size of the car. I have only ever driven small cars, a mini and a punto (and a quick stint in an Avensis, Ferrari and Landrover). The car I was driving, a Chrysler 300 series, was bigger than all of these, in terms of length, and possibly even breadth. Thankfully though, in the home of the 'large', the lanes are wider, as are parking spaces. So apart from maybe driving a little too close to parked cars- though coming from England, we know how to handle narrow spaces- and parking too far away from the kerb (curb), I managed to do pretty well at driving. I drove by myself to pick us up lunch one day, and drove us all the way home from Kenosha to Madison. Not bad for my second day of driving.
Some caveats.
What is with American kerbs (curbs)? No wonder you see so many monster hummers and 4x4s on the road; anything smaller or lower down and you have to deal with those blasted kerbs. Who on earth decided to make the kerbs so high. The kerbs here are probably double the height they are in England, so when you are parked next to a house on the road, and you open the passenger door, it scrapes along the grass, and you find you're practically sat parallel with the sidewalk, so you have to do a kind of roll to get out of the car. There was one time when the kerb was so high that I actually got the car door stuck into the mud and grass, and had give it a real shove (and dig up some dirt) in order to get it unstuck. And that was nothing compared to the time where it was all just sidewalk, and I opened the door and immediately scraped my boss' car door along the ground. Ouch. I would certainly like to meet the person who designed these kerbs.
Secondly, I find stop signs are way overused, and in the most part are very frustrating. In a nation where you can turn right at a red light, to save time and speed up traffic, why must I come to a complete stop at an intersection where I can see for miles in all directions, and know that there is not a single car in sight. Yet stop I must, completely, otherwise I may just get a ticket. Wouldn't a give way- or yield sign as they say here-suffice? I can see why at times it is necessary to stop, but I can stop at a give way if I have to. If I can see it's clear, why can't I go? I never thought I'd say this, but how about some roundabouts-turncircles- instead? That way, instead of a four way stop sign, we can all go if its clear, reducing the likelihood of a pile up of traffic.
Oh, and electronic signs on the freeway, US, you need some of those too.
And it was pretty easy. Well, I didn't crash lets put it that way. And I managed to stay on the right hand side of the road too, which actually just seemed like the natural thing to do, what with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side of the car. There is no right and wrong, just right and left. I find it so strange why the UK and a handful of other countries drives on the left, while the majority of countries drive on the right. I mean, how did it come to evolve like that? If any two countries would be the same, one would assume it would be the US and UK, seeing as how Englishmen emigrated to the first colonies in North America. Did they decide to be rebellious and drive their horses and cart on the opposite side of the road. Surely that must have caused some confusion, along with some broken bones, in the first place.
On the whole, I found driving in Wisconsin to be quite a pleasurable experience. Without a clutch and gear stick to worry about (how I would've handled that with my right hand I do not know), the 'gas' and brake were easy to use, once I adjusted to the power of the car. It was a little weird at first, taking your foot off the brake and finding the car moving on its own before I had even touched the accelerator, but I soon got used to it. It was also a little strange turning my head to the right to look out of the rear view mirror instead of the left, but again, it was easy to adapt.
The hardest thing for me, was getting used to the size of the car. I have only ever driven small cars, a mini and a punto (and a quick stint in an Avensis, Ferrari and Landrover). The car I was driving, a Chrysler 300 series, was bigger than all of these, in terms of length, and possibly even breadth. Thankfully though, in the home of the 'large', the lanes are wider, as are parking spaces. So apart from maybe driving a little too close to parked cars- though coming from England, we know how to handle narrow spaces- and parking too far away from the kerb (curb), I managed to do pretty well at driving. I drove by myself to pick us up lunch one day, and drove us all the way home from Kenosha to Madison. Not bad for my second day of driving.
Some caveats.
What is with American kerbs (curbs)? No wonder you see so many monster hummers and 4x4s on the road; anything smaller or lower down and you have to deal with those blasted kerbs. Who on earth decided to make the kerbs so high. The kerbs here are probably double the height they are in England, so when you are parked next to a house on the road, and you open the passenger door, it scrapes along the grass, and you find you're practically sat parallel with the sidewalk, so you have to do a kind of roll to get out of the car. There was one time when the kerb was so high that I actually got the car door stuck into the mud and grass, and had give it a real shove (and dig up some dirt) in order to get it unstuck. And that was nothing compared to the time where it was all just sidewalk, and I opened the door and immediately scraped my boss' car door along the ground. Ouch. I would certainly like to meet the person who designed these kerbs.
Secondly, I find stop signs are way overused, and in the most part are very frustrating. In a nation where you can turn right at a red light, to save time and speed up traffic, why must I come to a complete stop at an intersection where I can see for miles in all directions, and know that there is not a single car in sight. Yet stop I must, completely, otherwise I may just get a ticket. Wouldn't a give way- or yield sign as they say here-suffice? I can see why at times it is necessary to stop, but I can stop at a give way if I have to. If I can see it's clear, why can't I go? I never thought I'd say this, but how about some roundabouts-turncircles- instead? That way, instead of a four way stop sign, we can all go if its clear, reducing the likelihood of a pile up of traffic.
Oh, and electronic signs on the freeway, US, you need some of those too.
Reader Comments (3)
Does this answer your questionabout right and left hand drive ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic
Mum
xx
A nice history lesson there Mum, thanks!
It also proves that left is best! :) The Romans did it, and its safer!
Driving big cars is not fun, I agree! How did you like driving an automatic?
I know you complain about stop signs, but you only find them on country roads, rural areas, or residential areas where traffic flow is never bad, hence no need for traffic lights. You won't find stop signs in LA or the OC unless you're in a strictly residential neighborhood. It's not that hard to come to a complete stop rather than a rolling stop for a yield sign :P
We do have electronic signs on the freeways too! Check the 405 before every major freeway connection.
We also have roundabouts here! Even in little old Madison. Apparently, France is home to half of the roundabouts in the world. Whaddayaknow.