Never driven RHD. Thinking of getting a car... Help?

dMaN24

Since i've only been on motorbikes since i moved here, i haven't really gotten the chance of driving on the (from my standpoint) "wrong side" in a car. :P

So i'm in a pickle to start with just a simple thing as to testdrive them.

I've had a license for many years but it's just the fear of shifting with the "wrong" hand that get's me. Some say it only takes five mnutes to get a hang of, while other say it can take a day.

"-Oh sure i wanna testrive. Oh.. It cut out on me.. Oh good heavens, again? Maybe i should've past on that last sherry?" *nervous giggle*

And I was thinking of getting something cheap 4-500-wise. Like a punto or similar.

Save up for the beamer another day.

Tips? Ideas? I've had a glance in the charter, but for obvious reasons it's missing the RHD-for-dummies section. :pac:

Anan1

Nobody can tell you how easy or hard you'll find it, you'll just have to try.;)

pudzey101

dMaN24 wrote: »

Since i've only been on motorbikes since i moved here, i haven't really gotten the chance of driving on the (from my standpoint) "wrong side" in a car. :P

So i'm in a pickle to start with just a simple thing as to testdrive them.

I've had a license for many years but it's just the fear of shifting with the "wrong" hand that get's me. Some say it only takes five mnutes to get a hang of, while other say it can take a day.

"-Oh sure i wanna testrive. Oh.. It cut out on me.. Oh good heavens, again? Maybe i should've past on that last sherry?" *nervous giggle*

And I was thinking of getting something cheap 4-500-wise. Like a punto or similar.

Save up for the beamer another day.

Tips? Ideas? I've had a glance in the charter, but for obvious reasons it's missing the RHD-for-dummies section. :pac:

Practice...:) its the key:) you'll get the hang of it sooner rather than later:) maybe you could get one of your mates or family that own a RHD car to bring you somewhere quite to learn/ get the hang of it:)

Quazzie

Possibly take a look at an automatic if you are nervous of gear shifts.

nungesser

driving is driving no mater what side your on, if you've been riding motorcycles your way ahead of the game

ShadowHearth

Well op I am not local too. I learn to drive on the other side lol.

We bough Nissan sunny 1.4 for 500 quid back then. I needed to drive it back home.

I hit 5 times door with my right hand, but after that it was grand. After few days I was flying with it.

Just Try to drive it on empty road late at night. Just to get the feel of it.

It's not as complicated as you think, you will be grand after few tries.

Big Nasty

I have three cars and had a motorbike up until a couple of years ago too. 2 of the cars or RHD (the dailies basically) the third is LHD and I don't have any problem switching from one to the next. A few hours, or days at most, and you will become accustomed to it.

Rick Deckard

Was driving rhd for years, went on hols, decided to rent a car (lhd).

Very nervous about road position, right turns etc.. I had the hang of it after 5 mins.

After only a week of lhd driving, was trying to change gear with my right hand when i got home.



It's amazing how quick you adjust.

dMaN24

Thanks for the confidence-boost.

As a matter of fact, last time i was home and borrowed my parents car i accidentally started to drive on the left side.
"-Why is that lorry in my lane? OH!"

unkel

ShadowHearth wrote: »

I hit 5 times door with my right hand

I was the same. Grabbed the window winder with my right hand a few times when it was time to shift gears

Apart from that I was fine straight away

heate

Well you've been following the left hand side of the road on your motorbike for the last while - I hope!

I predominately drive LHD automatic car day to day when I come home to Ireland I'm sometimes straight into a manual. Simples just drive on the correct side of the road and your driving senses will adjust pretty quickly!

As for driving a LHD manual , I learn't RHD and always found it more natural. As most people are right handed the tendency to remove pressure on the steering wheel with your left hand as you change with the right makes me occasionally mildly swerve but after a while I re-adjust my head!

david

Native irish RHD-er here. Drove my first LHD (apart from a centrifugal drive golf buggy ) in Italy last year, a baptism of fire. Drove around a mini roundabout the wrong way in the rental car lot on my way out :P. From there it was straight onto the dual carriageway - tiny lanes and road-rage central. Huge reinforced concrete medians 2ft from your face in the inside lane and hard shoulders you wouldn't park a Fiat 500 in without folding the mirrors :eek:.

It's a bit like wearing your watch on the other wrist for the first ten minutes but if you concentrate hard you'll be fine.

EDIT: I had a manual LHD Fiat Panda

CiniO

I remember first time I drove RHD car in left hand traffic (in Ireland), after 5 years driving only LHD in rh traffic.

I started on very narrow country road.
First 15 minutes - it was the time I needed to adjust and learn the position of vehicle on the road.
Then after about 40km I reached a town, and had another problem coping with junctions and roundabouts in left hand traffic. Another 15 minuted driving through the town and I felt like I drove like that all my life.
In total I did about 100km on first day, and I was already adjusted after it.
Only cost was a few scratches of my right hand, from hitting a door. I had to use disinfectant and patch to prevent blooding

Now whenever I switch (like when I go to any RH traffic country) it takes about 10 minutes to feel 100% comfortable.

Do-more

I've gone from RHD to LHD and it's generally not a problem. I found in the early days that the biggest issue was when turning into a big wide side street when there is no other traffic around that I sometimes had to think for a moment as to what side of the road I should be on!

I remember speaking to a guy who owns a car hire business in Ireland and he said that a huge majority of accidents involving foreign tourists occur when they pull out from petrol stations onto a deserted road and they start driving on the wrong side of the road.

A good tip I got was that regardless of whether you are driving on the left side of the road in a RHD car or the right side of the road in a LHD car, you as the driver should always be sitting in the centre of the road.

Another problem is that in an emergency situation where you are reacting on instinct it is often the case that people swerve in the wrong direction. I really don't know if it is possible to overcome this problem other than to drive defensively and not get into emergency situations!

barura

Go for a spin with a driving instructor would be the easiest and cheapest way to get accustomed to rhd. You'd have it down in a hour and if you do anything funny, the instructor will cop it.

Better to get to grips before you drive someone elses car that you could potentially be buying, I'd say!

inforfun

When i arrived in Ireland i never had driven on the "wrong" side either. The first months i only was in cars as a passenger and the more that happened, the more i thought i would go for a few driving lessons before buying a car and driving myself. Certainly roundabouts felt wrong and almost scary.

Then i had to rent a car and was more or less forced to just go for it.
After of course first getting in the car on the wrong side, i got behind the wheel and drove off. And it was then i found out that everything felt normal.
Shifting gears left handed needed some getting used to, going from 1st straight to 4th gear did happen a few times.
Taking corners also was sometimes a bit iffy as i was used to have most of the car on my right. So you might cut a right hand corner a bit short every now and then.

But you ll see that actually driving is much easier than you imagine when being a passenger.