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Stevethehammer 9:52 Sun Nov 15
Driving abroad

How easy do people find this. I have never done it personally but really fancy taking a drive across America when in Vegas to San Francisco, yes I know it's going to be a fucking long drive but what a way to see America.
So advice, help, horror stories and good experiences all welcome. Forever blowing bubbles will be blaring out of the sound system.

joe royal 10:03 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

I do this a lot and after 10 years I still cock it up occasionally.

Biggest mistake is usually when you pull over to look at a map and then drive off on the wrong side of the road.

Turning left at a crossroads

Being to far away from the curb/parked cars

Sort that out by just thinking for a second or two instead of just being on autopilot.

ludo21 10:07 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

One item on my bucket list is to buy a decent car (probably a classic American but more likely a reliable 80s Merc or something) on the West coast and spend as long as possible touring from Seatle to San Diego before driving back across to the East coast.

Then perhaps leaving car in storage before going back and touring the East coast. If I like the car I would then ship it back to blighty (costs about £1k by all accounts).

Only (major) difficulty I have come across so far is registering the car.... do you need a permanent address in the States? Can this problem be overcome and is this feasible? Anyone done similar?

Davenport 10:15 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

I drove all over California for a holiday. Piece of Piss.

Until we ran out of petrol on the motorway from Vegas to LA. In the middle of absolutely nowhere. Nothing in site for miles and miles. 110 degrees. All whilst parked up in the central reservation. Was a touch hairy that.

cornish 10:16 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

when i get in the car abroad i always tap my left shoulder so as to remember keep the white line on the left but still have a problem with roundabouts have to really concentrate.

plankton 10:31 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

The actual mechanics of it are easy and you'll be fine in traffic. But it's not until there is nothing else on the road and you pull out to get going one day that you might suddenly get it wrong for a second and have a moment of panic. I always advise people to tape a little piece of paper to the dashboard, right behind the wheel, with a little "You should be on the RIGHT" on it. You'll probably never need it but it will instantly help you.

Westside 10:36 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

Would also highly recommend hiring a Satnav with the car. I don't find American road signs the best, so taking the navigation issue away, allows to concentrate on the driving.

As others have said, just take a few seconds every time you get in the car, to remember, which side of the road to drive.

gph 10:46 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

I've done it a few times.

In the rare occasions I've not been fully concentrating (e.g., trying to spot a B&B with vacancies), I've found a tendency to revert to driving on the left, but normally there's no problem.

The hairiest moment was in Bulgaria when I went around a bend to see a huge log in the road. Luckily, there was no-one on the other side of the road, and I could swerve around it.

I wanted to drag the log off the road, but my girlfriend wouldn't let me, claiming it was probably an ambush. Feel a bit guilty about it still.

The logging lorries just dump the logs loose on the back. They are supposed to be limited to 15kph, but they go much faster than that, and the logs just fall off.

irons1979 10:49 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

It is pretty easy. One thing that caught me out - if you park on the road you have to park facing the same way as the side of the road you're on. I nipped into a space near Hollywood Boulavard not knowing this law and it cost me $100. It's the sort of thing nobody thinks to tell you.

BRANDED 11:34 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

I've driven all over Europe. Fine. Driven around USA. Easy.

bruuuno 11:39 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

I prefer it. I spent a week driving I turkey a few days after I passed my test and it was fine, I'm by no means a good driver

bruuuno 11:42 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

Oh yea one thing I found hairy in the US was the junctions. Iirc you might have a green light to go but traffic will still be coming the other way. Nearly died cos of that but had a good laugh afterwards

Westside 12:00 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

At a lot of traffic lights in the USA, you can turn right at a red light. This causes the problems Bruuuno refers to.

Far Cough 12:04 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

If you have a green light, then you have a green light, turning right on a red is only allowed when it says so and when it's safe to do so, fuck knows what bruuuno is getting up to

Far Cough 12:05 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

Oh by the way American drivers haven't got a clue when it comes to roundabouts or traffic circles as they call them, they make it look like a Chinese fire drill

bruuuno 12:13 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

I don't recall the details, all I remember is going to cross a junction on a green light only to find another car steaming towards me. Be aware at junctions is all I'm saying

Far Cough 12:14 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

Well then, he was in the wrong

Spandex Sidney 12:38 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

I drive in France a lot and it's easy, especially with a sat nav. The only thing that feels really weird are slip roads on the motorways, for some reason.

I love taking 3 days to drive down to the Med from Calais, so much a better experience than driving in this country.

Far Cough 12:44 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

Another thing about driving in the US, SOME merge lanes for joining freeways can be very short, so merge as quick as you can

Darby_ 12:58 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

As Joe says, the danger is when you pull out absentmindedly and forget to drive on the right.

I get myself into the mindset of driving on the right by walking on the right when I pass people.

defjam 1:26 Sun Nov 15
Re: Driving abroad

Piece of piss.

The only slightly confusing thing in the U.S is the right of way at a crossroads.

Speed limits too low for my liking though and they'd always form an orderly queue along a two lane highway when overtaking a lorry, i used to just undertake the lot then cut in at the front.

Driving around Thailand was fun though, racing nutty Thai's, never lost a race.

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