I realise this may not be a big deal for 99.9% of BRoomers, but I am so pleased with myself I need to broadcast it here...
On Saturday I drove in France for the first time (and survived, didn't make any mistakes or cause any problems). This is a seriously big deal for me, who has been to France every year for 12 years and always bottled out of driving at the last minute.
So I only drove for 20 minutes, but it was a good mix of roads and conditions, and has given me the confidence to do it again next time.
All made a lot easier by being in our own car rather than a hire car, and have decided that despite the cost, next hire car will be an auto, so there's one less thing to think about.
Mr R is of course pretty pleased about this development too.
There. I feel better now.
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I think it is a big deal so well done you!
Presumably you were driving a RHD car which IMHO makes driving on the continent that bit harder.
When I first drove overseas I was petrified of being on the 'wrong' side of the road but found that when driving a LHD car it all quickly became a lot more natural.
If I'm honest I still don't fancy driving overseas in a UK car.
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R, Well done. See wasnt that hard was it?
Always remember the first time I did it. Everything over there went perfectly. Except that two days later back home I drove out of my house and promptly drove for about 600 yards on the wrong side of the road.
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After 4 months of driving throughout Tunisia in a LHD Toyota Landcruiser on my return to the UK I found it was more a case of going to get in the wrong side of the car and fumbling around for the gears with my right hand.
Took quite a while to adjust to UK roads again, mind you there are a hell of a lot less potholes here - some of the ones we came across were big enough to be meteor impact sites :)
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Well done - I remember when I did it first time and was all proud until about a week into it driving round country roads realising I was on wrong side!! At least nothing coming!!
This week I drove in Thailand for the first time! Great fun!!! (well I think fun is how I'd describe it - not sure if it was fear or something though!)
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Yes, well done. Driving in France is something I have done on several occasions and am now happy to avoid, not least because of the habitual tailgating -- nutters, zut alors!
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When I first drove in France I gripped the steering wheel in my Cortina mk4 so tightly that my arms ached. When my wife told me to turn left on an ordinary road I just couldn't.
Now many years later I love driving there. The French drivers get on with it, and the roads are just fantastic.
The worst part of driving in France is the road back from Dover.
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Well done. It's a useful safety factor to have an extra driver in the party.
My first car was LHD; this may have helped me to have no fears about driving abroad.
Hawkeye
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Stranger in a strange land
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Well done! And next time you will be that much more confident and will get to appreciate the less crowded roads over there! One thing I always remember though is never to go to a filling station/shop or parking space on the "wrong" side of the road - it's all to easy to pull out and proceed down the wrong side (Don't ask how I know!).
Key, I think is to take it easy, and if you make a mistake and provoke the blasting of horns to give a friendly wave - it disarms them and most times anyway, a blast on the horn is just their way of letting you know they are there - much more used than in UK.
Enjoy your driving on the continent!
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Well done! The first time is the worst. A trick I was told about before going to a LHD country is to make up a 'dayglo' or brightly coloured arrow and place it on the inside of the windscreen just above your eye level (pointing right). Apparently you keep subconsciously noticing it and it reminds you to keep right. Here in New Zealand there are a number of accidents (some fatal) every year, caused by tourists driving on the wrong side of the road. I think that there are 'Keep Left' signs and road markings being placed after roadside rest areas, especially at popular viewing areas. It is much more of a problem here, as once away from the cities, the traffic level can be very low, so there is no passing traffic to remind drivers of the correct side of the road.
When first driving on the right, in Canada, I felt I was doing very well, until I came to a 'Y' intersection with all the roads at 120 degree angles. The correct part of the intersection to aim for was suddenly very difficult to distinguish. Still after a few moments I took my best guess and got it right. I've never forgotten that moment of complete disorientation.
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After three and a half years of driving in Spain, in a LHD car, I still find I have moments of disorientation.
Luckily I have a clone, (in SWMBO), of Hyacinth Bucket from "Keeping Up Appearances", who always takes care to remind me of the correct way to do things!
"Mind that horse"
"What horse"
"That one in the field"
"The field is 300 yards away, Dear!"
--
Roger. (Costa del Sol, España)
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I remember being worried at the thought of driving in France, on the 'wrong' side of the road. But once there, in streams of traffic, I didn't have a problem. The only thing is my mind, when driving on the right, 'flips' left and right too, so if someone says turn left, my first thought is 'ah, that means a turning on my own side'.
I've always found French drivers no worse than in UK (although I've never been to Paris!)
The biggest potential danger is moving off from a layby or starting a journey on a quiet road with no traffic, when one might forget one's in France.
Cheers, Sofa Spud
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Is it just me that finds the worst bit about driving abroad, the bit coming off a motorway down/up the slip road. You're thinking, don't know where I'm going, lets go slowly. Stick to the left hand lane and then you realise, I should be in the right hand lane, cause they all want to pass me in the left hand lane....
What, its just me????
Still, French motorways are impressive - the Mondeo recorded 57mpg average, against a normal average of 42mpg.
Be interesting to see how the Golf does next year across France and Germany....
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Rebecca, well done!
It may only seem a small thing but it will improve your self-respect and confidence no end, at least in my experience.
About five years back we had arranged a holiday down near La Rochelle with two other families, all driving down. Couple of weeks before hand one of the couples split up and the wife was left with a car, two children, a holiday paid for, a total lack of confidence in her ability to do anything and zero experience in foreign driving. We managed to persuade her that my wife was happy to drive our car down and for me to drive hers, I did most of the journey down with her doing little 10-15 minute stints to give me a break, and her a feel for French roads, but at the end of the holiday she drove the whole way back.
She now says that conquering that one little thing of driving abroad restored her self-belief and that she was able to face everything else that ensued with total confidence in her own ability.
So be proud that you've conquered a little self-doubt and use the experience in the future!
Cockle
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Thanks for all the wise words and encouragement.
I don't really know why it was such a block - I'm quite happy (and safe!) driving here. I suppose I'm not a 'natural' driver.
Way back when I was having lessons, once or twice I hid in the house and didn't answer the door to the instructor! An expensive business! An intensive course (and a different instructor) turned out to be the answer.
Anyway, we'll be back in France or Spain in the next few months, so no excuses for not driving now...
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