Driving In Canada
 

How have people found the transition from driving on the left to driving on the right?

Cheers,

Carl

Re: Driving In Canada
 

this thread should help

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=705290

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Having never driven outside of the UK I experienced Canadian driving for the first time on our 1st recce 2 years ago.
Having the steering wheel on the opposite side helps greatly :thumbup:
Also a satnav with up to date Canadian map was essential.
Only ended up on the wrong side of the road once briefly but soon realised :rofl:
The one thing I found myself doing alot at first was drifting too far over to the right being used to having the pavement area close to my right hand side but again soon adjusted to this.
I would look up the Canadian highway code for the province you will be driving in before going to get used to the various road signs especially 4 way Stop intersections, they're abit like free for alls, ie first one there gets to go first :rofl:

All in all though after a couple of days driving around I felt like I had been driving there forever, you'll soon get the hang of it :thumbup:

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Thanks for the answers :)

Re: Driving In Canada
 

I found it didnt take too long to get used to.
Like the other poster said, having a LH drive makes it a whole lot easier! Would be more confusing driving a RH drive over here!
I also found that buying a good map of the city and learning our way around really helped. I now feel confident when driving in the city, rather than having to rely on a satnav.
Definately check out a highway code book or look online for the basic rules of the road over here.
School buses are a huge one, where you cannot overtake when they are stopped and red lights flashing, regardless of which side of the road you are passing on.
Good luck!

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Having an automatic also helps as you are not having to thing about changing gear.

Re: Driving In Canada
 

I had to transition the opposite way, from right to left (Canada to Oz). I was worried about it but everyone told me it's not that big of a deal. The first week was stressful (driving in Sydney) but it wasn't terrible. Thankfully it seemed easier when we were following other cars because it reminded us which lane we were supposed to be in. After a couple of weeks it seems a lot more natural and didn't think so much about it.

After being in Australia for about a year I was actually stressed about having to drive in Canada when we went back for a visit!

It's really not that big of a deal and it will get easier. I would try to avoid driving in big city centres with lots of traffic at first if possible though.

Re: Driving In Canada
 

No problem, if in LH drive car the white line in the middle is next to you. Works on most roads. Just watch out when you are driving around car parks as the tend not to have the white lines, got caught out once, facing car coming other direction!!

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Oh, and don't forget to get in the left hand side LOL!!

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Highway driving is even easier. You just drive in any lane that you want and at any speed that you want.

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Can you really drive at any speed you want??;)

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Technically, the limit is 62mph. Practically, the traffic goes at 75-80. I routinely drive at 100 and find that one or two other cars will keep up. It's difficult and unsafe to drive at 100 because vehicles will be going at any speed in any lane and so constant lane changes are required. It is, of course, equally difficult and unsafe to make any progress at any speed because of the constant lane changing, cars moving to the centre lane from the left and right are on a collision course and cannot use mirrors to detect each other.

I believe it is this lack of convention rather than any inherent inability to operate a vehicle on the part of the population that results in such frequent collisions and gobsmacking insurance rates. That said, I'm always relieved when I pass a ditherer on the wrong side and find the ethnicity of the driver I've just passed to be one of those I associate with incompetence at the wheel. "You drive like a Canadian" I shout at those bewildered ditherers as they poke their fingers at me.

Re: Driving In Canada
 

If you look at the statistics in the link you will see that the road traffic fatalities in Canada per 100,000 people are more than twice that of the UK. Not that I would consider Wikipedia the latest authority.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...ted_death_rate

Re: Driving In Canada
 

Another thing to note is when at traffic lights you don't stop at the lights themselves but about 10-15yds ahead of them. This has almost caught me out a few times, especially when the stop lines have worn away.

City driving (in Toronto) is complicated by certain time restrictions e.g. no left turn between 7.30 and 6.30 Mon-Fri, especially as the sign telling you this is tiny and across the junction so by the time you can actually read it chances are you have either been beeped at so much you decided not to turn or you've turned anyway!

And the last thing I find is the signage - it's pretty crap! Seems that instead of being given advanced warning of junctions on the highway you are told at the junction itself so then have to cross several lanes to get to the right lane! And when you are driving through the country you really have to know where you are going as signs are very limited. And one-way signs blend in to the surround as do speed restriction signs.

Like others have said, once you get used to it, it's OK. It's not really the driving on the other side of the road that's the issue, it's the other stuff you have to get used to!

Re: Driving In Canada
 

That's true enough took a couple of days driving to work out the sign you are looking at is for the junction you have just past!!