hatfield1

Californian Driving rules clearly state you must be on your cell phone at all times, even if you have no one to talk to just pretend you do as to cause adequate distraction. This also goes for eating, grooming yourself, monkeying with an electronic device, changing cloths, looking for something in the back seat, disciplining children. I’m sure I’m missing something But hay I’m driving give me a break.

Ray

Seattle is cold and wet ...

zeus76

cold and wet is o.k but hot weather i cant stand thats why florida is definately a no no

I still cant belive that when hiring a car there they just give you the keys and off you go, so a U.k licence is valid there to hire a car

Ray

Yes of course a million tourist do it every year ...
Just as my US licence is valid in the UK ...

They have all your credit card info ...thats all they need

another bloody yank

Are there driving classes when you rent a car in the U.K.?

Sally

Driving is second nature to Americans but they might show you the controls. There's only Drive and Park really. Oh and reverse to get out of the bay.

Ray

No!!!! none that I ever seen ..

another bloody yank

And cruise control. But it's not like auto pilot, you still have to steer.

krizzy

Even the people who live here don't have lessons....

surly

I lived in Seattle when I first came to the US, my first job here was with Boeing. It's a great City. It might be a bit wet but not cold in the summer, get out of the City though and explore the countryside.

Bill_S

Seattle is quite hilly; if you go out of your way to hire a standard shift car you might regret it. Rush hour traffic on the Interstate highways there is extremely heavy, so avoid rush hour driving at least until you're a little comfortable with driving on the right.

On our visit to Seattle last year, my wife and I found the locals to be extremely friendly and helpful. They were thrilled to have visitors from Ohio; they'll be rolling out red carpets when they find out you're from the UK. Be sure to visit the Perennial Tea Room.

Molly Malone

I learned to drive here at age 37 having never driven in the UK. I called around asking for adult driving lessons and everybody thought I was batshit, most people here learn at school when they are about 5 lol. In the end I just drove around with the wife for two weeks and took the 'test'. Passed first time. In fact, I learned to drive in a big(ish for the midwest) town in the middle of an arctic winter. Of course I didn't drive in the UK so that prolly helps with the left hand drive thing but I think just keep the steering wheel the the centre line and you are going the right way.

I still find it hard to cross a busy road on foot though, still looking the wrong way but am fine behind the wheel. Just take it slow and screw anybody honking behind you. Take your time. Unless you see anybody waving a gun around in your rearview - then speed up quite a lot

EDIT - Gggrrrrrr!!!!! SIlly Sod here

katesbackagain

Here's a few mishaps during my first few weeks of driving in the US:

Came out from an appointment and tried to get into a car that was almost identical to mine, spent 3 minutes wondering why the key wouldn't work, and then once I realized, I found my actual car, got in the wrong side and wondered where the steering wheel was. (I think this sort of thing may run in the family, though. My mum spent a good 15 minutes scraping ice of her car one morning, only to realize it wasn't her car!)

Went to turn left at an intersection and driven into the oncoming traffic lane thinking I still had to drive on the left. Thankfully, there were no other cars around at the time.

Shat myself numerous times when people come out from a side street on the opposite side, and don't look as though they're going to slow down and stop at the median.

Yelled a lot at those (many, many, many) slow Floridian drivers mentioned by another poster.

Gone the wrong way round a small roundabout. Again, thankfully there were no other cars.

Erm.......how the hell did I get my license?

surly

My first experience was making a right turn into the left lane of a divided highway, there was no traffic but I immediately realized what I had done, so I pulled over to the left to turn back, but the car sank to the axles in the soft earth. Had to walk to a gas station to get a tow truck to pull me out.

Now I have the opposite problem driving in the UK.

Patrick Hasler

Very good advice ..... the return gesture may be a gun gesture