snowbunny

Can one (legally) turn left on red?

Cos I have done. lol

Bob

not legally, but i'm sure it's been done a lot

Irn-bru

no I have often wished we could..good idea.

penguinsix

In the US you can go left on red in most states, provided you are on a one way and you are turning left onto a one way.

Irn-bru

sorry I thought she meant in the UK as I like the law here about turning R on a red.

robin1234

I agree with others here, driving on the right or left, as appropriate, seems to come pretty naturally. When approaching the car to get in, though.. in both the UK and US, I very often go to the wrong side!!
I drive manual transmission in both the UK and US, and often find myself reaching for the gearstick - and bumping into the door with my hand instead!! This happens at random, not just when I've returned from the other country --

Robin

snowbunny

Yes, I did.... though penguinsix is also correct (was going to say "right" but that would be confusing! )

Maz

I only drove, once I'd passed my test, for 2 1/2 years in the UK before I moved to France, in early 1992. On my recent trip back to England, I rented a manual transmission car at Heathrow airport. Always a joy to drive around the M25 when you're jetlagged. It was as though I'd never driven a left-hand drive car, and it was very difficult for me when I got back to the US, 2 1/2 weeks later, to get back in my automatic car and not drive on the left.

robin1234

I live in a quiet sleepy small town in Northern New York. Most people drive either Buick Regals, or 30 year old pickup trucks; in either case, top speed is about 35 mph and behavior at intersections is comically courteous. I fly to Heathrow from our nearby international airport, which is in Canada. Jetlagged and having not slept, I'm ejected into one of the most obnoxious and depressing places in England; Heathrow Terminal 3. I pick up my car, turn on Radio Four, and am on the M25 in five minutes ... Bliss!! The adrenalin rush! Driving at 80mph three feet behind the car in front! Back to reality, the end of that awful, slow motion nightmare that is America!

Robin

Maz

You should try driving on any of the expressways in the Chicago area. If they're not backed up, if you dare to go a mere 10 mph over the limit, you'll be deemed too slow and get tailgated the whole time. Rather scary actually...

robin1234

I know what you mean ... we used to live in the Boston area, and every time I drive back there, I remember just how scary the combination of rude, homicidal drivers and potholed roads can be. Fortunately, my predatory instincts are just below the surface and I can drive as aggressively as the most moronic Bostonian (when the need arises.)

Robin

lanky spoken here

I promptly drove like an eejit, like everybody else in Manchester red lights and speed limits...no worries.

As for switching sides and driving on wrong side, its natural. Piece of cake.

TruBrit

same here, the road to our pub in the uk has no dotted lines down the middle ... no problem going it's when i'm leaving

lapin_windstar

This is exactly what has caught me - driving in the city is fine, but driving in the country can be lethal. I went back recently and was about to pull out onto a rural A road from a side road, when I saw a motorbike coming from half a mile away. Instead of pulling out, I waited to see what kind it was (I was thinking about buying one at the time). When the guy rode past, I realised that the side he was riding on was the side I was going to pull out on. ****! If I'd pulled out onto the wrong side, I would have surely killed him in a head-on collision.

So yeah, it's the pulling out you have to watch for. In Scotland, they used to give out stickers to European drivers for the steering wheel that said "left hand side of the road, asshole!" in six different languages (I'm paraphrasing slightly).

Ash UK/US

Thanks for the info... doesn't sound like anyone had any major probs so hopefully I won't either.

I am renting an automatic so hopefully that will make life a little easier.

Ash