Monday, 10 September 2012

Stay left, look right. Stay left, look right.

So, we got me a little car. It's a 'city car.' We bought it from our neighbors across the street who are moving to England. It's a 2006 Hyundai Getz - 5-speed manual. It's been 10 years since I've driven a manual and I've never driven a right hand car on the other side of the road. The good news is that driving a stick shift was just like riding a bike -- it came right back to me. The driving on the other side of the road is taking some getting used to. I drove a couple of times over the weekend with Greg in the car as my navigator. Today I ventured out by myself for the first time. Got to my destination just fine. Then, when I was making my way back home, I came within an inch of hitting another car. Scared me and the other guy! I'm proud to say it was not in a roundabout, but it was when I was changing lanes heading to the left. Luckily there was no impact, but I got honked at and got a 'look.' I'll bet he knew I was American. Here's my little car:


Stick shift! On the left!
I've got an Aussie driver's license:


Posted by at

4 comments:

  1. tsm21411 September 2012 at 04:38

    Eegads! Stick shift and left hand side of the road - I don't think I could handle it! I tried in Ireland 30 years ago...didn't go well. Had to leave the driving to my sister! Be careful out there. Look right, left and right again! (is that correct?)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laurie2 October 2012 at 00:34

      Yes, that is correct. Luckily, there is not much traffic here and just a couple of roundabouts. I'm doing great with the stick shift - it really was like riding a bike (even on the other side). My problem is the turn signal. It's on the "other" side, so I keep turning on the windshield wipers by accident!

      Delete
  2. Heather11 September 2012 at 05:25

    I had bruises on my right knuckles for the first couple of weeks driving my stick shift here. The clutch is the same foot, so I kept going for the shifter with the same hand (that I was used to). Fortunately it gets better. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laurie2 October 2012 at 00:35

      Now I'm worried about driving back on the other side when we go to the states in May!

      Delete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)