Driving on the RIGHT side

   One of the activities I have been challenged by and enjoyed is driving here in England.  I have always enjoyed driving.  We put lots of miles on our cars at home and as we came here I was looking forward to the challenge of driving on the "wrong" side of the road.

   Looking back a little,  I had an infatuation with British cars as a young man.  We had a Rootes Group Hillman when I was in high school and enjoyed the British attention it attracted, especially after my Dad painted it a bright green (not British Racing Green, a bright ugly, not very shiny green).  I later had a white 59 Austin Healy Sprite (Bug Eye) and I captured my bride with a beautiful, red 57 Austin Healy 100-6.  So I looked forward to driving in England.

   Our car here is a Vauxhall Meriva. It looks like the one below.  It has a diesel engine and except for a dead spot when you accelerate from a stop, it goes pretty well.  The hesitation is a distinct disadvantage when you come to a ROUNDABOUT!

A roundabout is the British concept of an intersection.  During my first forays the roundabout was a major point of trepidation.  Here I was, driving on the wrong side of the street and steering from the wrong side of the car and I approached what seemed to me to be the Carosel of Death!  As you approach a busy roundabout you look to the right to see if there are cars coming (cars from the right have right-of-way).  When there is a break you accelerate into the roundabout in 2 or three lanes.  If you want to turn left you must align yourself with the first exit.  If you want to go straight you must find (usually) the second exit.  If you want to turn right (an American left turn, except to the right because, remember you are steering from the right side of the vehicle) you align yourself with the third exit which is three quarters of the way around the roundabout.  I know you should use your turn indicators in some way but I haven't mastered that quite yet. 



After a couple of weeks I got the rhythm of it and now I am a proponent of the roundabout.

Anyway, driving here is fun.  I can never relax and drive, I always have to be focused.  Lorraine is having fun being the navigator.  She has not yet driven here, she is content to be the control force from the side seat.  We make a pretty good driving team....