Victory!
Friday, February 19, 2010
Friday, February 12, 2010
The wrong side of Right
Whilst I was in America, I had the privilege of driving on the right (or the wrong depending on how you look at it) side of the road.
Aside from a very few times in 2008, my entire driving experience has been Down Under.
Along with the whole other-side-of-the-road thing there is also the other side of the car, and gear shift being in between the seats instead of on the steering wheel, and to turn on the windshield wipers you push the whole stick down rather then twisting it. Not to mention the different terms [boot (trunk) bonnet (hood) rear vision mirror (rear view mirror) blinkers (turn signal) etc] And the few different road rules.
So in America, I had fun doing things like 'turning right on red, yielding (instead of giving way), talking on the phone and driving (illegal for a red P plater* non P-platers have to use hands free), driving a car with a V8 engine (also illegal for a red P plater), and driving as fast as 120 kph. It took a bit of getting used to, remember the turn signal is on the left side of the steering wheel, and I had to keep reminding myself to look left and stay right, even so, I still went on the wrong side of the road a few times, those of you who drove with me very much probably experienced that.
Since being back in Australia I've had to get used to being back on the correct side of the road. Surprisingly I haven't ever accidentally gone to the right (wrong) side of the road, although I have turned on my windshield wipers instead of my blinkers. The first time I drove I couldn't even remember how to turn on the wind shield wipers when I first got into the car, but as soon as I made my first right turn, I remembered.
I must admit that driving on the left side of the road is a lot more natural to me, and takes a lot less thinking time, but I was glad to have the opportunity to drive on the wrong side of right.
*first year license - probationary driver usually 18 year olds)
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