Driving in America - how hard?
Discussion
I'm off to the States next week for work - I can't say I'm looking forward to it. While I've been over a couple of times, I've never driven over there. To anybody who's had experience - how different is driving in the US compared to here in the UK, and is there anything I should pay particular attention to? I think I'm getting an automatic (not my choice!) so I haven't got to worry about winding the window down when I want to change gear.
I'll be in Indianapolis if it helps.
TIA
I'll be in Indianapolis if it helps.
TIA
You will certainly get an auto. I've never had any problems with driving the other side of the pond, with the exception of the horrible method of joining/leaving freeways.
If you get stopped by a cop, kill the engine and sit in the car with your hands visible (on the wheel) until told to do something...
If you get stopped by a cop, kill the engine and sit in the car with your hands visible (on the wheel) until told to do something...
It's actually probably a little easier after you've adjusted to getting in the right side of the car, driving on the wrong side of the road and driving an auto (I never had before). There's no roundabouts, everyone is generally courteous, the roads are open and well signposted and everything just generally works. I had no issues even driving 250 miles the week after that freak snowstorm that covered the majority of the states a couple of years ago.
One thing to remember on the freeway, their trucks don't have limiters, GTO of their way.
One thing to remember on the freeway, their trucks don't have limiters, GTO of their way.
Takes a little bit of time to get used to being on the wrong side of the car and road. But After a while i found it stress free and couldn't believe how far i travelled in so little time. The size of the trucks can be a little imtimidating to begin with especially as you can get undertaken by them.
I was also given the advice of keep within a group of cars so that you don't attract attention from any state troopers. You can sense the respect and fear those guys give out. Oh and enjoy the sight of cars that don't need any type of mot or check. I saw cars out there without front wings and bonnets!
I was also given the advice of keep within a group of cars so that you don't attract attention from any state troopers. You can sense the respect and fear those guys give out. Oh and enjoy the sight of cars that don't need any type of mot or check. I saw cars out there without front wings and bonnets!
mattmoxon said:
If you see a Police/State Trooper/Sheriff car parked on the edge of a multilane highway make sure you move out of the inside lane to go past it, they will ticket you for it!
If you can't (big rig on the outside of you that won't move over) then you must drop your speed - a heck of a lot - to escape the risk of a ticketI don't think the law applies to all states but happy to be corrected on that one
Driving in the states is easy, and much more enjoyable then here, mostly. Their road network is superb, and you can get where you want easily and without too much traffic, other than in the large cities.
I lived out there for 6 months, drove across 22 states and covered 25,000 miles. No problems. As said, watch the speed limits and stick to them. The cops will pounce from anywhere, and local Sheriffs can charge on the spot fines of pretty much what they like, so don't risk it. Navigation is easy, all even numbered roads go East to West, all odd numbered roads go North to South. That applies to highways and interstates. The only problems i found was that at some points, loads of roads merge and run together for a while. You could potentially be on about 6-7 roads at once, and they list all the highway numbers alongside each other. But then your road might suddenly turn off, and you can find (as I did) you've driven another 20-30 miles before noticing this! Keep wits about you, but enjoy.
I lived out there for 6 months, drove across 22 states and covered 25,000 miles. No problems. As said, watch the speed limits and stick to them. The cops will pounce from anywhere, and local Sheriffs can charge on the spot fines of pretty much what they like, so don't risk it. Navigation is easy, all even numbered roads go East to West, all odd numbered roads go North to South. That applies to highways and interstates. The only problems i found was that at some points, loads of roads merge and run together for a while. You could potentially be on about 6-7 roads at once, and they list all the highway numbers alongside each other. But then your road might suddenly turn off, and you can find (as I did) you've driven another 20-30 miles before noticing this! Keep wits about you, but enjoy.
If you get stopped by a copper, the chap is either 'Sir', or 'Officer'. Nothing else. No 'mate', 'bud', 'pal' or anything. Keep both hands on the steering wheel after opening the window for the officer and be polite. Always have driving licence and passport in your pocket - try to keep the paper counterpart out the way (but do take it) as that just confused the f
k out of them!!
There are various different rules on a state-by-state basis, but most of them are common sense (such as move over for the pigs parked on the right)
k out of them!!There are various different rules on a state-by-state basis, but most of them are common sense (such as move over for the pigs parked on the right)
K12beano said:
Kozy said:
There's no roundabouts.
There are a very few - and I cannot remember what name they tend to give them - there's one in NC around a town not far from Winston and it's a hoot to observe the locals!!!Oh, and although Americans are the most courteous people in the world, that goes out the window when they get in a car. If you see a gap when changing lanes, indicate and pull out, if you wait for someone to flash you out, you'll never get anywhere!
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