Being in a foreign driver can be particularly difficult in the UK, it is one of the few countries around the world to drive on the left hand side of the law, but lets have a look at a couple of things that foreign drivers my find hard when driving in the UK.
1. Give Way and Stop signs, 2 completely different signs. The stop sign requires you to STOP although, you may find that many UK drivers use this as a Give Way sign.
2. Saying Thank You for holding back or letting someone through. The UK is full of winding roads in towns and villages where most of the time, you can only drive one car down a road at a time. Many polite UK drivers llow you to come through, they will tend to thank you with a flash of the lights or a wave, many foreign drivers do not see this much.
3. Zebra crossings – Yes you do have to stop at a Zebra crossing if someone is waiting to stop, in many countries this is ignored, especially in Italy. Many foreign counties only give way to pedestrians on crossings if they are actually crossing.
4. Using the right hand lane on a Bypass or Motorway to overtake, although many UK drivers also fail to use the lanes correctly on these roads.
5. No Undertaking, inless the traffic is slow and the lane is naturally quicker than the overtaking lane.
6. You aren’t allow to turn on a red light in the UK, at traffic lights you will usually find a filter light displaying a green arrow to allow you to turn.
7. You cannot use your phone for texting or calls, but (currently) if placed on a suitable cradle you are able to use your smartphone as a navigation aid.
In the UK, they drive on the left hand side and generally the population will drive right hand side drive cars.
Abut two thirds of the world drive on the right this includes USA, China and Russia. It tends to be areas of the worl which were formally British colonies that still drive on the left.
Yes, Canada used to drive on the left hand side of the road, but they switched to the right hand side of the road in 1921.
Many people predicted mass confusion, injuries and even death but it all went smootly.
Vancouver switched over a year later due to complications with streetcars and tracks.
No, it is not possible to turn left on a red light in the UK unless a green filter light is showing on the traffic light.
Some junctions have specific filter lanes at junctions or roundabouts to save stopping.
The Magic roundabout is in Swindon, England. Constructed in 1972 and designed by Frank Blackmore.
The magic roundabout consists of 5 mini-roundabouts arranged in a circle around a larger sixth. It is named after the popular TV series, The Magic Roundabout.
The 5 mini-roundabouts operate with clockwise traffic, whilst the inner rpundabout carries anti-clockwise traffic. It was voted the 4th scariest junction in Britain in 2009.
Here are a few of the most annoying driving habits in the UK:
1. Middle Lane Hogging, whilst the Police have cracked down on this by issuing tickets and the Highways Agency displaying signs saying “Keep to the left unless overtaking” – It is still one of the most hated driving habits in the UK.
2. Driving below the speed limit – Its a bug bear for many and some may call them “Sunday Drivers” but it is one of the most annoying habits for many.
3. Undertaking – Most people stick to the 70mph speed limit, but for those who want to go faster, overtaking is the solution. Or is it?
4. Failing to indicate – Either at a junction or on a roundabout, by indicating it could save a lot of time, money and accidents.
5. Jumping red lights or accelerating up to red lights – We all think we’ve got a chance to cross the line before the red bulb illuminates, but many of us don’t and it could cause an accident.
It depends on where you are going in the UK, the transport system, although vintage is quite a good system and will get you to most major places, if you need to go off the beaten track, then car hire is a good idea.
Its quite safe to drive in the UK with many of the drivers adhereing to the rules. Driving in London can be challenging.
No, you should keep to a constant speed of 50 mph. Speeding up in between would still get you a speeding fine, as the cameras measure you from point A to point B.
If you are driving a car, signle roads is 60mph and Dual Carriageways and Motorways the speed limit is 70mph.
It is different for HGV’s and Commercial Vehicles.
In most built up areas the speed limits can be 30mph with some having 20mph speed limits.
If the vehicle is a company vehicle, it is illegal to smoke in the car, however, numbers show that very few people have been prosicuted for this.
If a minor is in the car, it is also illegal to smoke in the car.
