Saturday Snapshot
August 13, 2011
We got a rental car when we were in Northern Ireland and it was quite an experience, let me tell you! Carl said shifting with his left hand really didn’t present a problem and driving on the left side didn’t bother him as much as he thought it would, but having his rear-view mirror on the left instead of the right just blew his mind! Negotiating those roundabouts in a clockwise direction was rather tricky as well. There were a few times he really scared me and I had to keep reminding him about cars on my side of the road!
Saturday Snapshot is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. It’s easy to participate – just post a picture that was taken by you, a friend, or a family member and add your link on Alyce’s site.
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OMG I would be SO bad at this. Great photo!
I also think it would be weird to drive on the other side of the road! When I was 15, my dad bought me a mail truck as my first car, and the steering wheel was on the wrong side. I never got the chance to drive it though, because he always felt it was unsafe and would tip over, but I did spend a lot of time wondering about that backwards truck!
Hi Kathy,
We find roundabouts a piece of cake after trying to negotiate the US style, 4 way crossroads, with no traffic controls. Added to which are the stresses of being able to turn right on a red light, but only sometimes!!!!
Still after 20 years of doing it, we have finally cracked it …. at least Dave has!!!
Carl is still managing to look quite relaxed about the whole thing though, great shot.
When we tried to drive in England I was too disoriented to drive on the left. My husband could do it but often wandered to the other side of the road. My cousin was with us also on that trip and the two up would chant in unison, “Keep left, keep left, keep left.”
I felt the same way as Carl about the rear-view mirror placement. It seems once I got used to it all it was time to go home!
I can feel your anxiety!! I have driven on the left and it was quite an experience. I loved the roundabouts though … they made traffic move so much faster than our stop stop stop signs here in the US.
He’s way braver than I!
I think I would have some trouble getting used to driving this way!
Yikes! I don’t think I could do it! I’d definitely inadvertently cause an accident just because of my own driving habits.
That whole left/right driving thing blows my mind. I’ve never done it before but it just looks so freaky!
I think it would be so fun to visit a country where driving was backwards! I don’t think I’d be scared to drive, but once I got under the wheel, that could change.
Of all of the things to think about driving on the other side of the road, the rearview mirror being on the other side never occurred to me. That would be so odd!
Hi!
Great snapshot! I don’t think I could drive on the left side of the road, way toooo confusing. Have a great day!
Sherrie
Just Books
Mr L-S was equally disconcerted by the mirrors when we went. But it didn’t stop him from going all out down those narrow roads. I sat on the passenger side, hollering: “Rock!” “Sheep!” “Cow!” “Truuuuuuuck…!”
We wrecked while driving in Ireland! When my husband was taking a right he forgot he had to cross a lane of traffic to get to the right lane. Oooops!
Driving in other countries is always a challenge – a couple of times while driving in Amsterdam, we ended up driving on the bike paths! And trying to pass another car on some of those narrow little cobblestone roads was really nerve-wracking.
Ireland is currently on my list of places I must visit – can’t wait to see the pictures, I’m sure they are incredible!
I cannot imagine driving on the other side of the road than what I’m used to. It’s funny how you would think that that would be the harder part, but now that I read your post, I can imagine Carl’s thoughts – having to acclimate to the mirrors is probably the hardest!
I can only imagine how difficult it must have been. Carl looks like he’s having a great time.
I have to sat that Carl is a cutie!!!
The first time my husband and I were in a roundabout…I freaked out!!!
I agree with everyone here. I would be a horrible driver anywhere in Great Britain!
That’s my issue BIG TIME! I cringe at the thought on driving in the UK since I consider it on the wrong side. The number of times I jumped in thinking it was the passenger side got me in trouble. Hmmm window on the left side… ugh… brain work with me…
Great shot of hubby – love the smile
Carl looks right at home and ready to go. Can’t imagine why you were nervous.
Seriously, though, I can’t imagine driving on the “wrong” side unless I planned to stay there long-term and could learn it properly.
Here’s my snapshot: http://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2011/08/saturday-snapshot-august-13.html
What a cute pic! When I last drove in London, I was so freaked that I got a headache. LOL
if I had a nickle for every time I turned on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal….
the roundabouts (circles) used to scare me a bit in Ireland, but I am a pro by now.
When I visited family in the UK they always drive so I haven’t had to try this yet. Just the thought of it really scares me
Hmmm, my DH is a crappy driver in the US. I wonder if he would fare better in the UK?
I don’t even like round about’s in this country–let alone doing them backwards. LOL
Hopefully after all that stress, there was a stop at a local pub.
That left-handed shifting is weird, isn’t it? We’re fortunate that my husband is ambidextrous — he does okay with it. The only problem he seems to have is figuring out where he belongs in his lane. It’s really disorienting!! I drove a little in the UK once and had the same problem. It’s good to have someone who can say, “A little to the right, dear,” or, “Gettin’ too close to the hedgerow.”
Would love to see more of your photos from Ireland!
Another reason to be thankful for my British husband. He gave me a tense moment or two when he was getting used to driving over here, though!
Yes! I could totally see the left mirror being an issue for me!
Wow, Carl is very courageous to drive in Ireland with those narrow twisting roads, never mind the left hand factor and coming into the roundabouts is scary indeed.Kudos to Carl!
I think it’s a frightening experience and I’m not sure I’ll try it ! Your husband is courageous !
I’d be totally thrown off trying to drive reverse of what I learned…LOL
WE do drive on the other side!
Here is my Saturday Snapshot post!
Yeah, driving backwards would freak me out, too!
I have problems with roundabouts HERE; I can’t imagine trying to drive on them on the “wrong” side of the road!
I am sure then Carl will be able to drive here in India
)
LOL. I was just thinking about myself trying to drive on the wrong side of the road and it just cracked me up. My girlfriend went with her dad years ago to Ireland and after he tried getting them killed the first time he drove, she took over the driving duties.
Nice pic! And lol, I know what you mean about the left/right problem. In India, we drive on the left side of the road and when I first came to the US, even sitting on a bus was unsettling because cars were on the “wrong” side of the road.
AHHHH!!! Thats awesome – I would be freaked out to drive on the opposite side of the road.
Carl looks totally confident–something that Anthony and I are NOT feeling about our upcoming driving tour of Ireland. I am really anxious about driving on the left but suppose if I can drive in New York City (and across the country), then I can manage the rolling hills and dales of Ireland.
Too funny! Jason’s driving scares me on this side of the pond so I have to think I’d be a nervous wreck over there. I really hope to visit Ireland someday.
I haven’t driven on the wrong side of the road for about 20 years. It is tricky. As a passenger you always are trying to get in the drivers door. As a pedestrian cars nearly run you down all the time. When I was driving oversees I would drive along reminding myself to keep me in the middle of the road.
Driving on the opposite side of the road must be an adjustment. My dad drove in the Azores (islands that are part of Portugal) but they drive on the same side of the road as the U.S., so it wasn’t that much of an adjustment, just the speed, narrow roads, and tons of roundabouts.
We drove a rental Renault in England and Scotland and had a terrible time figuring out where we were in our lane. The left/right thing was easy for us and the roundabouts were much better than ours, but we continually got too close to the edge of the road or other cars. In fact, Dave took an outside mirror off of a car parked where there wasn’t really enough room to park. What drove us crazy was the speed of traffic in London and the narrow streets in Scotland.
Isn’t it crazy? I didn’t trust myself to drive over there … it was too much for me!
He’s smiling … was this before or after he experienced driving on the “wrong” side of the road?
Interesting that you mention the difficulties driving in Ireland b/c my son visited it this summer and tried to convince me that driving was no problem over there (he had an automatic so I’m sure that helped). I plan on visiting Ireland in two years, but when I do I will be riding in a tour bus!