Just for the record, I have never
driven on that side of the road.
I've had a bunch of people ask me how
our little trip over to Europe went, and that's nice. It's kinda
cool to know people are interested in what we did. When they ask for
details, driving in Europe invariably comes up, and the one question
that almost everyone asks is something along the lines of “Isn't it
strange driving on the other side of the road”? And I always have
to answer this way--
“I wouldn't know”.
It's funny that people think that
everywhere else in the world you have to drive on the left-hand side
of the road, because that happens in very few countries (Britain and
its former colonies, mostly). Everywhere in Europe—every single
country outside of the UK and Ireland—you drive just as we drive
here, on the right hand side of the road. In fact, I think the only
difference is that you can't make a right-hand turn on red.
And you can't even do that in some US
states.
I think I know why people believe
everyone in Europe drives on the left-hand side of the road. Because
we speak the same language, we get so many TV shows and movies from
Britain that it just seems as if all foreign countries are like that.
But they're not. Watch a movie or TV show from France or Germany
you'll see people driving down a street just like we do. In fact,
they're probably driving better than we are, because fines for
traffic violations like speeding or cutting off other drivers are
quite steep, and if you get too many penalty points you can lose your
license.
Because of that, European drivers
actually treat traffic laws as laws, and not just suggestions, as
some American drivers are wont to do.
I'm sure I'll keep getting the
question, and that's fine. It shows that people are genuinely
curious, and if I can help broaden their knowledge of the rest of the
world just a smidge, all the better. But just for the record, no, I
have never driven a car in a country where everyone drives on the
left hand side of the road. That's a life experience that's still to
come, with any luck.
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