Driving Differences

Most Aussies in America are daunted when first moving here over the whole driving challenge. And no wonder! It's like having to relearn a whole new set of driving habits. Most Aussies in America recommend just getting in a car and driving. The longer you put it off, the more difficult it will be. Some of the things you'll experience are:

• Clutching at the air by your right ear, looking for the seatbelt.
• Bashing the knuckles of your left-hand on the car door, reaching for the gears.
• Gazing out the window when you really meant to look in the rear-view mirror.
• Turning on the windshield wipers instead of the indicators. This can take a long time to get over. :)
• Getting in to the wrong side of the car. This is a big one that you may never be able to change. Get used to thinking quick to come up with a reason why you really "meant to do that".
• Being shocked when seeing other cars on the road with no driver in the driver's seat - until you realise that you are actually looking at the passerger seat. :)
• And of course, there's the whole driving on the right-side of the road thing. Surprisingly, this is easier to get used to than getting in the correct side of the car. The best recommendation, is to remember that the driver always sits closest to the centre line on the road. This really helps when you're in a "think-quick" situation. Obviously, the longer you drive, the faster you get used to it. After a while, you'll wonder how you'll get used to driving in Australia when you next go to visit.

If all of the above isn't bad enough, there's other new road stuff to get used to. Here's some of them.

• Traffic lights are suspended over intersections with wires or bars - not poles on the corners as in Australia. The wire ones can freak you out on windy days.
• Four-way stop signs. These will bamboozle you at first. There really is only one rule here. "The first one to stop is the first one to go." Watch who stops first. The first to stop is the first to go. The second to stop is the second to go, and so on. It's sort of like a polite way of doing it. :)
• You can turn right on red in many states - this is very nice.
• Cars don't slow down on entrance ramps to Interstate highways - other cars will make room for you - just keep moving.

Reader Feedback on this Topic

• What about the centre turning lanes which baffled the cr*p out of me when I first came to the US but I think are a fabby idea, they should have them in Oz. We don't have the centre turning lanes in Brisbane (not that I have seen) but they could have them in SYD or MEL. - Paula

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