Driving on the wrong side of the road

[NotAllThere]

Is it really a case of JFDI and stop being a wuss

Yes. You already have the skills you need. It's just adaptation of those skills - much easier than shifting your writing hand. I've found the roads from the hire car depot are usually fairly easy to navigate. Even in the days when we didn't have GPS.

And as for an automatic - just have a go in one. Pretend to a dealer you're wanting a new car and go for a test drive. The key point here is that automatics are easier to drive than manuals.

I've driven LHR and RHR cars in both the UK and on the continent. The first few times were terrifying, but I soon got used to it.

[thelastrosbif]

Driving up and down main roads is fine, you pick it up in 5 mins. Right hand gear is funny at first but its amazing how quick the brain adapts. Remember the autoroutes are bloody long and everyone absolutely *flies* along, speed limits are more of a guideline especially in the centre so just stick to the inside lane & enjoy the ride.

Also watchout with your manoevres, reversing etc, you don't realise how much your sense of space is skewed when swapping sides, I nearly took out a lamp post getting out of a parking space last time I was in Bourgogne !"

Try some key phrases like :

"Ta mere etait une vache hier soir et meme elle bougait plus vite que toi !"

[vetran]

I was going to say my wife can do it fine.


Though that is normally in the UK!




seriously though she was a little nervous but she now does half the driving abroad.

[ladymuck]

Driving up and down main roads is fine, you pick it up in 5 mins. Right hand gear is funny at first but its amazing how quick the brain adapts. Remember the autoroutes are bloody long and everyone absolutely *flies* along, speed limits are more of a guideline especially in the centre so just stick to the inside lane & enjoy the ride.

Also watchout with your manoevres, reversing etc, you don't realise how much your sense of space is skewed when swapping sides, I nearly took out a lamp post getting out of a parking space last time I was in Bourgogne !"

Try some key phrases like :

"Ta mere etait une vache hier soir et meme elle bougait plus vite que toi !"

I checked your phrase with HWMBO and he said a better phrase to learn is

"tu conduis comme un putain de merde"

[clearedforlanding]

I drive to Leipzig once a year (in normal times) in a rented campervan, ignoring the size difference the key things I would say are

Are there any games / simulations that you can play with?

My turn to shine. Desert Bus is the game for this.

[ladymuck]

My turn to shine. Desert Bus is the game for this.

This one?

Desert Bus: The Very Worst Video Game Ever Created | The New Yorker

[thelastrosbif]

I checked your phrase with HWMBO and he said a better phrase to learn is

"tu conduis comme un putain de merde"

the french language is quite beautiful

[Wilmslow]

It’s JFDI.

You will bruise and batter your left hand reaching for the gearstick instead of the right hand!

Suggest driving mainly in third gear kind of transforming the car to an automatic if you have a manual.

It’s quite easy once you are through the first journey and satisfying. Take time, keep distance and don’t get rushed but the natives.

[caffeine man]

Yes, and take your own dedicated device - car hire companies charge a fortune. I don't ever rely on Google maps - at some point you will be let down; normally by a drained battery though on one occasion my phone overheated driving through the middle of Bari during rush hour and died on me. Not an experience I'd like to repeat.

Drained battery should not be an issue. Most modern cars have a USB cable connection . If not buy a cigarette adapter .


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

[Excursion UK]

Drained battery should not be an issue. Most modern cars have a USB cable connection . If not buy a cigarette adapter .


Sent from my iPhone using Contractor UK Forum

Oh, but it is CM when you've bought a replacement type C charger cable at the airport. In fact, coming to think of it, my Galaxy S8 was woefully slow over USB even with the original cable.

Anyway, on this particular occasion it wouldn't even maintain a level of charge with google maps and the screen on and it just died.

Dedicated GPS device for me, all the way.

Oh, and another thing that my Garmin doesn't do that Google Maps does is tell me to head N/S/E/W when I'm in the middle of an airport carpark at the dead of night. How the hell am I supposed to know what direction I'm pointing? Look at the pole star??