PSA for those visiting Britain and renting a car

[hsguy]

As far as the wipers and turn indicator being reversed I have rather extensive experience with that. Last time I was in Ireland and NZ with my daughter and her spouse I would often activate the wrong control driving a car with right hand steering. They would razz me about it and my retort was that it rains frequently in Ireland so I thought it best to check the wipers frequently. Amazingly, didn't drive through a drop of rain during our ten days. So much for the old man's excuse.

 

[Kiwi cop]

That's how most, if not all, cars ended up being configured in the UK from the early 80s on. There was much wailing that you could no longer signal and change gear at the same time from some quarters. Making the UK cars the same as those on the Continent must have saved GM and Ford a very large wedge.

IIRC, cars built specifically for the Japanese market, and maybe only Japanese makes, have the signals and wipers the other way as described by Onomea.

Cars in New Zealand and Australia usually have the controls reversed too for left side of the road driving.

Not many people realise that the indicators will work the same no matter which side of the steering wheel they are mounted on. Move right, signal right, and the same for left.

The wipers will be reversed if changed around. Our 2006 Ford Mondeo has the "English" controls but the wipers work upside down from our U.S. PT Cruiser and Chinese MG SUV, both of which have the wipers on the right.

 

[Dave_n]

I could not drive 50 feet without heading back to the right side of the road.Too many years have permanently wired my brain that way.
Hell.. can't even drive a pre-1976 motorcycle that shifts on the right/brakes on the left. Just one half of my brain must work..

I had the same problem when I rode a reasonable sized bike in the US the first time. Having been used to hand brake (front wheel) on the right (clutch on left hand) and foot brake on left. Did not anyone in the US realize that if you have braking on the same side for front and rear you are putting all of your weight on the same side...duh!!! Dave_n

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

How are they on that drinking and driving thing
Asking for a friend

 

[Muss Muggins]

“Look kids, there’s Big Ben! And Parliament!”

 

[Muss Muggins]

If you rent a vehicle and are concerned about getting subsequent tickets from speed cameras, use a credit card to charge the rental fees and then cancel the card as soon as you get home. The ticket from the speed camera will be sent to the rental company and if your credit card can not be charged, you won't have to pay it.

Yeah, that’s not the case. The rental company doesn’t pay it, and they don’t charge the card that rented the car. They just send the ticket on to the person that rented the car with a nice letter that says “Good Luck!” Ask me how I know . . .

 

[Rustyt1953]

Roethlisberger never played with George Clinton.

 

[quikdraw67]

Roethlisberger never played with George Clinton.

I see what you did there.

 

[quikdraw67]

If we ever go to Ireland and Wales (our respective heritage) it will on a guided tour.

I have no desire to try to drive on the wrong side of the road.

 

[Onomea]

How are they on that drinking and driving thing
Asking for a friend

"If you are pulled over in Japan and are found to have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.03 or above, you are considered legally intoxicated and guilty of drunk driving. The criteria for driving under the influence of alcohol are 0.3mg in 1ml of blood or 0.15ml in 1L of breath."

Our BAC vs the Japanese mg or ml is confusing to me, but I think the correlation is 0.03 BAC = 0.3mg blood or 0.15ml breath. For comparison, Oregon and Virginia are BAC of 0.08, over twice that of Japan.





What is the legal limit for drunk driving in Japan, and what happens if I drive under the influence? - English Lawyers Japan

The Japanese DUI law became much more severe in 2007. I was talking to guy a couple of years ago who had a bar along a beachside highway. He told me it killed his business.

 

[bigwheelzip]

The Japanese DUI law became much more severe in 2007.

Within the EU, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania set allowable blood alcohol concentration limits at 0%.



Sent from my motorola one 5G using Tapatalk

 

[LVSteve]

How are they on that drinking and driving thing
Asking for a friend

Blow a 0.08 and you are arrested. Refuse to blow and you are arrested. The UK has also got big on vehicle confiscation when you get busted for certain traffic offenses. Penalty is suspension of your license for a year unless you can prove exceptional hardship. So, if there is a bus route or rail station within walking distance of where you live, you are SOL. The UK has a long standing agenda to stamp out drink driving, and it has been quite successful.

With the above and living somewhat in the boondocks, you may guess why I lost my taste for alcohol once I started driving.

 

[sigp220.45]

How are they on that drinking and driving thing
Asking for a friend

I was TDY to Darwin Australia from Guam in 1986. I had a rental and got pulled over for DUI at about 10 am. I was sober but it didn’t help that I pulled over on the wrong side of the road. The Aussie cop had an empty holster on his belt but looked pretty no-nonsense. I showed him my expired N Dakota DL and all he asked was if I was Navy or Air Force. I told him I was Air Force, with some B-52s. He smiled and let me go. Apparently at the time they blamed the Navy for bringing AIDS to the country, but the USAF was a-ok.

My last night I was absolutely hammered from trying to keep up with my RAAF counterparts and drove the Aussie car back to my quarters on a tire I had shredded from hitting the curb at some substantial velocity. I never could get the hang of looking out the wrong side for the curb and kept nailing them until that poor tire let go. I also hit the wipers whenever I wanted to turn. An adorable female Aussie copper banged on my BOQ door the next morning and helped me change the tire on my randomly parked car before I returned it to the rental counter. Some poor slob probably popped that tire in the dingo-ate-my-baby Outback and found his spare had been disintegrated by this drunk Yank.

Good times.