I've been over and driven in the UK (4) and Ireland (8) many times. Here are my tips:

Always use your turn signals in roundabouts and observe other drivers'. It's what makes them run smoothly.

After the second or third day when you think you have it all figured out, be careful not to let your concentration lapse. Most likely time to screw up and have a near accident.

Hardest thing for me is adjusting to looking up and left for the inside mirror. Left hand stick shift was no problem and pedals are the same.

Be sure to remember if your car takes gas or diesel. Pay attention to pump handle colors.

In Ireland, the new (M) roads that spoke out from Dublin are great for getting places quickly. Unfortunately you miss a lot of what makes Ireland Ireland. The two digit (N) roads take you through countryside and towns at a slower pace. If you get really proficient, the smaller (R) roads take you to very interesting scenery and villages. Some of the most interesting (in the North) I've discussed with tacfoley.

quote:

Originally posted by Beancooker:
Roads are narrow as fuck compared to the wide ass lanes we have here.

Trouble is that since I was first there in 1996, the back roads are no wider but the vehicles have gotten bigger!

I recommend the current version of this and its UK equivalent. You can find the shortcuts and neat (R) road stuff your GPS won't.

I’m reminded of the old joke here about the Yank who landed in Shannon airport, rented a car and 30 slow miles down the road remarked to his wife “hey Mabel - I think this is a stick shift”

Seriously though, make sure you rent an automatic - changing gears with the ‘wrong’ hand takes a bit of getting used to. Also, your distance perception for the passenger side of the car will be a bit out at first.

What everyone else has said about signals and roundabouts is true. Also watch out for cyclists who can be unpredictable.

Otherwise be aware that most people drive over the speed limit and can get very impatient behind anyone driving at or below the limit which is generally only observed in known speed camera areas.

quote:

Originally posted by Rosahane:
...
What everyone else has said about signals and roundabouts is true. Also watch out for cyclists who can be unpredictable.

Otherwise be aware that most people drive over the speed limit and can get very impatient behind anyone driving at or below the limit which is generally only observed in known speed camera areas.

Thanks for that reminder. UK law (as of 2008) is if there is any accident between a car and a bike, the presumption is the car is at fault. Even if the biker is driving like a complete jackass. If you don't have video proof he is at fault, good luck. You'll need it. Also drinking and driving is taken VERY seriously over there. Best if you do enjoy a drink, better have an Uber ready. Don't even have keys in hand to get a jacket from the car.

We rented cars on trips to the Cayman Islands. It took a bit of getting used to, but we adjusted surprisingly quickly.

On the other hand, it’s a small island with nowhere near the same volume of traffic. Plus, I think the locals are used to Americans stumbling about and gave us plenty of leeway.

More good stuff. Thanks again, folks

it isn't that bad driving there- though I lived there for 7+ years. Visiting this summer from Florida, it was kind of funny- drive like you're in a race, and be prepared to have the proximity sensors go off most of the time. if you can handle that then the rest is easy. we drove from Portsmouth to Colchester.

It just so happens I am driving in Ireland since Saturday.

I agree with most tips here. One I would add is: treat the roundabouts almost as you would a 4 way stop back home. If it's clear, "roll through" the place you would normally see a stop sign. If a vehicle already in the roundabout, simply yield to him.

I had a very difficult time driving stick left handed, in the rain, on the left side of the road, in traffic. Particularly at intersections. Perhaps now everything is automatic, but not 25 years ago.

quote:

Originally posted by IrishWind:
Tac, isn't there a booklet available that explained the UK's rules of the roads? I know that helped me. Maybe it is a downloadable .pdf?

There is - it's called 'The Highway Code'.

https://www.gov.uk/browse/driv...way-code-road-safety

This message has been edited. Last edited by: tacfoley,

It’s been a long time (mid-80s). Back then, there were more cars per mile of road in the UK than anywhere else in the world. I don’t remember if the stat was that ~60% of folks failed their driving license test the first time or only 60% passed, but the test for a UK driving license was nothing like the CA, “Can you fog a mirror?” test. I did get my British driving license (which is good for another 11 years ) for cars and motorcycles and drove both a Morris 1300 and a street legal Honda trials (basically dirt bike) bike (don’t remember the model, but it was just a 125) in and around London. I was reasonably early in my driving career and didn’t have any trouble adapting. The biggest difference that I noticed is that one pretty much had to be 110% focused on driving. Period. If not sure about where you are or need to go, pull over to a safe park and figure it out. No cell phones, no gps then, just focus on driving.

The only two issues with sides came 1) during my time working over there when I came back for a couple weeks with an English friend for an old friend’s wedding in the Bay Area. Driving home after, I almost left turned onto the left (wrong) side of the road on automatic pilot. And 2) a dozen or so years later when I was over there with the wife and we got a hire car. She was adamant that I was doing all the driving. When she went to the right front door I asked if she had changed her mind.

The serious about drinking and driving is for sure. The nice thing over there is there’s almost always a pub within walking distance. Slow down and enjoy.

As long as you keep your wits about you and focus on what you are doing, I doubt you’ll have any trouble.

quote:

Originally posted by CA DuckHunter:

We buy full coverage insurance every time. It is nearly as expensive as the rental; but worth it.

And rent a small car. We encountered lots of narrow roads on our trip with high hedges on both sides of the road. Lots of scratches on the doors! So I too was glad to have had the full coverage. And it's amazing how many Land Rovers you encounter on those narrow country roads. We stayed at a lighthouse for a couple of nights, and the roads getting to it were REALLY narrow!

quote:

Originally posted by mttaylor1066:


One I would add is: treat the roundabouts almost as you would a 4 way stop back home. If it's clear, "roll through" the place you would normally see a stop sign. If a vehicle already in the roundabout, simply yield to him.

Isn't that how they work anywhere in the world?

Lots of good advice above: rent a small car, get an automatic, and concentrate when you are driving- no sightseeing from the driver’s seat. I lived in the UK many years ago and didn’t have any problem driving then. I’m much older now and just returned from a UK trip. My reflexes, coordination and depth perception are not what they used to be so I rent an automatic now. It took me a couple of days to acclimate to the roads but after that I was fine. From what I remember of the Irish roads they were in general narrower and tougher than English or Scottish roads, at least in the area I traveled.

My wife and I drove almost 1,200 miles in seven days in the southern half of Ireland (there used to be a thread about the trip) back in 2014. The advice give here tracks well with our experience. Definitely get full insurance coverage with the rental unless you’ve made special arrangements with your insurance company at home and can take paperwork proving the coverage.

The country roads and lanes are super narrow, with rock walls (their fences) covered with 4-6-inches of vines and vegetation. Or was that 0.4 to 0.6 inches? That’s the problem, the vines and vegetation are so thick you have no way of knowing which and may scrape them if you get too close. We got lucky on that side (unlike some other cars we saw) but did bump mirrors going by other cars in villages a couple of times. Thanks goodness for folding mirrors! No damage to either or to ours.

And on country roads, many are effectively one lane. Be prepared to stop and back up, possibly quite some distance to a gate opening where the “road” is usually wider so the farmers can get their wagons or whatever in and out of the gates. Be on alert for livestock, too; we encountered cows once or twice plus a whole herd crossing the road at a designated crossing point (complete with cattle crossing signs).

The idea of the automatic transmission is good, too. We had a manual, which was fun for the first few gear shifts.

Be careful and have a great trip!

P.S. If you have accommodations in the country, be sure you understand how to use the locks on the doors. We had to call for help because there were no instructions on the arcane machinations required! I have a feeling Celtic Druids were consulted when the original design was developed.

I'm just going to say this once -

THE USE OF A CELL PHONE BY A DRIVER WHILST IN A MOVING VEHICLE IS ILLEGAL.

If you hold or use a phone, SATNAV, tablet or any device that can send and receive data while driving it will cost you £200 on-the-spot fine.
You also 'earn' 6 penalty points on your non-existent UK driving license. Do it twice and you are off the road - the maximum number of minus points is NINE.

Your hire company is also notified if the event, and may pull your agreement.

If you MUST use your cell-phone, you must pull off the road to do it.

Use of a phone or tablet as a SATNAV in a built-in or stick-on holder is permitted. Operating it whilst in motion is NOT.

Same goes for eating/drinking while driving, and wearing of flip-flops/thongs - or even bare-foot. Having a your-fault accident while doing any of these things instantly invalidates your insurance.

Cyclists MUST be given a 1.5m wide berth, same for horses and horse-drawn vehicles.

Acknowledged, tac. Thanks

Today we are booking our trip through our travel advisor. After research, one thing became clear, there wasn’t time to do justice to both Scotland and Ireland (and we’ve seen quite a bit of Ireland). This trip we’re just touring Scotland. We’re spending 3 nights in Edinburgh; our advisor booked a day-long tour of Scotland, out of Edinburgh. She felt like a guided tour at the start of our stay in Scotland would be beneficial to us for the rest of our trip in that we’d learn history, geography, customs etc. At first, I was hesitant, but after talking to her face-to-face, what she said made sense. Feeling like there is too much to see in Edinburgh to cut the stay short, we extended another night.

From Edinburgh we begin a clockwise tour around Scotland in a rental car. First to Glasgow for just one night (we’ll visit Glasgow on that day-long tour as well). North to Oban, two nights on the Isle of Skye, Inverness/Loch Ness for two, St. Andrews, and back to Edinburgh for flight home. Ten days in country. Thanks again for all the replies to my inquiry about driving in the UK. following tacfoley’s advice, we have requested an automatic transmission. I didn’t think I needed it, but was convinced that the left-handed shifting was a distraction I didn’t need. We’re going in April.

quote:

Originally posted by tacfoley:
...
If you are going to be anywhere near Alconbury, send me an email!

I forgot to ask...
... Are Americans allowed in Alconbury, especially to drive across that historic bridge?

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:

quote:

Originally posted by mttaylor1066:


One I would add is: treat the roundabouts almost as you would a 4 way stop back home. If it's clear, "roll through" the place you would normally see a stop sign. If a vehicle already in the roundabout, simply yield to him.

Isn't that how they work anywhere in the world?

I don’t know about that. When I took my test for a UK driving license (in the mid ‘80s), that would have likely cost you a point for “failure to proceed”. The drill was to observe the roundabout for traffic and approach at the speed you could maintain through it, slowing or stopping only if necessary to give way to traffic already in the roundabout. The whole point of roundabouts over stop signs is to keep traffic moving. I agree 100% with mtaylor1066’s advice for someone getting used to driving on the other side, but that isn’t the intended use.

We went to Scotland in July and I had no problem with the right hand drive and the left hand shift. The roads are smaller and everyone drives slower so just be careful and you will be fine.