Driving On The Wrong Side Of The Road

There are one hundred and sixty four countries that drive on the right hand side of the road, which of course we British term "the wrong side". However, studies have proved that countries that drive on the left do in fact have fewer accidents. It is thought that this relates to the way the human eye functions, most people having right eyes with slightly stronger vision than the left eye.

Driving on the right can cause problems for British people travelling abroad especially as most of Europe drives on the right. In fact, when driving abroad, it makes sense to hire a left-hand drive car which has the steering wheel on the left. There are rules to remember and the main thing is never to lose concentration. It is so easy to take a left turn and immediately veer to the left-hand side of the road only to find the oncoming traffic is heading straight for your vehicle! In European countries where driving is on the right, if there are no turn arrow markings in the road, this implies that the left-hand lane is used by traffic turning left and the right lane is for traffic going forward and turning right. All other lanes are for going straight on. In America, however, rules vary between the different states which can cause confusion.

Remember to be extremely vigilant at roundabouts. Here the utmost concentration is required as the driver has to give priority to traffic which is already on the roundabout, that is to say traffic coming from the left as the driver enters the roundabout.