Are you from a country like India, Japan, or the United Kingdom, where they practice left-hand driving? Or perhaps you originally came from the USA or another country where you drive on the right side of the road. However, you stayed long enough in a country with left-hand traffic to pick up the local practices.
No matter your situation, you must get acclimated to right-hand traffic. If you aren’t mentally prepared to drive on the right side of the road, you might break a local law or get into an accident.
Tips On How To Get Used to Driving On the Right Side
Here are some of the ways you can get into the groove of driving on the right side of the road:
Meet Legal Requirements For Driving
If you intend to drive during your stay in your new country of residence, secure legal permission. Otherwise, you can’t drive legally.
The length of your stay will determine the specific legal requirements for driving in that country. If you expect to stay for a relatively short period, you can use an International Driver’s License.
Alternatively, you might be in it for the long haul if you’ll work or study there. Or you might desire to get permanent residency. If you’re lucky, the country you’re staying in is one of of those that let you get a driver’s license without an examination if you have a valid license in your home country.
However, other countries require you to take written and practical exams before you can obtain a driver’s license. Failing those tests will bar you from driving in that country.
Learn the Local Driving Laws
Knowing is half the battle. Look up the country’s rules of the road and memorize them as early as possible, preferably long before you fly there.
Every country implements a set of rules and laws that govern driving vehicles. In large countries, the laws might vary between local regions. For example, the United States of America has 50 states, and each state might have unique legislation.
Are you planning to drive during your stay in the United States? The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) issues Driver’s Handbooks about the local laws in each state. Visit the DMV website and download the appropriate handbook for the state you’ll visit.
So what does this have to do with learning to drive on the right side of the road? A good grasp of the local driving laws can help keep you and others safe whenever you get behind the steering wheel.
Local pedestrians and drivers usually assume other people –such as you– know the rules. If you know their expectations of you as a driver, you can predict what they’ll do. You’ll find it easier to familiarize yourself with right-hand traffic if you don’t have to worry about what others will do.
Start Using the Right Side of Any Path
Practice makes perfect. One of the best ways to instill the correct mindset for right-hand driving is to walk on the right side of any footpath. Be it a sidewalk, one of the aisles at the grocery store, a corridor in your workplace, or something else, use the right side instead of the left.
By using the right side of a path as often as possible, you get used to staying on that side. It makes the mental transition from left hand traffic to right hand traffic. Furthermore, it doesn’t require you to drive on the right side of the road, making it easier and safer.
Go With the Flow of Traffic
You’re not alone on the road. Other vehicles will show up in all but the remotest routes. And that’s a good thing because they can remind you which side of the road you should stay on.
When in Rome, do what the Romans do. Follow the flow of traffic. It’s easier to remember to stay on the right side of the road when you can see other vehicles ahead of yours.
Stay On Your Toes
Following other drivers can only take you so far. Eventually, the traffic will thin out, or you might have to make a turn away from other drivers. When you end up alone on the road, you might instinctively revert to left-hand driving.
It never hurts to stay watchful while you drive. But this applies even more when you’re still getting used to driving on the right side of the road. Try to avoid complacency on empty roads or when making turns. You never know when another vehicle suddenly appears or when a pedestrian decides to cross the street.
As you get used to driving on the right side of the road, it becomes easier to remember which side of the street you should stay on. You’ll get enough reminders via other vehicles and signs, so you can eventually relax and enjoy driving your car.
Who Drives on the Right Side of the Road?
Most countries implement right-side driving. In the Americas, the only countries with left-side driving are the Bahamas and Jamaica in the Caribbean and Guyana and Suriname in South America. Everyone else uses the right side of the road.
Generally, former British colonies and territories prescribe driving on the left side. However, this doesn’t always hold. Canada, for instance, was part of the British Empire. But they drive on the right side like Americans.
When Did America Start Driving on the Right Side of the Road?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, colonial Americans mostly preferred driving their vehicles on the right side of the road. They did this despite coming from the United Kingdom, a country where drivers used the left side.
The first U.S. state to enact legislation that ordered drivers to use the right side of the road was Pennsylvania. In 1792, it set up a turnpike at Lancaster leading to Philadelphia. The charter legislation stated that all traffic should drive on the right side of the road.
New York was the first state to formally prescribe right-hand travel on public highways in 1804. By the 1860s, every state had laws enforcing driving on the right side of the road.
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