Driving in the USA
We’ve seen the movies- elegant stars in classic cars floating down deserted highways with the roof off their cherry red convertible, looking like they don’t have a care in the world. So that’s the movies, but the reality is that driving in the USA can be a frenzied race with rules that are very different than the road rules in the UK. Let’s talk about driving in the real world.
First and foremost, Americans drive on the opposite side of the road, the right hand side of the road. The driver sits where the passenger seat is in a UK car. At first this can be disorientating. However, if you get confused, a good rule of thumb is that the steering wheel should always be closer to the middle of the road. You’ll be forgiven if you occasionally forget which side of the car to get in; I’ve done it more times than I can count when I’m not paying attention. But make sure when you’re out there driving you’re concentrating on where the car is headed.
Once you’re on the road and heading the right direction in the right lane, there are a couple of road rules that will make you scratch your head, but are important to heed. The first is stopping for school busses. In the UK, we generally have laybys for busses (including the few school busses) to load and unload. Here in Florida lay bys are few and far between, but the iconic yellow school busses seem to be everywhere. When the bus stops, often a stop sign comes out from the side. You have to stop when this comes out and wait until it is retracted. If you are traveling in the opposite direction to the bus and there is no central barrier, you have to stop as well. If you are in the vicinity of a school, look out for reduced speed signs- fines can be hefty if you’re caught going over the speed limit in a school zone.
While we’re on the subject of busses, there is a law in Florida that says that you have to let the bus back in. When they’ve indicated that they want to pull back into the flow of traffic, you have to let them in.
Remember the roundabout? If you live in the States long enough, you might completely forget them because they are few and far between here. If you do run it to one over here, approach with caution; most people have no idea how they are supposed to work and it can be a bit of a free for all.
Americans favor stop signs in place of roundabouts. One of the first things you’ll have to learn as a new driver here is the etiquette for a four way stop. First, indication is important at a four way stop. If two of you arrive at the same time from different directions and are both turning right, no problems, you both just go (after you’ve come to a complete stop). Generally, who ever stops first goes first and then the other drivers take turns going. The technical rule is to give way to the right, but in most cases, drivers figure out who’s going first amongst themselves (this isn’t as chaotic as it seems, but it does take some practice to feel comfortable at a four way stop).
If you speed, expect to get a ticket. Just like in the UK, speeding isn’t really tolerated. If you get pulled over, DO NOT get out of the car. The police take this as a sign of aggression here, so stay in your car, turn your engine off, put your hands on the steering wheel and wait for them to come to you.
Another obvious point is that drink driving is not tolerated, either. Open alcohol containers are not allowed in the car, even if someone else is drinking them and if you’re transporting alcohol, it needs to be in the boot.
There are a lot of differences between driving in the UK and the USA. I think the biggest one is how much attention you have to pay to what the other cars around you are doing here. In the UK you have to be more spatially aware- the roads are narrow, with hedges, houses and buildings built right to edge of the road. Here the roads are larger and more accommodating, but people undertake, overtake and do some wacky maneuvers.
It may look crazy and you might feel like you’ll never get driving over here, but it can be done. When I first moved here, I developed an irrational fear of driving on the freeway. I had been driving for years, but the number of lanes, the merging and undertaking freaked me out, quite frankly! I had my wife chauffer me – but then she got a job and I just had to do it. At first it was scary, but now I drive everywhere and everywhere, sometimes with a little more zeal than my wife would like.
Some variations in words that you need to know:
Car Bonnet = Hood
Car Boot = Trunk
Hand Break = Parking Break
Window Screen = Windshield
Give Way = Yield
Central Reservation = Median
Motor way = Free way
Car Park = Parking Lot
Tarmac / Road surface = Pavement
Pavement = Walk way
Petrol = Gas
If you need any more info or want to read the rules yourself, check the Florida DMV, their handbook is available via this link http://www.flhsmv.gov/handbooks/
Have a Comment on this?