Monday 5 February 2007

"Other Side of the Road" - Smokie, 1979



John and I went to Swindon on Saturday for a family gathering. While there, my brother-in-law Paul and I were talking about the differences between driving in the UK and in North America. There are lots of them, as I learned when I finally managed to get my "driving licence" in the UK in 2004.

While surfing a little at lunchtime today, I found a good website with tips for UK drivers planing to drive in North America. The man who put this together has spent a great deal of time doing so. It appears to be a good resource, and I've recommended it to Paul.

What especially caught my eye, though, was the "American English to British English Dictionary - Driving". When I was going through my extensive UK driving lessons, I found that there were a myriad of terms we use differently...to the extent that occasionally I didn't even know what my instructor was asking me to do! I thought I'd share this with Lord Celery's readers, if you're interested.

The differences between driving in the UK and in North America are more than just changing sides of the road...and the fact that the steering wheel is inconveniently located on the other side of the car!

By the way, some of you might wonder what-in-the-world that God-awful photo at the top of this entry represents. It's called "The Magic Roundabout", and it's located right there in Swindon. Personally, I think it's evil.

Janet

Listening to: "The Crane Wife", The Decemberists

(A big thank-you to both Bob Harris (from his BBC Radio 2 show) and NPR's "All Songs Considered" podcasts for the introduction to this band!)

2 Comments:

At 05 February, 2007 16:31 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

That looks to be a monstrous roundabout! So many here in the States do not know how to enter these traffic circles and come close to causing many accidents.

 
At 06 February, 2007 06:49 , Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've just had a look at the guide for UK Drivers... When in the States for THE wedding I was surpirsed at how quiet all the roads were. Reading through the guide I now understand why! The rules are simply *so confusing* that I'm surpirsed anyone can remember them all!

Give me a simple Magic Roundabout any day.

PS - are american cars so big so as to be able to carry all those rule books?

 

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