Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Right Hand Drive to Left Hand Drive >> Experiences

In India we have >> Right Hand Drive .
In Saudi Arabia , Bahrain , United Arab Emirates >> Left Hand Drive.

So how to master left hand drive. Well no other option other than doing it :) .

The main difficulties/challenges ecountered while changing from right hand drive to left hand drive are

  • Understanding your own road
  • The controls
  • Viewing the rear mirror.
Understanding which part of the road belongs to you, is a tough part initially. Especially when you make turns or while cruising through the busy streets . If you dont take the right path and directions, you might end up in creating a total mess and inviting all the good bad words .
Solution >>
  1. Easiest way . Follow the sun. Follow the cars that are going in front and take them as reference.
  2. Keep in mind , that both drivers [incoming and outgoing] will be moving side by side. so take the road where the car which is coming opposite is sliding near you. [This is applicable in both left and right hand drives]
Controls. The controls of car will be confusing as, instead of side switching this remains the same for both type. You will be riding the vehicle and you wanna make a turn or want to change line to slow lane from fast line. You will turn the indicator control , which will make ur wiper work :) and you will hear wild horns while making a move. Then you recognize the mistake and identify the right control.
Solution >>
  • Get used to it
  • Keep in mind the settings.
Viewing the rear mirror is the right way to view the traffic behind you and predict who is going to where & at what speed. This helps in calculating your turns and speed. After all driving is totally depended on calculations. On switching the drives , you will loose the routine of looking into mirror as you feel a vaccum as you looks to your left side[right side drive effect].
Solution >>
  • Get used to it [Nothing else]

Since driving totally depends on calculations and previous experience. Its better to watch the driving sense and traffic displine before enter into high speed cicuits.So better know the route and then make most of it.

Passing the driving test in ME is a tough one , but having an Indian license will help you to take test directly without adding more days in driving school .


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