One of the first questions I get asked,
being an American in Oz,
is about driving on the left.
"Is it hard?"
"Does it feel weird?"
"How did you adjust?"
Moving to Oz,
I was very concerned about this as well.
As a sales rep, I drive a lot.
Like thousands of miles each month.
I was worried that I'd exhaust myself each day,
by concentrating so much on my driving.
Can I just pause the story for a second,
to say how excited I was to finally score a picture of the kangaroo sign?
You only see these in the more rural areas,
and because you're in the middle of nowhere, you're going really fast,
and it makes it nearly impossible to snap a clear photo.
Okay, thanks for that.
Now, back to the story :)
When we moved here,
we left Los Angeles at 11:00pm (ish),
flew 15 hours non-stop to Sydney,
and arrived around 6:30am two days later.
A driver picked up us and brought us to our temporary accommodations.
Then he asked if I'd like to go to my company headquarters to pick up my car.
It seemed like a good idea since I had no clue how to get there via public transport.
So there we were, after traveling 15+ hours of traveling, with our new car.
The car where you sit on the right side,
and drive on the left side.
And the consequences of screwing up while driving on the opposite side of the road?
Massive.
Yeah, no pressure.
So what did we do?
We coached each other like crazy!
"Okay honey, we're coming up on a RIGHT turn. Remember, this is the BIG turn.
We have to watch for traffic and yield."
Stuff like that...
...the worst nightmare of people who hate backseat drivers.
But it worked.
We gave each other feedback on everything from lane position,
to where to turn,
to speed limits,
and which exits to take.
We concentrated 100% on driving safely.
We also took turns driving every day for the first week,
to force ourselves to get the practice.
And gradually, it got easier.
We started to remember to walk to the right side of the car to drive,
and to walk to the left side of the car as a passenger.
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wombat caution sign |
Would you like to know the hardest habit to break?
The most frustrating, difficult one that still gets me on occasion?
Using my RIGHT hand for the turn signal.
When I screw this up, I end up with the windshield wipers on,
while trying to turn,
with no turn signal.
NOT COOL. Not cool at all.
 |
I have no clue what type of giant bird this could be referencing. Perhaps an emu? |
 |
A farewell gift from USA friends--a bobble head version of our dog, Mazzy. |
Fortunately, driving on the left is second nature to me now.
It's not the constant effort I feared it would be.
In fact, I've gotten so good,
I was ballsy enough to film some video for you while driving.
{I don't know why I said 'dollars' so weird.
Hubby made fun of me for that.
Let's just hope I don't speak like that in real life.}
Have you ever driven on the left?
P.S. All sign photos were taken near
Wilson's Promontory National Park in Melbourne.