Driving...on the wrong side

Australia is one of those crazy countries where they drive on the left side of the road. It's also crazy because if you're from America or any number of other countries, they just give you a license. No test or anything to ensure that you are, in fact, the kind of person that can make this switch without heading down the road in the wrong lane.

I actually got my Australia drivers license this week, but I could also have driven on my U.S. license if I wanted. I decided to get my AU license so I'd have a photo ID and because I've been told it might make insurance cheaper if I rent a car. Not sure if that's true, but at any rate, I feel more entitled to drive since the motor registry actually looked at me, saw I was a bumbling American, and STILL gave me a license.

So this weekend it was time to see how I did on the roads.

Sydney has this cool company called GoGet, which is a car sharing service. The cars are parked all around the city. When you need to drive, you just find the car closest to you, reserve it, and then unlock it using this fancy card reader in the car. You pay a flat hourly rate, and then a charge per kilometer and any tolls you pass. It's a really good deal if you just need to use a car for a few hours!

All the cars in the GoGet system are named; we took Bill the Yaris out.

I booked Bill for early morning: 7 - 8. I figured there wouldn't be too much traffic at that time. There was a bit more than I thought there would be - you never notice how busy the roads are until you don't want them to be!

It was pretty nerve-wracking to start off. On my first left turn, I headed for the wrong lane, but my co-pilot was there to help me!

It was super weird to be driving on that side of the car. But I think it kind of helped me to remember to stay on the left side. On the downside, though, I kept turning on the windshield wipers when I tried to signal.

Quick photo op at a light

We drove up north, avoiding the city and the freeways. I'll save those for another time!

Keeping on the smaller roads gave me lots of chances to practice on the roundabouts - they are everywhere! - and parallel parking. I've never been a master parallel parker, but I still need a fair amount of practice here.

Sigh... Need better technique!

Anyway, we made it back, safe and sound. I need to keep practicing, but it's not a scary unknown anymore.

Thanks, Bill!

Posted with Blogsy