European Driving Question

[LukeVX]

Hello my friends,

I will be traveling to England and France on my late honeymoon (had to save up the money, Married 1/1/05) on June 15. My wife and I are thinking about renting a car. I was wondering if any of my VX friends knew if the clutch is still operated with the left foot on a rental car in Europe. I figure I will only be able to drive a rental that is standard if the only thing that is reversed is the shift knob. Operating the clutch with my right foot and the gas with my left might be a bit if a stretch with all the other new changes in traveling over there. Thanks guys!

Luke Wagner
Evansville, IN

[mbeach]

Everything (including the shift pattern) is the same as US. You just sit on the wrong side of the car.

[kpaske]

Mbeach is right. Other than the fact that you are sitting on the wrong side of the car (and driving on the wrong side of the road (!)) the only catch with driving a right hand drive vehicle with a clutch is that the shifter is operated with the left hand. The pedals are in the same order.

[LukeVX]

Thanks guys. You have saved me some rental money!

Luke

[james1_10018]

Be carefull of the roundabouts in Englands" Marble arch, its kind of crazy and exciting

[Ldub]

In preperation for your trip you may wish to watch "Nat.Lamps.European Vacation" a couple of times. "Parliment kids...Big Ben"...still crax me up.
Happy Honeymoon, Ldub

[LukeVX]

Already watched it at least 100 times. I hear ya :p !

[wekilled]

When you rent a car (lived in Germany for 4 years and drove to Czech, Italy, Netherlands, you name it) --get a model they dont have here in the US. There are some really fun vehicles to rent. Many have a sixth gear as well for high speed autobahn driving. Depending on the size you want smallest is a Smartcar.

My wife and I used to play a fun game when we'd get cars with the seat heaters. Actually she'd play and I was the target. When I wasnt looking she'd turn the seat heater on full bore and I'd sit there like a frog in a slowly boiling pan literally sweating my as* off until I figured it out. For her it never got old.

If you go to Paris have fun! Drink about 6 cups of espresso and hit the turning circles for full on combat driving.

Never drove in England though. Have fun!

[BritVX]

Luke,

Everyones answered your clutch question so I won't bother however I would question your choice. In England you'll find the roads crowded, particularly in the south, there's a lot of stop/starting. For this reason my wife and I both drive auto's, for you it has the added advantages of not continually trying to change gear with the door handle! (a problem I had the first time I drove a left hander) and being able to concentrate more on what the fool in front of you is doing (and there are plenty of them) leading to a less stressful holiday. There can also be a bonus, the hire companies here don't have a lot of small auto's so even though you book a small car they will often upgrade you as they don't have the small one available, it's worked nearly every time for me and I've booked a hell of a lot of cars!

I hope you have an enjoyable visit and if you visit Harrogate look out for a lifted red VX, it'll definately be me as it's the only one.

Rgds Col

[LukeVX]

Keep the info coming. You guys are great. I'll keep my eye out for you BritVX!

Luke

[crager34]

Wrong side of the road? Wrong side of the car?

[davidashaw]

Hi Luke

BritVX, has it right! go for an auto and chances are you will be upgraded, Manual shift is a pain in the A**, espacially with the traffic over here, eventually the the door handle will get tired of trying to shift!!! If you end up near Southampton you may see a Green (jap) VX (my other half), or My US spec Ebony VX, Love to rent it to you but may be in France when you are over!! anyway the gas prices over here are out of order, 0.85 ltr for regular unleaded. whatever U end up doing have a great visit.

Have a good trip,

David

[mbeach]

Wrong side of the road? Wrong side of the car?

Americentric thinking... even though I fully acknowledge the fact that the average European driver is more capable than the majority of American drivers.

[PeteVX]

I agree, go with an auto if you can, you will have your hands full with the traffic, narrower roads and generally quicker driving, make sure you can parralel park too!
After living in the states for a few years then going back to the UK i realised how much more space there is here (US). I also have an auto over here for when my folks come over, they are used to a stick but its easier on them navigating etc when they dont have to worry about changing gear.

[WyrreJ]

Americentric thinking... even though I fully acknowledge the fact that the average European driver is more capable than the majority of American drivers.

I don't think its americentric. How many countries don't drive on the right side? England, the Irelands, Japan, Australia (?) and maybe a couple smaller asian countries like Thailand(?). I think the majority of drivers, world-wide, drive on the right side of the road.

[DK]

[QUOTE=LukeVX]Hello my friends,

I will be traveling to England and France on my late honeymoon (had to save up the money, Married 1/1/05) on June 15.




I just went through the rental process to get a car in Italy. One of the things you must be aware of is that there are insurance costs in Europe that you don't normally have here in the US. These plus the taxes, road charges, etc., can more than double the quoted price.

Also there are some hefty deductibles involved. In some cases your US insurance and credit card company will help cover you -- but if you do have an accident you will be responsible for paying for the repairs and then collecting them from the credit company. If the car gets stolen, that could be a back breaker.

I did find an outfit that had competitive prices all over Europe and their insurance coverage had a ZERO deductible. They also were offering free upgrades, cell phones, etc., in certain countries. I'd give them a look before making any decisions.


http://www.autoeurope.com/index.cfm

DK

[mbeach]

Best advise ever: (found via Google)
"If you are planning to visit the UK and happen to come from one of the many countries that drive on the wrong side of the road, the following advice, direct from the Ministry of Transport, is for you:

“Visitors are informed that in the United Kingdom traffic drives on the left-hand side of the road. In the interests of safety, you are advised to practise this in your country of origin for a week or two before driving in the UK.”"

Really only about 1/3 of the world's population drives on the left side of the road, I still stand by my statement that the majority of American drivers are terrible however.

[kpaske]

I must agree that Americans in general are terrible drivers. Anyone who has travelled outside the country has probably noticed that most drivers from other countries drive like absolute maniacs but yet, you hardly ever seen major accidents...