[Serkevan]

In Spain the convention is that anyone on the roundabout gives way to people joining, which is the opposite.

No it's not. In Spain you wait at the entrance of the roundabout, once you are in you don't yield.

[VSTAR]

Once "up-ended" a Canadian tourist in London when he looked Right instead of Left! He was only slightly bruised and so I took him back to his hotel to recover - but it then took me many months to get my insurance No Claims discount re-instated when it was finally clear to the insurance company that no claim would be forthcoming from the guy I knocked over

You keep telling yourself... look right then left, look right then left, and then you rush across the street and boom...you forgot which way to look first...just human nature. Thank goodness never got hit but did get honked once or twice. Maybe they need to give paper signs to tourists at the airport to stick to the back of ones clothes...TOURIST

Your insurance story reminds me of the first week when my province went to “no fault insurance”. Guy backs up with a pick up truck and takes off the front end of my car..,in a parking lot and takes off, witness gave me his licence number. Insurance company took a week until they agreed to pay for repairs..because if no one was charged then no one is at fault or are both parties at fault!

---------- Post added 11-28-2020 at 05:50 PM ----------

Simple way to design roundabouts and learn how to drive in them.,.go to London, Rome, Jerusalem. If yo survive all 3 then you have mastered it.

[BigMackCam]

No it's not. In Spain you wait at the entrance of the roundabout, once you are in you don't yield.

I've driven in Belgium a few times many years ago, where "don't yield" seems to be the rule for every situation I've never seen so many damaged cars on the road simultaneously

[mkgd1]

I've driven in Belgium a few times many years ago, where "don't yield" seems to be the rule for every situation I've never seen so many damaged cars on the road simultaneously

Last time I drove in Belgium was in the eighties, with a British Hillman Avenger estate, towing a caravan. Interesting to say the least. I noticed that if I stopped to give way at a pedestrian crossing, people would look at me incredulously and hesitate, before crossing.

[MarkJerling]

Last time I drove in Belgium was in the eighties, with a British Hillman Avenger estate, towing a caravan. Interesting to say the least. I noticed that if I stopped to give way at a pedestrian crossing, people would look at me incredulously and hesitate, before crossing.

I'm just surprised to hear that you can tow anything with a Hillman Avenger, let alone a caravan!

[MarkJerling]

Don't people know you're supposed to do that check BEFORE entering the road? Follow that guideline, and it doesn't matter which way traffic is flowing.

And yes, I look both ways before crossing one way streets too. I have that little faith in humanity, or at least Wisconsin drivers where they go for the high score on drunk driving citations.

I once almost got run over in Cape Town in Long Street. Long Street is a one-way street and I only looked in the direction that traffic is supposed to come from. Since then, I look both ways, even with one-way streets!

[Liney]

No it's not. In Spain you wait at the entrance of the roundabout, once you are in you don't yield.

Really? Well it must have changed because that was the brief I was given. Admittedly it was back in the mid-80's

---------- Post added 11-29-20 at 01:25 PM ----------

Since then, I look both ways, even with one-way streets!

After a couple fo close shaves with drivers failing to pay attention, I look every direction before crossing the road

[Mooncatt]

After a couple fo close shaves with drivers failing to pay attention, I look every direction before crossing the road

Sometimes that includes the sidewalks themselves.

[rod_grant]

I'm just surprised to hear that you can tow anything with a Hillman Avenger, let alone a caravan!

My dad used to tow an old bondwood caravan (MUCH heavier than the aluminium ones that replaced it!) with a Morris Oxford Mark2.
There was a day in South Gippsland (@Des's country) when we were headed into the wind and he never made it to top gear.

[MarkJerling]

Really? Well it must have changed because that was the brief I was given. Admittedly it was back in the mid-80's

---------- Post added 11-29-20 at 01:25 PM ----------



After a couple fo close shaves with drivers failing to pay attention, I look every direction before crossing the road

What about up? Do you look up?

[MarkJerling]

My dad used to tow an old bondwood caravan (MUCH heavier than the aluminium ones that replaced it!) with a Morris Oxford Mark2.
There was a day in South Gippsland (@Des's country) when we were headed into the wind and he never made it to top gear.

I'm surprised he made it out of first!

[robgski]

It's been so long since I went to England, I can't remember, but while walking on a hiking trail here today I realized Americans naturally walk on the right in a crowd, except for those few who float along in everyone's way. Is it natural for those who drive on the left to walk on the left as well?

[jeallen01]

Should have mentioned this earlier when we were talking about drivers driving straight across roundabouts: about 1/4 mile from here there is a moderately large (around 15-20 yds/m across) one. It is about 2ft /70cm high but with a small stone wall all the way around and the road is only a single car width "and a bit" wide, and with 4 fairly straight roads leading into it.

Almost every week we see that wall damaged and with displaced stones scattered around in front of each entrance because "people" drive up too quickly and "misjudge" how sharp they have to turn Left to go around it!

Some 10 years ago, I added a "variation" to that - I was 1/2 way between 2 entrance roads when the backend "lost grip" and so my front right wing left a pile of stones there - it was a rainy day, and I had previously been promising to get new rear tyres because the tread depth was low, and so I "paid the penalty"

Luckily I had previously taken an identical car (Vauxhall Astra Mk2 Estate/wagon in the same colour) off the road, and so I unbolted the right wing from that and used it to replace the damaged one .

Ever since then, I have been VERY careful going around that roundabout!

---------- Post added 11-29-20 at 08:16 PM ----------

It's been so long since I went to England, I can't remember, but while walking on a hiking trail here today I realized Americans naturally walk on the right in a crowd, except for those few who float along in everyone's way. Is it natural for those who drive on the left to walk on the left as well?

Been the tradition here for hundreds (thousands?) of years - reputedly because, for most people then, the right hand was the "sword hand" and so it would have been "safer" to be able to quickly draw the sword to defend against any aggressor.

[GUB]

It's been so long since I went to England, I can't remember, but while walking on a hiking trail here today I realized Americans naturally walk on the right in a crowd, except for those few who float along in everyone's way. Is it natural for those who drive on the left to walk on the left as well?

Yes. And you can spot the tourists by that fact.

[Parallax]

It's been so long since I went to England, I can't remember, but while walking on a hiking trail here today I realized Americans naturally walk on the right in a crowd, except for those few who float along in everyone's way. Is it natural for those who drive on the left to walk on the left as well?

Yes. And you can spot the tourists by that fact.

This is quite interesting to me as I have noticed the people who come into the gun shop I work in (if they're "just looking") will, almost without exception, go to their right when they come in the door and circle the shop counter/anti clockwise. I wonder if this is a natural thing or if it's related to whether they're somewhere where they drive on the right vs wrong left side of the road.
I read some time ago that if a person is blindfolded and told to walk in what they believe to be a straight line that he will walk in what is actually a very slight arc to the left.