I have had a driving licence and driven for over 20 years, so I would say that I am an experienced driver. The problem is that when you travel, as a Brit, the chances are that you will be driving on the other side of the road in the majority of countries. Having driven in a few countries now, I find driving in America to be one of the easiest.
For many years, I was nervous about driving in the States and I avoided it. As my interest in travel developed though, I realised that I wanted to travel off the beaten path, explore further afield, and see some things that would just not be possible with public transport. So I dug deep, hired a vehicle and drove in the States for the first time.
Here are some of my observations and tips for anyone else who may be nervous to take that first step of driving abroad!
Hire a bigger vehicle that you would do in the UK or in Europe. The roads in America are large and wide, there is so much space. When driving on the Interstate or Freeway, you will want to be the same size as the other cars, particularly as the trucks and lorries are even bigger. I hire a mid-size SUV as a minimum and I feel quite safe on the roads.
There are registration documents for a car. These will probably be in the glove box of a hired vehicle. You need to know where these are and you need to check that they are there and in date. If stopped by a Police Officer, they will ask to see that and your driving licence.
Automatics are the most common. I drive a manual car but I have only ever been able to hire automatic vehicles in the USA. If you are worried about your left foot, bend it so that it sits behind where your right foot is. That will stop you instinctively trying to use it.
The gear stick isn’t there. You may find a similar problem when you go for the gear stick. In this case, you just end up mildly slapping the drivers door several times on the first few journeys.
The automatic shifter can be anywhere. Cars such as Chevrolets will not have an automatic gear stick on the centre console. The automatic gear stick will be behind the steering wheel, on a stick roughly where the indicators are. You usually have to pull it towards you before pushing up or down as per the directions on the stick to control parking or reverse modes.
When driving, just remember that you, as the driver, should be in the centre of road. So make sure you are closest to the white lines in the middle of the road. In rural areas, you may turn on to a road and not see another car for a few miles, so this is just a handy memory aid.
In many states, you are permitted to turn right on a red light. Read up about this in advance to make sure you know the rules of the state you are in. Any junction where this is not permitted will have a sign, stating that it is not permitted. Be aware that you have to yield to any vehicles that are coming across the junction and any pedestrians who are on a crossing.
At junctions where you are turning left, a yellow arrow may flash. This means that you can turn but you have to yield to the traffic on the other side of the road. When it is a green arrow, you have the right of way.
You have to stop at Stop signs and the car needs to come to a complete stop. You need to check both directions before proceeding. I find that stop signs are at junctions where Britain would put a small roundabout.
America does have roundabouts but they are infrequent. It is strange to drive around them the opposite way!
There will almost certainly be parking where you are going. Whilst in the UK we struggle for parking space, there is usually plenty in America. The spaces are very often diagonal to reduce the need for reverse parking or parallel parking.
Americans describe journeys as with time, describing a location as “1 hour west of [another location]”, which I’ve often noticed when watching movies or listening to podcasts. I have always found that unusual as if we said that in the UK, no-one would ever know where they were going. Our network of roads on our small island is far more complicated than the huge roads that you will discover in the USA. You are able to take a road west out of a city, stay on that road and drive for one hour, you will then reach the desired location. It is still mind blowing to me!
When driving in remote areas of some states, they put signs to warn you when there is a significant distance between Petrol (Gas) Stations. Pay attention and make sure you have enough fuel in your tank.
Petrol (Gas) Stations generally have much more than in the UK. There are usually multiple bathrooms, a large shop, some form of hot food available and all the usually things that may be useful for a road trip. I personally like visiting a Sinclair station as they have a Dino statue or two on every forecourt.
Be aware of Toll Roads and Express Lanes that have charges. If you do not have an EZ Pass (or similar) in your vehicle, you will have to pay a charge. Some Express Lanes only take passes so you would get a fine if you don’t have one. The good news is that the lanes are well marked and advertised well in advance of them starting. You have plenty of notice so that you can move over.
You can do most things from your car. Drive thru eateries aside, you can drive thru a bank, a Pharmacy, and (maybe worryingly) a liquor store. You can also drive thru a wedding chapel in Nevada, if you needed to.
I really did find that the roads are very easy to negotiate and navigate. In general, there is so much space. You don’t have tight country roads, like we would have in Cornwall, the Yorkshire Dales or the Scottish Highlands and Islands. Dead ends are not necessarily a thing. You would rarely struggle to turn your vehicle around. America loves their cars and the roads are built with this in mind.
It can be difficult to walk along the roadside in America, with crossings few and far between. This is because the roads are made for cars and you will benefit from this as a driver.
I have completed a couple of 2000+ mile journeys on my travels around America and I have really enjoyed the driving. So if you are a little nervous about driving but want to explore the country, have the confidence to go out there are try it. I hope that you too find that it is well worth the effort.
