Taking the Low Road

Get the U.K. Highway Code booklet – and read it!

Sorry, this definitely should’ve been part of Tip #1. We had to order our booklet by post for our first trip but – lucky you – you can get yours online: The Highway Code : Directgov – Travel and transport.

Driving on the left side of the road from the right side of the car would make driving a bit of a challenge even in your own city – where you know the traffic rules and you’re familiar with the streets. Plop yourself . . .

• into an unfamiliar city,
• with slightly different traffic rules,
• traffic signs of unfamiliar icons with no words,
• streets and roads the width of our sidewalks,

and you’ve got an accident waiting to happen.

We – rubes, that we were –  thought that because we were all speaking the same language, our traffic rules would be similar, too. Turns out, we were wrong on both counts.

Roundabouts – while becoming more commonplace in the U.S. – are still an unknown commodity for many U.S. citizens. Large-scale roundabouts with all kinds of exit options are almost non-existent here and ubiquitous there. Just how does one negotiate a large-scale roundabout? The code booklet tells you how.

You’re on a sidewalk-width B road in the country. You meet on oncoming car. No room for passing. What do you do? Hint: the answer includes the word “lay-by” – a word you’ve never heard. But you would’ve known all about it and the correct action to take if you’d read the Highway Code booklet.

Still unconvinced you should read this little 100-page booklet? Okay, Smarty-Pants, what does a large white circle with a red border mean? Don’t know, do you? It means the street/area is off limits to any vehicles except bicycles being pushed. Not being ridden – being pushed. Yes, well. I don’t make ‘em; I just try to abide by ‘em while I’m there. You should, too, and the Highway Code booklet will help you do it.

Let’s say you ignore this Driving in Scotland Tip #6, get your rental car onto the streets of Glasgow, and notice there are just no policemen or troopers about. “Whoohoo! Even if I screw up, who’s going to know?” Don’t be an idiot: the U.K. Department for Transport relies almost exclusively on cameras to catch people like you. Aim your rental car down a street with one of those red-outlined circles and very shortly, you could be shelling out the US dollar equivalent of £100 because a discreetly placed camera caught you.

So. Up to you. But the smart money’s on learning about the traffic rules before you get there and doing your best to obey them once you’re there. Saves adrenaline. Saves dings and the predictable hassles with the rental car company. Saves traffic fines. Saves visits to foreign ERs. Saves lives – maybe yours.