Driving in the UK

For first -time visitors to Britain, the initial reaction to driving, or being driven, on the "wrong side" of seemingly narrow roads is one of minor alarm at least. Don't worry, though, the British are used to it and, in general, they are fairly tolerant drivers. If you have decided to rent a car for a few days there are one or two particular points of which you should be aware.

Roundabouts

American visitors in particular are generally unused to negotiating the roundabouts that replace the 4-way stops with which they are more familiar. The idea is that traffic continually merges, much as cogs in a machine might mesh, and the golden rule is "give way to traffic coming from your right". This rule does not mean, however, that you need necessarily stop for such traffic. You must judge whether you can conveniently slot in to the flow, and the approaching driver will expect you to do so. More to the point, so will the driver right behind you and, if you stop unnecessarily, he might come visiting!

Traffic lights

Many junctions are controlled by traffic lights whose sequence is different from that in the US and other countries. After the red stop light, red and amber show together before green comes on. After green, amber comes on alone before the red stop light. It is not permitted to turn on red unless there is a specific filter light with an arrow.