My 67B Won't Let Me Drive It -- Any Suggestions ??

Well I have given up trying to drive my RHD 67B. It just doesn't come naturally to me even though my husband and others seem to not have a problem. Maybe the stroke I had won't let me drive from the passenger seat. Hubby says all I have to do is pretend he is driving and I'm sitting in the passenger seat changing gears for him but that doesn't work. Needless to say it's going to be history in short order.

Any of ya'll ever try driving one and if so did you have problems doing so ??


Your turn :)

I rented a stick shift car in Ireland last summer and it took me a day or so to get the hang of shifting with my left hand. I would think that driving a RHD car on the right in the USA would make left turns a real challenge.

Keep at it Naomi, it's an acquired taste.
Cheers,

No problem at all, driving a RHD car :D

My daily driver is a RHD '67 BGT. I actually feel more natural in RHD cars than LHD cars for some reason. Three of my current cars are RHD and are all different to drive. The first time I drove a RHD car was an older MG. It was a bit strange at first but I became accustomed to it in a couple days.

Some people are just a bit more set in their ways and have trouble with RHD, often with shifting specifically. My wife took much longer to get natural with our RHD cars than I did but eventually it became natural to her as well. When she takes my car now, she doesn't think twice about it except that she often goes to the wrong door to get in. ;)

Maybe you simply need to drive it every day for a month to burn it in. If you do decide to sell, it should go quickly. There isn't a huge demand for RHD cars in North America but there is a market and they are hard to find.

Hi Na,
I've driven twice in UK w/manual trans. cars but not MG.
I found it very useful to not try so hard to concentrate on operation of shifting (foot work is the same),
and to follow other cars until you're comfortable w/traffic patterns. It should be alot easier driving
A RHD car in USA than a non-familiar RHD in UK, and that wasnt too difficult.
practice, practice, practice.
RS

I alternate between a LHD MGB and a RHD Riley Elf. No problem with the shifter, but it always take me a couple of tries to get the hang of the turn signal stalk on the right on the Riley. I reach for it on the left side of the steering column, and it just isn't there.
Bruce

I've driven a couple of LHD cars but not for many miles. I found the hardest thing wasn't the act of driving but using the road from the wrong seat, as you would in yours.

I found it harder than driving a RHD car on the right in Europe, probably because I was at least sitting in a familiar seat.

All I can suggest is keep trying and it'll come eventually and you'll feel natural with it.

Hi Naomi,

I alternate between my RHD B and a LHD Golf and don't have any problem except with the dreaded indicator column stalk on the 'wrong' side. Funnily enough I have more problems when I go back to Scotland now - drove 200 yards up a street in Rosyth on the wrong side last time (wrong side of the street - not wrong seat in the car!).

You didn't say exactly what problem you're having - is it gear changing or overtaking or - - what?

Jack

My first experience with RHD was traveling with my boss to our company's UK facility. He had rented a car, and upon landing at Heathrow at 6AM (overnight flight), in a rainstorm, he announces "you drive, I'm not good with RHD cars". I was fine until I hit the infamous "magic roundabout" in Hemel-Hempstead just minutes from our final destination (see attached picture). Man, was I confused! After traveling through this at rush hour 2x per day for a week, I did finally get the hang of it....
Bob

(in case it's not obvious :spinning: - this consists of 6 smaller roundabouts feeding into a bi-directional (!!) larger roundabout....)

Hey Naomi,RHD is very easy...do it every day!!...its LHD that is a real problem for me...suggest holiday in NZ and you will have no choice but to drive RHD...keep at it ....like learning to ride a bike...

Naomi, keep in mind that mail carriers all over the US drive in RHD vehicles every day. It took me 100 miles or so to really get used to, but now it is second nature. The only thing that I still occasionally "stumble" on when changing from LHD to RHD is the turn signal stalk location (as a few others have mentioned).

For what it's worth, as a rock drummer, I have learned (from books and magazines) that the brain literally increases in size as you make it do things "on the opposite side". You literally just need to exercise that part of your brain a little bit until the mental "muscles" get strong and then there's nothing to it. Interestingly, driving RHD every day really strengthened my left side for drums. (It's an odd phenomenon, but it's very real)

I have never found any particular thing (such as turning in this or that direction) to be harder or less safe in a RHD car on US roads. After a little more getting used to it, it won't bother you at all. And it's kinda fun on the "wrong" side!

Regarding the various comments about pros and cons, see here for a short description of drivign RHD cars in the USA: http://www.mgnuts.com/rhdcars/

Are you left handed by any chance?

Pete

I am left handed and hate driving in the UK. My brain does not like to switch polarity.

Drove a left hooker while in the UK and the only way to survive was to make sure the curb was always at my elbow. Parallel parking was easy! You would have the same situation with a RHD here in North America.

Pete

My experience with RHD is all rural so I don't know how I'd do in city traffic. City traffic is something I avoid like the plague anyway so it doesn't really matter.

My experience is in one of those little Japanese trucks with kind of a flat bed on it. Dad has one and I hopped in and took right off. I was always concerned about the foot pedals but when I saw they were the same everything was fine. I didn't have any problems at all shifting. Now driving on the highway, even tho only two lane, was a bit different and took a little adjusting to in my mind and the being safe thing when in our little town.

My thought is jump in and drive it every chance you get. Starting on rural roads or side streets. In a while it should be as second nature as LHD.

Vic

are there any states where a rhd car is illegal?

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125086852452149513.html

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125086852452149513.html#


apparently it's our fault :D

Naomi
when I was in the US and driving I, as much as possible, kept my right hand on the gear lever. This helped to familiarise me to where the gear was and then I could concentrate on the usual engine revs, car speed etc.Try doing this with your left hand. Keep at it and it comes naturally. Eventually, moving the left foot for the clutch and left hand for the gear lever, particularly going from 4th to 3rd and 2nd to 1st makes a lot more sense.
...Chris

Try driving backwards????

naomi, check with your doctor and see what he says about your medical condition. (he'll probably say maybe) if you truly have a condition that prevents you from driving this then it is indeed time to let it go. good luck. strokes can sometimes do strange things to the way you process information. or then again, it could be good therapy. indeed check with your doctor.

Send it to me, I'd love to try it out.:drinking: