Driving in America

[Snickals]

Hi all!
So this year we have decided to rent a car for the first time. I have never driven anywhere other than Australia and am feeling really nervous about it. Just sitting in the American passenger side feels weird to me lol So was wondering if there is a website where I can find road rules (I saw last time you can turn right? on a red light...I would be too scared and be sitting there lol) and gets some handy hits...will only be driving in Florida. Thanks!!!

 

[kylieh]

Not sure on Florida road rules, but for practice what works for DH is to Google Map and "drive along" in street view where we will be going, but when the Google Map is going in the same direction IYKWIM.

He has been practicing again over the last week or so for our trip in 5 weeks.

 

[PrincessInOz]

An online pdf of the Florida Driver handbook can be found here.

http://www.dmv.org/fl-florida/driver-handbook.php


The things that I found different:
1. 4-way stops. At a 4-way stop sign, the car that gets to the "front" first gets right of way. The trick is working out which car is ahead of you!!!
2. Turning right at a red light. You probably need to come to a complete stop first; check the traffic and then turn if it is safe to do so.
3. The express lanes are for multi-passenger cars. How the heck do you enter the lane???? If there are double or solid lines, don't change lanes. And check the boards to see what times the express lanes apply; if there are signs.


Otherwise, it's pretty much like driving at home....only on the other side of the street.

 

[Sugarglider]

An online pdf of the Florida Driver handbook can be found here.

http://www.dmv.org/fl-florida/driver-handbook.php


The things that I found different:
1. 4-way stops. At a 4-way stop sign, the car that gets to the "front" first gets right of way. The trick is working out which car is ahead of you!!!
2. Turning right at a red light. You probably need to come to a complete stop first; check the traffic and then turn if it is safe to do so.
3. The express lanes are for multi-passenger cars. How the heck do you enter the lane???? If there are double or solid lines, don't change lanes. And check the boards to see what times the express lanes apply; if there are signs.


Otherwise, it's pretty much like driving at home....only on the other side of the street.

I've driven a lot in Central Florida (from coast to coast) and the most problematic thing is staying awake! Long, flat stretches of road.
Ummm ... in all my driving I have not come across PIO's No. 1 and 3 in Central Florida (in California - yes).
Driving on the other side becomes second nature very quickly. I just remember I should not have the curb outside my window! I have, unfortunately, when distracted, entered driveways on the wrong side - a couple of times.
And i am sure that woman who tells me where to go (Mrs. Garmin) is taking me the long way round.
Have fun - and get outside WDW property and see some more things!!

 

[Snickals]

We are staying out at Kissimmee so will have to make our way into Disney and be brave and venture to other places to explore. Am getting a navman for sure!

Stupid question...Are the accelerator/brake the same as here (accelerator or right side)?

So nervous about this lol

 

[ssour]

The right turn on red is just like the occasional left turn permitted on red here (in NSW any way). I find I have to concentrate more on my position in the lane but don't have any troubles with which side of the road to be on. I always hit my hand on the door when I try to put the car in gear too! I've only driven in Florida and never had any probs. I find they all like to speed (I think being pulled over for speeding must be like a game of chance because almost all of them should), so tend to stick to the right lane. I find things are well signposted and normally don't even bother with a GPS, Google maps in advance does the trick for me. There won't be many places where the roads will be deserted so just follow some ones else's lead - getting out if the rental car park will probably be the trickiest part, try to follow someone out of there if you can.

 

[SnowWhite09]

I just got back from my first experience and drove around Florida and from LA to Vegas and back. Driving in Florida is relatively easy in comparison to California. You just need to remember long left and short right. If you don't turn on the red and they see you can go they will beep you so just be prepared for that. There are lots of signs and they do drive faster than the speed limit, but they will just go around if you are not driving fast enough for them. They will let you in when you have your blinker on and just go with the flow and should be fine. Lots of pre-warning signs on the freeways for WDW turnoffs and great signs once you are on WDW property.

 

[izzybjenn]

I drove last time I was in the states. Went to a friends place, picked her up, pulled out if the driveway and off we went. Felt so good, yep I can handle this driving thing. My friend was pissing herself laughing. I asked what was wrong. Yep, you guessed it. Wrong side of the road!

What I learnt, if you start to relax and do what feels right. It is wrong! Lol

 

[PrincessInOz]

We are staying out at Kissimmee so will have to make our way into Disney and be brave and venture to other places to explore. Am getting a navman for sure!

Stupid question...Are the accelerator/brake the same as here (accelerator or right side)?

So nervous about this lol

You'll be fine.

The foot accelerator/brake are the same. You won't need to switch for the legs.

 

[Sugarglider]

oh - I forgot about the speed! yeah - they are a fast in Florida!

The other thing I noticed last year is that WDW signpost everything for the destination, but rarely put the street names. So Mrs Garmin would say "turn into blahdeblah street" and I'd be all where? where? seeing only signs for hotels or parks etc.
I have now discovered they have a way out of Epcot, just to the left of the car park payment gates

 

[zanzibar138]

I haven't driven in Florida so can't really comment on that. The hardest thing for me was staying in the correct position in my lane. I was still trying to 'line up' with the line as per here. The trouble was, here that line is in the middle of the road, over there it was on the edge. DH had to yell out if I was getting too close to the edge.

I drove on the wrong side once, in a little tiny town on Route 66 where there were no other cars on the road. DH was pretty quick to correct me! Generally you'll be fine if you're on a multi-lane highway/freeway, or if there is plenty of traffic around (so you can't get to the wrong side even if you try!).

I have two main suggestions. First it is mentally draining driving over there - it requires real concentration, just like you're learning to drive all over again. All your instincts are gone (like you have to check your blind spot on the other side etc). Make sure you switch drivers often on long drives.

The second one is to make sure you get an automatic, even if you drive a manual at home and are completely comfortable with it. There is enough to get used to without having to worry about changing gears. Even DH was pretty pleased that he didn't have to worry about that and he's a pretty confident driver. I would definitely go GPS as well - anything that you don't have to think about will make driving that much easier

 

[Sugarglider]

Oh - I had another driving memory today - pumpin' gasssssssssss......

(and i don't mean the reaction from too many mickey baked beans and cabbage meals)

Unlike here - fill first then pay. Over there it's pay first, then fill.

Most Americans seem to swipe a card at the bowser but I have found that none of my NAB cards would be accepted so I had to give them cash over the counter.

Maybe someone has a handy dandy smooth as silk recommendation?

 

[dabecs]

We couldn't work out why the gas wouldn't work, the pre pay thing totally confused us!

I didn't drive, hubby did, but I was very nervous going through the toll booth - the drivers behind are not patient! One of the booths was broken and the person in front of us kept feeding it coins but it wasn't opening - well the number of cars behind us honking was incredible. Thankfully it opened for us (although we had to put in about double the required amount), it was quite stressful.

 

[becpee]

Oh - I had another driving memory today - pumpin' gasssssssssss......

(and i don't mean the reaction from too many mickey baked beans and cabbage meals)

Unlike here - fill first then pay. Over there it's pay first, then fill.

Most Americans seem to swipe a card at the bowser but I have found that none of my NAB cards would be accepted so I had to give them cash over the counter.

Maybe someone has a handy dandy smooth as silk recommendation?

Problem is when you swipe your card you need to punch in a zip code, swipe your card and then ask the person (if there is one) for a zipcode to input and you may have luck...
(Happened to us in 2009, so this info may be outdated by now)

 

[PrincessInOz]

Problem is when you swipe your card you need to punch in a zip code, swipe your card and then ask the person (if there is one) for a zipcode to input and you may have luck...
(Happened to us in 2009, so this info may be outdated by now)

Nope. Still the same. We've tried most things....putting in a couple of zeros before the Aussie postcode and nothing's worked.

We just go in and put cash down.




Who knew??? Cash seems to be universally accepted all over the US.

 

[cola]

I find driving a manual over there I end up winding down the window.....

Automatics are fine.


I usually get used to it pretty quickly, taking more care coming out of driveways onto roads. When I get back here it usually takes a bit longer to adjust back to NOT worrying about being on the other side of the road.

 

[rachaeld]

Nope. Still the same. We've tried most things....putting in a couple of zeros before the Aussie postcode and nothing's worked. We just go in and put cash down. Who knew??? Cash seems to be universally accepted all over the US.

I guess I can thank Beverly Hills 90210 for the fact that I know a us postcode. LOL

 

[TheTexasKid]

I just got back from my first experience and drove around Florida and from LA to Vegas and back. Driving in Florida is relatively easy in comparison to California. You just need to remember long left and short right. If you don't turn on the red and they see you can go they will beep you so just be prepared for that. There are lots of signs and they do drive faster than the speed limit, but they will just go around if you are not driving fast enough for them. They will let you in when you have your blinker on and just go with the flow and should be fine. Lots of pre-warning signs on the freeways for WDW turnoffs and great signs once you are on WDW property.

I know it is irritating to have someone beep, or honk, as we say here in the U.S., for not turning right quick enough to suit the driver behind you, but I'd say ignore them, till you feel it is safe enough to turn. You are a better judge of when it is safe to turn, then the driver beeping or honking behind you. That's what I do.

As for who goes first, when there is 2 or more cars stopped at a 4-way stop, at the same time. I was taught, if you are to the right of the other driver, then you go 1st, but if the other driver is to the right of you, then the other driver goes 1st, but there again, use your best judgment. Sometimes, I just wait out the other driver to they go or turn, before I go, and it doesn't take them long to decide to go or turn.