Driving in Britain is not difficult, but it is different in enough ways to catch visitors out. The left-hand side is the least of it.
The essentials
- Drive on the left. Overtake on the right. The driver sits on the right of the car.
- Speeds are in miles per hour — 30 in towns, 60 on single carriageways, 70 on dual carriageways and motorways.
- Fuel is sold in litres, priced per litre. Petrol is gasoline; diesel is diesel. Putting the wrong one in is a common and expensive mistake.
- Most cars are manual. If you cannot drive a manual, you must specifically book an automatic hire car, and they cost more and sell out.
Roundabouts
The thing that unnerves American drivers most, and the thing that works best once understood. Britain has tens of thousands of them and almost no four-way stops.
The rules: give way to traffic coming from your right, do not stop if the way is clear, and signal left as you leave. There is no stop sign and no taking turns — you merge into a gap. Traffic flows continuously, and this is why they are used.
Multi-lane roundabouts have lane markings telling you which lane to use for which exit, and it is worth reading them in advance. And yes, Swindon has a “Magic Roundabout” consisting of five mini-roundabouts arranged around a sixth, which locals navigate without difficulty and everyone else photographs in disbelief.
The roads are narrow
Rural lanes are frequently single-track with passing places, bounded by hedges or stone walls with no verge, and blind bends are common. The etiquette is that whoever is nearest a passing place reverses to it, and a raised hand of thanks afterwards is expected.
American visitors routinely hire a car larger than they need and regret it within a day. Book something small.
Motorways
Motorways are prefixed M — the M1, M6, M25. The rules that catch people out:
- Keep left. The right-hand lanes are for overtaking only, and returning to the left afterwards is a legal requirement.
- Never undertake — overtaking on the left is prohibited.
- No stopping on the hard shoulder except in an emergency, and “smart motorways” convert it into a running lane at times, indicated by overhead gantries.
Cameras and charges
Speed cameras are everywhere, fixed and average-speed, and they are not a bluff — hire companies pass fines directly to you with an administration charge. Britain has no tolerance for speeding in the way some countries do.
London has a Congestion Charge for driving in the centre on weekdays and an Ultra Low Emission Zone covering all of Greater London, both payable online, both automatically enforced by camera. Many other cities have clean air zones. Check before you drive into any city centre, and honestly, do not drive in London at all.
Parking
Yellow lines at the kerb mean restrictions: a single yellow line means no parking during posted hours, a double yellow means no parking at any time. Enforcement is brisk and unsentimental.