The Right Way To Drive on the Left

Perhaps the folks in Ireland have gotten a bit wary of our attempts to drive on the left side of the road. Or maybe they're just being friendly. Either way, the Ashford Castle hotel in western Ireland has offered help steer us in the right direction by offering driving lessons, in their How to Drive on the Left program. Driving instructors will teach everything from interpreting Gaelic road signs to how to maneuver clockwise around traffic circles.

We wondered whether tourists were terrorizing Cong, the tiny 150-person village where Castle is located, with their shoddy driving techniques. But it turns out it the locals are actually fine with bringing more people to the town.

"Actually, the idea started here in New York," said Ashford Castle spokesperson Geoffrey Weill. "Many Americans are terrified to drive in Britain, and perfecting the art on the quiet roads around Cong we felt was a super idea. It’s that simple!"

Of course, the 38-room castle is about 26 miles from Galway—so getting there in the first place might be an issue. You might want to get an experienced driver to help you navigate the way before you get behind the wheel.

Photos: courtesy of Failte Ireland

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Comments

[Horse N. Buggy]

I love driving in Ireland. I have been to Cong. It is a lovely town, really tiny. There is basically one big square loop around which to drive and then you're out of the town. I'd say it is a good place to learn.

There are two big problems driving on the left:

1. Being afraid of the centerline (and oncoming traffic) and hugging the left edge of the road to compensate. Particularly in Ireland, this is hazardous to side mirrors and the car's paint.

2. Learning to look right, left, right when turning on to a street. It can also take a little while to figure out which lane to look into to check for traffic.

But it's really not that big of a deal.

[photon]

I got used to driving on the left in Ireland fairly quickly. It was the width of the roads that continually gave me fits. Creeping forward to pass a bus coming the opposite way on the Dingle peninsula was bad enough; meeting one coming full speed on a road not much wider than the bus itself took several years off my life.

I'm still amazed that both outside mirrors remained intact at the end of the week.

[placeswegopeoplewesee]

When I bicycled along Hadrian's Cycleway in northern England this past fall it was my time *cycling* on the left side of the road. Now that was something else. Several times friends cycling behind me had to yell "left, left,left" when I started off on the wrong (i.e. right) side of the road. The roundabouts were the scariest! Yikes!! It was an awesome trip, though, and I did eventually internalize that right was in fact wrong.