Comments by "Helmuth Schultes" (@helmuthschultes9243) on "American REacts to Why Do the British Drive on the LEFT???" video.

  1. I spent in effect over 30 years of my over 40 years working life in automotive fevelopment. Mainly testing and calibration of fuel injection. As part ofcthat work involved extensive projects in various countries, i have much experience driving both sides, abd even harder driving cars with steering on opposite to local standard layout. Original driving is Australia, so first 10+ years all Righthand steering and leftside traffic. Then to learn Fuel Injection work spent nearly 6 months in Germany, driving mainly Left steering, rightside traffic as standard in Europe. As part of that learning had to drive various test cars from little compact Fiats to larger sedans like Rover, Jaguar and sports cars, turbo and even 100% Alcahol vehicles. As the test fleet covered world market, there were also both left and right hand steering models. So I had the situation of learning right side traffic yet still found myself in right hand steering cars, but driving on ride side of the roads. In heavier traffic following other traffic was easy, except passing becomes much harder as you now have difficulty seeing past the car infront, especially in low sports cars. One big issue when not familiar with opposite side to familar learned mode, for many drivers is taking turns from one road into another at intersections, and going into the wrong lanes while doing the traffic turn . No serious problem following other traffic, BIG problem in light traffic, at night, or when tired after long trips. Another mistake is turning onto major highways, either turning into an exit road so wrong way direction or taking the entry ramp to the oppsite travel direction intended, needing to travel the highway till next exit possibility, often many kilometer/miles thus further from destination, and needing to go back the right direction. The going into an exit rsmp and effectively going "Ghost" driver into oncomming traffic becomes dangerous. Yet it was at least for me, quickly adjusted for the variations and in the 30 or so years driving in many countries with all mixed combinations left/right steering, left/right traffic really very few issues beyond that passing difficulty when on wrong car side to see into the passing lane. One driving aspect that did need care and concentration was doing both left and right side traffic within hours timing. Driving to the airport in Germany right side traffic, fly to UK (1hr flight), drive left side traffic, a hirecar to car plant, then travel to do some test driving at Lotus Proving Ground, on both left and righthand steering test vehicles, five hours later, so nearing 11hrs since start of the day, drive back to Heathrow airport, fly back to Germany (1hr), then in relatively tired sleepy state back to my hotel right side traffic, on almost empty roads. On one testing trip in Germany, we had done a 500km trip for a Australian engineer to visit some distant family relatives. Late at night on returning to our test location the Australian engineer was on a small country road after a bend confronted by a tractor and trailer coming at him on his side of the road, right side. But we were in an Australian test car with Right steering driving on the German right sude on the road. In that shock of suddenly having oncomming tractor-trailer the driver was frightened and uncertsin if he or the tractor were driving incorrectly. The driver hit the brakes hard and did a minor swerve in panic and uncertainty. The tractor did a left turn across the road entering a small farm dirt road via a gate. That instant confusion tired, end of long trip, dark road all that was visible was in the headlights lit road infront and a pair of dimmer headlights of a tractor oncoming. Not pleasant at all. Hard was once in South Korea, having to take on driving because the test team by the Korean car company only had teo people with driving license and we had three test cars to drive nearly the entite distance south from Seoul. I had a Right steering (Australian) car to follow the Korean drivers firstly down a 5 lane major road and they zipped along, switching lanes often leaving me hard-pressed to keep up. Then a major T intrrsection with road signage no help and no ideal whether they went left or right, as they were out of sight for some distance already. I chose right path. Some distance down the highway, I pulled into a large roadside fuel and cafe stop, with big car park. Surprise near the cafe not visible from highway were the two other cars. The Koreans without telling me had preplanned a rest stop there. I had no detsils of final destination nor any maps. Driving in Korea is by far the most harrowing caotic traffic I have experienced anywhere in the world. Maybe China and some California freeway traffic jams are worse I do not know. Depending on how skilled and confident a driver is will make the issue of Left or Right traffic applies easy or very difficult. By far having the correct left or right steering does make it easier, than sitting on wrong side of car for the road traffic side valid. So possibly taking own vehicle to travel into countries with opposite traffic conditions does not help, it may well hinder. Though for US people that is less an issue since all adjacent countries are the same side. A hired different to normal vehicle makes adjusting easier as the driver combines adapting to vehicle as well as road conditions, attention hightened. Few people would face my complexity of vehicles and road conditions in even short time spans. Yet for me it is no issue at all, now all combinations are quite natural no problem, nor are road surfaces sand, mud, gravel, snow, ice, rocky, dunes, flooded even pure cross country (no actual road/tracks). Manual or Automatic also no issue many US people would be in difficulty if only manual vehicles were available.
    1