Thursday, June 11, 2009

Driving me crazy!

A few of you have asked us what it's like driving on the right side of the road........I have only one answer........SO, VERY, VERY WRONG !!!
OK, so I have to admit that after 3 months of being here, it has gotten easier. And the fact that most cars here are automatic does indeed help to alleviate the pain somewhat. But after nearly 20 years of driving on the left, and having the road rule of "look right, then left, then right again" drilled into you from age 6, it does take some mental gear-changing to remember to look left, then right, when crossing the road, and the intersection!

I still occasionally climb into the passenger side of our car when embarking on a trip to the local grocery store. I'm sure many locals here have wondered what this crazy woman is doing climbing into the wrong side of her car, staring blankly at the bare dashboard in front of her, and climbing out again, while trying to make it appear like she was looking for something in the cubby-hole all along!

And don't get me started on the highway intersections here. There are flyovers and multiple levels of freeways criss-crossing in front, above, and around you, all at the same time! I still haven't tackled that scene yet! We often try to picture these same intersections in Joburg, with the taxis weaving in and out of the lanes, and get the shivers!!

You certainly don't want to get lost in Houston without your trusty G.P.S.
But we have learnt the hard way that even Roz (you will remember me introducing our GPS to you as the Russian secret-agent lady on steroids) cannot navigate us through some of these intersections successfully. That is without at least 3 attempts, and several barkings of "RECALCULATING" emanating from the dashboard!
Therefore, simply getting from A to B in Houston, has proved to be an adventure in itself.
I will leave you with a simple video I found, of some of the busier intersections in Houston, from a drivers perspective. Just try and imagine yourself driving the car, and bear in mind that you will be on the right side of the highway, in the left side of the car!! It should give you all a better feel of what it's like to drive on the "wrong" side of the road!



Can you feel my pain?

1 comment:

Kacie said...

I think the big cris-cross of highways here in dallas looks like something from the Jetsons!