How hard or how long did it take to get used to driving a RHD in the US??

I am starting my plans on buying a Classic Mini, and I see more than half are still RHD. Just wondering how tough it was to flip sides??

Thanks!

 

It's really easy... only part of caution for me is remembering mentally to stay centered in the lane, cause I drift left without thinking about it, as I'm used to lining up the lane while I'm on the normal side...

 

I was comfortable after about 2 hours. Seriously... the hardest part was after about 30 minutes I stopped actively thinking about it, and began to "drift left" like WeDrive said - having a passenger in the car is actually helpful because they can tell you when you start to ride the center line in my experience. After a day or two, driving on the "wrong side" of the car was second nature, and at this point I can flip back and forth with no problems.

Note: I found the hardest part not to be shifting with the left hand but driving one-handed with the right as I did so. I recommend "practicing" by driving one-handed with your right hand - expect that to feel weird at first. After a whil though you don't even notice.

 

I jumped right in and started driving. I had no problems staying in my lane (how could you, the car is only 4' wide?). Shifting felt perfectly natural. My biggest issue is with the turn signal. These days, I hit the wipers a lot. And not just in the Classic, but I hit the wipers in my '06 also. I have become comfortable with using my right hand for the turn signal, so these days if I am not paying attention, it is almost completly random which had goes for the turn signal first, no matter what car I am driving.

 

The car is so small, it shouldn't take too long to get used too. I had it worked out the second time I drove it. After all, most USPS drivers do it and they are driving much larger trucks than what we're talking about.

What took me longest to get used to was the increased level of alertness that is required. It used to be mentally tiring to drive the car for long periods of time but that's also gone away.

While I don't care much about the car being original I do prefer having the RHD classic to LHD because it is a British car after all!

 

The only big problem I had was getting used to where the turn signal was.

 

Thanks everyone for all of your feedback. Sounds like it is not a big deal, but just something to get used to. It mostly sounds like fun! I can't wait.

 

Is that how yours is set-up? That's odd as my RHD has the turn signal on the left side so no issue with switching it with the left hand.

 

Is that how yours is set-up? That's odd as my RHD has the turn signal on the left side so no issue with switching it with the left hand.

 

Mine is on the left side as well...

 

I drove Matt's Fiona from the RH side and the only issue I had (other than watching Matt's nervousness out of my left eye) was that everytime I came upon a roadside mailbox I wanted to stop and put something in it

 

i prefer the RHD ........expesially in such a small car......you can get nice and close to the curb, and away from on coming traffic on 2 lane roads.....

 

I guess that you could have a steering column from a LHD in a RHD car, but an original RHD car will have the turn signal on the right.

 

It is very easy. I just jumped in and took off. I still tend to hug the right side of the road . Also, my turn signal stalk is on the left.

 

How much training do they give a mail carrier???

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my turn sig is on the right.... doesn' that facilitate using the signal and shifting at the same time? And puts the horn over there too.....on a 79 anyway

 

A little nervous at first but after a few miles it's no big deal. I also drifted left but quickly learned to compensate. FWIW my turn signal stalk is on the right side of the wheel ('73 Ausitn Mini).

 

Now I am totally intriqued as I know that my car is an original RHD car.

 

Mine is too - shipped direct from the UK. But it's a '92 - perhaps they moved it to the left side of the stalk at some point in the production run?

 

My car is RHD with the turn signal on the left. My '66 is LHD with the signal on the right. I get wipers, horns, all kinda crap happening when I move things. :D Makes it interesting though!

 

No problems shifting. Biggest problem, as mentioned above, is the turn signal swap. Strangely, I have no problems in the Mini, but when I swap to the MINI I wipe the windscreen a lot. I do confess to getting in the Mini on the wrong side occasionally. ANother side issue (no pun intended) is that if I'm in the fast lane on a 4 lane road, people will lean out their driver's side window and ask "Mini questions" (gas mileage?, what is it?, driving on the wrong side....), since I'm easy for them to talk to - even while we're moving!

 

when i sold my classic, the guy who bought it drove it around my neighborhood for 15min......and then he hit the highway

 

driving with my right hand on the wheel left on the shifter feels much more stable to me.