Driving in a new country

After a move to a new country or a new state you may find driving in a new place rather stressful. Driving culture is different in all places, sometimes subtly so and sometimes enough to fear stepping in to the car at all.

Before moving to Australia I lived in New Zealand for three years. In New Zealand it seems there is one main road which follows the edge of the entire country. This road, compared to many places in the world, is quiet and easy to find. There are times when you can drive for an hour without meeting another car. Even city driving in New Zealand is relaxed compared to many places in the world.

Arriving in Australia was therefore a bit of a shock to the system in regards to driving. Roads everywhere, going in all directions, and lots and lots of traffic. I felt nervous as a passenger and couldn’t even imagine myself driving. To make matters seemingly worse our first choice of car was a little Daihatsu Charade manual that was really in need of an extra gear in order to cope with the motorways, although I must admit we were also grateful to have a car at all in which to cover such vast distances. (more…)