Driving on unfamiliar roads in the United States has led to a near miss or two for me. Coming from the UK, I’d always been used to driving on the left-hand side of the road. I was not yet used to being on the right-hand side. I also had to learn the customs and norms of driving in America.
The first near miss
I had reached a junction with a road with three lanes going each way. From the side road I was on, I needed to make a left-hand turn to get onto the south-bound lanes. Having already safely crossed the three north-bound lanes, I’d paused on the median while preparing to move into a south-bound lane. I had seen a truck in the far distance that was travelling south, but reckoned I had plenty of time to get myself onto the near-side lane before he reached that point. Getting onto the nearside lane would be normal practice in the UK and I’d expected the truck driver to overtake me using the centre lane, if he needed to.
What I hadn’t yet learned was that it is common practice, certainly in the southern states, for vehicles to overtake one another on either side. As a result, the truck driver wasn’t expecting me to pull over into the same lane that he was in. He must also have been travelling faster than I had anticipated, probably well above the speed limit.
As he drew close to me, he suddenly realised that I had pulled into his lane. He slammed on his brakes and swerved, skidding onto the hard shoulder. He stopped momentarily and, as we drew level, I signalled an apology to him.
Driving a bit further down the road, I pulled into the first forecourt I came to. I was expecting him to pull up there too and to give me a verbal ticking-off, or worse. But, no. He just carried on driving and I never saw him again. He must have realised that I was not a local, deciding that I was just an ignorant foreign tourist. Either that, or he just thought me a stupid old lady.
Wrong Turn near Nashville
On another occasion, on the outskirts of Nashville, I was looking for the turn-off I needed. My SatNav (GPS) was telling me to take the next left turn. I saw what I thought was the turn-off. It momentarily crossing my mind that this was a very sharp turn. However, as I turned, it was only then that I realised that I had turned too soon. I had, in fact, turned onto the ramp, or slip-road, that was bringing traffic onto the road that I was trying to leave.
There I was, facing a line of traffic coming down the ramp. All the approaching cars just came to a halt and waited while I reversed back and turned to face the way I should have been. They were all so very polite, no hooting of horns or aggressive behaviour. I’m not sure that UK drivers would have been that courteous, but maybe drivers in that area were used to foreign tourist making errors like that. Anyway, I won’t be making that mistake again in a hurry.
However, on each occasion, I’m glad to say, I was spared what could have been a very serious outcome. I have since driven many thousands of miles in the States and have avoided any similar mistakes, I’m glad to say.
