There’s good news for student drivers about New Zealand! The driver’s seat is situated higher in the car than the front side passenger seat, so the person sitting in that seat has significantly less opportunity to back-seat drive. Good news since they’ll have plenty of chance to wonder if you’re driving in the middle of the road or not. I evidently am not so good at that.
When I was 16 and learning to drive in Seattle, my mum kept telling me to move over so I wouldn’t take the side view mirrors and door handles off the parked cars on the side of the road. Now I hear that I need to keep out of the ditch on the side of the road.
Andrew, on the other hand, is a champ at driving on the left. He even successfully navigated Dunedin (a not-so-sleepy town these days) during a J-day demonstration (it would be called “Hemp Fest” in the US) and the very narrow roads on the Otago Peninsula. The photo above is of Dunedin from near New Zealand’s only castle on the Otago Peninsula. A great view spot, even if the 2 way road was really only big enough for one car!
Practice does make things better, and I’ve started learning how to stay in the middle of the lane better. I’ve even managed to successfully navigate a town … only about 1,500 people … but a town nonetheless. Don’t worry. No scratches or anything on the car, not even a possum wounded. But so far, my practicing is self limited to smaller cities and country roads.
