How to operate left hand drive cars

Ronald Muhumuza owns two cars; a saloon right hand drive (RHT) Toyota Premio and a left hand drive (LHD) Hyundai.
However, on several occasions, you will meet him on the road driving the Toyota Premio because according to him, driving the Hyundai requires maximum attention and concentration.

Features
Sometimes abbreviated as LHD, which stands for left hand drive, Muhumuza opines that driving a left hand drive car may at times seem challenging, given the fact that in Uganda, unlike countries such as Rwanda where you keep on the right, the bigger percentage of vehicles keep left. And much as it is easy to keep in your lane when driving a right hand drive vehicle, with left hand drive vehicles, there are possible scenarios of driving out of your lane unknowingly.

While the accelerator is on the right hand side in right hand drive vehicles, close to the driver’s door, in left hand drive vehicles such as the CRV Honda and some Toyota Land Cruisers, the accelerator is positioned on the right hand drive but near the gear lever or gear stick while the brake is on your left.
This, Muhumza says, may be confusing enough that you may end up stepping on the brake thinking you are accelerating and step on the accelerator thinking you are braking.

Change your mind set
“It is all about changing or adjusting and switching your mindset and understanding that almost all features in left hand drive vehicles shift to the left. Your focus and attention on the road also shifts to the right because the steering wheel is on the left. You also have to focus more on your right hand side than the left because it is where the biggest car body part is, to avoid knocking road users on the opposite side of the road,” Muhumuza advises.

Anthony Katabazi who owned a left hand drive CRV Honda until March 2017 says when driving a left hand drive car , especially if it has manual transmission, the gear stick or gear lever goes to the right, instead on the right as is, in right hand drive vehicles.
The car switch board on the driver’s door is also positioned on the left, instead of the right as is in right hand drive vehicles, while the engine ignition port maintains the right position.

Have a co-driver
“If you are a first time driver of a left hand drive car, you need to drive along with someone because as you watch your side (driver’s) to avoid getting off the road, you also need to keep balanced on the road by not driving into the lane of oncoming traffic or cross the thick line that separates the two lanes,” Katabazi advises.
“Drive to a public parking yard and try out parking in different gazetted spots. If you become perfect at fitting your car in the slot, try again. It will you a certain level of confidence when you get on the road,” he Katabazi adds.

Begin with a steady speed
Mathias Tibesigwa, a driving instructor, says as a first time driver of a left hand drive vehicle, you do not need to drive fast as you would in a right hand drive vehicle. The speed at which you control your car if you are, for example, driving at 120 kilometers per hour in a right hand drive vehicle, is not the same as that at which you control a left hand drive vehicle at the same speed.

“The presumption is that you have spent more time and have more experience driving a right hand drive vehicle than a vehicle whose steering wheel is on the left. You will need a lot more time to think and bring your car to control in a left hand drive if you are driving at a high speed. Start at a low speed and as you progress and get used to your car, the speed also increases,” Tibesigwa explains.

Left hand drive versus right hand drive

According to Car From Japan, an online portal, approximately 35 per cent of the world population drives on the left. The countries that follow the left hand drive rule are mostly old British colonies. The portal also adds that it will be a tad shocking for anyone when they visit a country such as England, Bangladesh, or Japan from one of the 75 per cent of the countries that adhere to the right hand drive.
According to one study, the incidence of accidents in countries with lower left-hand driving laws is lower than that of the right-hand drive countries.

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