Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Ease on down the road? Not so much.

Do you know what the hardest thing about moving to England has been for me?  It's not the rat hole, or the fact that we're moving this weekend (again!) and have to load and unload (again!) all our worldly possessions,* it's not even $8/gallon gasoline.  It's driving.  The simple act of getting in a car and conveying myself from point A to point B - something I've been doing, even enjoying for over two decades.  When I had a convertible, there were few things I relished more than dropping the top, cranking the tunes, and carving up the lanes on a sunny day.  Road trips were an adventure - the journey was the destination.

* and by we, I of course mean D.  The man is a moving machine.

But now, the car is my nemesis.  If had only to learn the rules of British roads, it would be fine.  If I had only to learn to shift the transmission with my left hand instead of my right, it would be fine.  But the act of trying to do both, it stymies me.  The sheer concentration required to ensure that I'm shifting into the right gear and not jamming it into reverse or 2nd rather than 4th whilst monitoring the pertinent traffic approaching the roundabouts.  As D reminds me, I have to not only get comfortable on the roads, I have to pass a driving test.  So I need to develop good driving habits - not just get by.  And now, I question and second guess every little decision.  Did I shift up too soon? Shift down too late? Brake too hard? Signal too early? Turn too hastily in front of oncoming traffic? Block traffic for too long waiting to turn? Pull out at the roundabout too aggressively? Too timidly? Push the accelerator too hard to achieve optimum fuel economy? (The car, the tattling little brat, has a computer that reports on my sins in that area.)  The required concentration and resulting stress of a journey in the car is enough to make me want to abandon the effort entirely.

For those that have done this before with little concern or effort, my frustration probably sounds trite or silly.  "How hard can it be?" these fortunate souls ask, to which I can only answer, "You have no idea."

"Learning to drive" again after two decades of doing it as second nature is bad enough.  Not having the ability to jump in the car and just go is so much worse now than it was when I was peering over the precipice of adulthood, chafing at a lack freedom and independence before I'd ever really tasted it.

I need to stone up and just do this already before it develops into a full fledged phobia - but I never dreamt it would be so hard.

12 comments:

  1. I learned on a stick but I can only imagine how difficult it would be for me with having to shift with the left hand and not look away from the road to make sure its in the right gear! Ugh! I feel for you.

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    1. Thanks, Rebecca, I feel fairly pathetic but physical coordination has never been a strong point for me. :-S

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  2. Oh, you can soooooo do this, Lady Stig! :)

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  3. Leo - maybe it would help if I wore my cute moto helmet? ;-)

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    1. Totally!
      If it were me, I'd keep a picture of Jeremy Clarkson in the car. I'd hear his voice mocking the silly American, telling me I'm useless, and this would trigger my New York F-you attitude and I'd yell at the picture: "Oh yeah? Just you watch this, you doddering old fool!"
      Nothing ensures my success as much as someone telling me I can't do something ;)

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  4. I'm pretty sure my biggest issue would be remembering to drive on the right (er left) side of the road. That simple adjustment would render all driving efforts useless.

    Until it becomes habit.

    One day, soon, it will be habit, and you'll be a pro.

    Just in time to visit the States again. :)

    Good luck and wish you the best!

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    1. Thanks, Kelly! I'm sure I'll look back at it someday and wonder why I thought it was so hard.

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  5. I bet it would be tough! In the USVI last week, they drive American style cars (driver on, well, the driver's side) but drive on the other side of the road. I thought THAT would be hard to get used to, much less switching to the other side of the car at the same time...

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    1. USVI honeymoon, eh? Very nice. :-)

      I had a decent amount of experience driving an American car on the wrong side of the road while D and I lived in Cayman. I only made the mistake of driving on the wrong (right?) side of the road once there - fortunately in a parking lot. That's why I'm surprised at how hard I'm finding this - but London area roads are much, much more hectic than those provincial lanes in Cayman.

      I'm getting there, though...

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  6. You have no idea of the amount of times i tried to change the door handle/window windy-downer when i was in America, driving an automatic. It was the turning even on a red light thing that blew my mind. The light is RED, don't beep at me, eeeejit!

    And you have to take a test? Surely everyone knows that the minute you pass your test - where ever it is taken - you forget everything you learnt! x

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    1. That red light thing (um, not being able to go, that is) still catches me off guard as I have to remind myself it's highly illegal. I must admit, though, that starting to roll on the yellow light that comes right before green feels very strange. But everybody seems to do it.

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