Posted by
bsc1280
10 yrs ago
Hi All
I will be visiting US next month
And will be staying in Monroe NY
We want to travel around and hence I was thinking about renting a car
I have been driving in HK occasionally and also drove in Japan for a few years . I have never driven in a country with right hand drive system
Please can you advice me on the below
1. Do you think I shall drive there especially on highways ? Have you done that ( driven a car in US for the first time without any experience of RHD) , if yes how difficult or easy it was ?
2. Would it be a problem renting a car on a visit visa ? Which companies are ok with renting to foreigners
3. Is there anywhere is HK or shenzhen where I can practice on a RHD? Any driving school which would do that ?
Thanks for your help
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GMIHK
10 yrs ago
Yes you have to rent a car, unless you have someone to drive you around, public transport is not good
1) Yes you can drive easily on the highway, RHD is not different to LHD
2) No problem to rent a car from any company Hertz, Avis, Enterprise all will rent to anyone as long as you have a credit card
3) No use to practice, just rent one from a local agency (better not from the airport as it's complicated to leave) most local agencies will be near a big supermarket or mall and you can practice in the parking lot to get yourself comfortable
Anyway much easier than driving in HK or Japan good luck
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You may need to get an IDP (international driving license) from the transport department.
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When I first moved to the stated my first driving was a LAX airport on a night with fog and I had to drive down the 405 south for a hour. Hard work for a few minutes but then fine.
Always keep in mind that the driver needs to be in the center of the road. If there is other traffic around it's quite simple but when you get into an unpopulated area you may end up doing a U turn the wrong way. No big deal as no one is around.
You will be fine as long as you are a competent driver.
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I drove from SFO to Santa Clara a few weeks back for the first time driving on a RHD. It was late at night but the roads still had quite a few cars on it so it helped to get your orientated. I found it quite confusing to start off with getting out of the airport after picking the car up but after a while it was fine, esp. as like Beermoney says you drive in the centre lanes. In many ways the roads are much more forgiving than in HK or the UK, because if you take the wrong turning it's relatively easy to get yourself back on the highway. I still ended up driving into some side roads on the wrong side but again, those roads were quiet and it wasn't too much of an issue. I would really recommend you bring a SatNav if you have one, and rent one if you don't. Makes it mush easier.
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Be aware that some rental companies will not accept a Hong Kong or international license. I booked a car online and paid by credit card but was denied the booking at the counter. I can't recall which company but it was a large company (not Hertz or National). Best to call ahead at the local office and confirm.
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Krayfish, my advise was that the driver needs to be closest to the center of the road, this doesn't mean drive in the center lanes, because if you are slow you will cause all sorts of chaos.
I mean, wherever you drive in the word the driver needs to be on the side of the car which is closest to the dividing lane from on coming traffic. It's the easy thing for people to remember to get them orientated of the right side of the road.
Works well until you get to a back road with no lane markings. But I guess it doesn't matter to much as there are few cars on the back roads.
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thanks a lot everyone
thats boosted my confidence
last thing, is there any where in shenzhen I could practice on a RHD for a day
any driving school etc, just need a RHD car and a place where I cna legally drive it
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