Difference in Transportation #2

[Car -Part 1]

The car situation is quite different from my country. Focusing on the traffic rules on local roads this time, I will introduce "surprises"

Keep right? Keep left?

As driving a car, people in the UK, Australia, and Japan drive on the left side of a road. In most country people keep right.

When I drive a car in San Diego for the first time, it was really hard to accustomed to it, since everything was opposite like mirrored.

Especially, making left turn needs to be done with the most careful attention. Sometimes we think taking left is turning in a small radius unconsciously, it means wandering into oncoming traffic!

Allowed to turn on red.

One of the most significant differences in that we can make turn right on red signal. I had never turned on red before coming to the U.S., so it was difficult to recognise the appropriate situation to turn on red.

First of all, stop at least 2 seconds. Then watch out for pedestrians from the both sides, cars from the left side, from the front, and cars making u-turn.

At first, I didn't understand why we have to make turn right on red with so much attention and risk. But now I realized the merit of it. It prevent a bad traffic a lot. As evidence of this, if one car stop on red signal at the corner of the right rane, the rane is going to be full soon, and many cars stick on the right side. It definitely causes traffic jam.

Turning on the hazard light means..

Any region has its local rule with using the function of a car, I believe. If you turn on your hazard lamp, what will it indicate?

"Hazard" is letting others know the danger, of course. When cars move smoothly and then stuck suddenly because of a traffic jam, we use the hazard light to let the other cars behind about the situation. Or, a truck driving up a slope slowly turn on the hazard. But in my country, the truck case is not common way to use. So, when I saw that kind of hazard, I thought I would be stuck in a traffic jam soon and pushed the brake pedal.

In addition to it, in Tokyo, if someone give way and she/he is behind in the results, turning on the hazards briefly and expressing thanks. I realized nobody used the hazard light for the purpose of it.

It is interesting and worthwhile enough to know the local rule so that we can avoid the cause of an accident.