I just saw a headline about an American tourist in the UK who hit a cyclist because she drove on the wrong side of the road. I’ve always wondered why it is so easy for one to just rent a car and drive in a country where the road laws are all backwards from what they’re used to. Seems like there should be some kind of test involved but it feels like most countries will just give you the keys and let you take to the streets without any worries. I’m learning to drive and the thought that I could just go to England and rent a car seems crazy to me
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The driving tests most countries require motorists to sit really test two different things.
The first is a working knowledge of that countries laws – what side of the road to drive on, the meaning of various signs and road markings, and all of the other rules out in place to ensure safe use of the roads.
Alongside that is a practical test of a person’s abilities – that they are able to safely control a vehicle to an appropriate level.
The second part of this counts worldwide – so a person holding a foreign license is shown to have demonstrated an appropriate ability to safely handle a vehicle.
The first part isn’t definitive, but it does have relevance. If you consider the different road systems in place around the world, you will notice a lot of differences, but you will also notice a large amount of similarities. Between some shared designs and some common evolution, we have all aimed to make the signage and rules as simple, easy and straightforward to understand as possible – signs for example are designed to be simple pictographs that the overwhelming majority of people will be able to read and understand without any research.
At the end though, there is always going to be some risk – that a driver gets confused and turns the wrong direction, reads a kph speed limit as mph, or makes some silly error.
There is always going to be some risk in everything we do though, and in this case it had been decided that the benefits of allowing visitors access to the road networks using a foreign license outweighs the risk of confusion and mistake.
It is also worth remembering that the fact that the laws are often different is not a secret, and the responsibility ultimately lies with the motorist driving. Each driver takes the responsibility for learning the appropriate rules of the new country, with the penalty of facing the punishment set out by that country for breaking them. If an American rolls through a British red light (because turning right on a red is legal in the US), or reads a French speed limit in miles rather than kilometers and gets caught breaking the rules, they will face the relevant fines or punishment. No different from travelers having to familiarise themselves with all of the other laws of a foreign country before visiting so as not to get in trouble.
Are there occasional failures and accidents? Absolutely. But what is the actual risk to motorists when compared to local drivers making mistakes or breaking the law?
I see a couple of answers about the situation you’re referring too. But not really an answer about why.
There are a series of international agreements where countries went, “you know what, our driving rules are pretty similar. If you let people from our country drive with their license then we’ll let people from your country drive with theirs.” And other countries went, “sure! There might be some differences (e.g. right side vs. left side driving), but it’s close enough because the fundamental rules we have are the same.”
Yes you sometimes run into issues with accidents such as the one you’re talking about. But the vast majority of people can adapt to the relatively minor differences when driving in a different country, as long as the rules are pretty much the same in both countries.
I’m an American tourist who drove in the U.K. I read up on traffic laws and signage before visiting. Rented the car, then immediately drove to a quiet neighborhood for some practice. Had a co-pilot who was helping with directions so that I could focus on driving. All in all, it worked out pretty well. By the end of the first day, I was pretty comfortable.
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