Why are so many people scared of driving while abroad?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the reasoning behind this post.

OK, so OP loves to drive overseas. Good for them. Why make such an issue if others do not? Why is it even an issue? I agree it sounds like more of a brag than a legitimate question.

I do agree that anyone (American or otherwise) should NOT drive in a foreign country if they are not comfortable with it. Why take the risk? Not to mention expense and challenges like accidents, where to park, theft, damage to rental vehicle, etc.

We've found we can get to just about anywhere we want to go overseas by either train, bus or taxi/car. Including some rather remote areas.

That's one of the benefits of overseas travel, and something we actually enjoy, is to use their much more comprehensive and affordable public transportation.

lol. Again, of you tried to visit UNESCO sites in a country like Japan, which has some of the best public transportation in the world, it’d still take you almost 4 hours each way to get to and from the sites and over $100 USD per person to take the trains and bus. What a colossal waste of time and money. Plus, you miss being able to stop in all of the interesting and sleepy towns between where gaijins hardly go.

Go you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not just insurance claims one has to worry about.

The laws regarding accidents and liability are very different in every country. If you are in an accident with significant property damage and/or a person(s) is injured, you are in a whole different pot of hot water.

Who wants to have to deal with getting a lawyer, getting a translator, going to foreign court (which may automatically be biased towards locals) and possibly being charged criminally?

Not to mention that in Europe, the other party may be from another country other than the one you are in. Imagine being in an accident in a small town in Italy, with a Hungarian who has no insurance, and no one (including the police) speaks English.

All that risk so you can have supposed freedom of movement and get off the beaten path while on vacation?!

So much of the world is already over-touristed. Adding more cars will only make things much, much worse.

Omg, what if you get into a bar fight while traveling abroad too and hurt someone? You can be sued out the wazoo and lose your home if you hurt someone while traveling in the U.S. by car. Big whoop. I bet you’re scared of your own shadow too.

When does school start again?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand the reasoning behind this post.

OK, so OP loves to drive overseas. Good for them. Why make such an issue if others do not? Why is it even an issue? I agree it sounds like more of a brag than a legitimate question.

I do agree that anyone (American or otherwise) should NOT drive in a foreign country if they are not comfortable with it. Why take the risk? Not to mention expense and challenges like accidents, where to park, theft, damage to rental vehicle, etc.

We've found we can get to just about anywhere we want to go overseas by either train, bus or taxi/car. Including some rather remote areas.

That's one of the benefits of overseas travel, and something we actually enjoy, is to use their much more comprehensive and affordable public transportation.

lol. Again, of you tried to visit UNESCO sites in a country like Japan, which has some of the best public transportation in the world, it’d still take you almost 4 hours each way to get to and from the sites and over $100 USD per person to take the trains and bus. What a colossal waste of time and money. Plus, you miss being able to stop in all of the interesting and sleepy towns between where gaijins hardly go.

The fun thing about Japan is riding on these amazing pieces of rail technology that don't exist in places like the US. In two weeks you can't see every part of the country, but can still fill your time easily seeing amazing places accessible by train and bus. I had invested in a Japan rail pass so the marginal cost of a regional trip was zero.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We just got back from a trip in LATAM where we rented a car. We always drive and have, like other posters, done so on 6 continents. That said, DH and I were commenting in the car on our trip that it makes sense that many Americans don't drive in any country but US or Canada. Traffic rules and customs are incredibly different and many Americans aren't able to function in traffic that is akin to orderly chaos. Americans like rules and lines, and knowing what their lane is. So I can see how driving in MENA or LATAM may be daunting. Plus, you have to be relaxed enough to not be bothered by the chaos and just roll with it. Most Americans (particularly VA drivers) cannot handle that, and like to tell other drivers what to do. In sum, it's a good thing that most Americans don't drive while abroad.

You're acting like it is advanced calculus. It is not hard to get a feel for the customs while driving. We drove pretty much the entire country of Portugal, no problem. Including very, veerrry narrow streets in medieval towns like Obidos. We just got back from England and drove probably 1000 miles all over the country side and other bigger cities like Bath. It was completely on the opposite side with circles everywhere. No big deal. We've driven all over Thailand many, maaaaaany times, which is again on the opposite side and there are far less rules than England. Traffic is chaotic in Bangkok when you need to get out of it or onto the edges of the city, but it is no big deal. You just have to put you Americanism away and realize that people don't get pissed off when they get cut off or merged in front of like they do in the US. There's chaos but no road rage. And driving all over Belgium, France (including super small roads on Alsace etc), Germany, the entire country of Croatia (which included needing to cross immigration in Bosnia) was so easy.

It does not take genius level intellect to get a feel on the pulse of how people or nation drives. Americans are just scared of the world too much. Omg, what if I run into a corrupt cop? Omg, what if I take the wrong turn !!?? Omg, what if I make a mistake?

Who cares? If you make a mistake while driving. You just stop and brush it off while not panicking. Honestly, it's much scarier driving in the US where everyone seems to have road rage and there are 300,000,000+ guns in circulation, many of which people bring while driving. Taking a wrong turn in Baltimore is 1000x scarier in Baltimore than doing it.in Hungary or Bosnia, lol. I've done both, too.

I don't really have a horse in this race, but your writing style is very annoying. Just one very. No need to stretch it out or repeat it many times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've driven on multiple continents and numerous countries over the years with car rentals. Yes, we've even had breakdowns before which requires having to navigate a car mechanic with locals, no big deal, we survived. But overall, we've seen soooooooo much more of the countries that we've been too by being able to stop in smaller towns, smaller sites, and random local spots where trains and busses simply never would go to or would take horrendous amounts of time that makes mass transport less viable in harder to get to areas. If you speak to many travelers, they have some kind irrational [/b[b]]fear of driving while abroad, why is this? Who gives a crap about language barriers? Modern GPS works basically everywhere. Left side, right side, it doesn't matter, you get used to it in about 5 minutes. We have basically never, ever had a problem and would recommend international driving to everyone in order to see much more of countries you're traveling to besides big cities.

Your post is screams ableist. Not everyone is you. I'm sure there are some things you won't do that other people say "what's the big deal?" So just because some people are uncomfortable driving in a foreign country driving does not make them worthy of your scorn.

Do you remember Matthew Broderick? He killed two women in Northern Ireland and he had been driving on the wrong side. I think they have a home there so I'm certain he would have told you that he was "quite used to it" And yet two innocent women were killed.

https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/pic...sh-what-theyve-said/

So don’t drive on the wrong side of the road.

My point went over your head, right?

[Anonymous]

It's not worth the hassle to drive, I'm there to seen the scenery and driving is a chore.

[Anonymous]

I have driven in more than 60 countries on six continents. Does that mean I win this thread?!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have driven in more than 60 countries on six continents. Does that mean I win this thread?!

Only if you rented.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We drive too but I totally get why others don't. It can be confusing and stressful, especially with a language barrier. I certainly wouldn't judge anyone who didn't want to drive abroad.

This.

[Anonymous]

I hate driving in Washington DC. I'm certainly not going to seek it out while on vacation in a place where the norms and rules of the road (and type of tranmission) are all confusing to me.

[Anonymous]

Check out the NZ making Americans look bad thread.

[Anonymous]

In many countries, driving while a broad can be very dangerous. This is why I always choose to drive while a dude.