First Drive in a LHD vehicle
Posted: Tue Dec 18, 2012 12:54 pm
Thought I would share my initial thoughts on driving a LHD car for the first time.
This was prompted by Alice Cooper's comments on Top Gear as he was confused by the RHD car provided!
Anyway I was about 12 years old and had been driving our assorted ex Military Champs (my Dad had 3) and Land Rovers (we had another 3)around the farm for a couple of years- we used to do a "rumble" which basically meant taking off up the mountain until everyone got stuck.
A friend of my father's brought his WW2 Willys Jeep- which of course was LHD- the owner badly wanted to try my Austin Champ- so he offered it to me to try out. I declined saying that I really couldn't manage the pedals in reverse. What do you mean he asked- I said that I would find it very difficult to operate an accelerator on the left and the clutch on the right! I assumed that the clutch would have to be alongside the gearbox in order to operate the pedal pivot mechanism!
Of course all was revealed when he showed me the Jeep- and it consistently out drove the Champs and L/Rs in "the who gets bogged last wins Rumbles"!!
This was prompted by Alice Cooper's comments on Top Gear as he was confused by the RHD car provided!
Anyway I was about 12 years old and had been driving our assorted ex Military Champs (my Dad had 3) and Land Rovers (we had another 3)around the farm for a couple of years- we used to do a "rumble" which basically meant taking off up the mountain until everyone got stuck.
A friend of my father's brought his WW2 Willys Jeep- which of course was LHD- the owner badly wanted to try my Austin Champ- so he offered it to me to try out. I declined saying that I really couldn't manage the pedals in reverse. What do you mean he asked- I said that I would find it very difficult to operate an accelerator on the left and the clutch on the right! I assumed that the clutch would have to be alongside the gearbox in order to operate the pedal pivot mechanism!
Of course all was revealed when he showed me the Jeep- and it consistently out drove the Champs and L/Rs in "the who gets bogged last wins Rumbles"!!