American Couple Reacts: Ways American & British Driving is Very Different! Debbie's Topic Pick!
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- Опубликовано: 29 янв 2022
- American Couple Reacts: Ways American & British Driving is Very Different! We've been very curious about this topic for a while! Since all the travel Wednesday videos we've been doing, this seemed like the right time to learn as much as we can about how driving varies from across the pond! Those road signs really had us perplexed! We hope you enjoy this episode. Please drop a Like and don't forget to tune in for Travel Wednesday. And next Sunday we have a surprise episode for you!
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Hey Everyone! We had a blast with this video and as always, learned a lot! We now understand the reason for the Term "Zebra" crossing. They are sometimes Yellow in the USA but most are white. Anyway, thanks for watching! Please drop a Like if you enjoyed this one.
On each side of the road next to a zebra crossing is a black and white pole with a yellow flashing light on top. These are called Belisha Beacons after the Minister of Transport who introduced them in 1934 - his name was Leslie Hore-Belisha. It is lucky they are not called Hore Beacons or an altogether different activity could well take place on the street,
Please do a video on roundabouts 🤣 like second nature to us brits so would be good to see an Americans point of view xx
just to confuse you even more, zebra crossings are with out traffic lights, there are also,
Pelican crossings (with traffic lights)
Puffin crossings (with traffic lights and sensors, extending walk time if needed)
Toucan crossings, (for bikes and people)
Pegasus crossings (for horses and people)
and then we have the lollipop ladies or crossing patrol officers as they are know now, outside schools to help children cross.
But J walking is not a thing in the UK you can cross nearly anywhere you like
They never mentioned that we have amber lights on traffic lights 🚦 something I didn’t see while travelling in America. Is it the same everywhere in the states?
@@beatles9880 At a Pegusus crossing you mount the horse and it flies across the road
Don't know if other British people would agree with me, but a lot of people see owning large 4 by 4s as a bad thing, mainly because of the emissions, I think. The 4 by 4s are deemed more acceptable in the countryside where the roads might be rougher, whereas driving round in town, they are not needed. Also, because these cars are more expensive, it alsmost seems like people are showing off if they have these enormous cars. Be interested to know if other brits agree.
4x4s have become a status symbol for many here in the UK. Range Rovers and other high-end car marques (Jaguar, Porsche, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Jaguar, BMW, Mercedes, Audi) are the vehicle of choice of the wealthy and aspiring. The size, robustness and space sitting higher up seems to appeal to both men and women.
Yes I believe it's a "status thing" owning a large vehicle. I love driving smaller cars.
'Yummy mummies' ... all taking them to schools to pick up their offspring. They can't see out of the back and there have been accidents involving children walking round the back of an SUV and the driver not being aware they are there. Ruddy nuisance, they are.
The Chelsea tractors that appear around dropping off and pick up times at schools?
The 4x4 thing is definitely becoming a status symbol, especially in my neck of the woods. We've got lots of BMW X5 - x7, porsches, Lamborghinis, Bentley's, all large 4x4 ect ect and nearly 90% of them are driven by your stereotypical posh, stay at home mums and they never been off road. I myself own 2 4x4, my own personal car which is a range rover sport but I got it for several reasons, family, 3 very large dogs, towing my caravan ect. And my work truck which is a mitsubishi l200. I'm guilty of owning 4x4s but not guilty because it's not a status thing😅
Almost every crossing in the UK is named after an animal, Pelican crossing, Zebra crossing, Puffin crossings, and Toucan crossings - And no, I'm not joking.
Edit- And Pegasus crossings, Thanks Nathan :)
There’s also the extremely rare Pegasus Crossing, which horse riders can use.
@@sh00mi Oh yes Pegasus crossings, too
Thanks for reminding me, I knew I'd forgotten one
The Pegasus crossing as always annoyed me. It should so have been a centaur crossing.
The Pegasus crossing is a new one on me, and badly named as Pegasus was a flying horse, so wouldn't need a crossing!
@@heene maybe it's wings were tired and needed to rest them ;)
As Debbie mentioned the speed limit sign, it's worth knowing that UK signs are colour & shape coordinated. Information/directions will be Square/Rectangular, Warnings are Triangular, Orders are Circular. So "Give Way" is a Warning. Speed limits are an Order etc.
Further to this. Upright triangles are warnings. Inverted triangles are also mandatory
The key takeaway from this is that Natasha is dedicated to learning (and remembering!) English pronunciations 😄 I honestly love it, it makes me realise you have a genuine appreciation for UK culture and not just a passing fancy for it. Love you two xxx
We definitely have big SUVs in the UK, and trucks (or lorries - delivering goods). In fact our motorways are often full of them!!!
What you define as big is very different, where I live a Ford F-150 pick-up truck won’t fit down the local lanes if there is something coming the other way, it’s impracticably large & our pickups are substantially smaller. But in the US Ford make much bigger models than this, which work there because: firstly, their’ rural roads aren’t based on medieval routes through medieval villages so they are wide enough to accommodate larger vehicles, & secondly, the price of petrol (gas) is much cheaper in the states so a 25 mpg consumption is regarded as pretty decent, whereas in the UK it would be regarded as a planet ending catastrophe & the local branch of Greenpeace would be trying to crowd fund the cost of a hit man to take you out (probably specifying strangulation - but only with a home-spun, organically grown, hemp rope which could be recycled into a multi-use shopping bag)…..🙄
@@jonathanhicks140 yes, true. 'Big' to us Brits is not 'Big' to Americans. But they are too big for our parking spots in car parks and take up lots of room on smaller roads. The problem is, our rural roads (not motorways or highways - although the latter may be different) were constructed decades ago. Actually, so were many highways... so... When we had much smaller vehicles (and not as many of them). So the relatively bigger vehicles of today take up much more room on them.
And although there are under 500 cars per 1,000 people in the UK, our roads are still crowded. The motorway near us is packed solid from 6am to 9:30am every weekday morning ('rush hour'), and from 4pm to 6:30pm on the evenings. Solid as in 'moving at 10mph if that or stopped completely. That's true of most highways/motorways in the UK at rush hour everyday. And holidays! When everyone is trying yo get to the sane place at the sane time.
I don't drive, either, but my partner does. And I've been a passenger on thousands of occasions. His is a Ford Mondeo, although it's an older model. The previous was also a Mondeo and was smaller in width and length. Seems they just keep building them bigger!
@@susangamble6038 I totally agree on the ever-increasing car sizes, you only have to look at the latest generation of say, a Ford Fiesta compared to the original one! A lot of this though, is not due to extra interior space, but to incorporate more safety 'crumple' zones, side impact bars and side airbags - more EU regulations, no doubt! Shame that the 'standard' car park spaces haven't also kept pace with this increase (especially in the width of cars!)
Its newish and they arent quite as big.
Let’s be honest, Chelsea Tractors are used mostly for dropping the kids off at school!
You was correct on the black/white stripe thing being a zebra crossing.
If you take a look at the Beatles 'Abbey Road' Album Cover then you will know straight away what one looks like.
Yes! The name threw us off. Ours can be white or yellow
Sorry pressed button by mistake!!
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Zebra crossings are getting rarer these days. They have largely been replaced by Pelican Crossings, Puffin Crossings & Toucan Crossings. I am honestly not making this up. We also have School Warden Crossings, where a town council employee in a hi-vis jacket, has a 5 foot striped pole with a circular stop sign on the top. These people are known as lollipop men or lollipop ladies.
Don't forget the Pegasus Crossing 🏇😀
@@binkybuns462 pegasus crossinsg----wow, never heard of that one. Regional differences i suppose. We Brits r unique in someways & an inspiration to others, to go for very odd names. There's a town near where I live called 'Pratts Bottom' and another called 'Black boys'. History sure is fascinating only and
P..S.roundabouts rule. No stop sign on most and if u muck up once u can go back again to try. 😁🤪💕
Here’s in Britain: Boys Toys are small two seat sports cars. My two sons have them, but would not be seen dead in a ‘truck’
Great video. My parents share a car but only use it on an evening, weekend or holidays. My dad rides his bike and mam walks or takes the bus. Its cheaper and quicker than parking in the city centres. Yes zebra crossings because its black and white.
Wait till they hear about puffin and pelican crossings
@@andrewgarner2224 .
And toucan crossings.
If you like the idea of zebras crossing the road, then here's a list of other crossing types we have in the UK.
Zebra Crossing : black and white stripes, with a warning belisha beacon (illuminated orange ball on a pole) on each side. Drivers have to stop if someones crossing, no signals for drivers or pedestrians.
Parallel Crossing : a zebra crossing with a separate crossing for cyclists running parallel.
Then we have a bunch of signalised crossings with more animal names...
Pelican Crossing : signals for drivers to stop, pedestrian crossing signals on the far side.
Puffin Crossing : as pelican but pedestrian signals on the near side
Toucan Crossing : as puffin but also for cyclists ("two can" cross)
Pegasus Crossing : and now for horses too.
Guess what I do for a living.
Just to add Pelican orginally came from PEdestrian LIght CONtrol - Pelicon but over time it has become Pelican.
Also the parallel crossings are sometimes (informally) called Tiger Crossings - because the very first ones had yellow and black stripes. These are different to Toucans - Toucans are light controlled with pedestrian/bike and road traffic phases. Tigers are like zebras in that the pedestrian / cyclist has priority.
You’ve educated me,I didn’t know all these different types of crossing
Also, Belisha beacons are named after Leslie Hore-Belisha who was the Minister of Transport between 1934 and 1937
felonmarmer:-Zookeeper?
Lollipop lady
hi ladies, a bit further info on the zebra crossing's mentioned... we call them that as they consist of black and white lines painted on the road, like a zebra's patterning, but that only applies when it is just a pattern on the road, they have flashing Amber lights on poles at each end and no button, when a pedestrian steps onto the road, they automatically have the right of way over vehicles, and the vehicles needs to either slow right down or stop completely to allow the pedestrian to cross.
There are 2 other types of crossing for pedestrians controlled by lights. the first is a Pelicon crossing (short for PEdestrian LIght CONtrolled), which is usually called a "Pelican Crossing "in the UK. it consists of a traffic lights gantry on either side of the crossing, you press the button to activate it and wait for the traffic lights to change from green to red to stop the flow of traffic to allow you to cross the street safely, while the lights are on green the CAR has the right of way, you don't.
The other is called a "Toucan crossing" this is a similar idea, but unlike the pelican crossing earlier you can walk across or cycle across (you need to dismount a bike on a pelican crossing) they are similar but the control box shows an image of a person and cyclists together, so "two can" cross the road together..(two can = Toucan)
Hope this helps
In the countryside, everybody has a car. It's much like the US. In cities, huge numbers don't have one at all.
The overall figure is 1.2 cars per household, apparently.
Hey Natasha & Debbie another great video as always. Debbie was spot on in regards to what a Zebra Crossing was. Basically there is black & white lines on the road. In addition to this we also have 4 other official pedestrian crossings. We have a Pegasus crossing (or or equestrian crossing) a Pelican crossing, a Toucan crossing & a Puffin crossing
Roundabouts are simple enough, it's basically just a one way road and follows normal road rules. GIve way to anyone already on that road when joining, and move to the lane on the outer edge when turning off so you don't cut across other traffic when turning.
Also give way to traffic entering from the right.
A big difference in the type of cars we drive in the UK is due to the extremely high cost of fuel. Currently it's about £1.50 per litre for petrol, and a bit more for diesel, and there are 4.54 litres to a UK gallon. Cars here typically have 10-13 gallon tanks (ish) and cars often have 1-2.5 litre engines. You can get V6's and V8's here but most engines are just 4 cylinders. Most of the cars here have manual (gear shift) transmissions, although automatics are becoming more popular, and of course electric cars don't need gearboxes at all.
Also road fund/tax and insurance costs. A 1.2 polo costs about £120 a year in road fund and the bigger the engine the more it costs in road fund but if you have an electric car it cost nothing in road fund
The UK has as we know have some of the safest roads in the world with deaths very low thankfully. There are of course many many reasons for this but part of that is the extensive learning and test conditions. Another reason is we don't allow a 16 year old to drive and roundabouts are far safer than an intersection.
Signs in the UK have been proven to be very effective at improving road safety.
We have a lot of speed bumps, average speed cameras and general traffic calming measures.
Lastly but by no means least the MOT which is more extensive than in the states so essentially there are less dangerous cars on the road and there's also less uninsured drivers or drivers without a license which will be safer
We also have 'smart' motorways ... although I've still to be convinced they're an improvement. They automatically post speed restrictions (normally 70 and can go down to 40 !), open up the lane normally used for breaking down on etc for the flow of traffic and inform drivers to slow down. All sounds great but can be infuriating sometimes!
@@susangamble6038 I agree they’re infuriating but they definitely prevent massive traffic jams by incrementally decreasing the speed up to the point of a bottleneck, thus maintaining the flow of traffic. And they’re good for safety - for example warning of an obstruction when debris that has come off the back of a lorry or a tyre has blown or whatever, or if someone breaks down in a dangerous position, then the warnings for traffic to slow are almost immediate. Only the other day I was driving along a slip road that follows a very tight bend (almost going round in a complete circle as it merges onto the motorway) and someone had broken down in the middle of it. The signs were flashing to reduce the speed and it could’ve easily saved that person’s life.
There can't be that much difference between 16 and 17 year olds driving. I'm English incidentally.
What about Starsky & Hutch.... They were Zeebra 3...... & their car was red & white... So umm yeah...... My point? I'll get back to ya on thatt 👍
Not true you can ride a scooter and drive a tractor at 16 legally not that we wait til that age lol
If you would like to know more about our road signs and driving over here . There is a little booklet you can get which only costs a few dollars . It's printed by the British government called , " The High Way Code " , It's on the Internet too .
The first time I’ve ever commented on anything on YT (that’s huge for me), but I’ve followed and adore you both. Authentic gals… and your love of castles, wow! x
Thanks so much Tonya! ❤
Good work ladies, again.
Zebra crossing, check out the cover of the Beatles Abbey Road album, that is a zebra crossing and at each side of the road is a flashing orange light called a Belisha beacon, named after the guy who invented them.
Driving miles:- since my retirement I do less than 2000 miles per year, and last year, because of restrictions I only travelled 850 miles! It's 52 years since I passed my test, never had an accident that was my fault, and consider myself a careful driver. I do have an SUV but that's because of my arthritic knees and it's easier to get out of.
Hi Natasha and Debbie loved this video. I learnt some things i didn't know and some of it i knew. Always love you guys videos and always lok forward to Wednesday and Sunday.
Thanks so much Lucy!!
From the accepted northernmost point in Scotland to the most southern point in England is only 603 miles (as the crow flies/in a straight line). By road the distance is 837 miles and would take approximately 15 hours.
This was definitely a really good one. I am a little surprised that the American equivalent of zebra crossings use yellow and white instead of just white on its own, as that allows it to be more visibly seen between the contrasting black and white. Shame the video didn’t mention roundabouts though and their high levels of efficiency. I can imagine they could be hard to get used to if you haven’t used them before, once you do you realise how great they really are. They are good for keeping the flow of cars going, helping to stop traffic levels and it means you don’t have to keep stopping and starting all the time.
The theory is you don't have to keep stopping and starting, but in practice very few people even in the UK, don't know how to use a roundabout.
Boot and trunk are words which are synonymous with chest as in a container for travellers possessions. Early on a chest would be strapped on a platform at the rear of cars.
The reason the British drive on the left is because of a law passed in the 18th century saying that if you were going in or out of london you had to stay left. This was to reduce congestion and collisions on London bridge.
Zebra crossing. Black and white stripes painted on the road as you guessed
It's not just public transportation either, places to shop and eat are not necessarily miles out of the way so it's much easier to just walk - like your York video the other day, all of that stuff was in easy walking distance
Great video ladies, really enjoyed it. Hope you have a good rest!
Thanks for this video, it was great fun, washed my car this morning, turns out it’s red, who knew, Happy Sunday 💕
😂😂
Yeah we tend to use buses, taxi's & trains more than cars. My dad was obsessed with cars, so much so he was mechanic by trade, guess that's where I get my love of cars from. In Wales we have both English and Welsh on signs so we accommodate English & Welsh speakers. It's called a zebra crossing cause there are black & white stripes.
Love to see your reactions girls. I live in the 4th largest city in the UK in an outlying village in the suburbs. I gave up owning a car 10yrs ago because I walk to work, walk to the shops and if i want to get into the main city I have a bus every 10 minutes during working hrs and every 22 outside of it till pretty late in the night. If i want a day trip to the coast or to another city I use our train network or intercity bus, its pretty reasonably priced. I honestly havnt missed having a car :D
Leeds??? I used to work there. Travelled all the way there by train every day from near Huddersfield. There is a good network of buses - except they all tend to come at once and then you wait ages for the next one! 😄😄
National Speed Limit signs may cause confusion for drivers from the USA. White circle with a black diagonal line. As the sign means different speeds depending on the type of road and what you are driving.
Built up area with street lights, 30 mph.
Single carriageways, cars 60 mph. Goods vehicles, buses, and when towing 50 mph.
Dual carriageways and motorways, cars 70 mph, Goods vehicles, buses, and when towing 60 mph. In Scotland goods Vehicles over 7.5 tonnes 50mph.
🇬🇧 Norfolk here let’s get this show on the Road !
Good job he did not mention pelican crossing
So much of the US is built around the car, here you'll find sidewalks pretty much everywhere whereas in the US of course there's plenty of towns that don't have them and there's places you just can't get to without a car even in a town centre - that would never happen in the UK
Until covid I was driving 26,000 miles a year commuting. Been working from home for over a year now, so my commute is 10 feet down the stairs.
That will certainly save you some money 💰
My daughter bought a mini because she thought it would be easier to go to work and back due to the traffic.
No sooner did she get it the pandemic started and she has been working at home ever since and will be continuing to do so.
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Yes, but more importantly, 20 hours a week of life back 👌
One other thing about UK vs US driving is that the UK has very few Stop signs in comparison to the US.
Dont forget that the US has always had cheap petrol. Not so, sadly, in the UK !
Give way is Stop! A double dashed white line is STOP😊
The lack of public transport in the US sort of amazes me. I was once in a hotel in Utah. I asked reception how far was the nearest bank, just 5 minutes they replied. I forgot that they never walk anywhere. It took me 30 minutes. It was a very treacherous walk, no side walks on most roads!
Here in the UK, I live in S Wales, we have great public transport. I live in a large village on a crossroads of 2 main roads. We have a small bus station where I can get a bus to the city of Cardiff (12 miles) to the South and in the other direction the Rhondda Valley (10 miles). East and West we have the bus that travels from Bridgend to Pontypridd (20 miles, I am in the middle) we have local buses to the surrounding villages. In the next village we have a train station. The London/Swansea train does not stop but local ones will take me to Cardiff in 15 minutes.
The Welsh government gives all 60 year olds a bus pass. I can travel for free on all but express buses. When I go to my local hospital, about 2 miles away, I can get there and get dropped off by the door rather than struggle to find a parking spot.
We all have cars! No great need for public transport. We walk in our neighborhoods, in our massive parks, we walk plenty, just not to get to main destinations. Our Country is too large
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow Twice a year I have a diabetic retinopathy eye test. This involves eye drops to greatly open the pupil and photos taken of my retina. You are not allowed to drive after this test for 4 to 5 hours. Bus is the easiest way home. Taxis are almost impossible to get for a short trip here.
Hey Ladies,
Owning a car here in the UK is expensive. Many towns charge for on street parking even outside your own home! Some charge a fee to enter a town or city with your car and parking can be limited and expensive!
Debbie called it a zebra crossing refers to the fact that most are black and white stripes!
They do here too! Thankfully not near us
Great video.
He missed that most people learn to drive with a manual (shift) car & not automatic. Although it's becoming more popular.
So if you come here & hire a car you have to specifically request an automatic as it's not standard.
We also have to learn to drive with a qualified instructor.
I didn't get my licence until I was 28, cos there wasn't much point.
I actually haven't had a car for 5 years cos I can't justify the running cost for the distance I used it for. Made me lazy lol
But the US is very spread out, so it makes sense you all drive more.
Luckily Debbie can drive a manual(shift) but might be safer to hire.
@@TheNatashaDebbieShow True - but, unfortunately, automatics are much more expensive to hire than the manual version of the same model of car!
Great video as always ladies. Debbie is correct with the zebra crossing, being called this because of the black and white lines. The thought of driving in America is terrifying but I am sure it’s the same for you driving over here. Round about are easy, you will soon get used to them. Looking forward to travel Wednesday xxx
Thanks 4 staying up so late as this was a very enjoyable discussion topic. Debbie I think you are right about Zebra Crossing's we also refer to similar crossings as Pelican crossing. I think someone may have been smoking something a little different to come up with those!😁Personally I love driving but with finite space and very congested roads in places it can be a bind. Just changed my micro car (Toyota IQ) which I loved, for a bigger car as will be moving to the Highlands of Scotland this year. I'll let u know how that goes (with my 2 cats!). Plan to adopt a rescue dog when I get there. Life without them just isn't the same. Don't work too hard and a gentle hug & kiss to Tyson from me. Thanks gals! xx 😜🤪💕💕
I remember watching someone drive round a car park in the States to pass their test in about 20 minutes 🙈🤣
Yeah, my uncle came over to the family farm in Ireland. He hired a car a Ford Fiesta,he thought everything was cheaper in Ireland. We met him in our car at the farm he forgot the trench down the side of the mile long driveway guess where he finished. Wasn't his fault although the trench had been there for 150 years.
@@andrewfitzgerald2327 ...not knocking American drivers, but exactly the reason you never see world champions at driving coming from the States , love their muscle cars, just not their driving skills 🤣🤣
And Zebra Crossings have: Belisha Beacons! These are flashing amber globes on black/white poles. Named after the Minister of Transport who introduced them. And pedestrian crossing are sacrosant in that pedestrians have the right of way.
totally right, and you must stop by law
Another great video! Looking forward to Wednesday's episode :)
Really enjoying your videos. So pleased to hear that you are visiting the UK at some point - hope you enjoy the experience.
I have driven in various countries on both sides of the road. The one thing I found weird in the US was the position of your traffic lights. Overhead swinging in the wind.
It's where they hide their electricity...
The distance thing is very much true when it comes to driving. Anything over 200 miles and that's a long train journey or a flight :) Personally I drive around 3,000 miles a year and even when I used to drive "a lot" that was only 10,000 miles a year
Yeah that's what I am thinking! Maybe I am showing my age, but I use to literally work .75 miles from work and did not drive it. I would have to climb a 10 ft fence that was impossible. I remember driving a car to school my last 2 years 11th and 12th grades. Believe me it was a very used car! Everything I've seen in the UK just looks amazing!
When I lived in AL, my mate and I went on a supposed weekend trip to Panama City Beach for a camp/fishing trip. (I don't drive). We got there and realised it was Biker week.... So...we ended up doing a 14 hours, almost 1,000 mile round trip, with a 2 hour stop off for lunch and visit to USS Alabama and a 30 minute dip in the sea.
Oh, that reminds me, there's a great RUclips channel called Localdriver - dahcam driving through Somerset/Bristol, Well worth a watch to see what City/Country driving is like. (He's also driven in the US) ruclips.net/user/localdrivervideos
Great video Natasha & Debbie, very innovative 😂 x
Nice one!! 😂😂
It takes a while to get used to roundabouts, but once you do, you will find them a lot better. The traffic doesn't need to stop and that makes it safer and faster for everyone.
If people used their indicators to show where they intended to go,traffic would run even smoother.
Our pedestrian crossings tend to be names after animals. Hence Zebra, Pelican and Puffin. There are even special ones for horse riders that are set at a specific height. Usually where bridleways intersect with roads. Debbie is right. Zebra crossings are our most prolific pedestrian crossing and named for the black and white areas on the road. Also with orange flashing lights diagonally opposed called beletia Promounced (Beleesha) beacons.
Belisha (after Hore Belisha, inister for transport) beacons, is the correct spelling.
Not sure speed limits are the same as when I've driven in the US but there seemed a blanket speed limit 55/60mph on interstate/freeways/toll roads, were as maximum speed on motorways is 70mph.
Also exit signs direction signs in the US seem to sit right on the turning while UK are forward of the exit/junction giving time to indicate and get in the correct lane.
I'm certainly looking forward to seeing your adventures in the UK, especially driving some lovely Welsh lanes!
I once went to Waco to visit a company on behalf of clients. My friend and I went to reception to ask where we could get something to eat. She said “take the Interstate” and I interrupted and said we didn’t have a vehicle. She looked at me like I was insane. Eventually she directed us to the only restaurant in walking distance, which was my first time in a Hooters. Young ladies from Waco, Texas, have never met Brits before so we had plenty of people to talk to. Every member of the (barely dressed) serving staff took it in turns to join us at the table and ask us questions!
If you want your minds blown about UK driving, look up Swindon's Magic Roundabout... then you'll think UK motorists (and road designers) are insane.
My favorite roundabout(s)
used to take my kids there just for the fun of it
Ladies, one thing that I would like to advise you about is the rules of the road when using roundabouts in the UK. You have to give way or yield to vehicles that are already on the roundabout, UNLESS the traffic on the roundabout is controlled by traffic lights or other signs ( including signs painted on the road surface or carriageway) and find the lane that you need to use and stay in your lane but watch the lanes changing as you approach your required exit. BEWARE some larger junctions in the UK are known as Magic Roundabouts because they consist of numerous small roundabouts feeding one very large roundabout, which means that occasionally you might come upon a vehicle apparently travelling towards you. The small roundabouts are sometimes just a circle of white paint on the road surface, you are supposed to treat them as if they built up with solid walls but some drivers will ignore the rules and drive straight across the circle. Best of luck to you if you do try driving when you come across the pond but if you are too discouraged from driving I would suggest that you ask about a conversion lesson with one of the many driving schools, or use the public transport system/ Über (negotiate for a daily rate).
One of my favourite quotes in ' The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers ' is " In Britain everyone drives their vehicles as fast as they possibly can but nobody ever gets hurt as everyone follows the rules of the road " . Lovely irony . True and untrue all at once .
Lots of 4 x 4 cars in country areas of the UK. Very hard to live in the countryside without a car these days because there are very few buses.
Over 60 countries, one THIRD of the world drive on the left and these countries have a total population of 2.5 BILLION. Being part of The Commonwealth Canada should drive on the left too but the huge land border with the US means that thousands of lorries and cars would have to change sides after crossing the border so Canada decided to drive on the right.
In China, vehicles drove on the left-hand side until February 1946, when the US ambassador complained about it to Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, who then ordered the traffic changed to driving on the right. Since there were only 50,000 vehicles in China at the time, it was not a major issue. If they had not changed then the majority of the world would now drive on the left.
@@Alan_Clark 👍
Recent years I see a lot more bigger Cars on our Roads in UK, which is resulting in new car parks being made with wider spaces to accommodate, I don’t see the point in having big cars here, our roads aren’t designed for them unless you drive on motorways a lot or dual carriageways, our residential roads and City roads haven’t changed much, but ownership of bigger cars have, I enjoy your videos 👍🏻
Hi, Our (UK) cars have become wider. It allows for crumple zones in the side and air bags in the doors, safer. Also cars are now more likely to slide/skid, rather than roll, again safer. Also occupants have also become bigger, taller as well as wider.
Note standard garage doors have not changed, same as the 1960's, I think previously they were wider.
Many families with more than 2 children now have to buy a bigger car because of the laws on child car seats and safety belts.
Years ago, all our 4 children would just be squashed up together in the back seat- or the smallest one would be sat on my lap in the front passenger seat.
This is no longer allowed, so bigger families have to buy the larger 'people carriers'.
Innovative, centrifugal, and quite a few other words Our Lawrence has brought up between me (an American from Iowa) and my very northern Yorkshire husband. 😂 Excellent video again, babes! x
Great video loved the live chat 👍
Thanks for joining us!
Another great vid ladies.
To be honest left and right side of the road for most UK drivers is irrelevant as we go to the continent often so get used to switching.
I think US drivers find the UK weird as they seldom drive in other countries.
This also applys to road size .
Small old country small roads and of course stick shift is still the most popular type of car which makes getting a rental is way easier for Brits going to the states than visversa.
Just to let you know were we live in Suffolk many country lanes are 12ft wide with passing points.
Great fun in Christines little Mazda Miata.
Love Lee and Christine XXX
bleddy 'ell 12ft wide lanes, that practically a motorway here in Cornwall.
@@rogerferris3720 Agreed Roger specially when you meet a caravaner or motor home head on.
Or the local Turnip chewer and his tracor😘
I guess it explains why the states have a serious emissions and air quality issue with double our car ownership, engine size and miles driven. Understand the landscape differences have a huge bearing
I guess the bigger the country the more mileage per driver? As the whole of the UK can be fit into a corner of Texas it follows that we never have to drive as far to reach anywhere. People who live in London often have no need to own a car; plenty of buses, tube trains, bicycles, walking and taxis gets you where you need to go. With regard to signs, a circle is an order, whereas a triangle is a warning - so a circle with an outline of a walking man tells you "no pedestrians allowed". This you would learn BEFORE taking your Driving Test; and getting it wrong or not knowing when asked would ensure a FAIL.
Dear Natasha and Debbie.
Watching this video has made me decide to come out.
(Deep breath!)
I'm a driving instructor.
🤯
Yeah.
So, did enjoy this one.
Have driven USA (Please don't ask what happened when I took that left toin in Albuquoique!🥕) and taught a few Americans who needed UK or manual (stick) licences.
Yes, I've seen the US driving test and commented: 'Is That It?!' But on the whole, the American drivers I've met are pretty competent.
(There was an incident outside Boothbay Harbour ME, one night in which the guy who went off the road and crashed his truck next to our parked van commented: 'Aw, shit! I done it again' but, hey ho).
Now, I think that the test here in Britain is one of the most stringent in the world.
Our roads are still full of idiots, but it's a relatively safe place to drive.
The driving on the opposite side is something we adapt to in an hour or so.
The danger lies in spending enough time in a country that you forget some little detail when you have to get up for work at 5am.
Roundabouts are something else people get overexcited about.
A roundabout is a one-way street.
You join by turning left.
You exit on the left.
The thing that keeps me in business is the fact that people spend their academic and working lives dealing with complexity.
Driving is mind-bogglingly simple.
So, if you have any concerns about driving when you visit...
PS. (edited) When I teach approach to Zebra crossings, one phrase I use is 'Look out for Zebras'.
Anyone teaching, instructing or mentoring please note:
Everyone remembers bad jokes.
Im totally laughing my ass off right now at how this episode became a speak and learn "American to Uk pronunciation" lesson part way through. So funny that you like to pinch our way of talking Natasha. If you ever come to the UK you will be astounded at how different everyones accents are, if you go a few miles in any direction from any location in the British Isles, the words and way of speech will vary so much ( I know you have done accents vids reactions before Im just saying), it really is remarkable. For a funny example ask people in the uk what they call a bread roll where they are from. You will get 15 different answers from 12 people. xD Keep up the great work.
an ass is a donkey
Bread roll = bap
@@eddisstreet but also a butt.
@@helenagreenwood2305 teacake or breadcake. Duel me ;p (just messing)
No, Butt used to play for Man Utd
An American friend of mine was very shocked to discover that we had a show called Celebrity Driving School, in which famous people from the world of entertainment who had never learned to drive were taught as part of a reality show.
28:00 The best roundabout in the UK is the Swindon Magic Roundabout. It's crazy.
Signs in the UK. Round signs = Orders i.e. you must following the instruction. Triangular signs = Warning as in the Tank crossing. It is warning that you might encounter a tank crossing the road so be prepared.
Hello Ladies, if you want to see what some of the UK roads are like (and probably put you off driving over here for life! 🙂) look for videos of Hardknott and Wrynose pass in the Lake District
I remember them well. Ace biking roads.
I was just about to say roundabouts when you mentioned them, trust me, once you get used to them you will think how did we manage without them, they are really easy to use and traffic can flow/move that much quicker than having to stop at traffic lights, we also have traffic lights usually because there is not enough room to install a roundabout even a mini one, oops! I just probably baffled you even more, your'e thinking mini roundabouts, what the hell are they, love you.
Hi Guys Great Vid lol I passed my driving Test in 1970 when i was 15 years old in The Junior tradesmen Regiment in Ayr (west of Glasgow) in a Bedford RL Truck, For me it was Quite Easy lol and from then on aquired some more Driving Licences for different Vehicles throughout my life. i Enjoyed those years and Drove on the opposite side of the road when i was in Germany also so i know how you feel when yu guys see a video of a person sitting in a car and cars zooming past lol. Anyways Great Vid and keep up the Great Work. From an Old Guy from Scotland.
I think it depends where you live in the UK - in cities you will see lots of small cars (and everywhere tbh) but in the countryside people tend to have larger cars and 4x4. We do have large lorries also but they aren’t aloud to go down certain roads that are deemed to small/not strong enough. For example I drive a vauxhall insignia - a pretty large car.
There is a video by an American gent working in the UK. The video shows his journey home from work and how, due to roundabouts, he only has to stop the once, to turn right into his drive.
The zebra crossing is referring to the black and white lines on the road. :-) This is probably the point the person who invented these terms got bored and wanted to get poetic. Here's a nice one for you that means speed bumps: Sleeping policeman.
In 1994 I was sent by my employer to work on Staten Island (NY) for 6 months. I had to get a NY licence. I did a driving knowledge test (what we call the Highway Code), an eye test and then a week later attend a night class watching videos on safe driving, then I was granted a temporary NY permit. I passed my UK test in August 68. I had my Provisional Licence. 18 months later my Dad & I taught my younger brother, he passed first time also.
The UK and NY tests were very different then. In the UK I was in a stick shift car had to make a hill start, a 3 point turn around, parallel park, reverse into a narrow lane and an emergency stop/brake. In the NY test it was in an automatic car and just had drive around, parallel park. Then I had a full NY drivers licence. Only ever asked for it as ID in a bar. At that time my UK driving licence was a sheet of paper of A4 size (same size as US legal paper), it was folded so the main details were visible in the plastic cover. It didn’t have my photo but was in English and Welsh. My new licence is similar to the old NY one, it has a photo and credit card size.
nd un between those two, we had a little red book.
My grandfather who never when to the United States in his life always called the pavement the sidewalk. He was a big cowboy film fan though and had a Buffalo Bill tattoo on his left wrist.
Fab video. Great topic to pick
Another great video ladies. My car 🚘 had its MOT last. Week It had done under 1,000 miles, This past year. I think I walk my dog further than that lol. Enjoy your week ahead.
Another great video. We have 4+4 but there mainly used in the countryside for actually farming etc, you do find them in city’s especially in London but there called prairie fairy’s - a insult meaning there wasted lol.
Another big difference is in America you can turn right on red. In the UK red is stop. Another is the light sequence in the UK it goes red (STOP) to amber to (GET READY) green (GO)
Hi, new subscriber here (from the UK). Loved watching this video and listening to your views. Very much hoping to visit America this year, so these videos are helping me understand some of the key cultural differences worth knowing about!
Awesome! Welcome to our crazy little family! ❤❤
As I said to a Landover driver on not at all rural Holloway in n London ,who was weaponising his 4x4 and vocalising about me following traffic law under a police camera which he can't have seen ,I asked him equally boldly in front of a crowd of people watching,exactly how small his dick has to be to drive a land rover ,In said manner in
London,crowd found it hilarious.
We have yellow box junctions to prevent gridlock these enforced by a TV camera if you enter box when exit blocked then was a £ 60 fine in the post ,not an if but when.
I was once in Florida and saw a sign saying “yield to peds”. It took me ages to work that out!
Hi ladies ❤... I don't drive but hubby and daughter do. We had our insurance milage at 5,000 miles per year but just upped it to 8,000. So not very high
If you speak with an upper class accent in English you will generally clip your vowels, that is shorten them. Personally I think it's a little bit silly because if you shorten room you end up with a word that sounds a lot like rum.
😂
You are correct about the zebra crossing, it’s the black and white stripes. Where it gets confusing is the pelican, puffin or toucan crossings (someone was obviously a wildlife fan) which are basically all variations of light controlled crossings.
We have picture signs instead of written signs because of the amount of foreign drivers we have in the UK who may not be able to read English. Plus they are pretty much the same across Europe so there's no confusion.
great video as usual ladies thank you
Wow! Super funny (I’ve never driven on the right)!
Yes, zebra crossing because it’s black and white stripes
Your cars are massive and wouldn’t fit in the spaces in the ‘parking lot’ here (your president discovered this last time he visited Cornwall)
Natasha, you made a hand jesture when you talked about roundabouts and went anti-clockwise, we drive the left so it’s clockwise here 🤣
I think you pronounce route as ‘rowt’ and we say ‘root’ because we have a lot of French in our language(you have Spanish) and en route is French for ‘on the way’.
Hope you both have a wonderful day.x
Zebra crossing is black and white striped. Road signs round is compulsory triangle advisory as are temporary speed limit signs in yellow and black. Large 4×4 s are not suitable for our smaller roads but those that we have are usually diesels for economic reasons. Fuel is about$8.50 for a US gallon . UK gallon is 20% more. Also if you consider Britain is about the size of Arizona but we are 65+ million. Motoring is much more of a chore than a pleasure.... Best wishes John.
Hi Ladies.I am 76 and have never earned to drive.I ,lived in London for about 50 years,which has an excellent transport network.We moved into the country 20 years ago,and my partner drives.I know many people in our village who do not have a car.
I drive about 18,000 per year in the UK with a 50 mile commute.
The biggest difference I found on my one trip to the US was that my hire car was automatic. I'd only ever driven a manual up till then. To make things even more confusing was that the gear stick was on the steering column and the parking brake was foot operated. It took me about half an hour to work out how to drive the damn' thing :)
Loved it, that was fascinating. it's another world not just driving. ❤❤❤❤❤
@@debbie8674 💋
Trucks and 4x4s are still very popular here in England. It's just our equivalent of your yank tanks are usually smaller. Like our big family vans would be smaller than the us equivalent, same with trucks, 4x4, estates (station wagons) ect
Hi. Enjoyed the video. As well as Zebra Crossings, UK also have Pelican Crossings. This is where you press a button to get the traffic lights to turn red. Name comes from PEdestrian LIght CONtrol. There are also Puffin Crossings. Puffin crossing is the same as Pelicans but there is a sensor that will keep the light red until your finished crossing.
Interesting
Zebra crossing are, generally, black and white stripes although more colourful versions are being used. They are indicated by orange globes on black and white horizontaly striped poles known as Belisha Beacons, named after the Minister of Transport when they were introduced, Sir Hoare Belisha.
Love your site. As you seem to like British history, especially CASTLES, may I suggest y ou look
at Walking Tours through Windsor Castle ...it even took my breath away. You see the
town as well as the biggest castle I have ever seen. Just something to add to your
visit !
I heard In school. In Britain we drove on the left cos back in the Middle Ages etc….. most people were right handed so if you travelled on the left your potential opponent soldier mugger would approach you typically from the right and it would prove easier in a potential fight or battle
Interesting piece of information the film . Full metal jacket was filmed in England. One piece stands out and that's the part where . The platoon is jogging down the road past barracks, check out the road markings the white lines are for driving on the left.
Honestly where I live, and in most UK towns public transport is everywhere. I live right on the edge of my town but there's 3 frequent bus routes (come every 5-10 mins) within a 10 minute walk that would get me to the city centre or nearby towns, and 1 bus that would take me to a train station. I still haven't learnt to drive yet because I've not needed too (although I definately will) and its expensive