3) The Americans don't really know what to do at 4-way stops either, but the theory is that the first to arrive turns first. Unless one direction has priority. Or you all arrive at the same time. Stupid idea if you ask me.

The bloke in the pickup truck with a rifle rack and a bumper sticker that says 'guns don't kill people, I do' goes first. 😉

To the OP, really, don't worry. It's easy. If you've driven in Paris you're going to find driving around America a doddle. Even in big cities it's pretty easy and lots of middle Americans (outside of New York anyway) are desperately keen to be polite.

As everyone has said, it's pretty easy, especially if you have a navigator, allowing you to concentrate on getting used to the car and the fact you're on the wrong side of the road. I won a trip to LA back in '93, with a hire car. Took a mate with me and having him there with a Rand-Macnally map was a huge advantage. First problem was figuring out how to unlock the filler hatch on the Buick Skylark I was given, second was working out how to get out of the area without driving into South Central in an obvious hire car. Generally I got used to the auto and driving on the right pretty quickly, but I did get caught out turning right at a junction that went under a freeway overpass, possibly Ventura, and found myself on the wrong side of the road with a car coming towards me! Eek. Had a great time, it was terrific fun driving to Santa Monica and Venice, drinking cold Guinness while sat looking at the Pacific Ocean. Have fun, enjoy the experience, I'm really jealous.

Oh those ubiquitous Rand McNally atlases. Problem is, they print all the states on one page each (except I think California which gets two), which means that the scales vary massively. It can take you all day to cross one page of the map and about 2 hours to cross another. That can catch you out 🙂

Remember to try this, if it's a rear wheel drive car with a big engine:

While stopped, put car in drive, gently apply brake with left foot then start feeding in the throttle.

Because the front brakes are bigger than the rears, the car will stay still but the back wheels will start spinning. Great fun at toll booths, next to cop cars at traffic lights etc.

Don't use your horn (see earlier post on guns).

If you do happen to get stopped for any reason don't get out your car. It really upsets the police !

Also don't flash your lights to let someone out, or when you're annoyed. They don't do that there – flashing lights is only used as a warning for either a cop or some kind of hazard.

Two things that no-one has mentioned:

1.) Instinctively reaching for the gear lever, only to find you are trying to change gears with the window winder.

2.) It takes a day or two before you stop walking up to the passenger side of the car with your keys out ready to jump in and drive.

Hehe.

What I found the most enduring mistake was looking to my left to see what was behind me (because the rear-view mirror is to my left at home). I've only just stopped driving using mainly the left wing mirror, and I've been going there for many years 🙂

I once got into the car and put my seatbelt on, only realisign I was in the passenger side when my hands clutched uselessly at thin air instead of grabbing the wheel.

My wife on this most recent trip (who is American herself) had a long discussion with me about where we were going to go getting more agitated like why the hell are you standing there talking to me and not driving, before realising she was actually sat in the drivers seat herself…

Awesome guys – cheers!

Just hired this

BRUUUUUUUM!

I'm guessing doughnutting the rental car is frowned upon 😀

I'm guessing doughnutting the rental car is frowned upon

It's positively expected.

^ what he said

Don't fanny about with atlases and missing signs. Buy a GPS from a big electronics chain store and then return it within 30/14 days (whatever their policy is). A zillion times easier than worrying about directions, takes all the hassle out of it.

Forgot the schoolbus one. You must never pass a stopped schoolbus, even if it is travelling in the opposite direction. They take this one really seriously.

This is true. I was on my bike, zipping through stopped city traffic. Didn't realise it was stopped because of a schoolbus on the other side of the road. The dirty looks I got were fearsome – I honestly thought one guy was going to jump out and thump me. The theory is sound enough – enables the kids to cross the road right by where the bus stops – but in NYS (according to the manual) it applies even on divided highways!