[318] Driving in Australia vs Europe
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Hey guys, you're listening to the English Made Simple show. This is episode number 318, number 318, numero 318. 🎵

Hey amigos y amigas, you're tuning in to the English Made Simple show and I'm your host Milena. Welcome back everybody. Welcome back to the show. Today we are going to compare driving in Australia versus driving in Europe or the US. Get ready for some funny anecdotes and useful English phrases. And don't forget to visit my website englishmadesimple.net. You can learn more about the EMS show and what it is all about.

by visiting the EnglishMadeSimple.net website. If you want to listen to the podcast directly from the website, simply type in EnglishMadeSimple.net slash podcast into your browser and then start listening. Today's episode is going to be easy peasy. Easy peasy Japanese, as I always say. Imagine all your life you're driving on the right side of the road and then you move to Australia. Yeah.

Then you need to relearn how to drive, learn all the new rules again, how to drive on this side of the road and then how to follow all those rules. Now, before we dive into today's show, I'd like to send a greeting to a special listener who recently reached out to me on Instagram.

I'm sending a heartfelt shout out to one of our amazing listeners, Maria. Maria is a talented concert pianist and a piano teacher. She's been listening to the show all the way from Germany.

She always wanted to learn English but oftentimes felt afraid and uncertain at speaking and writing in English. I'm sure like many of us, Maria has also tried using language apps on her phone to help with vocabulary. I sure did. I tried Duolingo a long time ago for my Spanish. But we know these apps don't help much with speaking or listening. I believe...

Podcasts are one of the best ways to help with English listening. Now she listens to the EMS podcast every day and finds that it helps her learn in a focused and entertaining way. Thank you for listening to the EMS show, Maria, and thanks for reaching out. I'm sure the following episode will be useful for you today. Okay, amigos y amigas, let me start off by asking you a question. Have you ever driven a car in a foreign country?

It can be quite an adventure, especially if you're not used to their driving rules and road signs. So just to give you a kind of a picture of what I'm going to describe for you today is just imagine this. I've learned how to drive on this side of the world, like in Australia, in this southern hemisphere.

And in New Zealand. So I got my driver's license in New Zealand, but that was easy then to transfer over to the Australian one when I moved here in Australia. So we drive on the left side of the road here in New Zealand and Australia. Yep. On the left side. Yep.

For those of you from Europe or the US, that might sound a bit strange. If you've listened to my last episode, you would know that I visited New Zealand recently. I also rented an electric vehicle, a hybrid vehicle, Toyota Corolla, and I also rented

You heard me talk about how I struggled to drive this electric car because it was all automated, all automatic. I'm used to driving manual transmission type of cars and petrol cars. So where you have to change gears yourself using a clutch pedal.

But these modern cars were a whole new experience, right? So today's episode is still related to driving cars, but I'll focus mostly on road rules here in Australia and in New Zealand and then compare the driving to the US and the rest of the world. First off, let's talk about driving in Australia and New Zealand. So driving on the left side of the road, right?

In Australia and New Zealand, we drive on the left side of the road. This means the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. The wheel that I'm using to turn is on the right side. When you're used to driving on the right side of the road, this can be quite confusing at first. So for those of you listening in Europe or in the US, you might scratch your head. What? Are you driving on the left side? Are you crazy, Milena?

I remember the first time my dad, when we moved to New Zealand, my dad drove a car in New Zealand. He kept turning on the windshield wipers instead of the indicators or the turn signals because they were on the opposite sides of the steering wheel. It was like learning to drive all over again.

It was quite funny at the time, but I'm sure it was quite frustrating for my dad to get used to driving on the other side of the road. So my dad learned to drive in Europe. So this was a huge, huge learning curve for him to get used to when we moved to New Zealand.

And here's a funny detail as well. Lifting the handbrake. If you want to stop the car when you park the car, lifting the handbrake with your left hand is common here. But in countries where they drive on the rights of the road, like in Europe or the US, you would use your right hand to lift that handbrake. Okay, again, something to remember.

to think about, something that you take for granted, really, if you're driving. All right, what's next? Let's talk about something else, roundabouts. Do you know what this means?

A roundabout. Roundabout is one word. According to Weon Inteligente or the online dictionary or the AI in today's terms, a roundabout is a type of intersection where traffic flows in a circular path around a central island.

Instead of having stop signs or traffic lights, cars enter the roundabout and drive around the circle until they reach the road they want to take. That is what roundabout is. So when you're driving in Australia or New Zealand, another thing you'll notice is the roundabouts. These are circular intersections that I've just explained where you have to give way to traffic coming from your right.

Roundabouts are quite common in Australia and New Zealand, but if you're from the US, you might find them a bit tricky at first to navigate. I find roundabouts really straightforward to navigate. It's super easy, the easiest thing to do. It's quite easy to drive around and you only have to give way to the traffic that's coming to you from the right.

And now let's look at some phrases and expressions you may need to be aware of when you're driving. OK, so I've just used one word, give way. So you have to give way to the traffic on the roundabout, the traffic that's coming from your right side.

This means to allow other vehicles to go first. Okay, if you give way to a vehicle, to a car, that means you're allowing them to go first. I have explained what roundabout is. It's a circular intersection where you must drive around a central island. I'm sure that every city has this. It's an intersection and you have to go around basically this central island first.

to get to another side of, let's say, to go right or to go straight. Then I mentioned wipers. When my dad tried to turn the indicators on, he accidentally turned the windshield wipers on because they were on the other side of the steering wheel.

These wipers, they are the blades on the front window of the car that clear rain or snow. So if you've got rain falling on your car, you would turn on the windshield wipers. And if you want to indicate to turn left or right with your car, you can turn on your blinkers or indicators or turn signals. So there's a few options you can use. I think in the US they use blinkers more.

So blinkers or indicators, these are the lights, the yellow lights that flash that indicate which direction you're turning left or right. So did you know one of the road rules here is that if you're exiting a roundabout, you have to indicate before you exit the roundabout, you have to put your lights on. So whether you want to turn left or right, well, it's always left for us here, right?

You have to turn on your indicators before you actually exit the roundabout. Even if you're traveling straight ahead, you still have to turn your indicators on. Right. Are you following me so far, amigos? Now, let's compare this to driving in Europe and the US, driving on the right side of the road. In most European countries and the US, people drive on the right side of the road because

This means the steering wheel is on the left side of the car. When I drove in Europe for the first time, it felt like everything was backwards. This is me going there when I was visiting Europe from New Zealand. So I kept drifting to the right side of the lane because my brain was used to driving on the left. Okay, so this can happen anytime.

To anybody, even if you're coming from Europe to Australia, you'll find it's quite frustrating and you need to relearn all the steps again. So I haven't been to the US myself, but my friends have shared their experiences with me. They mentioned that driving in the US can be quite different, especially with the huge highways and traffic lights hanging over the intersections.

traffic lights in the US, you'll often see traffic lights hanging over the intersections, which is different from Australia, where they are usually on the side of the road. They just stand on the side of the road. I remember hearing about a friend who almost missed the flight because she was looking in the wrong direction. All right. Now, I've seen some movies, some American movies, and I can see the traffic lights are quite different to how we have them in Australia.

What about highways, driving on a fast speed road or highway? Another big difference in the US is the highways. So highways can be massive in the US with multiple lanes. Well, Australia is not as big as the US, but we still have highways. You have to be very alert and constantly check your mirrors because cars can overtake you from both sides. In Australia, highways are generally smaller and

And overtaking usually happens on the right. We call them expressways, tollways or freeways. So if you're traveling on a highway, let's say a tollway, I should say, anything that has toll, like T-O-L-L, means you have to pay to use it. So you pay a small fee,

to actually jump on a tollway and get to your destination faster. Okay, so we have expressways, tollways and freeways. And I think in New Zealand, they call it motorways. Okay, let's look at some phrases and expressions I use so far. So a highway, I think everybody knows what highway is. A major road designed for fast travel. Usually you can go fast on those roads, 100 k's an hour.

And oftentimes it connects cities. So highway can be connecting the cities or suburbs in New Zealand. So overtaking, what does it mean when you overtake to pass another vehicle that is going in the same direction as you? So if they are slow, you would overtake that car. So overtake is one word.

And if you're overtaking or if you need to check if anyone is on the side, either side of your car, you will be checking your mirrors, reflective surfaces. That's what a mirror is on the sides and inside of the car to see behind you. Okay. So you've got rear mirrors for checking behind you, who's behind you, or you have side mirrors for checking to the side of the car that you're driving. Okay.

Easy peasy Japanese, amigos. So amigos y amigos, whether you're driving in Australia, New Zealand, Europe or the US, each place has its own set of rules and quirks. It's important to be aware of these differences to stay safe on the road. Speaking of being prepared, one thing that always comes in handy, especially when you're renting a car or dealing with bookings,

is being able to spell your name clearly. I found that whether I'm in New Zealand, Australia, or hearing about my friends' experiences in the US, spelling your name over the phone or in person is a common challenge.

To help you out, I have a free gift that will make this a breeze, that will help you with spelling. Go to englishmadesimple.net slash spell my name to download your free guide on how to spell your name clearly in English. It's an invaluable resource, especially if you find yourself having to spell your name frequently. Trust me, if you're traveling, this is a must. It makes life so much easier.

Well, that's it for today's episode. I hope you had a great time learning about the differences in driving between Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US and picking up some new phrases along the way. Driving in different countries can be a bit of a challenge, but with a little preparation and some practice, you can navigate those roads like a professional.

It's been a pleasure sharing this episode with you, amigos y amigas. If you'd like to support the show, visit englishmadesimple.net slash transcripts and download the transcripts to contribute and support the show. If you can't contribute right now, then please share this episode with your friends, your neighbors, your enemies, anyone

anybody, strangers you meet on the street, you can share this podcast with them. Don't forget to visit englishmadesimple.net slash podcast anytime to continue listening to the rest of the episodes. You've been jamming with Milena. Until next time, amigos. Hasta la próxima.