The most famous aspect of driving in the United Kingdom, for most foreign visitors at least, is of course that the British drive on "the wrong side" of the road - i.e. on the left hand lane, and the driver sits on the right hand side of the car. It takes some time to "reprogram" the mind to think in the opposite sense at junctions and on roundabouts and motorways, so the main thing is not to drop your guard 2 or 3 days into your visit, as this is when most accidents involving foreign drivers happen. You can also do some online practice before you arrive to familiarise yourself with driving in the UK, try some practice learner driver theory tests. If you are from the USA or Canada - bear in mind that most cars are manual transmission which can further complicate matters - your car rental company will give you a "stick shifter" unless you specifically ask for an automatic when you make a reservation.
1. Speed Limits
Most speed limits are indicated by black numerals on a circular white sign with a red border. The exception is the National Speed Limit, a kind of "default" speed limit, indicated by a plain white circular sign with a black diagonal stripe. Speed limits signs and distance signs in the UK are always indicated in miles (5 miles = 8 kilometres).
The National Speed Limit (NSL) for cars and motorcycles is 60mph (=97km/h) on single-carriageway roads and 70mph (=112km/h) on dual-carriageways and motorways.
Built-up areas have a standard 30mph (=48km/h) limit in force, though in some areas (near schools, housing estates etc), it drops to 20mph. In areas with less immediate danger, this rises to 40mph (=64km/h) or even 50mph (=80km/h). Most deviations from the normal 30mph are very well-signed, especially the 20mph zones, which are usually liberally sprinkled with speed-bumps and other "traffic calming" measures. The 30 mph limit applies to all traffic on all roads in England and Wales (only Class C and unclassified roads in Scotland) with street lighting unl
Breaking the speed limit usually incurs a fine (although if the speed was only slightly above the limit, some forces offer the option of a speed awareness course - along with a fee) and penalty points on a licence. Stationary speed cameras and mobile police radar traps and average speed camera are used to catch offenders, If you are on unfamiliar territory, driving a car with the controls on the "wrong" side, on the "wrong" side of the road, you are already a potential hazard. Don't add to it by speeding.
That said, Britain has a culture of speeding. Popular beliefs are that "10% over the limit is legal" (which it's officially not, but in practice, is, in view of the need to allow for speedometer and detection equipment error) and that "speed limits are there for cars without such good brakes as mine!" (total drivel). On a practical level, this means that you should avoid driving too much slower than the limit on roads with higher speed limits.
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