Hi,
I am planning to visit Australia for Honeymoon. I have a Indian and
USA driving license. This will be my first visit to Australia. I am
thinking of renting and car and driving from Brisbane to Sydney and
then from Sydney to Melbourne and fly back from Melbourne.
Does anyone know how easy or difficult it is to adapt to driving in
Australia say for someone who has driven a lot in USA and in India??

I will be in Australia from 14-Feb till 25th Feb.

---

Clarification of Question by vasantharam-ga on 26 Nov 2006 07:13 PST

Also how hard or difficult is it to find directions. In the US, every
intersection has poles with the intersection street names on it. Is it
the same in Australia?

IF you can drive in India, you can drive anywhere  - and, of course on
the left side of the road.  Traffic in Australia is much like that in
the States.

Have a great trip and honeymoon.  :-)

Myoarin, who has driven in all three countries and couple of others.

OH, in Australia you may not make U-turns at intersections unless
there is a U-turn sign, and you are supposed to keep both hands on the
steering wheel at stop lights.  (I think they are afraid your horses
might break into a gallop.  ;-)

Both hands on the steering wheel at stop lights? Huh? 
U-turns forbidden at intersections? Um, nope. Not sure where that came
from, myoarin!!! I think someone's been pulling your leg.
Certainly when you're driving in Victoria and, specifically Melbourne,
U-turns are fine unless there's a sign saying "No U Turns" at the
intersection!

Driving is very easy around Brisbane down through New South Wales and
all the way to Victoria because we are fortunate to have mostly
excellent roads and extensive highway/freeway networks and signage is
usually pretty good. (Unless you get off the beaten track, then the
gravel roads are bone-shakingly rough. Not kidding!)

A few things that are strictly enforced are:
? the "no talking on the mobile phone" rule when driving and 
? our police in Victoria are pretty hot on picking up drivers who
exceed the speed limits and
? there are regular breathalyzer test areas to pick up those damnfool
drunk drivers.
? Plus, here in Victoria, we have a 40 kmh limit in school zones
during certain hours.
? Seat belts are compulsory and 
? like any country, there are idiot, horrid drivers and nice, courteous drivers. 

You can check out the road rules for Victoria at
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrne/vrne5nav.nsf/alltitle/Rules,%20Standards%20%26%20Regulations
and I'd also suggest a visit to the RACV (Queensland has the RACQ) who
amongst other driver support and insurance services provide a very
comprehensive map and travel advice service. They're terrific and well
worth the visit. Here is the RACV website with heaps of information:
http://www.racv.com.au/wps/wcm/connect/Internet/Primary/road+safety/advice+%26+information/

Be careful driving on country roads or highways at night because
kangaroos and emus and other wildlife are everywhere and they're not
good at dodging cars and trucks -- and be especially careful to keep
an eye on the bushfire situation if there happens to be a Day of Total
Fire Ban in the district in which you're driving. February is a mean
month for fires downunder.If there is a TFB and it's a 35+°C with a
hot, strong wind, then avoid going driving in the bush or hills.

Other than that, drive carefully, drive safely and remember, it's a
big, big country so it will be a lo-o-o-ng drive to get where you're
going!

Enjoy and happy honeymooning.

So there you are StresedMum, and I thought I would never see your name
appear again. How are things in Geelong??, did you have snow as well!!
 Surely there is a great difference between USA and  Australia in
driving if the steering wheel is on the left of car in USA and on the
right in Australia. I would have thought that changing from one to
another would be most difficult. I of course walk or ridea  bike most
places living in the  Melbourne CBD as I do.


 John From melbourne

HI you two from Victoria, and Vasantharam,

I was told that in 1998 by a young man in Sydney who was still on his
learner's permit.
The only difficult thing about right vs left hand drive, is learning
to shift gears, obviously less of a problem with an automatic
transmission.
But it seems that Vasantharam already has experience with both types.

Who won the Melbourne Cup race?

Cheers, Myo

Hi Myoarin! Ah, the race that stops a nation ... winner was Delta
Blues, the very horse that my son said would win and that "we should
put the house on it!" Preferring to err on the side of caution, we
resisted the urge to bet our home on the result of equine endeavour,
no matter how significant it might be to our nation's culture, but
must admit to feeling a bit disappointed that we weren't about to
increase our wealth to the tune of something like 17 to 1.
http://www.melbournecup.com/static/htm_mcc_homeba53.html

and hi to johnfrommelbourne -- yes, we got snow, but not in Geelong.
Haven't lived there for far more years than I care to remember! I'm in
the gorgeous hills in the outer east and we were very well catered for
in the snow and hail stakes. We now are told to prepare for next week
of high 20s, low 30°C temperatures next week. Good old Melbourne. Four
seasons in one day and proud of it! (Bear that in mind when you're
driving here too, vasantharam-ga.)

Hi Stressedmum,
Maybe you wouldn't be so stressed if you took your lad's advice ...
IN 1970, a friend from boathouse row won and took a few of us to
Tattersall's, I believe, for dinner, all for a whalloping A$40, as I
remember.
Ah, sweet youth!

CHeers, and keep your hands on the wheel, even if it isn't the law.  ;-)

Myo

Yes, you'll find that we have very good road signage in Australia,
just as you'd have in the UK, Canada, US etc. Highways and Freeways
and just about every road or street is clearly indicated with street
names and destination names and major road numbers. Plus on many of
the major freeways, we have LED signage to provide estimated travel
times to the various turn-offs and the traffic density.
Here are some example of signs:
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/VRNE/vrne5nav.nsf/childdocs/-2BBDC9EF1E56C40ACA256FD300241C3B-B3E85EEE63091AF3CA256FD300241C65-F671E58AB3027D5FCA256FF000197B21?open
Plus this:
http://www.vicroads.vic.gov.au/vrne/vrne5nav.nsf/childdocs/-2BBDC9EF1E56C40ACA256FD300241C3B-DC01E44F4F8C5427CA256FD300241C40?open
... and finally here is an interactive map of the declared roads. It
is really easy to find your way around Australia. I promise!
http://maps.vicroads.vic.gov.au/
Oh, and I forgot the route planner site which is very handy -- I use this often.
http://visitvictoria.com/displayObject.cfm?ObjectID=0000B41D-D36D-1A88-8B4680C476A9047C

Remember, these sites are all for the State of Victoria -- and I
agree, myoarin, that it's an excellent idea to keep both hands on the
wheel!