Driving in Canada (1)

Motorists from Malaysia and Singapore have a major adjustment to make if they rent a car in the USA or Canada.

Over there they drive on the wrong side of the road that is according to our own practice. I wonder how that came about. Why did the British and the Yanks not agree on driving on the same side of the road? Was it a case of having to be different from the old colonial masters?

Anyway both my wife and I have driven quite large distances especially in the USA but the initial feeling is still the same. When we first enter the car, we make sure we check all the instruments and settings before we move off as we have to concentrate more on the road and making adjustments while driving is a little harrowing.

In Canada motorists also tend to drive quite fast, I estimate everyone except tourists like me drives about 10km/h above the speed limit. On the highways, merging traffic join the main road at the same speed and you have to learn to leave adequate gaps if you drive on the slow lane so that traffic flows smoothly.

Different states have different laws on pedestrian crossings. In Halifax, pedestrians are the kings of the road. You are expected to stop for them every time and there are numerous crossings all over the city that do not have stop signals. The moment a pedestrian approaches a crossing be prepared to stop. I remarked to my wife that if these people came to Malaysia, many of them would be run over.

There is a pedestrian crossing with lights near my house that never fails to attract one offending motorist that will simply ignore the red light each time. I guess that could be one measure of the anarchy on Malaysian roads.

The first vehicle we hired from Avis was a 4wd SUV and we used this to drive on the Cabot Trail, supposedly one of the most beautiful drives in the world. We drove to Baddeck and spent 2 nights there.

On the second day we drove clockwise round the Cabot Trial – it was interesting but not that spectacular in late spring. I guess autumn would be a much more colourful time to visit.

The drive was less scary than anticipated but I did encounter one stretch at the northern section where the road was like a roller coaster. I think driving anti-clockwise round the trail is better for easier access of the lookouts.

One strange quirk of the SUV was that I could never start the engine! Each time I turned the ignition it just refused to start. So my wife had to turn the key whenever I drove. Guess it needed a woman’s touch.