If you belong to one of the more than 70 countries in which you drive on the left (right-hand drive), and you intend to drive to Latin America or another country where it is the opposite, we want to give you some advice so that your experience do not be complicated. 

 

The vehicle

If you have no idea how a car with the steering wheel to the left is, there is nothing to worry about, because apart from the steering wheel, the gear lever and the pedals are all in the same place, order and disposition to the usual cars that you drive. Your feet will follow their natural course.

What will happen to your arms? Your left arm will hit the door for a few hours, because you have not got used to it or memorized that the change has it on the other side. Apart from this, the belt will be placed upside down and you will feel that you are driving too close to the right side of the street. But all this will be solved with a few hours of practice walking slowly and avoiding highways, while getting used to it.

Now the big dilemma is manual or automatic transmission? It will depend on what you are used to driving. If you normally drive automatic, stay with the automatic, if not, drive a manual car, bear in mind that changing gears with the right hand is not at all difficult. It takes your time at the beginning, because the hand does not have "learned the route" but it is nothing that can not be controlled in a few minutes.

If you opt for a car with the opposite change to the one you are used to, consider that you could have problems with your foot looking for the clutch and brake, our recommendation is to respect your natural driving and continue with the type of change and pedals to which you used.

Drive on the right

In some countries the speed limit is marked in miles. Take into account that although you can usually find speedometers that are indicated in the two measurement systems, in Costa Rica, the signaling is in kilometers per hour.

Entering roundabouts with heavy traffic is especially dangerous, pay attention to your left always, and remember to turn counterclockwise and enter roundabouts on the right side (naturally, you will see that they are designed so that be the input side).

Pay attention when you have to enter a road perpendicularly, do not take the car looking to the right, but to the left, do so prudently to avoid accidents.

The left lane on the freeways is the fast lane and most road exits are made on the right which is the slow lane. It may feel strange, but it requires driving on the right and without hurry, even if it seems you are going in the wrong lane.

Take into account that when driving with the steering wheel to the left side, your head is accustomed to turn to the opposite side while you park and it will not be strange that the first times when doing it you’ll act at the opposite, seeing nothing more than the back of the seat that will not let you see. After that confusion, get used to it with patience and after a few days driving with the steering wheel to the left, you will be surprised how easy it turned out to be.

Remember that in Avis we want to give you the best service if you have questions or queries you can contact us at +506 2293 2222 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.