Being left handed

[nonnaB 4,895]

On 9/12/2022 at 5:46 AM, Bing said:

It's from the Latin, sinister, meaning left.  Latin dexter means 'right',  hence dextrous.  Sinister and dexter are still used in heraldry. 

 

 

Sinistra and destra in Italian. I always got them wrong when I first came here.

[mary1947 2,079]

A lot of folks out there are left handed ?
 

So they make left handed Golf clubs

left hand gloves for golf plus the leather one's are perfect for Lawn green bowling.

What about left-hand drive cars?

 

[philmayfield 6,127]

The first time I drove a left hand drive car was on a business trip to Germany. I had to drive from Frankfurt Airport to Worms. It was nighttime in January, I was alone, it was freezing, snow was falling and I had a heavy cold. It was an ideal indoctrination. Subsequent trips never bothered me!

[Jill Sparrow 10,305]

When you reached Worms, did they put you on a diet? 

[philmayfield 6,127]

I heard all those jokes back in the day. At the factory I was visiting, because I was unwell the Germans produced a few miniature bottles of Klosterfrau, an alcoholic herbal medicine which they proscribed as a cure all. I presume Klosterfrau is something to do with the nun’s cure. It certainly cleared my head! I was taken to a live sex show the follow evening where lots of men in raincoats were sitting furtively. I think it was a mistake for me to shout ‘encore’ at the end of the performance. Not for the faint hearted!

[Hey Arnold 88]

3 hours ago, mary1947 said:

What about left-hand drive cars?

First time I ever drove a left hand drive was in Coronado California. I borrowed my Aunt's Volvo to drive up to LA to visit my cousin, and not only was it my first LHD, it was also the first time driving an automatic so double disorientation. Come the day we set off up the road, got around the first roundabout (going the wrong way round of course) and was driving nicely along when a car was coming straight at us from the opposite direction. I was just about to say "look at this idiot on the wrong side" when my wife shouted at me "YOU'RE  on the wrong side of the road!!" 

[mary1947 2,079]

First time we drove aboard it was to go to Munich to see Nottm Forest v Malmo We came off the autoban to get some petrol, easy-pesy untill we came out the garage the wrong way and like you not just one car comming towards  but two, comming straight at us, Well just stopped on the road, it was just luck that they did not hit us.  Bonus N Forest beat Malmo.  Since then we have not had a problem as we have toured all around Europe.  Manual v Autos   No contest  Automatic every time.

[Oztalgian 3,285]

Whilst working I regularly drove in the USA and found two road rules that should be adopted where the rest of us drive on the left. The first one is where traffic lights at some junctions during the night are switched to steady amber (give way) on the minor road and flashing amber on the main road. It avoids sitting at red traffic lights in the middle of the night when there is no other traffic on the road. The other is being able to turn right at a red light junction if there is no other traffic coming. (Turning left would be the UK and OZ equivalent) Both eminently sensible rules but I often forgot when returning from the US and pulled up at the red light at the junction on the way out of the airport and turned left whilst the red light was still showing. Her indoors didn't half give me grief.

[Oztalgian 3,285]

7 hours ago, mary1947 said:

What about left-hand drive cars?

What is the go with lazy design, manufacturing engineers or more likely bean counters that persist in using the same column switch cluster for cars that were originally designed for left hand drive on right hand drive cars. Having the indicator stalk operated by the left hand on a right hand drive car, especially a manual is just plain stupid.

Also don't get me started on hand brakes. Many Rootes cars had the handbrake on the right side of the drivers seat, and worse still foot operated handbrakes, thankfully they seem to have disappeared as many new cars now have automatic electrically operated handbrakes.

[mary1947 2,079]

Give me automatic any day 

mind you, my first driving lesson was given to me by my neighbour Quizzi , It was in a Toyota truck with collum change. In my first driving test (Before it came into the GB driving test)  you had to do reverse parking, well Quizzi would allways take me to the outside groupe of shops, and find one vacant spot in between two cars, right go on then into that space, I did get quite good at reverse parking, This was when we lived in South Africa and they did drive on the same side of the road as UK,  we have now been back in the UK for years, and since Quizzi taught me to reverse park never, ever have i done it since.  I used to feel sorry for Quizzi his wife Arniki told him that he had to teach me to drive, so he did not have a choice, but the reason I did feel sorry for Quizzi was after my lesson he would get out of the truck and his shirt back woud be wet through,  I take my hat off to him as he really had no control over my driving,  but I did pass my test first time.

[Hey Arnold 88]

5 hours ago, Oztalgian said:

What is the go with lazy design, manufacturing engineers or more likely bean counters that persist in using the same column switch cluster for cars that were originally designed for left hand drive on right hand drive cars. Having the indicator stalk operate

The worst for me is LHD windscreen wipers on a RHD vehicle. The arc of the blade only clears half of the screen directly in front of you, one of the issues homologation throws up

[Hey Arnold 88]

The other things I do when driving LHD are moving to rest my right arm on the door and it flopping down into nothing, or moving my left hand to change gear and banging it into the door! 

[Oztalgian 3,285]

3 hours ago, Hey Arnold said:

The other things I do when driving LHD are moving to rest my right arm on the door and it flopping down into nothing, or moving my left hand to change gear and banging it into the door! 

Or going to get in the passenger side when you are the driver. Never really had problems with driving on the "wrong" side of the road except occasionally in car parks.