Growing up in America (the land of the car), you learn all about how roads are supposed to work, what the rules are, how to drive, and so on. When you set foot in Scotland, you can forget all that.

The obvious difference is that you're driving on the "wrong" side of the street. Actually, this was only rarely a problem. So long as there are other cars to remind you which side they're on, it's easy to keep yourself straight. Even shifting with my left hand instead of my right just seemed right, given the conditions.

The real differences start when you open your eyes, and have to figure out what all the road markings mean, what the local conventions are, and so on. You see a solid single line, what does it mean? How about a double line? How about a zig-zag line? Who has the right of way? And what's the deal with these roundabouts anyway? Of course, I knew all of these by the time we left, but I didn't actually take notes for what they mean, so the next time I see them, I'll be just as confused.

The worst problem for me was one of terminology. My brain seemed to flip my American driving habits for driving on the "wrong" side, and even flipped some of the words! In America, a left turn is the one that's the long way around, and a right turn goes right next to the corner, and not across other traffic. My brain kept using these same words (left and right) to mean the same convention, rather than the direction. I kept calling right turns "left" because the right hand turn starts from the middle, and goes across some lanes before it gets to the turned direction.

Roundabouts were also new, and "right of way" finally makes sense. The person coming towards you (always from the right) has the right of way. Both the right (privelege) and the right (direction). For neighborhood driving, I think roundabouts are fantastic. They keep you driving slow enough for neighborhood driving, and you just have to pay attention for other cars, and stop only when it's your turn to yield. But, for big streets, roundabouts are downright scary. And on an M-road (the equivalent of an American freeway), the roundabouts are just out of control. A giant roundabout at 50mph? No thank you. That's why we invented freeway interchanges.