I dunno… Somehow, I’m comfortable going into a fishmonger in France and explaining that I’m sorry but I don’t speak brilliant French, so could they possibly demonstrate a little patience with me while I try to remember the right word for prawn?
But to me that feels different to explaining that you don’t quite know what you’re doing with this 1.8-tonne piece of metal but you’re going to drive it down the road at 70mph anyway.
‘So just bear with me if I brake or swerve suddenly when I spot a distillery I’d like to visit, yeah?’
I don’t want driving standards to be excused downward; I’d prefer they were expected upward. Sure, driving in an unfamiliar car in an unfamiliar place can be unnerving.
But it is why we had to pass driving tests in the first instance. We didn’t cut licences out from the back of cereal boxes; it was expected that we’d have a number of lessons and be examined so that we knew that we were capable of doing it properly.
Familiarising oneself with a vehicle and the local driving regulations is a part of the gig. If you can’t be bothered with it, then, well, they have buses.
I’d rather come across a visiting driver who is unfamiliar with their surroundings but, aware that I would have no knowledge of this, is putting serious thought and effort into applying their best driving behaviour than someone who thinks that, because they’ve got a green T on the back of their car, they can take more liberties. ‘Yes, I’m doing a U-turn now. Hey, I did tell you I was a plum!’
