Driving in Ireland rant

A few things I learned during my recent trip to Ireland:

• Visa credit cars do not cover insurance on rental cars in Ireland, N. Ireland, Jamaica or Israel. Bastards.

• Do not pay extra for GPS. Just buy a Tom Tom. The piece of E36 M3 Magellan they gave us got lost for hours and it cost as much to rent as it would have been to buy one. Get a map too.

• Do not accept the "upgrade" from the Fiesta to a larger car. Even it is a butterly and sublime Peugeot 3008 Diesel MPV. People don't drive small cars in Europe because they are cheap. Europeans drive small cars because the back roads are the size of a gnat's birth canal. Rent anything larger than a Golf and you will regret it.

• Driving on the left side was not as bad as I thought, as long as you have a co-driver. Judging right side clearances are difficult though, I left a lot of rental paint on Kerry's shrubbery. My mantra was like a school yard football game - tight left, wide right.

• Shifting with the left hand causes a lot of missed 2-3 shifts back to first gear for me.

• Passing an eighteen wheeler into oncoming traffic with a diesel is something I will never ever attempt again.

• Do not be that guy who rides a bike on the country roads of Ireland. You will get you and me killed. There is zero shoulder. Don't be that hiker guy either. Mad Max carnage can't be far away.

• Irish relatives do not understand the concept of 'no more for me I have to drive.'

• There is a reason crazy ass rally drivers come from places like Ireland. The average country mum going out on a nappies run could probably compete in the WRC.

• Did I mention that Peugeot was really nice? Too big and kind of ugly but I would love to try a 308 instead of the 3008.

GTwannaB wrote: People don't drive small cars in Europe because they are cheap. Europeans drive small cars because the back roads are the size of a gnat's birth canal. Rent anything larger than a Golf and you will regret it.

yeah...i remember once a few years ago I came into work on Monday morning and the boss says "get your ass over to Spain to fix this friggen problem...the guy whose job it is doesn't have a passport!" Well I landed in Barajas a day or so later and asked for a "small" car at the Hertz desk. Lady tells me "we out of small cars...I give you big car for little car price" I say GREAT! Well next thing I know I was trying to go down the street to my hotel in some small remote village in a Renault Vel Satis which is...if you don't know..about the size of a '59 Buick. It literally was not possible to go down some of the streets!

the drinking and driving thing is most likely southern, or was anyway, too many peelers and army road blocks up north when i was there. we do tend to drive a little fast, and the roads are tight, makes for great tarmac rallying tho'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqXjsi97OWg

some dickwad drifting around an Irish police van - yes the Guards do not have side-arms.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9gjhh6TCLY

mind you this Guard doesn't seem too bothered by some eedjits in a twin-cam.

had a similar experience renting in manchester and driving 'b' roads to matlock bath once. i held the door at hertz for another guy and he took the last focus. i ended up with a damn renault scenic which is about the size of a mazda MPV. the scenic drove fine and was much more responsive than pretty much any american minivan, but renault didnt bother to switch the wipers over to the right side, so i had to lean down and to the left to get around the gap in wiper coverage on the now drivers side.

i now think twice about holding doors for fellow travelers at rental agencies...

The Toyota I picked up at the Dublin Airport was the roughest rental car I ever got. I took the clerk out to look at all of the damage, and he just laughed and said not to worry about it. After the 3rd contact with a "loaded" hedge (that's a hedge with a stone wall inside of it) I realized why the car looked that way, and why he was laughing. Great lane disipline there, though, no one hogs the passing lane.

car39 wrote: Great lane disipline there, though, no one hogs the passing lane.

It was interesting to ride with my Scottish friend when he first came to Canada. Passing was a downshift, maybe two, and foot to the floor- In a province with more cattle than people, where you can watch your dog run away from home for 3 days.

He's calmed down some over the last 25 years.

car39 wrote: Great lane disipline there, though, no one hogs the passing lane.

If people did that here I'd have fewer aneurysms on my daily commute.

Monday will be joyous, all the students are back. Maybe I'll walk, no wait I'll get run over by blonde bimbo tweeting about her Monday.

I lived (and raced motorcycles) over there for years. You get used to the way they drive and the skinny ass roads. I did shout "Geronimo!!!!" a lot though.

GTwannaB wrote: - Do not accept the "upgrade" from the Fiesta to a larger car. Even it is a butterly and sublime Peugeot 3008 Diesel MPV. People don't drive small cars in Europe because they are cheap. Europeans drive small cars because the back roads are the size of a gnat's birth canal. Rent anything larger than a Golf and you will regret it. - Irish relatives do not understand the concept of 'no more for me I have to drive.'

A. Haha, I know the feeling. Here in Korea using anything bigger than a Civic feels like driving a Dually F350 Extra Cab in downtown San Francisco.

B. Did you try the substitute drivers who come to you on tiny motorcycles and then drive you home?

MrBenjamonkey wrote: B. Did you try the substitute drivers who come to you on tiny motorcycles and then drive you home?

Now THAT is a great idea. Wonder if it would fly here in the US?

If/when I move back to the states I was thinking of trying to start a company just like that ... biggest fixed cost would be a mini motorcycle small enough to put in the customer's trunk.

moped?

Segway? (maybe leased?)

Speaking of passing lanes, they have this strange half lane, half shoulder setup where you pull over slightly to the left so people can pass. It didn't make sense to me at first, but I think it works.

MrBenjamonkey wrote: If/when I move back to the states I was thinking of trying to start a company just like that ... biggest fixed cost would be a mini motorcycle small enough to put in the customer's trunk.

One of those little 2 stroke skateboard looking scooters would fit in almost any car.

pilotbraden wrote:

MrBenjamonkey wrote: If/when I move back to the states I was thinking of trying to start a company just like that ... biggest fixed cost would be a mini motorcycle small enough to put in the customer's trunk.

One of those little 2 stroke skateboard looking scooters would fit in almost any car.

GoPed? Just don't get an acutal "goped" brand one - they use a friction drive (read: sandpaper covered spindle directly applied to the tire). You can find others that use a chain drive.

When I was in Ireland I was impressed with the posted speed limits on some of the crazy windy country roads. 45kph? I don't think I can go that fast, but I'll sure try!

I loved driving over there. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it quite as much if I wasn't in a rental!

mad_machine wrote:

MrBenjamonkey wrote: B. Did you try the substitute drivers who come to you on tiny motorcycles and then drive you home?

Now THAT is a great idea. Wonder if it would fly here in the US?

It does. We have a service here in Louisville called CityScoot.