Hey, this one doesn't make the wipers go on when I pull the turn signal!

So, after much to do, Matt and I have joined the LHT (left-hand traffic) drivers of the world...

... we now own a RHT (right-hand drive ) vehicle!

I was curious how Australian came to be drivers on the wrong left side...so read up on the history of traffic direction laws:

"Though originally most traffic drove on the left worldwide, today about 66.1% of the world's people live in right-hand traffic countries and 33.9% in left-hand traffic countries. About 72% of the world's total road distance carries traffic on the right, and 28% on the left.

Signatory countries to the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949)[16] have agreed to a uniform direction of traffic in each country. Article 9(1) provides that “All vehicular traffic proceeding in the same direction on any road shall keep to the same side of the road, which shall be uniform in each country for all roads. Domestic regulations concerning one-way traffic shall not be affected.”

In the past, several countries had different rules in different parts of the country (e.g., Canada until the 1920s). Currently, China, the United States and the United Kingdom each have territories which differ from their primary traffic rule. In China the bulk of the country drives on the right, but the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau – which were transferred to the country in the late 1990s – drive on the left. In the United States most of the country drives on the right side of the road, but traffic in the US Virgin Islands – like on many Caribbean islands – drives on the left side of the road. The United Kingdom drives on the left, but the overseas territory of Gibraltar drives on the right.

Australia drives on the left. The decision to drive on the left side of the road was made in the early 19th century in the early period of the British colony of New South Wales by Governor Lachlan Macquarie after the first road was built, and followed the British practice. "

But, I digress. More about our car! We love the Australian aspects: Note the steering wheel on the right, kangaroo on the registration sticker, and tag line for Victoria on the plate:

(In my attempts to showcase the liscense plate - "Victoria - On the Move",
I kept laughing at my lack of Vanna White skills)

 Because the car is a VW (German made), the wiper and turn signals aren't reversed! We had some issues with this when test driving cars. I think one guy thought I had never driven before (ok, the driving on the left side thing is more the issue, but it is the little things that count!). We definitely didn't even attempt to buy a manual. I bet Matt could learn, but I'm content with the current challenges of not accidentally turning right into on coming traffic...

In other law news, Matt and I can actually drive here on our US driver liscenses, without getting any extra sort of Victorian liscense or driving education. Since we have temporary visas, we aren't required to get a Victorian liscense (those with permanent visas do). So, without doing anything, we are both already full fledged legal drivers here!

While this makes it easier for us, it is a little scary! Matt is way more comfortable than I am driving on the other side, so he's been the only one really driving here, but we've both been looking up traffic laws to make sure we are aware of any differences. You have to wonder if everybody reads up on things like that...

Some things we have learned: You CAN'T turn left on red! You know, since you can turn right on red on the States.

The Melbourne CBD contains 19 hook turn intersections. They seem, to us newbies, quite tricky. Essentially the point of them is to help with potential tram/car traffic issues. Here is a quick video on the counter intuitive turn:

Also per wikipedia: 

"Australian states and territories use the "give way to the right" rule; in the absence of regulations specific to a particular situation, drivers must yield the right of way to all vehicles to their right. This applies to most uncontrolled intersections except for T-intersections. Give way to the right does not apply to merging lanes, in that instance vehicles must give way to any vehicle that is ahead. This is sometimes called zip merging. If lines are marked, vehicles are not zip merging but changing lanes, and they must give way accordingly."

We think this essentially means that if a car is trying to get into your lane, and they are coming from a lane to the right of you, you have to let them in. It's a pretty "nice" rule. Oh Australia :)

Figuring out the traffic differences notwithstanding, are so happy that our parking spot is finally filled, and looking forward to many exciting scuba diving and camping adventures...and a few runs to USA foods and Costco :)