Gas Prices and Driving

So, apparently I am the only one who is using this blog...and admittedly I have not done a great job at posting. Wes, our team member who is also a police officer, has been posting different things on his Facebook page. I'll copy and post some of his interesting observations here. I will also try much harder at getting posts uploaded here.

From Wes:
Let's talk about cost. In case you were wondering, no it is not cheaper here. Fuel here is at 1.46 a liter. 4 liters to the gallon so it is currently 5.84au per gallon and with the au dollar being worth about 10 cents more per dollar the cost of a gallon of fuel in US dollars is $6.24 a gallon here. Now you know why this entire country has switched to much smaller vehicles. They used to drive large vehicles here but they are rare from what I have seen. Next time you get fuel be glad you have cheap fuel. Oh and everything else is higher too. $20 a meal is the norm it seems. Clothing is higher also.

I don't know if his math is accurate but since I'm challenged when it comes to numbers I will have to go with it and believe him. That has been something quite different here...no large trucks. So Dad, you would be REALLY out of place with your huge Ford! The work vehicle of choice is the Ute, which reminds me a lot of the old El Camino. They are also on the metric system so speed limits are in kilometers per hour, which can throw off a poor American in the backseat who looks up and sees we are going well over 100 km/hour.

Interesting to note, is that they drive on the "correct side" of the road...the left. So, it has been a little over a week and I still find myself walking to the drivers side door to get in as a passenger. At least once a day I am asked "Are you going to drive?". I am sure I will get it down eventually. Probably just in time to come back home. While I am now better at looking out of a moving vehicle at cars that appear to be going the wrong way, I still have not wrapped my mind around the right turn across traffic.

The roundabout, AKA the circle of impending death. Here are the rules:

• Traffic in a roundabout flows in a clockwise direction.
• In a two-lane roundabout, you keep to the left lane if you’re turning left or going straight ahead.
• You keep to the right lane if you’re turning right. You can also use the right lane in a two-lane roundabout if you’re going straight ahead.
• You use your left-turn signal for a left turn, the right-turn signal for a right turn. If you’re turning right and are on the right lane, switch on your left-turn signal when exiting. It has become law in New South Wales that motorists must signal left, in every instance, whenever exiting from a roundabout.

I think most of us just close our eyes and hope we make it through ok every time we come up to one. My hosts have found that quite amusing and assure me there are many rules about when and who gets to go. I don't know this for certain, but I think Carol and Don (my first host family) purposely sped up driving through just to get my blood pumping.

I don't even know how to go about describing the Melbourne hook turn. It's a right turn from a left only lane that requires you to swing wide and cross over in front of traffic moving in your direction as well as traffic coming from the other direction. I am still amazed that I have not seen more accidents.