Getting in a fix en route with shifty sticks

Business travel usually isn't thrilling. It can be boring, mundane, and, once in a great while, stimulating, but thrilling is rarely the word for it. That is unless you rent a car in a part of the world where they drive on "the wrong side of the road." At that point, you'll be lucky if thrilling is the worst it gets.

It doesn't matter which side of the road you feel is the right one; there is a country somewhere close by which doesn't share your view. Roughly 25 per cent of the world drives on the left side of the road, but that "minority" includes the UK, Australia and India. If you travel for business, sooner or later you're bound to end up somewhere where traffic travels in opposite directions. You need to be prepared. So here are a few travel tips for the adventurers out there looking to "cross over."

For those who do rent, do yourself a favour and get an automatic transmission. While the steering wheel will be on the other side of the car, the stick shift doesn't move. To add to the confusion, everything about the steering column will be on the "other" side. The hand you used to use to turn on the turn signal will now turn on the window wipers and vice versa. It's going to take you a while to make the adjustment, so don't make it worse by forcing yourself to learn to shift with a different hand.

Also, don't expect all stick shifts to be the same. During one of my first experiences driving on the other side, I rented a vehicle with a "let's have fun with the foreigner" gear stick. Instead of the standard "W" gearshift I was used to, this machine had what can only be described as a "YY."

What do you do when faced with these circumstances? You keep your sense of humour. You will make mistakes. At some point, you will try to get in the car on the passenger side and you will, just for a second, wonder who stole your steering wheel.

You may even find yourself reaching across your lap to shift gears. These things will be the least of your mistakes.

The main worry when driving is that sooner or later you will forget and revert back to driving on "your" side of the road. It will happen, but try to avoid it at all costs. It's a quick and painful way to meet the locals in a hurry.

One of the easiest ways to figure out whether you're on the correct side is to look at the median. If you are looking over a passenger seat to see the median, then you are running the risk of becoming very unpopular with oncoming traffic. If you look out the driver's side window and see the median, you're on the correct side. The same goes with figuring out which lane is "the fast lane." Without exception, the lane near the centre is the fast, or passing, lane.

Finally, you should really consider if you need to rent a car. Taxis in many parts of the world, especially in Dubai, are a cheap solution to getting around town. Why risk it? If you don't really need a car, save yourself some aggravation and flag down that taxi. You'll arrive at your meeting a little calmer, and most importantly, in one piece.