Post from the Department of Redundancy Department.
Gears are:
1st - top left
2nd - bottom left
3rd - top centre (yes, centRE)
4th - bottom centre
5th - top right
Reverse - usually bottom right.
Pedals:
Clutch - left
Brake - centre
Accelerator - right
We don't have a "gas" pedal because our cars run on "petrol".
The tricky thing is, the indicator is (usually) on the right of the steering column, and the windscreen wiper control is on the left. With imported cars, especially European models, this is often reversed, which can mess you up if you change from one car to another.
The real challenge, though, is the steering wheel. Because we're in the southern hemisphere, gyroscopic forces are reversed. So it is necessary to reverse the connection on the steering wheel, and turn it clockwise to go left and anti-clockwise to go right. This does confuse a lot of visiting tourists, but it is easy to remember if you think of it this way: in the northern hemisphere, the car goes the way the upper (i.e. northern) part of the steering wheel goes, and in the southern hemisphere, the car goes the way the lower (southern part of h wheel goes. Simple really.
