But as the hours stretched into days, do you think I could find a single left-turning vehicle to give way to? And despite repeated and increasingly frustrated attempts to source T-intersections where I could go left, I couldn't time a single turn to coincide with another vehicle coming from the right, to whom I could then nod sagely at and gesture generously to go ahead of me.
I never thought there would come a day when I envied Auckland its traffic, or small-town New Zealand its absence of controlled traffic lights.
As I drove about armed with knowledge that was rapidly becoming redundant, my brain did its regular reboot and shuffled the new rules off into a dusty, dark corner where I keep other important but inaccessible information such as birthdays, anniversaries and the how-to guide for controlling the universal TV remote.
Of course, the moment this was done, I found myself at an intersection with a collection of other cars. Driving on autopilot, I charged through as I always have, giving way to the right. It wasn't until I looked in my rear vision mirror and saw someone giving me the fingers that I realised my mistake.
It was a blow ... but one softened by the fact that someone giving you the fingers when seen through the rear vision mirror almost appears to be giving you the universal sign for peace.
That aside, I was now on my guard and chastened by making the mistake I thought I was above.
A day later, my chance for redemption was offered ... a traffic light intersection and my turn to nip left, skidding close to the curb and leaving my right-turning opponent firmly in my wake.
Although it was right, it felt all wrong. I felt a wee bit naughty, a touch delinquent, and yearned for another shot at my youth, so that I could have misbehaved and missed curfew just a little more often.
Since that wasn't an option, I would hold out instead for my next left turn. Ahhh, the simple pleasures of a God-fearing, honest small business owner in suburban New Zealand.
Meanwhile across the rest of the nation, it seemed that, as a rule, the new rules were largely being followed. Drivers were doing what they ought and the media beat-up warning us of the impending doom when the changes came into effect reminded me of the brouhaha over Y2K.
Yes, it is wrong in many ways to take delight in the misfortunes of others and long for a hiccup in the daily grind of such a mundane thing as the daily commute. But as surely as all of us will fail to give way correctly in the coming days, weeks and months, I know in thinking this I am not alone.
