4 ms·

I wonder if the mainland will ever force either of the 2 ex-colonies to convert into using the "right hand road" orientation? That would be an interesting exper

by esturk 8y ago

I wonder if the mainland will ever force either of the 2 ex-colonies to convert into using the "right hand road" orientation? That would be an interesting experiment.

NamTaf 8y ago
Hopefully not, with any luck they learnt from the last time they tried this [1]. Besides, it's basically a free-for-all at times outside the major cities anyway. Additionally, in reality it's not that great a problem - see the UK's connection to the Continent. I guess if the New Territories ever get fully absorbed back into the Mainland, then the border delineation might be tempting to erase and that'll cause problems. edit: That said, Japan has pulled it off before [2] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_the_road_in_China#Drive_on_the_Right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_the_road_in_China#Dri... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/730_(transport) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/730_(transport)
ksec 8y ago
Why would they want to do that? I would bet lots of people will revolt, forcing them to drive on the wrong side of the road.
- bobthepanda 8y ago
  Driving rates are pretty low in HK and Macau because the cost of car ownership is so high (namely, the cost of a parking space) and public transit/taxis are so good. So I don’t think you’d get much pushback from actual drivers.
  - lvturner 8y ago
    Despite this, the roads are an overcrowded nightmare (Hong Kong specifically, haven't driven in Macau) where no one really follows the existing rules terribly well. I have no doubt what so ever such a move would result in chaos and fatalities.
  - CathayRe 8y ago
    >So I don’t think you’d get much pushback from actual drivers. At this rate, they might as well force all the people in HK to Speak Mandarin, Write in Simplified Chinese. Or get rid of them all together if they don't comply. Oh there is a word for it, Genocide.
  - spacehunt 8y ago
    Private car drivers don't have votes anyway so even if there's pushback the governments don't care. The taxis, logistics and trucking industries do have political clout, though, and they will be the ones pushing back.
    - bobthepanda 8y ago
      Logistics and trucking involve a lot of cross border trips. I don't know that they would mind all that much.
      - spacehunt 8y ago
        It messes with their established routes with no gain (as you said they already make cross border trips without issue.)
  - baybal2 8y ago
    Are you really sure???!!! HK has like one of world's most ridiculous car culture...
kabouseng 8y ago
As long as they do it incrementally it should be fine. For the first week only transition motorcycles to drive on the other side, then the week after the cars, then a week later transition the trucks and heavy vehicles to the other side...
- nf05papsjfVbc 8y ago
  There is no better way to deliver humour than with a straight face. Well done, sir!
- Waterluvian 8y ago
  That surely is an optimal way to transition them all to the Other Side, and fast.
- technofiend 8y ago
  Oh, so Bangalore rules.
entity345 8y ago
Sweden did exactly that in 1967.
- darrenf 8y ago
  As well as the fact that their neighbours drove on the right, the argument was made that switching sides would reduce accidents due to Swedes mostly owning left-hand drive cars. There were fewer accidents initially, but things returned to historic levels pretty soon thereafter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H
- Cyph0n 8y ago
  Samoa did the opposite in 2009. The main reason was to have easier access to the (relatively) nearby Australian vehicle market.
spacehunt 8y ago
Not sure if it's ever practical to do so -- a lot of the built up infrastructure here is asymmetrical.

by esturk 8y ago

I wonder if the mainland will ever force either of the 2 ex-colonies to convert into using the "right hand road" orientation? That would be an interesting experiment.

NamTaf 8y ago

Hopefully not, with any luck they learnt from the last time they tried this [1]. Besides, it's basically a free-for-all at times outside the major cities anyway. Additionally, in reality it's not that great a problem - see the UK's connection to the Continent. I guess if the New Territories ever get fully absorbed back into the Mainland, then the border delineation might be tempting to erase and that'll cause problems. edit: That said, Japan has pulled it off before [2] [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_the_road_in_China#Drive_on_the_Right https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rules_of_the_road_in_China#Dri... [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/730_(transport) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/730_(transport)

ksec 8y ago

Why would they want to do that? I would bet lots of people will revolt, forcing them to drive on the wrong side of the road.

bobthepanda 8y ago
Driving rates are pretty low in HK and Macau because the cost of car ownership is so high (namely, the cost of a parking space) and public transit/taxis are so good. So I don’t think you’d get much pushback from actual drivers.
- lvturner 8y ago
  Despite this, the roads are an overcrowded nightmare (Hong Kong specifically, haven't driven in Macau) where no one really follows the existing rules terribly well. I have no doubt what so ever such a move would result in chaos and fatalities.
- CathayRe 8y ago
  >So I don’t think you’d get much pushback from actual drivers. At this rate, they might as well force all the people in HK to Speak Mandarin, Write in Simplified Chinese. Or get rid of them all together if they don't comply. Oh there is a word for it, Genocide.
- spacehunt 8y ago
  Private car drivers don't have votes anyway so even if there's pushback the governments don't care. The taxis, logistics and trucking industries do have political clout, though, and they will be the ones pushing back.
  - bobthepanda 8y ago
    Logistics and trucking involve a lot of cross border trips. I don't know that they would mind all that much.
    - spacehunt 8y ago
      It messes with their established routes with no gain (as you said they already make cross border trips without issue.)
- baybal2 8y ago
  Are you really sure???!!! HK has like one of world's most ridiculous car culture...

kabouseng 8y ago

As long as they do it incrementally it should be fine. For the first week only transition motorcycles to drive on the other side, then the week after the cars, then a week later transition the trucks and heavy vehicles to the other side...

nf05papsjfVbc 8y ago
There is no better way to deliver humour than with a straight face. Well done, sir!
Waterluvian 8y ago
That surely is an optimal way to transition them all to the Other Side, and fast.
technofiend 8y ago
Oh, so Bangalore rules.

entity345 8y ago

Sweden did exactly that in 1967.

darrenf 8y ago
As well as the fact that their neighbours drove on the right, the argument was made that switching sides would reduce accidents due to Swedes mostly owning left-hand drive cars. There were fewer accidents initially, but things returned to historic levels pretty soon thereafter: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H
Cyph0n 8y ago
Samoa did the opposite in 2009. The main reason was to have easier access to the (relatively) nearby Australian vehicle market.

spacehunt 8y ago

Not sure if it's ever practical to do so -- a lot of the built up infrastructure here is asymmetrical.