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Why do some countries drive on the left and others on the right?
- betaby 11y agoThere are may articles summarized historical reasons, however I haven't seen reason why in France cars drive on right, while trains on left. Another question which still puzzles me after all my trips to UK, London in particular, should pedestrians on pavement walk on left or right? My eyes tells me the most travel on right, but not always. Some underground station signs say keep left.
- mandor 11y agoIt is usually said that the English built the first railways in France and that they built them so that trains drive left, out of habit.
- betaby 11y agoAt the time of construction it was one track and stayed like that for a long time. Same true for other East European countries I lived in - English tech one track. Upgrade to two tracks happens much-much latter. Even France, Alsace trains travel on right side!
- paublyrne 11y agoBe careful on the escalators in the Tube. You are instructed to keep right if you wish to stand, so that the left side is clear for people to walk if they are in a hurry. In general I have never noticed a preference for which side to walk on on a pathway, in the UK or anywhere else. People tend to stick with the peleton.
- betaby 11y agoStay on right, pass on left is true in many locations in the world for escalators. In some countries there is even automated voice reminder for that. However my personal anecdotal evidence shows that in Germany/Poland/US people are bound to walk on the right side mostly, while in London it's more chaotic, but still more on right.
- soldergenie 11y agoYou stand on the left in escalators in Australia, which was confusing at first, as you stand on the right in escalators in the UK, even though both countries are left-hand-drive.
- ExpiredLink 11y agoIn continental Europe people prefer to walk on the right side. Only tourists from Japan insist on the left side.
- psykovsky 11y agoPortuguese trains also ride on the left hand side.
- mattnewport 11y agoThe British Highway Code states for pedestrians: 2 If there is no pavement, keep to the right-hand side of the road so that you can see oncoming traffic. (http://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians---general-guidance-1-to-6.html http://www.highwaycodeuk.co.uk/rules-for-pedestrians---gener...) For the Americans, pavement in British English means sidewalk :) After learning this (in school road safety lessons I think?) in general I always assumed you should walk on the right as a pedestrian for consistency (even though the highway code doesn't contain any rules for sidewalks) but it's not universally observed, particularly in London where there are so many foreign tourists.
- TorKlingberg 11y agoIn Sweden, where people drive on the right, I have have heard that you should walk on the left side of the road if there is no sidewalk. But, when on a sidewalk or footpath people will keep to the right.
- shiggerino 11y agoAnother curiosity with Sweden is that priority to the right has been codified in law since the switch to right-hand traffic, but has never actually been practised by motorists. Instead they have a bunch of unwieldy and dangerous ad hoc rules, such as priority-to-the-crossbar-in-T-intersections and priority-to-the-slightly-larger-road-in-4-way-intersections. Also confusingly, when Swedes are about to make a left turn they keep to the far right instead of the more logical left, and vice versa.
- douche 11y agoObviously, if the road you are coming on is perpendicular to another and dead-ends (what I assume you mean by a T-intersection), then you should have a stop sign, and the road that isn't dead-ending shouldn't have any stop-signs. With the four-way you describe, I would usually expect to see a single light, with it blinking yellow on the primary route, and blinky red on the secondary road.
- jarek 11y agoThis article from BBC http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28352045 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-28352045 says "Telling people how to walk is simply not British" and I can anecdotally confirm there is no observed rule in London. A bloke once told me somewhat angrily "on the left in England mate", but he must be telling that to hundreds of English people daily. Signs in corridors in stations can say either "keep left" or "keep right" depending on what's more convenient for corridor layout. Escalators are always stand right, walk left. (Out of interest and because the article also mentions it, there is no concept of jaywalking in England and I've read that it is not in any way illegal for pedestrians to cross against a red light. However drivers rarely defer to pedestrians even at marked crossings.) (Out of further interest, in Paris the suburban trains use left-hand running like the national network, but the metro runs on the right.)
- dorfsmay 11y agoWhat I have been told years ago, no source though, is that trains were invented and first implemented in the UK while metro was first implemented by French people.
- jarek 11y ago> is that trains were invented and first implemented in the UK while metro was first implemented by French people. As with any invention, attribution to any one person or even nation is difficult; the UK did have the first machine-powered rail trains and the first intercity machine-powered passenger rail service (Liverpool and Manchester Railway). The metro looks to be British as well, though: the Metropolitan Railway, now part of London Underground, opened in 1863, and John Fowler was its chief engineer. The first electric-powered underground railway was the City and South London Railway, opened in 1890, James Henry Greathead as its chief engineer. (Budapest metro opening in 1896, Paris metro opening in 1900.)
- markbnj 11y agoInteresting ideas. The cart driver sitting on the leftmost rear horse as a reason for driving on the right I can buy. However, I have a harder time with the idea that "feudal, violent societies" preferred to walk on the left in order to maintain the best position for using a sword against an oncoming opponent. The author doesn't locate this observation in time, other than to mention "feudal," but I don't believe that a large enough percentage of the people using the roads, at any time, carried swords for this to be a determining factor in forming the custom.
- azernik 11y agoI agree. The author does bring up a more general explanation, though, which I have heard before - about right-handers preferring to mount or dismount a horse on the left side, and it being safer to do this on the shoulder rather than the center of the road.
- pron 11y agoRight, but the percentage of horse-riders carrying a sword was probably larger.
- markbnj 11y ago>> Right, but the percentage of horse-riders carrying a sword was probably larger. I would tend to grant that point even without study, however swords were rare and expensive. The author would have to be more specific about the period, but I remain skeptical of his theory.
- phaemon 11y agoI've heard that theory before, but I've not seen any evidence for it, and it seems directly contradicted by this quote from Boswell's "Life of Johnson" (early 1700s): "He related to me the following minute anecdote of this period: 'In the last age, when my mother lived in London, there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the quarrelsome. When I returned to Lichfield, after having been in London, my mother asked me, whether I was one of those who gave the wall, or those who took it. NOW it is fixed that every man keeps to the right; or, if one is taking the wall, another yields it; and it is never a dispute.'"
- pron 11y agoAnyone know what was the custom in the Roman Empire?
- to3m 11y agoAs always, Wikipedia has a page on just about everything: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic#History https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic#H... ``In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on the left side (viewed facing down the track away from the quarry) were much deeper than those on the right side. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this location, since carts would exit the quarry heavily loaded, and enter it empty.''
- jakub_g 11y agoInteresting article. I enjoyed this part in particular: > Pakistan also considered changing to the right in the 1960s, but ultimately decided not to do it. The main argument against the shift was that camel trains often drove through the night while their drivers were dozing. The difficulty in teaching old camels new tricks was decisive in forcing Pakistan to reject the change.
- naner 11y agoPakistan ahead of the curve with self-driving camels. Eat your heart out Google.
- PhantomGremlin 11y agoMy favorite bit has to do with a referendum held in Sweden: In 1955, the Swedish government held a referendum on the introduction of right-hand driving. Although no less than 82.9% voted “no” to the plebiscite, the Swedish parliament passed a law on the conversion to right-hand driving in 1963.
- innguest 11y agoTrue democracy just how the left likes it.
- fao_ 11y agoJust like the 2015 general election, then. (For those who don't know, because of FPTP, the tories won with just ~30% of all votes...)
- roblfrieburg 11y agoSorry but this is nothing like the 2015 election. Tories won with 36.9% because the other parties got even less (30.4%, 12.6%). Even with proportional representation they would have "won" and probably would have formed a majority coalition government with LibDems/UKIP and co.
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- amelius 11y agoI guess one's preference depends on whether one is a top-down or a bottom-up thinker.
- grecy 11y agoI'm about to begin a 2-year circumnavigation of Africa - I look forward to the border crossings where swapping sides of the road is required - I'm told they're quite interesting. There is a nifty double roundabout between Brazil and Guyana where you enter it one side of the road and when you exit you're on the other side of the road.
- gknoy 11y agoWow! I couldn't find an image that seemed to be from there, but when I was looking for it, I found someone's blog with several impressive examples [0]. I really liked the aerial photos of some of the intersections. 0: http://basementgeographer.com/crossing-from-right-hand-drive-countries-to-left-hand-drive-countries-and-vice-versa/ http://basementgeographer.com/crossing-from-right-hand-drive...
- jkot 11y agoEgyptians 2600 years ago circumnavigated Africa in 2.5 years. I guess technology has not improved much over time ;-)
- grecy 11y agoI'm in no hurry. I spent 2 years on the Pan-American from Alaska to Argentina because I wanted to. There is no rush.
- tacticus 11y agoHey just wondering (completely off topic) How much money do you need to have for this sort of travel.
- grecy 11y agoI spent $27k total in 2 years driing 40k miles from Alaska to Argentina [1] I expect Africa to push closer to $20k/year. If you're interested in this kind of travel, checkout http://wikioverland.org http://wikioverland.org - it contains all the logistical information you need to make a trip like this. (it's packed for the Pan-American right now, and soon to be loaded with Africa too) [1] Full breakdown: http://theroadchoseme.com/the-price-of-adventure http://theroadchoseme.com/the-price-of-adventure
- dbish 11y agoInteresting to note that not all of the USA drives on the right. In the US Virgin Islands people still drive on the left side of the road, but mostly with cars made for driving on the right side.
- douche 11y agoThe Virgin Islands were originally Danish, I believe, and purchased after the advent of the automobile.
- m-i-l 11y ago"In the past, almost everybody travelled on the left side of the road because that was the most sensible option for feudal, violent societies... Furthermore, a right-handed person finds it easier to mount a horse from the left side of the horse" I think this still applies today: the majority of people are right eye dominant and it makes sense having the dominant eye closer to the oncoming traffic, and the majority of people will find it easier to mount bicycles and motorcycles from the side of the road rather than the centre of the road. I wonder if there are any statistics on the safety implications of switching to driving on the right.
- vonklaus 11y ago> the majority of people are right eye dominant interesting, I did not know that. Wikipedia states 33%left, 66% right, and the balance having no difference. This might be part of the evolution of vision in humans. The brain takes inputs from both eyes and compiles them into your vision field, maybe there is an evolutionary reason that a strong and weak pair produce better results. > I wonder if there are any statistics on the safety implications of switching to driving on the right. I don't think there is any reasonable data for this. Driving in England and America likely can not be compared directly as the roads, driving test, culture and vehicle setup are different. Also, an individual who immigrates will likely be at higher risk for causing accidents as the entire system is foreign and they have been conditioned using a different one.
- baddox 11y ago> maybe there is an evolutionary reason that a strong and weak pair produce better results. It makes sense for some things. Perhaps the human vision system uses one eye to provide certain hints about precise alignment, in the same way that you close one eye when aiming a gun because you need to align the sights.
- JoshTriplett 11y agoOn the other hand, by the same argument, why not have that slightly improved acuity applied to pedestrians, cyclists, and road signs, all of which are on the right when driving on the right side of the road?
- andrewstuart 11y agoAustralia is planning to move from left to right hand side starting in 2020 but it's a big change so the change will be phased in with trucks moving to the right in 2020 and cars in 2021.
- concerto 11y ago"In the late 1700s, however, teamsters in France and the United States began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses." I am interested about this statement and why it didn't happen in the UK which was also majorly agricultural in the same period.
- redcalx 11y agoPerhaps the UK's extensive canal network? Hmm, what was/is the convention for passing narrowboats? I presume it follows the road rule in all countries?
- jarek 11y agoIt doesn't in the UK. Canal and River Trust instructs to keep to the right: "On all waterways, the rule of the road is to drive on the right. ... When you do meet an approaching boat, keep to the right and pass ‘port-to-port’ (the left side of your boat passes the left side of the approaching boat)." https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/navigating-the-waterways/boat-handling/casting-off-cruising-and-tying-up https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/navigating-the-waterw...
- kwhitefoot 11y agoNo, in the UK you keep right when passing another craft unless there are good reasons for doing otherwise depending on the size and manoeuvrability of each craft, local conditions (bends, bridges, etc.), degree of experience of the helmsman. The motor controls are typically on the left side of the boat, and a seat for the helmsman if there is one would usually be on the left.
- douche 11y agoI would guess, on the US side, that it was because there was not a centuries-old existing road system. There weren't much in the way of roads in America prior to 1800 - transport by ship or river was the overwhelming norm.
- anotherevan 11y agoI remember in my teens in the early 80’s visiting the USA. Having come from the left driving country which is the source of iocane powder, I was quite startled when the taxi shot out into the middle of the intersection to do a left hand turn instead of hugging the curb. The linked[1] trivia article was quite interesting as well. Loved this bit: A newspaper story on April Fool’s Day suggested that, to further European integration, the UK was to convert to driving on the right. However, owing to the huge amount of work this conversion would cause, it would be phased in: for the first six months the regulation would only apply to buses and taxis. The mention of locations of turn signal levers also reminded me of the time I drove a car which was opposite of what I am use to. Every time I went around a corner I would switch the window wipers on. [1] http://www.worldstandards.eu/cars/trivia-about-driving-left/ http://www.worldstandards.eu/cars/trivia-about-driving-left/
- aytekin 11y agoWhen I drove in UK, the hardest part was making a uturn. My brain is wired too much to following the right side.
- Taniwha 11y agoI remeber the same joke being told (by Norwegians) about the Swedish change On the border there had been country roads that crossed back and forth across the border ..... And of course there's the issue of driving from Hong Kong to China http://www.fastcompany.com/1660258/ingenious-flipper-bridge-melds-left-side-drivers-right-side-drivers http://www.fastcompany.com/1660258/ingenious-flipper-bridge-...
- joelwilliamson 11y agoThe joke is also told in Canada about Newfoundland changing.
- seanmcdirmid 11y agoBoth London and Hong Kong have many curb signs everywhere warning tourists to look right for cars.
- davidcollantes 11y agoBottomline, there is no sense in driving on the left today, but it did hundreds of years ago. Driving on the left (on those countries who do) has simply stuck out of habit, customs, rules, or choice. The "there is a perfectly good reason" should read, "there was a perfectly good reason."
- slyall 11y agoBottomline, there is no sense in driving on the right today, but it did hundreds of years ago. Driving on the right (on those countries who do) has simply stuck out of habit, customs, rules, or choice. The "there is a perfectly good reason" should read, "there was a perfectly good reason."
- sandGorgon 11y agoisnt driving on the left (with the driver sitting on the right) the better way of driving ? because the hand that you use to change the stickshift/gear.. or change the radio ... or pick your coffee is the left hand. Which for most of the population is their weaker hand ?
- chrismcb 11y agoActually isn't it the stronger arm, while your dominant hand has finer motor control? Which means you want you left hand to control the left/right of the steering wheel and the right hand to fiddle with the smaller knobs and buttons.
- sandGorgon 11y agothis is actually news to me. the way it was explained to me (and I'm not an expert) is that you want your left brain on the steering wheel ... which means the right hand. But most right handed people control the steering wheel better with their right hand than their left.
- berkut 11y agosimilar article: http://brianlucas.ca/roadside/ http://brianlucas.ca/roadside/
- TimorDan 11y agoSeems like Timor-Leste (East Timor) may have changed over more times than any other country. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic East Timor had traffic on the left until 1928, when it changed to the right at the same time as its colonial power, Portugal. During Japanese occupation during World War II driving on the left was imposed, and when the Portuguese returned it changed back to the right. Under Indonesian rule, East Timor changed back to driving on the left in 1976, and continued the practice under UN administration from 1999 and since independence in 2002.