SEN - I've been to your country. You drive wherever you want. No directions, no particular side of the road, lots of horns and "HONK" signs on the back of trucks along with the occasional ox cart, elephant and cow. To cross the road, close your eyes and run.
@@susieq9801 South Indians eat beef. So you won't find any cattles on road. One has to go north to chill out with cows on road or sometimes you and the cow can go to heaven together like buddies. See, a companion for the road and the road to heaven. And we work really hard in our beds to have high population, so that we can play real life GTA V on the road. Please appreciate our hard work Susie.
I'd like to point out, it has been proven that the Romans drove on the left side of the road, so well before medieval times. The Romans (as the Samurai in Japan) were mostly right-handed, so passed each other to the left, allowing their right hand to wield a sword if required, to protect themselves on the right.
Funny, I'm left-handed and I prefer the gearstick on the left like you do. Just used to it I guess, because Australia is a federation of six former British colonies - although fascinatingly, Nalf's explanation didn't account for Japan, Thailand or Indonesia, which the British never conquered.
The first time I had a LHD rental car in Denmark, my left hand was hitting the door as I went to change gear, but after a day or two, no more worries. When I returned home to UK, I found the same thing with my right hand hitting the door. I just drive auto now- much better in every way and no more bruised knuckles, whichever country I am in. (3 of my previous vehicles in UK were LHD US imports)
In UK we import a lot of cars from Japan and as Japan also drives on the left with the steering wheel on the right of the car, those cars do not need to be altered, which is cheaper for the manufacturer.
@@andyt8216 The point was that Japanese cars do not need to be altered for the UK market making them cheaper to produce. Otherwise the manufacturer has to set up a separate production line to make left hand drive cars for say export to America.
@@andyt8216 technically he said "import" not buy. Most Japanese manufacturers cars bought outside of Japan aren't actually made in Japan and thus aren't imported from Japan itself. Honda for example has factories all around the world and produce most of their vehicles on the same continent as they sell them. There are still come LHD cars made in Japan and exported however, just as there arr many RHD cars made in the UK and exported. To make this post completely true they should have added that its 2nd hand cars imported from Japan to the UK that are high on the list, as they are very easy to adapt (often just a few stickers are swapped by the company doing the exporting). There are also alot of brand new cars imported from Japan, but their numbers aren't much higher than other countries. Also worth noting that the US buys alot more of everyone cars than basically anyone, yet no one buys US cars except themselves and Canada.
The Japanese actually manufactured cars with both option for a while whilst the Americans administrated Okinawa, as there the Americans treated it as US Territory and drove on the Right whilst the remainder of Japan drove on the Left. This was so Japanese manufacturers could sell cars to the Americans also ...
Same here in Oz. And the bonus is that MIJ cars that I have owned (and still do) have fantastic quality and reliability about them. Just my opinion of course. But it is based on my personal experience.
Our bodies have a preference for left or right with everything involved a left and right. As a right handed person, driving on the left gives me more awareness of oncoming and other road traffic, as well as optimal control of the car
"...more awareness". Now, how would you know that? You cannot make a valid comparison, without having done both for extended periods. Have you? I doubt it. Whatever one is used to doing is obviously more comfortable than something one is not used to doing. [edit] Why not look at the statistics, in places where they switched, such as Sweden. Take the accident rate for the 10 years prior to the 1967 switch, compare that with the accident rate in the 10 years after the switch.
@@ericminch I have done both. And with my right hand on the steering wheel, my right foot covering the brake and gas, along with right eye dominance, I feel that driving on the left is better and safer for me.
Before 1722 in the UK, there was no mandatory or popular side of the road to travel on. most vehicles travelled in the middle of the road, this can still be seen on on tracks in old photos, where there are three ruts, one in the center, for the horse and one either side made by the wheels. passing was left to local custom or the most convenient side. any disagreements were settled in the road by the carters fists. it was on london bridge the old one with houses and shops on, which started the change, being narrow and congested, with traffic all mixed up as to direction, the bridge traffic would frequently become "gridlocked" To prevent this, the council of london, issued an edict in 1722 that all traffic entering the city of london would keep to the upstream side, and traffic leaving would keep to the downstream side. it so happened that this arrangement meant that traffic on the bridge kept to the left, this was quiet arbitary, possibly a coin was tossed, it could just as easily been the right side won out. It was so successful that other cities copied it for their own traffic, but out in the country, it was still, keep center. it was not until 1834 that a national law came about requiring every body to conform everywhere in the UK. this regulation spread through the empire and to countries that obtained their technological starts from the UK.
I enjoyed driving in the US Virgin Islands. They have American vehicles with the steering wheels on the left, but they drive on the left side of the road. Couple that with the extremely hilly terrain and narrow roads and you have an interesting driving experience.
that was the case with any "yank tanks" that made it to NZ in the 196os/70s, as most cars were Japanese, British, or Australian over here ... and the American cars were normally twice their size, and did X gallons to the mile, rather than 30 plus miles to the gallon😏
First historical error is at 1:49 as early wagons had seats and the driver sat on the right so they could swing their club or sword at robbers on foot beside the wagon or at the robbers had to climb up onto the seat before they could get at the driver, thus giving the driver time and space to swing the club over and hit them as they climbed up. Horse artillery had the men mounted on the left horse so they could more easily keep them close to the left edge of the road to allow more space for other traffic. This was also the reason why large freight wagons without built-in seating had the wagoner ride a horse on the left side of the team. The US switched to driving on the right as a way of showing they were making changes to spite the English systems that had been in place. There is not logical reason to drive on the right side of the road, but the emotional reason won out in the US and it has stayed that way since. A major reason for most European countries driving on the right side of the road after WW2 was mostly due to the majority of available vehicles around then were the US made vehicle the US military left behind. Being an Australian who drives on the left, I can truthfully say there is an advantage of ease of use in getting drive through orders from the right side of the car, and doing any other activities outside the car while still sitting in the driver's seat of the car.
To be added, we all board an aircraft on the left, and boats load on the left (port side) The UK driving on the left is logical if loading is to occur from the left
This fact was laid to rest a few decades ago now: There was a chap who was having a rest near an old stone Roman quarry in the North of England. He observed two sets of ruts, on the left were very light ruts and on the right were deep ruts made by the wagon wheels. it became all too obvious that the ruts on the left were the entry ruts into the quarry and the deep ruts were the exit ruts, thus establishing a firm belief that Romans adhered to the left-hand rule. Due to the Roman conquest of Europe and up until Napoleon times, it is believed that the whole of Europe stuck to their left when travelling, However, Napoleon for the sake of revolution and change switched to the right and subsequently mainland Europe switched.. Ironically, Napoleon was fanatical about the Roman empire and everything Roman, so had he known, it is believed that very few countries would be driving on the right today.
Yes I'd heard that the quarry was near Swindon though ( Sout West)... Also, if you go to places like Pompei, you can see it on street corners where the wear of chariots on the paving stones shows that left and right hand turns were from the left of the road. The ruts also conform exactly to today's railway standard gauge of 4 feet 8 1/2 inches which has been the standard for horse drawn carriages since the Romans
The thing that amuses me is that the Americans drove on the right but most cars made in the USA were right hand drive up until 1919. The first time I went to the States and drove a car, I went to put it in gear and opened the bloody door instead.
Visiting India I observed they drive on both sides of the road; dodging cows, goats, stray dogs, crowds of people and tuktuks, scarily even in the middle of Mumbai or Delhi. Lane discipline wasn’t the greatest and considered to be just a suggestion by lots of crazy drivers constantly using their loud horns to navigate through all the traffic chaos. Appreciate the amount of work that goes into making these little videos; all the research, finding appropriate clips of footage or other interesting visuals, and of course the clever editing to explain factual nuggets via cohesive short little story videos. It’s not just a quick condense “Cliffs Notes” reading of a Wikipedia page. 👍
I was in Sri Lanka in a motorised rickshaw and asked the driver on which side they drove, as there didn`t seem to be much order. He replied ``It all depends.
If you look at pretty much any movie or still image featuring a stagecoach and driver, you'll see that the driver is generally on the right side of the vehicle and the guard or shotgun is on the left. Again this is down to righthandedness. If they were the other way round then the driver would likely clout the guard with his arm every time he used the whip. This would favour driving on the left side of the road, as the flailing whip would then be in the middle of the road and less likely to catch on low branches or other obstructions at the side. Incidentally, the baggage area at the rear of a stagecoach is referred to as the boot, not the trunk...even in the USA. Just Google stagecoach diagram.
Early on when I was living in Japan, I can remember several times when I unlocked the door of my car, got in, buckled my seatbelt, and then stared in disbelief in front of me: someone had stolen my steering wheel! Oh, it was over there...
I am an expat Brit living in the US. When I was first here, I remember going to the grocery store buying lots of stuff, putting it in the back of the station wagon, and got into the car, on the right. No steering wheel! i stayed there for a while as a lady was watching from her car as I had been performing! She finally drove off, and I returned to the left side of the car.
@@sedekiman Been there, done that too, as an Aussie on holidays in the USA. The holiday was fantastic & I will always remember fondly the patience of the American drivers, as they waited for me to sort myself out. Another thing that was odd for me in the USA was when filling up with petrol, you were required to go inside the shop & actually pay before you received a drop of fuel. Years later they tried that system here in Oz & it just never worked well.
In the UK there were plans to switch to the right. It was going to be phased in over 3 years. for the first year it was just going to be Heavy goods vehicles & trucks, the following year the rule was to be extended to vans and emergency vehicles, followed by all other vehicles in the 3rd year.
I think it was Ken Livingstone who announced that London was to switch to driving on the right; this was scheduled for April 8, with buses making the change exactly one week earlier. The right-wing papers went off their heads, incapable of seeing the joke.
Thanks for expressing this so succintly. I have been saying this for years/ but it still stands that as most people are right handed the "correct" side to drive is on the left. It is safer.
We visited a Caribbean Island which was an American protectorate (St Thomas I think) and they drive on the left although their vehicles are left hand drive, a local told me they tried to enforce driving on the right but the locals just ignored such a ridiculous rule and carried on as always! 🤣🤣🤣
Not all of the US drives on the right, the US Virgin Islands drive on the left even though virtually all of their cars also have the steering wheel on the left. Toss in a lot of narrow roads and this can get very interesting...
Interestingly, there are several railroads in the US the operate trains on the left side of the tracks where there are multiple tracks. It was started when it was a single track and the station was located on the left. Cheaper to operate on the left than move the station.
What is ironic is that the UK was a massive seagoing nation for trade and influential in Maritime Law. In Maritime Law, vessels pass Portside to Portside (ie. left to left) meaning that ships all drive on the right hand side at sea ... !
My biggest problem switching from left to right driving was when I met something coming the other way on a single track road - I invariably pulled into the path of the oncoming traffic. Luckily, as I known to the locals, I didn't have any crunches!
Yes, so they waited a few years and then didn't have a vote before doing the change. The vote was in 1955, 12 years later in 1967 it had gone enough time to ignore it and change anyway.
@@cynic7049 Ah, alright, that's at least a little bit comforting. Thank you! :D It would have been pretty douchy by the Swedish government, if they had just dismissed a referendum with this kind of result right after it happened.
I have read about (but not verified) that American Samoa switched from "driving on the right" to "driving on the left" because they are surrounded by former UK islands, and getting "right hand drive" automobiles are/were cheaper than importing "left hand drive" automobiles.
@@Otokichi786 the US Virgin isles drive on the left too but they use LHD vehicles though I cannot point you to a vid where I got that from as it was a couple of years ago that I saw it.
Driving on the left means that your right hand is on the steering wheel whilst your left hand changes gear or operates the radio so in an emergency right handed people can react quicker.
You also have to consider when we as brits go abroad. we have to put headlight deflectors on the lenses so as not to blind oncoming traffic. Due to normally driving on the left or headlights are positioned so the beam is angled towards the left side and obviously in vehicles driving on the right side of the road they would be anngled to the right
Fun Fact: When th UK considered switching to right-hand traffic in the late 1960s, Gerry Anderson thought it to be a plausible event as in his 1970 series UFO, taking place in the 1980s, the British are in fact driving on the right side of the road.
I'm a brit living in Norway, so I switch backwards and forwards from LHD to RHD fairly regularly (when visiting my family in England). There is some statistical evidence to show that the frequency of traffic accidents is less in countries driving on the left, but I think that might have more to do with regulations, training, conditions and attitude of the drivers rather which side of the road is being used. (as these vary greatly around the world) In terms of the physicality of the task of driving, my personal opinion is that a driver's primary control is the steering wheel - so the stronger dominant hand should be dedicated to it (meaning the gearstick should be to the left for right handed people). However, in modern cars this is less and less relevant for two reasons - more and more cars are automatic and nearly all cars have servo assisted steering now (meaning that not much force is required to maintain control of the vehicle - unlike cars of old ;-)). When first coming to Norway and experiencing driving on the right hand side of the road, I noticed very little advantage or disadvantage to doing things the other way (other than the initial pain of changing of habits, of course - I read someone else's comment saying about hitting the door when trying to change gear :-)). One thing I did notice early on though is that it does, however, feel more natural to look over my right shoulder when reversing rather than looking over my left.
Having family in the UK I go there relatively often (or did before Covid), and I own a sportscar which is RHD, so I have no problems going from one type to the other. I am still a little out of my comfort zone when driving in the UK, but I think being extra alert is quite healthy. But I do find it much easier to look over my right shoulder than my left when reversing. I just put it down to habits and old body stiffness, but maybe you've on to something general. It is a bit odd that you feel the same, since you been brought up in the UK driving on the left.
The first official dictate on which side of the road to drive on in Britain , was in 1722 , when the Mayor of London ordered all traffic to cross the heavily developed Old London Bridge on the left to ease congestion .
Honestly you'd think a law would have passed earlier than this, I guess people just adhered to driving on the left without the need for a law prior to that.
Actually its a bit simpler than this. The first large scale transport of goods was post-medieval, and had people walking horses pulling the goods. In Britain, most haulage was done by horse drawn barges on canals. A right handed person will guide the horse to their right, pulling the barge to the horse's right. Which means they're walking up the left side of the canal, and oncoming traffic would have its horse on the other side of the canal, and would pass you to your right. In America the centre of haulage was New York, where the right-handed people guiding a horse-drawn cart would pass each other to their left, making driving on the right side of the road more convenient. By the time they had multiple horses this convention was already established.
Yeah but boats pass 'port to port' even on canals and rivers in the UK. Have done since the 17th century, which is before the industrial age. Interestingly though boats can be right or left hand drive and canal boats are neither with the tiller in the middle. In the UK we drive boats on the right and cars on the left
You'll be pleased to know that most people are also right eye dominant. Being seated on the right side of the car, the right eye has a better view of oncoming traffic, which apparently reduces road accidents and fatalities. Bad luck everyone else.
I seem to recall that one of the Nordic countries switched either in the 60s or 70s. Took all the cars off the road one Sunday and on Monday, it was everything to the right.
If you have ever driven in England, Australia it makes more sense than the US way. I've driven in the US all my life but having traveled to numerous left drive countries I found it makes much more sense
@@hanzen5174 UK has a greater proportion of manual cars than most similar countries. it's more important to keep your stronger hand on the wheel that's more complex then moving a stick.
@@flemit35 steering is more complex then rowing a gearbox properly did I hear that right. there have been steering wheels on kids toy cars for a century
@@hanzen5174 yes, if you're shit at changing gear you don't come of the road. it's easy to move a stick it just slots in. steering takes finer control requires you to judge the speed , changing weight of the wheel, it clearly. harder than moving a stick from one slot to another. and kids crash into furniture constantly.
Bit off topic but when I’m back in UK I keep turning the wipers on instead of indicating! In Oz the indicator in every car I’ve owned is on the right of the steering wheel, seems to be opposite in UK. It’s ok after a days or so but when I get home I’m doing the same here until I re-acclimatise 😂
@@jimlepeu577 Yes you pass left to left but that means that you are driving on the right. If you were driving on the left side of the road like cars in the UK you would be passing right to right. Think about it.
In the UK canal narrow boats drive in the centre of the canal, it's only when they are passing each other that they move to the right hand side and they pass port to port. The railways in the UK also drive on the left hand side on a twin set of tracks.
By riding on the left-side of the “road”, you were able to shake hands or “high five” with your right hand if you met someone you knew and you stopped for a chinwag.
I'm British, having been of driving age for 8 years in UK and 38 years in LHD countries. It takes me a day or so to readjust to RHD when in UK. I've also driven some time with a RHD vehicle in LHD countries and LHD vehicle in RHD countries - both of which are awkward but doable. The largest difficulty I have is when approaching a 'T' junction from the 'stem' and the road goes left and right. I always have to consciously be aware which side of the road to turn into - but only when there's no traffic (because when there's traffic, it's obvious). I've made the wrong decision once or twice in both LHD and RHD countries.
I'm from a country that drives on the left. As a right hander, I definitely prefer it... it's about car control and safety. As mentioned in the video, the majority of people are right handed, thus you have more control holding the steering wheel with your right hand, which leaves your left hand to do ancillary things like change gears (manual transmission or an automatic with manual mode). It also means that while cruising, your body is tilted towards the middle of the car, to put your left elbow on the centre armrest, while continuing to steer wit your right hand. To me this is safer if an accident were to happen, since there's more distance between you and the side of the car. If you're driving on the right, and right handed, chances are you're tilted towards to OUTSIDE of the car, with your left elbow on the door's armrest, while steering with your right hand. Being closer to the outside of the car means in an accident, you're more likely to be injured by breaking windows and deformation of the side of the car's body, since you're closer to it.
Sweden was still driving on the left in 1966 when I went there. We travelled from Sweden to Norway and I remember the border with the cross-over. Italy was late in the 20th century to adopt drive on the right nationally - many cities had drive on the left rules. Italian cars from this period can have steering wheels on left or right. Have a look at the French "priorite a droite" regulations - a whole new video there!
The Netherlands, Portugal, and Austria-Hungary used to drive on the left side of the road as well, so some of their former colonies do too, e.g. Indonesia and Suriname for the Netherlands and Mozambique and Macau for Portugal. Japan, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan are notable among left-driving countries in that they were never under British colonial rule.
As a Brit That was intetesting. There is a parallel story about Railway track gauges or widths. Apparently due to the distance betwden the wheels od chariots or wagons in days gone by.
It makes all sorts of sense about the UK and the left side of the road. I was told, once long ago, that we (the U.S.) drive on the right side of the road because way back when transportation was with wagons and horses, the driver carried a whip - in his right hand. No one wanted that whip to inadvertently touch or otherwise frighten a horse that was going in the opposite direction. Sort of the same thinking as the UK, but with different intent and so different results.
@@martinstephenson557 With the whip hand being the right hand, away from any traffic on the left. UK style is driving on the left side, so I don't get your point. Nor am I claiming what I learned is so, but it makes sense.
After WW II we occupied the Japanese Island of Okinawa. We mandated fight driving. When we returned sovereignty to Japan in the early seventies the government mandated left hand driving like the rest of Japan. The switched overnight. We thought it would be raining Toyota’s and Mazda’s. But nope, they stopped all traffic overnight and made the switch. I never had a problem adapting to left hand driving because you are so conscious of the difference. When I came back to the States after my last tour I pulled out of a parking lot and turned on to the road. I thought Oh my God these idiots are on the wrong side of the road. The idiot was me. A quick swerve to the right and I was on the correct side of the road.
Funny, but living in UK I'm used to driving on the left. When I go to Europe I don't have trouble switching over, but (like you I suppose) I found that the most dangerous time was on return and the first drive leaving the airport for home I would forget to do the mental right-to-left switch!
You're right about Napoleon spreading his "Code" across Europe, with those not conquered continuing to drive on the left. This changed as early car manufacturers tended to come from France and Germany and it was convenient for countries to change to right side driving. Norway and Sweden didn't change until the 1960s. For a time in Italy driving was on the left in the countryside and on the right in towns. Up to the American rebellion most carriage traffic was on the left - except for some counties that had the heavy wagons, as you cited. However, after the rebellion, taxation was not popular and the condition of roads deteriorated and although drivers continued to sit on the right side they travelled on the right side of the road to see the road edge. In the west coaches still had drivers sitting on the right (Think of stagecoaches in Westerns) because you needed your strong (usually right arm) to pull on the brake, they continued to pass on the left. As cars became more available they tended to come from Europe and drivers sat on the left or right or even in the middle, until Mr Ford (who was left handed and therefore preferred to drive with his left hand controlling the wheel and his right manipulating switches, levers and gear sticks) changed driving in America for ever.
As someone who grew up between the UK and France (Scots father, French mother) and has relatives pretty much on all continents apart from Antarctica, I have this to add: The "left-side, right-side" dichotomy basically boils down to the British-French struggle for global hegemony in the 18th and 19th centuries.
As you are also like exceptional movies I recommend *Kitchen Stories* from Sweden/Norway. It's about a Swedish research in 1950 in Norwegian households. The right-side-left-side-driving plays a little part in it. It's a very calm but quirky movie. So if you are only into action... don't watch it. 😉
English trailer, so I guess it's available at least with English subtitles. But they don't speak much anyway. 😉 ua-cam.com/video/sKYyHJFxmVA/v-deo.html
The first road sign was on the medieval London Bridge, which was very congested. The road sign said to keep left, so that two gentlemen passing on horseback could shake hands… :)
Living in the UK but travelling across Europe a fair bit, I do both. Driving on the left is more normal for me, but in Europe, changing gear with my right hand also feels normal being right handed.
The left side is the correct side of the road, watch a motorcycle rider dismount his bike into the traffic in the USA, the kick stand is correct for the left side of the road.
And that is because of the UK. Industrial mass production of bicycles started in England, and "Fahrradständer" were attached to the left. Which is "wrong" for the US and Europe...
The Caymans is an interesting mix of the UK and US. They drive on the left, but in mostly left hand drive American cars from what I observed. In the space of a two week stay I saw multiple accidents and experienced a near miss myself caused by Americans who (naturally) brain farted and drove the left hand drive cars on the right. If at least the cars were right hand drive (as they are just to the East in Jamaica), then at least it's an instant reminder soon as you enter the vehicle.
Nicely done! I actually saw this video pop up right when I was working on a very similar one myself. Contrary to the UK, however, I asked why Japan drives on the left :)
As aUK driver, I am more used to driving on the left, but in fact I am quite happy with left hand drive. However, a LHD manual gearbox is counter-intuitive, and requires uncomfortable wrist movant and is contrary to r the gear lever motion compared to an elbow!
Watch movies from the 50s.. Cars had bench seats in those days and people were advised to get in and out of the car on the right side away from passing traffic.
It’s because we have the dominant hand of most people on the wheel at all times and the dominant eye looking at oncoming traffic. Thus, we have most F1 champions.
Also in UK at a wedding the brides father was on left so his daughter was on the side of his sword arm as it stopped fights as most people are right handed
You see my great great great great great great … great Granpa, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot always rode his coconut on the left side of the road, so I’m not gonna change it now.
It would have been impossible for the UK to change to right side driving. The cost and impossibility of changing all the road signs and road markings overnight as well as all the buses & coaches would have to be replaced (entrance doors on the wrong side for driving on the right side of the road). It would be even more difficult now.
It would not have been impossible. Sweden who also used to drive on the left had all those exact same problems. But they still successfully managed to switch over to driving on the right overnight at 5am on Sunday 3 September 1967. 1000s of existing busses were simply reconfigured to provide doors that opened on both sides and 100s of new buses were also rapidly purchased. Road markings were repainted a few days before the change. Just before the 5am change over, between 8pm and 5am, all but essential traffic was banned from the roads, while all the road signs were rapidly switched over by 1000s council workers and military personnel.
@@andywilliams7323 Well I cannot imagine the UK government being so well organised. They would inevitably screw it up. As for modifying existing buses. That would be very difficult. The entrances to the buses are right next to the drivers cab. Also back in the 1960's the old double decker buses the rear entrance and stairs to the upper deck could not be modified to be open on both sides.
@@Benji567891 Which has zero relevance because more population means more manpower and more money. This is the same redundant argument Americans use with their "America is bigger argument".
I'm pretty sure it goes even further back than that, the romans had a standard of passing, because you were passing someone in peacetimes you would go on the right in order for them to be on your left, not having them on the sword side but rather on the shield side. and the british put in the opposite when the romans left britain to spite them and it stuck around
A bizarre fact: When Myanmar became independant of Britain, they decided in 1970 to change the side that they drove on. The problem was that most cars until the last few years were bought in from Japan, so are right-hand drive. This lead to oncoming traffic having the drivers as far apart as possible, and bus doors opening on the traffic side rather than the curbside. Now with the emergence of a rapidly growing Chinese car industry, left-hand drive cars are becomming the norm.
Main problem with Sweden driving on left! Was Norway and Finland borders were not defined by barriers or signs on smaller roads, especially in snowy weather! So head on collision was always possible!
You failed to explain why 2 countries of the British Commonwealth- Canada & Australia ended up driving as they did - Canada on the right and Australia on the left
Most of Canada switched from driving on the left side to driving on the right side in the early 1920's. I believe the main reason was to avoid people from the US running into us when they visited. 😀
In British Columbia where I live, I believe the switch came in or around 1931. I've seen pictures of cars from the late 20s that were right hand drive.
Norwegians perpetuate the story that Sweden, with its unique sense of compromise, made it a softer change by first switching busses and trucks to right side driving and giving all other drivers a grace year on the left.
Very good. But i highly doubt that knights had swords in their hands. Swords were secondary weapons times when the main weapon, lances, were lost or broken.
Also Austria drove until 1939 on the left side of the road. 1939, Austria became united with Nazi-Germany until end of the war. However I know countries in Africa, which decided to drive always onto the shadow side of the road.
Every time I go back to Jamaica from my home in America, I am completely confused for the first two days, it is scary at first especially if you have been drinking.
As an Australian who‘s used to driving on the left hand side of the road, I could never trust myself to drive in any country on the right hand side of the road.
@@joecater894 As a UK driver, I don't mind driving on the right. But I find myself drifting right abroad because I feel I should be nearer to the right side of the road rather than the left side.
I drove a LH drive lancia in NZ which is same as Australia, so, so bad, you are located close to the gutter rather than near the centre of the road, you cannot see past cars in front when you want to overtake, you find yourself drifting to the centre of the road to where you would normally be on the road, except the car is actually right on the centre line, gear stick you use your right hand rather than left, is a serious mind screw and would hate to be in a potential accident and have to react instinctively......
I think there were other countries that drove to the left in Europe but the germans changed them over on invasion, some changed back at the end of the war
The explanation for driving on the right seems a bit sketchy as the driver could sit on either horse if they were side by side. I have driven on both sides as I've lived in UK and mainland Europe. The only car I found awkward to drive was a Hillman Hunter. This had the gear lever on the left but the handbrake lever on the right (yes we use the handbrake in UK). This meant to move off you had to take your left hand off the wheel to select 1st then your right hand off the wheel to release the handbrake.
When travelling to different countries I notice the same with pedestrians from left handed driven cars walk mainly to the right side whether it is on the footpaths or in shopping centres. Anyone else notice this?
Here in India, we prefer to drive through the pedestrian footpath.
Smooth ride without any potholes.
I love Indian humour.
Lots of bumps though as you have run over your countrymen, women and children.
SEN - I've been to your country. You drive wherever you want. No directions, no particular side of the road, lots of horns and "HONK" signs on the back of trucks along with the occasional ox cart, elephant and cow. To cross the road, close your eyes and run.
@@susieq9801 ..🤣...🐃
@@susieq9801 South Indians eat beef. So you won't find any cattles on road. One has to go north to chill out with cows on road or sometimes you and the cow can go to heaven together like buddies. See, a companion for the road and the road to heaven.
And we work really hard in our beds to have high population, so that we can play real life GTA V on the road. Please appreciate our hard work Susie.
I'd like to point out, it has been proven that the Romans drove on the left side of the road, so well before medieval times. The Romans (as the Samurai in Japan) were mostly right-handed, so passed each other to the left, allowing their right hand to wield a sword if required, to protect themselves on the right.
hmmm smart... never heard that one before... but... wait.......why are they right handed _? because they drove on the left ? lol
Yep, if the youtubers explanation is anything different to this then he is wrong.
did the Romans invade Japan then or vice versa?
This is an old wives tale.
@@sandersson2813 Which old wives are you talking about?
I've driven left and right, but being right-handed, I prefer to change gear with my left hand while holding the wheel with my right.
I'm completely the opposite
same here, I own both RHD and LHD I prefer the RHD regardless on the side of the road for a manual, with auto it is not that important anymore.
Funny, I'm left-handed and I prefer the gearstick on the left like you do. Just used to it I guess, because Australia is a federation of six former British colonies - although fascinatingly, Nalf's explanation didn't account for Japan, Thailand or Indonesia, which the British never conquered.
The first time I had a LHD rental car in Denmark, my left hand was hitting the door as I went to change gear, but after a day or two, no more worries.
When I returned home to UK, I found the same thing with my right hand hitting the door.
I just drive auto now- much better in every way and no more bruised knuckles, whichever country I am in.
(3 of my previous vehicles in UK were LHD US imports)
If you are so malcoordinated you need the wheel and gearstick in a particular hand, please use the bus instead
In UK we import a lot of cars from Japan and as Japan also drives on the left with the steering wheel on the right of the car, those cars do not need to be altered, which is cheaper for the manufacturer.
We buy no more cars from Japan than anywhere else. The US buy a lot more Japanese cars than us.
@@andyt8216 The point was that Japanese cars do not need to be altered for the UK market making them cheaper to produce. Otherwise the manufacturer has to set up a separate production line to make left hand drive cars for say export to America.
@@andyt8216 technically he said "import" not buy. Most Japanese manufacturers cars bought outside of Japan aren't actually made in Japan and thus aren't imported from Japan itself. Honda for example has factories all around the world and produce most of their vehicles on the same continent as they sell them. There are still come LHD cars made in Japan and exported however, just as there arr many RHD cars made in the UK and exported.
To make this post completely true they should have added that its 2nd hand cars imported from Japan to the UK that are high on the list, as they are very easy to adapt (often just a few stickers are swapped by the company doing the exporting). There are also alot of brand new cars imported from Japan, but their numbers aren't much higher than other countries. Also worth noting that the US buys alot more of everyone cars than basically anyone, yet no one buys US cars except themselves and Canada.
The Japanese actually manufactured cars with both option for a while whilst the Americans administrated Okinawa, as there the Americans treated it as US Territory and drove on the Right whilst the remainder of Japan drove on the Left. This was so Japanese manufacturers could sell cars to the Americans also ...
Same here in Oz. And the bonus is that MIJ cars that I have owned (and still do) have fantastic quality and reliability about them. Just my opinion of course. But it is based on my personal experience.
Our bodies have a preference for left or right with everything involved a left and right. As a right handed person, driving on the left gives me more awareness of oncoming and other road traffic, as well as optimal control of the car
"...more awareness". Now, how would you know that? You cannot make a valid comparison, without having done both for extended periods. Have you? I doubt it. Whatever one is used to doing is obviously more comfortable than something one is not used to doing.
[edit] Why not look at the statistics, in places where they switched, such as Sweden. Take the accident rate for the 10 years prior to the 1967 switch, compare that with the accident rate in the 10 years after the switch.
@@ericminch I have done both. And with my right hand on the steering wheel, my right foot covering the brake and gas, along with right eye dominance, I feel that driving on the left is better and safer for me.
I'm right handed so I prefer driving on the left.
Before 1722 in the UK, there was no mandatory or popular side of the road to travel on. most vehicles travelled in the middle of the road, this can still be seen on on tracks in old photos, where there are three ruts, one in the center, for the horse and one either side made by the wheels. passing was left to local custom or the most convenient side. any disagreements were settled in the road by the carters fists.
it was on london bridge the old one with houses and shops on, which started the change, being narrow and congested, with traffic all mixed up as to direction, the bridge traffic would frequently become "gridlocked" To prevent this, the council of london, issued an edict in 1722 that all traffic entering the city of london would keep to the upstream side, and traffic leaving would keep to the downstream side. it so happened that this arrangement meant that traffic on the bridge kept to the left, this was quiet arbitary, possibly a coin was tossed, it could just as easily been the right side won out.
It was so successful that other cities copied it for their own traffic, but out in the country, it was still, keep center. it was not until 1834 that a national law came about requiring every body to conform everywhere in the UK. this regulation spread through the empire and to countries that obtained their technological starts from the UK.
I enjoyed driving in the US Virgin Islands. They have American vehicles with the steering wheels on the left, but they drive on the left side of the road. Couple that with the extremely hilly terrain and narrow roads and you have an interesting driving experience.
that was the case with any "yank tanks" that made it to NZ in the 196os/70s, as most cars were Japanese, British, or Australian over here ... and the American cars were normally twice their size, and did X gallons to the mile, rather than 30 plus miles to the gallon😏
Note that in US Western films, the stage coach driver always sits on the right hand side.
First historical error is at 1:49 as early wagons had seats and the driver sat on the right so they could swing their club or sword at robbers on foot beside the wagon or at the robbers had to climb up onto the seat before they could get at the driver, thus giving the driver time and space to swing the club over and hit them as they climbed up. Horse artillery had the men mounted on the left horse so they could more easily keep them close to the left edge of the road to allow more space for other traffic. This was also the reason why large freight wagons without built-in seating had the wagoner ride a horse on the left side of the team.
The US switched to driving on the right as a way of showing they were making changes to spite the English systems that had been in place. There is not logical reason to drive on the right side of the road, but the emotional reason won out in the US and it has stayed that way since.
A major reason for most European countries driving on the right side of the road after WW2 was mostly due to the majority of available vehicles around then were the US made vehicle the US military left behind.
Being an Australian who drives on the left, I can truthfully say there is an advantage of ease of use in getting drive through orders from the right side of the car, and doing any other activities outside the car while still sitting in the driver's seat of the car.
To be added, we all board an aircraft on the left, and boats load on the left (port side) The UK driving on the left is logical if loading is to occur from the left
However, Maritime Law has ships pass Port to Port, meaning sailing on the Right hand side at sea ...
This fact was laid to rest a few decades ago now:
There was a chap who was having a rest near an old stone Roman quarry in the North of England. He observed two sets of ruts, on the left were very light ruts and on the right were deep ruts made by the wagon wheels.
it became all too obvious that the ruts on the left were the entry ruts into the quarry and the deep ruts were the exit ruts, thus establishing a firm belief that Romans adhered to the left-hand rule.
Due to the Roman conquest of Europe and up until Napoleon times, it is believed that the whole of Europe stuck to their left when travelling, However, Napoleon for the sake of revolution and change switched to the right and subsequently mainland Europe switched..
Ironically, Napoleon was fanatical about the Roman empire and everything Roman, so had he known, it is believed that very few countries would be driving on the right today.
Yes I'd heard that the quarry was near Swindon though ( Sout West)... Also, if you go to places like Pompei, you can see it on street corners where the wear of chariots on the paving stones shows that left and right hand turns were from the left of the road. The ruts also conform exactly to today's railway standard gauge of 4 feet 8 1/2 inches which has been the standard for horse drawn carriages since the Romans
The thing that amuses me is that the Americans drove on the right but most cars made in the USA were right hand drive up until 1919. The first time I went to the States and drove a car, I went to put it in gear and opened the bloody door instead.
Im surprised you could drive a 100 year old car
Fighter planes..throttle left , stick right. Helicopters ( mainly) have pilots on the right, because of right hand dominance for the stick too.
Visiting India I observed they drive on both sides of the road; dodging cows, goats, stray dogs, crowds of people and tuktuks, scarily even in the middle of Mumbai or Delhi. Lane discipline wasn’t the greatest and considered to be just a suggestion by lots of crazy drivers constantly using their loud horns to navigate through all the traffic chaos.
Appreciate the amount of work that goes into making these little videos; all the research, finding appropriate clips of footage or other interesting visuals, and of course the clever editing to explain factual nuggets via cohesive short little story videos. It’s not just a quick condense “Cliffs Notes” reading of a Wikipedia page. 👍
Well, India has no traffic rules at all. No one cares and it results in pure chaos.
@@eily_b 2019 over 151,000 road deaths in India
I've been to Delhi, that's not true - the middle of the road is reserved for drying washing over the barriers.
hint: what side is the steering wheel on?
I was in Sri Lanka in a motorised rickshaw and asked the driver on which side they drove, as there didn`t seem to be much order. He replied ``It all depends.
If you look at pretty much any movie or still image featuring a stagecoach and driver, you'll see that the driver is generally on the right side of the vehicle and the guard or shotgun is on the left. Again this is down to righthandedness. If they were the other way round then the driver would likely clout the guard with his arm every time he used the whip. This would favour driving on the left side of the road, as the flailing whip would then be in the middle of the road and less likely to catch on low branches or other obstructions at the side.
Incidentally, the baggage area at the rear of a stagecoach is referred to as the boot, not the trunk...even in the USA. Just Google stagecoach diagram.
oh, I'm impressed by your knowledge of everything
Sorry Al, I hadn't read your reply before posting mine.
Impressed…👍👍👍
Early on when I was living in Japan, I can remember several times when I unlocked the door of my car, got in, buckled my seatbelt, and then stared in disbelief in front of me: someone had stolen my steering wheel! Oh, it was over there...
come on Mr Bean... grow up...lol
I am an expat Brit living in the US. When I was first here, I remember going to the grocery store buying lots of stuff, putting it in the back of the station wagon, and got into the car, on the right. No steering wheel! i stayed there for a while as a lady was watching from her car as I had been performing! She finally drove off, and I returned to the left side of the car.
@@sedekiman as an ex pat try to remember we call them Estate cars not station wagons lol
Oh crap I can see me doing the opposite if in the USA. Lol
@@sedekiman Been there, done that too, as an Aussie on holidays in the USA. The holiday was fantastic & I will always remember fondly the patience of the American drivers, as they waited for me to sort myself out. Another thing that was odd for me in the USA was when filling up with petrol, you were required to go inside the shop & actually pay before you received a drop of fuel. Years later they tried that system here in Oz & it just never worked well.
When I drive an LHD it feels weird to have my dominant hand on the gear stick rather than out the window holding a sword.
I'm South African, so it's weird not to be holding my knobkerrie.
sarcasm tells us your IQ .
In the UK there were plans to switch to the right. It was going to be phased in over 3 years. for the first year it was just going to be Heavy goods vehicles & trucks, the following year the rule was to be extended to vans and emergency vehicles, followed by all other vehicles in the 3rd year.
I think it was Ken Livingstone who announced that London was to switch to driving on the right; this was scheduled for April 8, with buses making the change exactly one week earlier. The right-wing papers went off their heads, incapable of seeing the joke.
We've moved to France, from UK and driving in a left hand drive car, on the right hand side is doing my head in.
Australia is planning to change over from left to right this year.
Cars in April, trucks and buses in May.
bullshit!
On April 1st?
@@Brian3989 you got it 😉
Thanks for expressing this so succintly. I have been saying this for years/ but it still stands that as most people are right handed the "correct" side to drive is on the left. It is safer.
We visited a Caribbean Island which was an American protectorate (St Thomas I think) and they drive on the left although their vehicles are left hand drive, a local told me they tried to enforce driving on the right but the locals just ignored such a ridiculous rule and carried on as always! 🤣🤣🤣
Not all of the US drives on the right, the US Virgin Islands drive on the left even though virtually all of their cars also have the steering wheel on the left. Toss in a lot of narrow roads and this can get very interesting...
Interestingly, there are several railroads in the US the operate trains on the left side of the tracks where there are multiple tracks. It was started when it was a single track and the station was located on the left. Cheaper to operate on the left than move the station.
What is ironic is that the UK was a massive seagoing nation for trade and influential in Maritime Law. In Maritime Law, vessels pass Portside to Portside (ie. left to left) meaning that ships all drive on the right hand side at sea ... !
And uk rivers too
My biggest problem switching from left to right driving was when I met something coming the other way on a single track road - I invariably pulled into the path of the oncoming traffic. Luckily, as I known to the locals, I didn't have any crunches!
I knew about the Swedish switch, but I didn't know that the people actually voted against it! 😅
Yes, so they waited a few years and then didn't have a vote before doing the change. The vote was in 1955, 12 years later in 1967 it had gone enough time to ignore it and change anyway.
@@cynic7049 Ah, alright, that's at least a little bit comforting. Thank you! :D
It would have been pretty douchy by the Swedish government, if they had just dismissed a referendum with this kind of result right after it happened.
I have read about (but not verified) that American Samoa switched from "driving on the right" to "driving on the left" because they are surrounded by former UK islands, and getting "right hand drive" automobiles are/were cheaper than importing "left hand drive" automobiles.
@@Otokichi786 the US Virgin isles drive on the left too but they use LHD vehicles though I cannot point you to a vid where I got that from as it was a couple of years ago that I saw it.
it's a yarn... everyone voted in favor
Driving on the left means that your right hand is on the steering wheel whilst your left hand changes gear or operates the radio so in an emergency right handed people can react quicker.
You also have to consider when we as brits go abroad. we have to put headlight deflectors on the lenses so as not to blind oncoming traffic. Due to normally driving on the left or headlights are positioned so the beam is angled towards the left side and obviously in vehicles driving on the right side of the road they would be anngled to the right
Newer cars do it automatically
Fun Fact: When th UK considered switching to right-hand traffic in the late 1960s, Gerry Anderson thought it to be a plausible event as in his 1970 series UFO, taking place in the 1980s, the British are in fact driving on the right side of the road.
I'm a brit living in Norway, so I switch backwards and forwards from LHD to RHD fairly regularly (when visiting my family in England). There is some statistical evidence to show that the frequency of traffic accidents is less in countries driving on the left, but I think that might have more to do with regulations, training, conditions and attitude of the drivers rather which side of the road is being used. (as these vary greatly around the world) In terms of the physicality of the task of driving, my personal opinion is that a driver's primary control is the steering wheel - so the stronger dominant hand should be dedicated to it (meaning the gearstick should be to the left for right handed people). However, in modern cars this is less and less relevant for two reasons - more and more cars are automatic and nearly all cars have servo assisted steering now (meaning that not much force is required to maintain control of the vehicle - unlike cars of old ;-)). When first coming to Norway and experiencing driving on the right hand side of the road, I noticed very little advantage or disadvantage to doing things the other way (other than the initial pain of changing of habits, of course - I read someone else's comment saying about hitting the door when trying to change gear :-)). One thing I did notice early on though is that it does, however, feel more natural to look over my right shoulder when reversing rather than looking over my left.
Having family in the UK I go there relatively often (or did before Covid), and I own a sportscar which is RHD, so I have no problems going from one type to the other. I am still a little out of my comfort zone when driving in the UK, but I think being extra alert is quite healthy.
But I do find it much easier to look over my right shoulder than my left when reversing. I just put it down to habits and old body stiffness, but maybe you've on to something general. It is a bit odd that you feel the same, since you been brought up in the UK driving on the left.
If you turn around over your right shoulder, in case of being attacked your heart (left chest) would be on the far side.
I'm a dual Aussie/US citizen so I'm used to driving on both sides, but I prefer the left.
The first official dictate on which side of the road to drive on in Britain , was in 1722 , when the Mayor of London ordered all traffic to cross the heavily developed Old London Bridge on the left to ease congestion .
Honestly you'd think a law would have passed earlier than this, I guess people just adhered to driving on the left without the need for a law prior to that.
Actually its a bit simpler than this. The first large scale transport of goods was post-medieval, and had people walking horses pulling the goods. In Britain, most haulage was done by horse drawn barges on canals. A right handed person will guide the horse to their right, pulling the barge to the horse's right. Which means they're walking up the left side of the canal, and oncoming traffic would have its horse on the other side of the canal, and would pass you to your right. In America the centre of haulage was New York, where the right-handed people guiding a horse-drawn cart would pass each other to their left, making driving on the right side of the road more convenient. By the time they had multiple horses this convention was already established.
Yeah but boats pass 'port to port' even on canals and rivers in the UK. Have done since the 17th century, which is before the industrial age. Interestingly though boats can be right or left hand drive and canal boats are neither with the tiller in the middle. In the UK we drive boats on the right and cars on the left
You'll be pleased to know that most people are also right eye dominant. Being seated on the right side of the car, the right eye has a better view of oncoming traffic, which apparently reduces road accidents and fatalities. Bad luck everyone else.
I seem to recall that one of the Nordic countries switched either in the 60s or 70s. Took all the cars off the road one Sunday and on Monday, it was everything to the right.
If you have ever driven in England, Australia it makes more sense than the US way. I've driven in the US all my life but having traveled to numerous left drive countries I found it makes much more sense
of course it does... I just don't really know WHY
its more natural to manually gear with the right hand for most people
@@hanzen5174 UK has a greater proportion of manual cars than most similar countries. it's more important to keep your stronger hand on the wheel that's more complex then moving a stick.
@@flemit35 steering is more complex then rowing a gearbox properly did I hear that right. there have been steering wheels on kids toy cars for a century
@@hanzen5174 yes, if you're shit at changing gear you don't come of the road. it's easy to move a stick it just slots in. steering takes finer control requires you to judge the speed , changing weight of the wheel, it clearly. harder than moving a stick from one slot to another. and kids crash into furniture constantly.
Nice short but full explanation. Thanks from Britain.
We used to drive on the left side in Sweden until 3 September 1967 (waaaaay before my time, but stil)
also the steering wheel is in the right hand and the gear stick is in the left hand.
no automatics or column shifter gear sticks over here.
It's also why the brides father usually walks on her right....right arm free to protect her.
Bit off topic but when I’m back in UK I keep turning the wipers on instead of indicating! In Oz the indicator in every car I’ve owned is on the right of the steering wheel, seems to be opposite in UK. It’s ok after a days or so but when I get home I’m doing the same here until I re-acclimatise 😂
See……you’re not driving like the majority of UK drivers……they don’t use indicators. If you didn’t use yours, you could be a UK driver with ease…lol
Curiously, the standard for boats is to pass oncoming boats on your right side. Even on the British canals the narrowboats drive on the right.
Where did you get that idea - the rule of the road for ships is you pass port to port (or left to left for landlubbers)
@@jimlepeu577 Yes you pass left to left but that means that you are driving on the right. If you were driving on the left side of the road like cars in the UK you would be passing right to right. Think about it.
@@michaelspurling4376 Check yr original comment. It’s at odds with this reply.
In the UK canal narrow boats drive in the centre of the canal, it's only when they are passing each other that they move to the right hand side and they pass port to port. The railways in the UK also drive on the left hand side on a twin set of tracks.
@@davidmacgregor5193 Everybody drives in the center when there is no oncoming traffic.
By riding on the left-side of the “road”, you were able to shake hands or “high five” with your right hand if you met someone you knew and you stopped for a chinwag.
I'm British, having been of driving age for 8 years in UK and 38 years in LHD countries. It takes me a day or so to readjust to RHD when in UK. I've also driven some time with a RHD vehicle in LHD countries and LHD vehicle in RHD countries - both of which are awkward but doable. The largest difficulty I have is when approaching a 'T' junction from the 'stem' and the road goes left and right. I always have to consciously be aware which side of the road to turn into - but only when there's no traffic (because when there's traffic, it's obvious). I've made the wrong decision once or twice in both LHD and RHD countries.
I'm from a country that drives on the left. As a right hander, I definitely prefer it... it's about car control and safety.
As mentioned in the video, the majority of people are right handed, thus you have more control holding the steering wheel with your right hand, which leaves your left hand to do ancillary things like change gears (manual transmission or an automatic with manual mode). It also means that while cruising, your body is tilted towards the middle of the car, to put your left elbow on the centre armrest, while continuing to steer wit your right hand. To me this is safer if an accident were to happen, since there's more distance between you and the side of the car.
If you're driving on the right, and right handed, chances are you're tilted towards to OUTSIDE of the car, with your left elbow on the door's armrest, while steering with your right hand. Being closer to the outside of the car means in an accident, you're more likely to be injured by breaking windows and deformation of the side of the car's body, since you're closer to it.
What? Literally the whole world (where traffic rules are mandatory) drives on the right side. It works. 😃
I suppose you are always stabbing yourself with your fork
correction at 2.33 change Mandatory to Compulsory reason in 1835 Mandatory meant Voluntary and still does..in English Dictionaries.
Sweden was still driving on the left in 1966 when I went there. We travelled from Sweden to Norway and I remember the border with the cross-over.
Italy was late in the 20th century to adopt drive on the right nationally - many cities had drive on the left rules. Italian cars from this period can have steering wheels on left or right.
Have a look at the French "priorite a droite" regulations - a whole new video there!
Interested to know more about the crossover.
The Netherlands, Portugal, and Austria-Hungary used to drive on the left side of the road as well, so some of their former colonies do too, e.g. Indonesia and Suriname for the Netherlands and Mozambique and Macau for Portugal. Japan, Thailand, Nepal and Bhutan are notable among left-driving countries in that they were never under British colonial rule.
But they were close to us in culture at one time, we used to educate their elite and trade tech with them. We even built Japan's first iron warships.
As a Brit That was intetesting.
There is a parallel story about Railway track gauges or widths.
Apparently due to the distance betwden the wheels od chariots or wagons in days gone by.
I tried driving on the right coming home from Barnsley; its quite dangerous
Barnsley is not that bad
It makes all sorts of sense about the UK and the left side of the road. I was told, once long ago, that we (the U.S.) drive on the right side of the road because way back when transportation was with wagons and horses, the driver carried a whip - in his right hand. No one wanted that whip to inadvertently touch or otherwise frighten a horse that was going in the opposite direction. Sort of the same thinking as the UK, but with different intent and so different results.
If you watch old westerns you can see the guy holding the reins is sitting on the right side of the stagecoach ala UK style!
@@martinstephenson557 With the whip hand being the right hand, away from any traffic on the left. UK style is driving on the left side, so I don't get your point. Nor am I claiming what I learned is so, but it makes sense.
The first Ford cars in the USA were on the right side of the car, and they drove on the left side of the road, there is a video on UA-cam about iit.
After WW II we occupied the Japanese Island of Okinawa. We mandated fight driving. When we returned sovereignty to Japan in the early seventies the government mandated left hand driving like the rest of Japan. The switched overnight. We thought it would be raining Toyota’s and Mazda’s. But nope, they stopped all traffic overnight and made the switch. I never had a problem adapting to left hand driving because you are so conscious of the difference. When I came back to the States after my last tour I pulled out of a parking lot and turned on to the road. I thought Oh my God these idiots are on the wrong side of the road. The idiot was me. A quick swerve to the right and I was on the correct side of the road.
"fight driving"? ;-)
Right driving
Funny, but living in UK I'm used to driving on the left. When I go to Europe I don't have trouble switching over, but (like you I suppose) I found that the most dangerous time was on return and the first drive leaving the airport for home I would forget to do the mental right-to-left switch!
who is "we"?
The US Military. In 1972 Control was returned to the government of Japan and Okinawa is a prefecture (state) of Japan .
You're right about Napoleon spreading his "Code" across Europe, with those not conquered continuing to drive on the left. This changed as early car manufacturers tended to come from France and Germany and it was convenient for countries to change to right side driving. Norway and Sweden didn't change until the 1960s. For a time in Italy driving was on the left in the countryside and on the right in towns.
Up to the American rebellion most carriage traffic was on the left - except for some counties that had the heavy wagons, as you cited. However, after the rebellion, taxation was not popular and the condition of roads deteriorated and although drivers continued to sit on the right side they travelled on the right side of the road to see the road edge. In the west coaches still had drivers sitting on the right (Think of stagecoaches in Westerns) because you needed your strong (usually right arm) to pull on the brake, they continued to pass on the left.
As cars became more available they tended to come from Europe and drivers sat on the left or right or even in the middle, until Mr Ford (who was left handed and therefore preferred to drive with his left hand controlling the wheel and his right manipulating switches, levers and gear sticks) changed driving in America for ever.
Napoleon invented condoms too. I think they were made from sausages.
My understanding was that up until 1910 most American cars produced with right-side driver seating.
As someone who grew up between the UK and France (Scots father, French mother) and has relatives pretty much on all continents apart from Antarctica, I have this to add:
The "left-side, right-side" dichotomy basically boils down to the British-French struggle for global hegemony in the 18th and 19th centuries.
And look who won!
@@mojojim6458 Well, who did?
@@mojojim6458 Look at the numbers and the importance of the nations that drive of the left.
@@alicemilne1444Thank you for answering your own question.
@Marc East is east, and West is west. And nothing is fairer than that." Jayne Mansfield
As you are also like exceptional movies I recommend *Kitchen Stories* from Sweden/Norway. It's about a Swedish research in 1950 in Norwegian households. The right-side-left-side-driving plays a little part in it. It's a very calm but quirky movie. So if you are only into action... don't watch it. 😉
English trailer, so I guess it's available at least with English subtitles. But they don't speak much anyway. 😉 ua-cam.com/video/sKYyHJFxmVA/v-deo.html
ships pass starboard [green] to starboard.they docked with their port side to the quay.
Actually as a rider myself I find this lil Video very enlightening....good Job :)
The first road sign was on the medieval London Bridge, which was very congested. The road sign said to keep left, so that two gentlemen passing on horseback could shake hands… :)
I like how in, say, London, there are arrows on the road to tell tourists which way to look first.
Living in the UK but travelling across Europe a fair bit, I do both. Driving on the left is more normal for me, but in Europe, changing gear with my right hand also feels normal being right handed.
The left side is the correct side of the road, watch a motorcycle rider dismount his bike into the traffic in the USA, the kick stand is correct for the left side of the road.
that's because motorbikes are made in Japan.
Even in USA, cyclists and motor cycle riders mount their vehicle from the left, i.e. from the road and not the kerb side.
And that is because of the UK.
Industrial mass production of bicycles started in England, and "Fahrradständer" were attached to the left. Which is "wrong" for the US and Europe...
Look at the US Virgin Islands in Google Streetview and you will see they drive on the left as well.
I shall verify that on Google Streetview for myself.... we shall see
The Caymans is an interesting mix of the UK and US. They drive on the left, but in mostly left hand drive American cars from what I observed.
In the space of a two week stay I saw multiple accidents and experienced a near miss myself caused by Americans who (naturally) brain farted and drove the left hand drive cars on the right. If at least the cars were right hand drive (as they are just to the East in Jamaica), then at least it's an instant reminder soon as you enter the vehicle.
Nicely done!
I actually saw this video pop up right when I was working on a very similar one myself.
Contrary to the UK, however, I asked why Japan drives on the left :)
Same reason Brits do going back to fuedal times.
As aUK driver, I am more used to driving on the left, but in fact I am quite happy with left hand drive. However, a LHD manual gearbox is counter-intuitive, and requires uncomfortable wrist movant and is contrary to r
the gear lever motion compared to an elbow!
Watch movies from the 50s.. Cars had bench seats in those days and people were advised to get in and out of the car on the right side away from passing traffic.
Thank you Nalf👍very interesting🙂
what a question.... because they have the steering wheel on the right side offcourse....
Come on Nalf! That is no Nonsens. Thank you for answering a qustion i was always to lazy to answer for myself.
It’s because we have the dominant hand of most people on the wheel at all times and the dominant eye looking at oncoming traffic. Thus, we have most F1 champions.
don't tell us what country you are from
@@kevinwelsh7490 Work out who has had the most formula One Champions. By far.
@@SvenTviking work out who has the most Astronauts by far
Also in UK at a wedding the brides father was on left so his daughter was on the side of his sword arm as it stopped fights as most people are right handed
You see my great great great great great great … great Granpa, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir-Lancelot always rode his coconut on the left side of the road, so I’m not gonna change it now.
The answer to a lot of questions in Europe: Napoleon.
In the US it's Reagan.
So true.
@@mojojim6458 I wish it weren't.
Happy Valentines by the way!
@@sisuguillam5109 Thanks, Sisu. Happy Valentine's Day to you, too.
@@mojojim6458 😄
We tried to bring it in in stages with trucks and vans moving over first the cars later. It didn't work! 😂😂😂
It would have been impossible for the UK to change to right side driving. The cost and impossibility of changing all the road signs and road markings overnight as well as all the buses & coaches would have to be replaced (entrance doors on the wrong side for driving on the right side of the road). It would be even more difficult now.
It would not have been impossible. Sweden who also used to drive on the left had all those exact same problems. But they still successfully managed to switch over to driving on the right overnight at 5am on Sunday 3 September 1967. 1000s of existing busses were simply reconfigured to provide doors that opened on both sides and 100s of new buses were also rapidly purchased. Road markings were repainted a few days before the change. Just before the 5am change over, between 8pm and 5am, all but essential traffic was banned from the roads, while all the road signs were rapidly switched over by 1000s council workers and military personnel.
@@andywilliams7323 Well I cannot imagine the UK government being so well organised.
They would inevitably screw it up.
As for modifying existing buses. That would be very difficult. The entrances to the buses are right next to the drivers cab. Also back in the 1960's the old double decker buses the rear entrance and stairs to the upper deck could not be modified to be open on both sides.
@@andywilliams7323 Sweden has no where near the density of the UK, especially England.
@@andywilliams7323 in 1967… we’re now in 2022. It’s not possible in the slightest.
@@Benji567891 Which has zero relevance because more population means more manpower and more money. This is the same redundant argument Americans use with their "America is bigger argument".
I’d heard that because carriage drivers used their right hand to whip the horses they drove on the left to avoid injuring pedestrians.
I'm pretty sure it goes even further back than that, the romans had a standard of passing, because you were passing someone in peacetimes you would go on the right in order for them to be on your left, not having them on the sword side but rather on the shield side. and the british put in the opposite when the romans left britain to spite them and it stuck around
A bizarre fact: When Myanmar became independant of Britain, they decided in 1970 to change the side that they drove on. The problem was that most cars until the last few years were bought in from Japan, so are right-hand drive. This lead to oncoming traffic having the drivers as far apart as possible, and bus doors opening on the traffic side rather than the curbside.
Now with the emergence of a rapidly growing Chinese car industry, left-hand drive cars are becomming the norm.
Main problem with Sweden driving on left! Was Norway and Finland borders were not defined by barriers or signs on smaller roads, especially in snowy weather! So head on collision was always possible!
You failed to explain why 2 countries of the British Commonwealth- Canada & Australia ended up driving as they did - Canada on the right and Australia on the left
Easily explained --
Australians are (to this day) whimpy vassals of the Brits, and Canadians (to this day) are whimpy vassals of the Yanks.
coz australia is an island
Do a video on the gauge of railroads and see how far back that takes you.........
Most of Canada switched from driving on the left side to driving on the right side in the early 1920's.
I believe the main reason was to avoid people from the US running into us when they visited. 😀
In British Columbia where I live, I believe the switch came in or around 1931. I've seen pictures of cars from the late 20s that were right hand drive.
Norwegians perpetuate the story that Sweden, with its unique sense of compromise, made it a softer change by first switching busses and trucks to right side driving and giving all other drivers a grace year on the left.
Nice to know somebody knows a bit about history and yeah that's why that's also why you go up and down the stairs on the left and right side .
Tests have shown that driving on the left gives you more overall control of the vehicle.
Indeed!✊🏼🇬🇧🇯🇵🇦🇺🇵🇰🇳🇿🇮🇳🇮🇪🇿🇦
Not possible.
That's interesting. Could you reference these tests please?
@@CptBlackbeardlives Possible. Right hand on wheel when changing gear.
Citation needed
Very good. But i highly doubt that knights had swords in their hands. Swords were secondary weapons times when the main weapon, lances, were lost or broken.
In Malta, they drive in the shade !
Also Austria drove until 1939 on the left side of the road. 1939, Austria became united with Nazi-Germany until end of the war. However I know countries in Africa, which decided to drive always onto the shadow side of the road.
Changed ‘invaded’ to ‘United’…….strange…do you think that is Putin’s way of thinking too…?
The one bit, where it is weird, is the Ford T putting the wheel to the side of the vehicle. Would it not be more natural, to put it in the middle?
Hey, this channel has the wrong name: Should be "Nalf's Educational Channel" - I knew only 60% of the explanation. Thanks for filling the gaps.
Every time I go back to Jamaica from my home in America, I am completely confused for the first two days, it is scary at first especially if you have been drinking.
don't go gay on us
As an Australian who‘s used to driving on the left hand side of the road, I could never trust myself to drive in any country on the right hand side of the road.
as a Brit I agree.. one slip and bang. Even on a cycle in Mallorca.. I found myself gravitating to the left.
@@joecater894 As a UK driver, I don't mind driving on the right.
But I find myself drifting right abroad because I feel I should be nearer to the right side of the road rather than the left side.
I drove a LH drive lancia in NZ which is same as Australia, so, so bad, you are located close to the gutter rather than near the centre of the road, you cannot see past cars in front when you want to overtake, you find yourself drifting to the centre of the road to where you would normally be on the road, except the car is actually right on the centre line, gear stick you use your right hand rather than left, is a serious mind screw and would hate to be in a potential accident and have to react instinctively......
great information and educational video! thumbs up and thanks for the upload!
I think there were other countries that drove to the left in Europe but the germans changed them over on invasion, some changed back at the end of the war
The explanation for driving on the right seems a bit sketchy as the driver could sit on either horse if they were side by side. I have driven on both sides as I've lived in UK and mainland Europe. The only car I found awkward to drive was a Hillman Hunter. This had the gear lever on the left but the handbrake lever on the right (yes we use the handbrake in UK). This meant to move off you had to take your left hand off the wheel to select 1st then your right hand off the wheel to release the handbrake.
When travelling to different countries I notice the same with pedestrians from left handed driven cars walk mainly to the right side whether it is on the footpaths or in shopping centres. Anyone else notice this?
Also mounting from the left side prevented your sword from getting entangled with your right leg.