Driving ... Left or Right

 If you’ve ever been in a car, you’ve noticed there’s a certain widely practiced custom. Everybody sends their car down one preferred side of the road — left or right — depending on what country they happen to be in. Drivers are pretty consistent about this, and thus everybody’s somewhat less likely to ram into another car nose-to-nose.

 Sticking to your side of the road . . . it’s not just a good idea. It’s the law. 

A more complicated view of traffic

 About 65% of the world keeps to the right — this is the US and Canada, and about all of South and Central America, Europe and China.
The other 35% of humanity drive to the left. This is significantly the United Kingdom, Ireland, India, and Australia.

 In one of those weird coincidence-type things, folks who live on islands are mostly left handers.  Go figure

 Are there are ancient usages involved?

one of those Roman streets

There are those who say the Romans drove on the left, taking as evidence wear in a tract leading to a Roman quarry in Swindon. And if we’re willing to look at 1300 as an indication of ancient custom, in that year Pope Boniface VIII set rules for keeping to one side on the bridges of Rome.

Both of those seem to have favored left-hand diving. (Point for England.)

drivers meeting

There is much back-and-forth speculation about whether armed men would be more likely to quarrel if they walked to the left or right of each other. Did army units have to pass each other on the left so they wouldn’t come to blows? Did jousting make folks in mule carts want to copy the style? 

Do you know what I think?

I think before about the Eighteenth Century, folks mixed it up. They walked left, right, and center, and wove back and forth to avoid pot holes in the road. The narrow alleys of the cities were a right disorganized shambles where carts were lucky to pass at all, regardless of who was on the left or right.

I think troops of armed men marched right down the center of the road and everybody else scampered out of their way.

army marching where it chooses

In the Eighteenth Century they got around to making laws for the ordering of traffic. England made a general recommendation that all horse traffic should keep to the left. Russia issued an edict for traffic to keep to the right. In Revolutionary France also, traffic was required to drive to the right.

So why don’t we have a patchwork of left- and right- hand driving across the nations of Europe with everybody nipping from one lane to the other at every border crossing?

We can blame this — and so much else — on Napoleon. When he conquered his way across Europe he brought metrification, robust Burgundies, and right-hand driving with him. Only England, unconquered, stayed left-handed, (and unmetrified.)

Australia followed the left-hand driving custom of England.  The United States and Canada -- who knows why -- chose right-hand.

So ...are you one of those people who enjoy getting behind the wheel and taking off ... or is driving a chore?

One lucky commenter will win a copy of one of my books. Their choice.

Comments

[Sonya Heaney]

The version I read was that driving on the right started in the United States in the nineteenth century. Something to do with stock and carriages, and… I can’t really remember.

Everyone used to drive/ride on the left because of people being right-handed, and where they needed to draw their sword when coming across an enemy. There are some great pictures of European countries changing to driving on the right (only a few decades ago!) and the fantastic traffic jams it caused when people got it wrong!

I’ve lived in five countries (Australia, England, India, Ireland and Korea) and four of them drive on the left. It still feels natural to me, but I’ve spent months at a time in other countries, we still go to the wrong side of the car and then have a “Who stole the steering wheel?!” moment! Almost Every Time.

[Elinor Aspen]

Many years ago, I rented a car in the Bahamas. Standards are different there, and the car was in poor repair. The rear-view mirror was missing (but at least the AC worked). It was my first experience driving on the left, combined with my first experience navigating traffic circles. It was the last time I rented a car in a foreign country. I will drive in Canada, where the rules are similar and I can bring my own car, but everywhere else, I rely on public transportation or a hired driver.

[Vicki W.]

Maybe Canada and the US kept the same system since they had such a long contiguous border. But you are right..why are they righties not lefties.

True Roundabouts are popping up everywhere in Georgia. Though we had those for years but didn't know it in towns where the streets circle one way around the courthouse.

Thanks for another fascinating tidbit of what Napoleon did...

[MJ]

I gathered my courage and drove while we lived in Malaysia. As a former British colony, they drove on the left and my husband and I frequently reminded ourselves 'stay left.'

My worst experience was while driving a group of women to a church retreat in the Cameron Highlands (where the British ladies used to spend the hot summers). We were heading up a steep, winding hill when a lorry came hurtling around the bend. I wrenched the wheel to the left (thankfully not sending us over the embankment) as the rest of the ladies screamed. Once I had my heart rate returned to (somewhat) normal, we continued on. The gals all praised my driving ability. All I wanted was a large, stiff drink.

I was very happy to get home to Houston and its crazy traffic. I remember talking to one of my friends while cruising down the Beltway and saying, "This is great! I'm not even thinking about my driving!"

[Mary Jo Putney]

A fun variation of this is those small Caribbean islands which were part of the British Empire and they drive on the left--but most of the cars are right had drive vehicles designed for the US market. The advantage of that is that you know where the edge of the road is when you drive because you're right on top of it. But not good for overtaking other vehicles!

[Joanne Bourne]

When I had a British car
(a Peugeot built in France but designed for the British market, even though it had a kilometer -- rather than miles -- everything,)
and lived in France,
I found having the wheel being on the wrong side was a continual small frustration.

The biggest problem -- those parking garaged where you have to collect a ticket or pay a ticket ...
and you have to scramble over the PRNDSL and the passenger seat to do this.

[DandyLady]

I suspect right/left also influences walking down a hall, which door you choose, etc. Also, regarding the mixed side/steering wheel countries, it is pretty dangerous as buses open right into the street...

[Joanne Bourne]

*g* Now I'm imagining you standing by the car, feeling silly, walking around to the 'driver's side'.

I hated driving on the 'wrong side' of the road. Never really got used to it. I used to have nightmares where I'd be driving along and see a car coming at me.

I have to say I'm kinda skeptical about these explanations of why folks drive on the left, (or the right, for that matter.)

Pre-Napoleon, Europe seems to have been a patchwork of choices. Left or right varied from one province to another and one city to another. There doesn't seem to have been a particular preference.
So maybe, pure chance ...?

Interesting to speculate, though.

[Joanne Bourne]

American tourists in London are in great danger. They look left for on-coming traffic, step off the curb, and get plowed down by the cars coming from their right.

And yes. It's especially hazaroud getting off a bus.

[Joanne Bourne]

I think the US went to the right-hand-side just to be contrary.

No. Really. I think Revolutionary War and War of 1812 and they were just determined to do it differently from the Brits.

Now I have no idea why Canada went with the US on this instead of Britain.

[Joanne Bourne]

That has always been my problem, driving on the 'wrong' side of the road. My reflexes -- which are busy saving my life, generally -- are out of whack. They're apt to kill me.

Glad you made it off that mountain. Yes.

[Lillian Marek]

The street I live on is just barely wide enough for two cars, and that only in certain spots, so it's fortunate that there are rarely two cars on it at the same time. At the moment, it's tricky enough for a single car. There are so many potholes—and such deep ones‚that it's pretty much an obstacle course.
At least it discourages speeders.
My son was recently in Ireland, where he rented a car with a standard transmission. He said the big problem wasn't driving on the left. It was shifting with his left hand.

[Joanne Bourne]

I will admit to a sad deficiency in my education. I can't drive a stick shift. I stand in awe of those who manage to do so.

Switching from one driving side to the other and using a stick shift would leave me gibbering in the corner, not driving anywhere at all.

[Susan/DC]

As a tourist in London I was quite impressed by the "Look Right" "Look Left" signs painted on the street corners. It's not just for us Americans but for everyone who drives on the right -- I'm sure lives have been saved by those signs.

I tell people that if I ruled the world (not likely to happen) everyone would drive on the right and everyone would use the metric system. Not quite fair in that several countries with quite large populations would have to change their driving but pretty much only the US would have to change from the English system. Somewhat selfish of me, as I drive on the right and like the metric system -- there is logic to it. It's easy to know how the relationship of a meter to a kilometer (the name tells you) whereas there's no internal logic to why there are 5,280 feet to a mile. I've never understood why American manufacturers don't push harder to get us to go metric; it would save billions a year, I would think.

[Joanne Bourne]

I know the metric system from all those years in science, not to mention years outside the US.

But Some of it just doesn't 'feel' right to me. Especially the temperature units. When it's 30 degrees out I want to reach for my mukluks, not a sundress.

And there's this: liters and kilos aren't so bad, (jo concedes). And I suppose I could get used to kilometers.

But millimeters and grams fill me with existential despair.
How big are they?
Can't they just be inches and ounces?
Why not?

[Anne Gracie]

MJ, I can identify completely with this scary experience because I have been in exactly the same position -- a big truck hurtling around the bend towards us in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia. Lucky that you wrenched the car to the right side of the road.
But weren't those summer retreat places lovely?

When I've driven in the US I have experienced similar discombobulation when after a long day of driving, I left a highway in Montana and was driving along a small road when a truck came hurtling towards me on the wrong side of the road. Took me a scary moment to realize the truck driver wasn't the one doing it wrong.

[Caz]

I've been driving for over 30 years (God, I feel old!) but on those occasions I had to drive on the "wrong" side (which for me is the right, as I'm a Brit) I hired RH drive cars, which made the whole thing easier.

But a few years ago, we started holidaying in France and driving through the Tunnel, so of course we were driving our LH drive car there. After an initial bit of apprehension though, I got used to it really quickly, to the point of having to consciously think about which side to drive on when we get back!

When I was at school in the 70s, they were just starting to teach metric measurements and weights, but I seem to remember doing both. It's still a bit crazy here in that despite the fact that everyone under the age of 50 will have been taught using the metric system, we still THINK in imperial measurements.

[Sue-Anne McTaggart]

You should try sewing quilts! We work with the metric system to buy the material and then usually convert to the imperial i.e. inches to sew. Quite often using both to buy and sew and try and have enough material at the end of the day!

[Joanne Bourne]

The world would be a poorer place if everything were neat and logical, wouldn't it?

I'll have to think about how folks must have felt when the metric system first came in. Might be a useful little bit in a book.

[Caz]

Aaaand of course, I mixed up my LH/RH drive there, but you get my drift (and it's past my bed-time!)

[Joanne Bourne]

Yes. (jo ponders.) There's something ... cold and logical about the metric system. It lacks dash. It lacks flavor. it lacks that random human touch that makes us divide by twelve or sixteen and get the wrong amount or length.

Funny how folks don't reform the clock, y'know.

[Joanne Bourne]

You are not the only one who has made that slight mistake.

I *cough* fixed it in the posting.

[Chi-An]

I don't think I'd ever be brave enough to drive in a country that drives on the other side of the road than my usual (RH); I'm tense enough driving in my own city. The funniest and scariest times I've ever spent on roads was driving in Tibet. Outside of the city, cars are rare enough that the roads are really just taken over by pedestrians, sheep, stray dogs, pushcarts, what have you. Drivers tend to drive straight down the middle of every road, honking at everyone. The rule seems to be that whoever honks the most frequently has right of way!

[fedora]

Great post, Jo! I have visited countries where the steering is on the right, but haven't been bold enough to try driving there! Maybe if our stays had been longer...

[Jenny]

I'm in Australia so driving on the left is the norm. However the road past my place is narrow and we tend to drive down the middle of the road to miss the holes on the sides and elsewhere. With an oncoming car its a matter of doing your best - to miss the car, and to miss the holes in the road at the same time.

In the past when I visited the UK, what we found was the indicator. In Australia, the indicator is on the right of the steering wheel, but in the UK, many of the hire cars had the indicator on the left. We could always tell an Australian driving because suddenly the windscreen wipers would come on at the intersection instead of the turning indicator. Especially on a lovely sunny day. We always knew!!

[Carolyn]

Hi
I'm in Australia, so drive on the left. Recently I visited and
drove in Italy. The best advice I got was to make sure I was in the centre of the road - then I was on the correct side of the road. The scariest part was the narrowness of the roads.
I'm a poor passenger. I don't know whether this is a result of being involved in a car rollover as a child or because I am a bit of a control freak and don't like the sense of not being in control

[Artemisia]

Damn. I'm staying home. I have enough trouble just avoiding cyclists and people walking dogs on long leashes.

[Elisabet Nielsen]

Then there are those countries that, despite all the difficulties and risks involved, in modern times elected to change from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. My country, Sweden, implemented this change in 1967. I was a toddler back then, so I have no memories of this event.

Maybe this could be interesting reading
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H

[Ella Quinn]

The US might have followed the French because at the time we were allies of France and not England. Canada probably followed suit when they bought cars from Detroit. Down here in the islands, the French and Spanish islands drive on the right. The British and American Virgins drive on the left. We have no clue at all why the USVI drive on the left. England only owned it for short periods during the Napoleonic wars, and the Danes and US drive on the right. I think the Dutch islands drive on the right. The only one we've been to is St. Maarten, but we plan to get to the rest, so I'll keep you updated.

[Annette N]

I have never been driving in another place where the steering wheel was on the "wrong" side of the car. But, I have no desire to deal with metrics. The present system here seems perfectly logical to me....but then it is what I know and the idea of switching stuff up....simply makes me tired.

[Claire]

As a citizen of the USA, I agree with the concept that choosing to drive on the right may well have been (even subconsciously) a minor act of rebellion against England. However, I'm sure the mass immigration of many European nationalities probably reinforced that habit. Also, the border theory is a valid one. I have been to both Canada and Mexico, and "right hand drive" is the rule in both countries, although the Mexicans tend to interpret "rules of the road" a little more loosely than their northern neighbors.

[Glenda]

I love to drive and have been doing so consistently for about 33 years. I'm don't like the stop and go of rush hour or congested city traffic, but give me an open road and I love it. (It totally baffles me that my kids dislike driving.)

Of course I've only ever driven in 'right' side countries - not that I never stay to the other side of the road. I agree that back in the day drivers probably chose the portion of the road that was in best condition - I see people do the same today on country roads pretty often.

I'm one of the ones who believes that the US chose right side just to be different from England. Resentment sticks around for awhile after wars. :-)

[Sue W. McCormick]

I am not sure I could safely change to driving on the "other" correct side of the road; although, while we were touring Great Britain in 1997, I was assured by many British drivers that I would do fine, simply because I worried about it.

As to the metric system: I measure in metric, I measure in English (yards and Inches), and because I worked for 30 years as a textbook editor, I measure in points. Each system has its values and drawbacks. What I absolutely REFUSE to do is convert!

For rule of thumb, I say a meter is a large yard and a liter is a large quart. If I MUST have a conversion (as the quilter is required to do), I find the required total in the system I wish to end up with, go to a computer program to convert and order the converted amount. Than I return to my preferred measuring system.

[ML]

I do a fair amount of international travel for my job, and I avoid driving outside the U.S. at all costs. Aside from the left/right issue, the language challenge isn't something I want to address when going over 100 km/hour. :-) Having said that, my husband wants to do a single-malt tour of Scotland one day. And I would be the designated driver. Ohh, boy........

[Joanne Bourne]

It's very hard -- or, at least it was very hard for me -- to drive on the 'wrong side'. I'd make a left turn and merrily drive on in the incorrect lane. I'd do this All The Time.

I never actually hit anybody, but that was by the workings of providence.

When I have to convert something I google it and find one of the many helpful conversion boxes created and maintained by the benevolent. Same with Roman Numerals. And the Revolutionary Calendar in France.

[Joanne Bourne]

Single-malt tour and you get to do the driving. There seems something innately unfair about this.

Perhaps find a commercial company that does a bus tour ..?

[Joanne Bourne]

I'm always puzzled by folks who actively enjoy driving. I hate it, and don't do it well.

I get just a glimpse of the attraction now and then when I'm on a pleasant, empty road and have no time pressure. Sometimes I want to just put my foot on the gas and keep going ...

[Joanne Bourne]

Oh yes. It's not driving on the right or the left-hand side that's bothersome.
It's not liters or drams or ells or furlongs per fortnight.

It's having to cope with a system that isn't automatic and normal to us. Even if it's an improvement, it's an annoying improvement.

[Joanne Bourne]

Probably the USVI are making a complex political and social statement by driving on the left.

They've been waiting So Long for the US to Figure It Out. Jeesh.

[Joanne Bourne]

Possibly they wanted to align driving with the rest of Europe so Swedes driving elsewhere would feel more comfortable.

There's an old joke about a country changing sides of the road. There was some resistance to this, so they compromised. they decided even-numbered license plates would drive on the left and odd-numbered license plates on the right.

[Joanne Bourne]

Right. It is so complex out there I may just take up walking.

[Joanne Bourne]

There are many countries where the best course is just to drive very fast right down the center of the road, slipping left and right as a break in the traffic occurs.

Or at least, that's the only way I can account for the actual traffic patterns.

[Joanne Bourne]

Oh. That is so funny. I do the windscreen-wipers-instead-of-the-turn-signal ALL THE TIME.

And I don't have any excuse except that my mind refuses to remember where they've put all the dozens of gadgets in this car.

Then there was the time the GPS window rose up from the dashboard like Leviathan from the sea. (I didn't even know the car had one. I certainly don't use it.) Took me WEEKS to figure out how to roll it down again. I actually had to read the manual.

[Joanne Bourne]

I don't know whereas I would switch sides of the road just for the fun of it. But if you ever find yourself relocating and you have to drive wrong-sided, as it were -- Have no fear. You'll get used to it. I complain a lot but it's not as intimidating as it looks.

[Joanne Bourne]

That seems like a good system.

May I say I envy you the trip to Tibet. How fascinating.

[Bona]

To answer your question -driving is a chore for me. I don't enjoy it.
And as I live in a right-hand country -except for the underground in Madrid, in which trains go on the left side-, I think I wouldn't be able to drive in England or any other left-hand country. Even as a pedestrian I feel confused. I'm never know for sure where to look at in the UK. Thank God they write these Road Signs for us stupid foreigners 'Look Right' / 'Look Left'.
Anyway, the reason I've seen for driving on the right side it was -yes, Napoleon, as you said. Formerly across Europe everybody drove on the left. The driver took the reins in his left hand, leaving the right for the whip. If he were driving on the right side, the whip could hit pedestrians. Consequently it was established that the carriages had to circulate on the left side of the roads, so the whip stayed in the middle of the road.

[Joanne Bourne]

As I say elsewhere -- I'm not a fan of driving. I do it to get somewhere, not to enjoy.

But I have a friend who drives across the country, plotting her books as she goes. Loves a long trip.

Nothing so strange as folk.

[Diane Sallans]

It can be fun driving, as long as the weather is clear and I'm not in a hurry. It's fun to wander the backroads and see where I end up - sometimes you discover gems!

[Joanna Bourne]

That's the best time to drive. Discovery time. When the whole world spreads out before you.

[Ella Quinn]

Now that makes sense, Jo.

[Karin]

I found the roundabouts in England to be very disorienting, they seemed to me to be going in the wrong direction. U.S.V.I. was scary because of the narrow winding roads and terrible drivers, not to mention the steering wheels being on the wrong side for left-side driving. I never tried driving in either place, but I enjoy long distance driving in the U.S. and I used to be quite proficient with a stick shift. I haven't driven a stick in decades though, so I wonder if it would come back to me automatically?

[Carolyn]

When in Italy, I noticed that on the escalator everyone kept right - the opposite to what we do in Australia. I found this harder to cope with as I automatically carry things in my right, so I can steady myself on the railing with my left hand. I was always on the wrong side!

[Sandra]

We visited London about 10 years ago. There's no way I would have driven around town. I probably could have coped with the left hand drive in a rural area, but London traffic was horrendous. Luckily, the Tube went everywhere we wanted to go, and was a lot cheaper than a rental car.

[A. Marina Fournier]

In 1987, I had no difficulty going between California, England, Scotland, Britanny, and then home (after returning to England, but not driving). I'm left handed and was driving stick all the time then. I thought the roads in Britanny were better paved, but the directional signs in England and Scotland were easier found and read, even on a roundabout.

I was told that the leading cause of death among Americans in Britain was reacting in the incorrect direction when trying to swerve away from collision. I passed that test, at night, no route lights, with a migraine and quite tired. Huzzah!

[Joanna Bourne]

You are obviously one of those people who has a helpful, alert subconscious, protecting you.

My subconscious, on the other hand, is flighty and easily distracted and would probably send me turning into oncoming traffic. It would say "Ooops" later on in the hospital.

I am so glad your reflexes paid attention and got you out of that sticky situations.

Also -- congrats on the left-handed stickshift minding. I am awed.

[Joanna Bourne]

I did drive in London, but not a great deal. The problem is never so much creeping and leaping through the traffic. It's finding a place to park.

And yes, the city has the most wonderful mass traffic systems. I loved the big red doubledecker busses. I used to go down Baker Street every day on my way to work in a big ole bus.

[Joanna Bourne]

As I said, I can't even learn stick shift the first time, let alone remember it later.

I would guess stick shift is one of those things that would come back quickly since it's not really remembering in your brain, but in your hands and in your body. More like the famous 'riding a bicycle' or tapping out Morse code than remembering a brownie recipe.

I liked driving long distances better when the roads were slower and full of interesting stuff.

Superhighways strike me as both terrifying and dull. I spend the whole time concentrating on the dozen closest car and trucks instead of where I am. I choose quiet country roads when I can. That way I can appreciate the old barns and trees and how many people are raising llamas and goats.

[Lynnd]

This quote from our former Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau, might explain why we in Canada also drive on the right "Living next to the United States is a little like sleeping with an elephant. You always wonder if they will roll over on you." Also, much of Canada (and a good portion of the Ohio Valley in the U.S.) was a French colony until the middle of the 1700s, so it may be that the "right-sided" driving was already entrenched in those areas.

[Joanna Bourne]

So. Now that's how insensitive I am to North American history. I hadn't even thought of the French connection!