Left vs Right: A brief account of which countries drive on which side of the road and why

As the thick of summer approaches, schools close, businesses wind down, and as a result, many of us will be making our way back to our homelands.

Upon landing, some of us will resort to hiring taxis or relying on our extended families to drive us around, truly enjoying a holiday as one should. But those who are travelling to places like India, Pakistan, Australia, Britain, or South Africa, and choose to get behind the wheel… they would have to quickly get accustomed to a different style of driving. Why so? Simply because in these countries people drive on the left side of the road as opposed to the right side, as we do in the UAE. While this may seem a trivial matter, recalibrating one’s spatial and directional mental meters and recalling the traffic rules that come with the place, often requires more than a minute.

And after having done this vacation after vacation, we’ve come to ignore this need to transition. But haven’t you ever wondered how Left-hand Drive (LHD) and Right-hand Drive (RHD) vehicles came about? If yes, here’s a brief retelling of its story.

One may think it all began with the influence of nations like Britain and the United States at the time the automobile was conceived. But a closer look will indicate that the reasons predate this era.

Ancient ways

The Roman Empire, which controlled much of ancient Europe, including Britain, had a great part to play in setting travel etiquette. And it probably started with the Roman soldiers, who presumably were right-handed, that went about their business on horseback and found it easier to swing their swords at enemies using their strong hand. Travelling on the left also made it easier for swordsmen to mount their horses rather than from the middle of the road. Centuries on, this tradition continued, with feudal lords of Medieval Europe doing the same. In Britain, while there was a guideline in the year 1773 suggesting riders should stay on the left side of the road, it was formalised by the British Parliament with the Highways Act 1835, forcing people to keep to the left. And when the mode of transportation turned from horse to motor vehicle, the rule and habit remained.

But in the neighbouring nation of France, it was Napoleon Bonaparte, the monarch who famously flipped the script, simply because he was left-handed. And his countrymen had to follow suit. Of course, his exploits did influence much of Europe but not Sweden and not the island across the English Channel.

And this is how countries like India, Pakistan, Australia and New Zealand, those colonised by the British Empire followed British rules, those under the custody of the French followed French ways, like Germany, Poland, Switzerland, etc. And even colonial victims across the seas, like Vietnam and Morocco, had to align with French instructions.

Interestingly enough, countries that weren’t touched by colonial powers but had dealings with the British, like Japan and Thailand, decided to keep the right-hand drive.

American Spec

Historians are divided as to why the US chose right-hand drive. One theory states that LHD felt more logical for early wagon drivers who were mostly right-handed, and hence preferred to hold the reins with their left hand and use the right to wield a rifle or whip. This was especially applicable for carts with multiple horses, mules, or oxen, like the Conestoga wagons that were large enough to transport loads up to six short tons.

But the greatest influence of the left-hand drive setup came with the Model T. The early models by Ford i.e., Model A and Model B, had their steering wheels on the right much like in Europe. But for some reason, Henry Ford placed it on the left side of the popular Model T. Perhaps it was to oppose the British way of things, but it could also be because cars became commonplace, and the dangers of oncoming traffic were more of a concern than anything else.

From a regulatory standpoint, the US began legally establishing right-hand traffic laws as early as 1792, starting with Pennsylvania, more than a century before mass-market automobiles appeared. Twelve years later, New York enforced the keep right rule and this trend spread across the nation gradually.

Switching Sides

And it’s anyone’s guess that there may have been countries that were forced to switch between the two systems to add to the confusion. The Philippines, for example, had a curious case of transitions quite unfortunately. First, they adhered to the rules of left-hand drive under the control of America. Then moved to right-hand drive after Japanese forces occupied their lands and then back to the left-hand drive soon after.

After the second world war, Sweden was the only country in Europe that retained left-moving traffic. But in 1967, the country with about 7.8 million population then was also forced to change to right-moving traffic. As the story goes, road markings had to be repainted, bus stops were relocated and some 36,000 street signs had to be changed, which cost them 628 million kronor i.e., approximately USD 400 million today.

Even the Samoan islanders chose to drive on the left as Australian cars were cheaper to import.

Well, what does it mean to switch between sides? The thing is, even if you have driven on different sides of the roads in different countries, it does take a while to get fully accustomed. And for good reasons, U-turns are in the opposite direction and the shift lever has to be operated with the other hand (even though the pedal setup remains the same). And if you take one RHD vehicle to an LHD nation or vice versa, things get even trickier, with the problem of reaching the parking gate button and ordering a meal at a McDonald’s drive-thru, which leaves that responsibility with your front passenger.

Any guesses as to what percentage of the world population drives on the left and the right? Well, about 60-70 per cent of motorists drive on the right, while the remaining drive on the left.

wknd@khaleejtimes.com