Have you ever wondered why some countries have left-hand traffic, whereas in most places in the world, you can drive on the right side? Or maybe you’ve already had a possibility of driving on the left side? In Europe, you can do that in the United Kingdom and old British colonies, such as Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta. Outside Europe, the most common states with left-hand traffic are probably New Zealand, Australia, and Japan.
Going to a foreign country on holiday or a business trip with the intention of driving, you’d better check what traffic rules stand there. It’s quite important since being used to driving on the right side is hard to shift gear on your habits. But once you’ve done that and enjoyed such a ride, you may want more. If you’d like to experience the marvelous feeling of excitement driving on the left side in the UK, you’ll probably need to hire a car. Then, you can navigate to this website, offering such services.
Riding a horse on the left side
What are the origins of driving on the left? It’s actually a very old custom practiced in the dim and distant past. It derives from swordsmen who usually traveled on the left side of the road so that their right hand was free in the case of a potential fight with an enemy. Since most people were and still are right-handed, it was much more comfortable for them to hold a sword in their right hand than left. It was also easier to mount a horse from the left side.
Using a stronger right hand
It’s similar to modern cars. When you drive on the left, your steering wheel is located on the right side, and your stronger hand is always on the wheel. When you want to change gear or turn the radio off, you’ll do such activities with your left hand. Moreover, drivers in left-hand countries sit on the right side, which gives them better and improved visibility. That happens so due to their right eye directed at the center of the road.
Napoleon’s whim
Not everyone knows that we owe right-hand driving to Napoleon’s personal whim. Why? The gossip tells that he was left-handed, and it was easier for him to travel on the right. That might have been the reason why he introduced right-hand traffic in most countries he conquered. The more compelling argument would be the fact that the aristocracy at his times preferred driving on the left, so he wanted to take them down a peg or two. It was his little personal achievement. Only some countries that resisted his will kept left, and they were Britain, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and Portugal.
From left to right
Many countries a long time after Napoleon’s era introduced and have been still changing sides from left to right. The best example is Sweden, where there was even a referendum in 1955 in which people were asked if they want such a change. Most people opposed to this idea, but it didn’t stop the Swedish government from passing a law, which finally went into effect in 1963. The main reason was the fact that people in all neighboring countries, like Norway and Finland, rode on the right, and there was a problem on narrow roads, where there wasn’t any border between states. Then, you had to be careful and remember in what country you were.
From right to left
However, the most surprising fact can be the information that such a country as the Independent State of Samoa introduced the change from right to left-hand driving. And it wasn’t a long time ago. It happened on 7th September 2009, being actually the third such a case in the whole history. The country that used to be a German colony suddenly decided to change its traffic rules to ease the import of cheap cars from left-hand driving Japan, Australia, and New Zealand.
All in all, we can see that the history of left-hand driving countries is quite striking. Probably before reading this article, you weren’t able to enumerate too many countries with this rule. Now, you can easily do that, and what’s more next time during small talk with friends, you will be able to shine through some tidbits of news on this particular topic. And you can be sure that all your friends will be shocked hearing that it was actually Napoleon who was responsible for the emergence of right-hand traffic.