Today we take a break from the 1′s and 0′s and the meloncholly of IT acronyms to ponder a basic question – which side of the road do you drive on?
Growing up as a kid, I drove on the right side of the road, which only seemed natural…I never knew any other way. Then as I grew up (well, have I really “grown up” yet?) I began going all over the world and had to learn to drive on other sides of the road. Today while driving, I thought, lets do some research and share what I found, so here is the fruit of my labours:
What do all of the pretty colours mean?
- Dark blue: drives on left
- Light blue: used to drive on right, now on left (Namibia)
- Purple: used to have mixed system, now drives on right
- Light red: used to drive on left, now on right
- Dark red: drives on right
If we take a further look in detail, it’s quite interesting. A lot of it comes from the original British colonies, but it also comes from the basic right-handed versus left-handed things. More people are right handed therefore more natural to drive on the right hand side (or so statistics show) due to the gear shifter being controlled with your right hand and the wheel with your left. Why the original ways then?
Throughout the ages, horsemen preferred passing each other on the left side, because this allowed them to hold on to the reins with their left hand while with their right they shook hands or swords at those going by, whatever the situation warranted.
In the late 1700s, many countries switched to bigger freight waggons drawn by multiple pairs of horses. Drivers would sit on the left rear horse, thus able to whip with their right hand. This allowed them better vision on their left-hand side, so they preferred the opposing traffic to cross them on the left – meaning they switched to driving on the right-hand side of the road. So nowadays, an estimated 66% of people worldwide live in right-hand side countries, and 72% of all distances are completed while driving on the right side of the road.
Britain was the main exception (I’ve come to find British are always an exception 
) – smaller waggons meant the driver was able to sit on top of them, not needing to ride on one of the horses. British drivers therefore remained seated on the right-hand side, and thus kept driving on the left-hand side of the road. This British custom then, due to the colonisation and the territories Britian owned was pass along throughout the world.
Becasue of this exact thing France, a major enemy of Britain at the time, switched to the other side to show political controvesy. Others realised the world changing and soon followed suit, even in Gibraltar, a British colony.
So, next time you go driving in a place where there you drive on the right-hand side, it’s because in earlier times you would have had a bigger waggon and needed to have full visibility and draw your sword at your enemy, or potentially shake hands with your mate. Alternatively, you could have been a political opposer of another country such as Britain who kept driving on the left, or even worse, you could still be driving on the left because you either live in Britain or the poor country you currently live in still hasn’t changed!
Possibly related:
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#1 by Joanne on Wednesday, September 10, 2008 - 19:41
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Wow… that’s some education – I wonder if Britain ever going to change the system.