Why do British cars have the steering wheel on the right ?

[Spun Cuppa]

Sikkim is a small state in the Himalayas! The other two are Bantustans in S Africa and are not normally recognised by the int'l community!!

And they are currently ranked above England in the new FIFA ratings

 

[Lady Whistledown]

Didn't we have this debate before?

I seem to recall asking what happened when two countries that drive on opposite sides of the road shared a land border.

 

[beorhthelm]

I'm sure I read something quite a while ago that claimed there were fewer RTA's in countries that drive on the right.

Tenuous,...

i'll say. why does the hand jerk necessarily be clockwise rather than anti-clockwise and why would the left hand suddenly have no input to the steering wheel? be interesting to know the source and if theres is a difference.

 

[Superphil]

Did they have cars in Napoleons time?

Oh, Edna, I think it was Denmark and Germany you're thinking of.

 

[clapham_gull]

Didn't we have this debate before?

I seem to recall asking what happened when two countries that drive on opposite sides of the road shared a land border.

Like England and France since the channel tunnel or even the cross channel ferries started taking motor vehicles.

I think we know what happens quite often.

 

[Trufflehound]

Didn't we have this debate before?

I seem to recall asking what happened when two countries that drive on opposite sides of the road shared a land border.

Having witnessed this first-hand on a bridge between Thailand (left) and Burma (right), I'd the say the results can best be described as "entertaining".

But back to the left/right debate, most countries in Southern Europe, Central and South America, Africa and Asia don't drive on the left or right - they weave randomly all over the place, spending most of their time in the middle unless something bigger comes the other way, sometimes detouring along the verge, and once (a bus in Malaysia) via a small thicket of mercifully spindly trees about ten metres off to one side of the road before the driver woke up and regained control...

 

[bhaexpress]

It dates back to the days when a man would right on the left hand side of a path or track so tht he could draw his sword (with his right hand, being left handed was a sin in those days) and defend himself from an oncoming attacker. In the US they drive on the left since the days of the wagon trains allegedly. The wagons were pulled by oxen and they were easier to control if the were walked on the right hand side of a track or path (thanks to the make up of their brains).

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Where the hell is Benin - and what happened to Freedonia

Benin used to be called Dahomey. It changed its name when the Marxist revolution happened in 1972.

Freedonia has always been Marxist and still is.

 

[Trufflehound]

Freedonia has always been Marxist and still is.

Freedonia was incorporated into the Teasdale estate in 1937, to pay off betting debts accrued during a day at the races.

 

[Twinkle Toes]

Freedonia has always been Marxist and still is.

That's strange - as I heard it had gone all bourgeois after A Night At The Opera.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

That's strange - as I heard it had gone all bourgeois after A Night At The Opera.

You're confusing it with the Labour Party.

 

[Cian]

Did they have cars in Napoleons time?

The rules applied to horse and cart long before they had cars. Railways run on that side too for the same reason.

 

[cuthbert]

In 1962 I went from Norway (driving on the right) to Sweden (driving on the left), there seemed to be no problem. At that time Sweden drove on the left with the steering wheel also on the left, I suppose they were preparing to change over to drive on the right which they now do.

 

[Cadiz Seagull]

More countries drive on the left than people think.

Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand to name a few.

Correction. In India they drive on the left, the right, the middle, the pavement, just about everywhere!

 

[Twinkle Toes]

You're confusing it with the Labour Party.

Yes, of course it is! Silly me.

 

[tedebear]

Made for an interesting start to our race on Saturday when Zef lined up in his Sunbeam (right hand drive) next to a Ferrari 250 Berlinetta (left hand drive) with the usual Le Mans style start... luckily Zef was quicker...

 

[The Spanish]

I would be happy if the reason was simply to piss off the french.

 

[Badger]

I'm sure I read something quite a while ago that claimed there were fewer RTA's in countries that drive on the right.

Tenuous, but stick with me here. The report went something along the lines of, there are more right handed than left handed drivers in the world, and when another car, or a bike or anything is heading towards your car, your predominant hand will jerk your sterering wheel that way. Driving on the left like we do, that would take your car in towards on coming traffic, but driving on the right, it would take you away from on coming traffic. I guess mowing down a few pedestrians doesn't count.

I think the more likely explanation is the fact that Indians drive on the left and probably account for about 50% of RTAs

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Sensibal countries drive on the left, you mount horses world wide to this day from the left. Your sword is worn on the left, so you can't get on your horse from the right.

I'm sure you're right, but if you wear your sword on the left, doesn't it make it more difficult to get into a right hand drive car? (If you're the driver, that is.)

 

[Brovion]

Sensibal countries drive on the left, you mount horses world wide to this day from the left. Your sword is worn on the left, so you can't get on your horse from the right.
Blame driving on the right on Napoleon, being a typical Frog. Also Americans have no depth perception, teams of bullocks and horses are driven from the rear left hand mount, swords again, so to avoid bumping into carts coming the other way they passed left to left.

That's certainly the explanation I was given as a child. People automatically walked/rode on the left so that your right hand was free to draw your sword. Apparently it started in towns (so that your sword hand wasn't stuck against the wall of an alley or narrow street if you were jumped) and the convention carried on to open roads.

I was also told that it was after the French Revolution that travelling on the right was introduced as they wanted a complete break with the past.

Finally I was told that the origin of shaking hands was that you stuck out your right hand (your sword arm) in greeting to prove that you weren't suddenly going to draw your sword.

These are all 'facts' I've known since I was about 10. Like most 'facts' that you sort of absorb by osmosis they're probably wrong and are no more than folk tales!