What influences the choice of destination in different countries
In fact, the choice of one side or another of the road does not in any way affect the convenience of driving or the number of accidents, so it can only be explained by historically established traditions.
Many have tried to figure out why some countries drive on the left and have proposed several theories. First of all, they remembered the Roman Empire, where exactly this order of movement was in place, and expressed the opinion that after its collapse, the former provinces continued to observe the usual rules. However, this does not apply to all of Europe: in England, driving on the left is entrenched, and in France, driving on the right.
There is also a theory that driving on the right is more logical since most people have a dominant right hand, but some countries have changed the driving order to spite others. A striking example of such an act is the United States, which first took the example of Great Britain, and then switched to the rules adopted in France and began to stick to the right side of the road.
Now almost all former British colonies practice driving on the left, except for those countries where the giants of the global automobile industry massively supply cars with left-hand drive, which is why there are exceptions with right-hand drive.
In Russia, the demarcation of oncoming flows with a direction to the right was recorded under Elizaveta Petrovna, a little earlier than it happened in Great Britain. Why this choice was made is unknown.
The main differences between right- and left-hand traffic
The most important difference is that when driving on the right, the driver must stick to the right side of the road, and when driving on the left, the driver must stick to the left. Cars are designed accordingly: for right-hand drive cars, the driver's seat and steering wheel are on the left, and for left-hand drive cars, on the right. The gear selector, pedals and other controls are located in the same order for both types of machines.
At the same time, living in a country where it is customary to drive on the right side, no one forbids using a car with a reverse steering wheel. It takes some skill to get used to the controls, but then this does not affect the driving quality in any way.
States that changed the movement
There are many examples of countries changing their traffic patterns. This happened for various reasons: political, geographical or completely pragmatic.
The most significant example of a transition to the opposite traffic system in Europe can be considered Sweden, which decided to take this step in 1967. This day (September 3) went down in the history of the state under the name N-Day. The reason was purely geographical: all the countries neighboring Sweden were right-hand drive, which created a lot of problems when crossing the border. By the way, at the borders of countries with different directions of traffic, special and impressive transport interchanges are built on the roads. These exist between Thailand and Laos, Brazil and Guyana, China and Hong Kong.
Some states switched to a different traffic pattern solely on the principle of “annoying yesterday’s occupiers.” This is what Korea did in 1946, freeing itself from Japanese occupation. The USA did the same in 1776, declaring its independence from Britain.
There are also examples in the world when countries switched from right-hand traffic to left-hand traffic. This is the island state of Samoa. The reason for this move is quite pragmatic: the country was oversaturated with used cars from Australia, in which the steering wheel was on the right hand side. The decision to switch to left-hand traffic in Samoa was made in 2009.
As for Russia, right-hand traffic initially took root here. True, in the Far East, in many cars the steering wheel is located on the right side. The thing is that there are a lot of used cars here that came from Japan (where, as you know, the left-hand traffic pattern is adopted).
List of countries with left-hand traffic
Let's take a closer look at which countries drive on the left and how such a tradition developed around the world.
Countries of Europe
There are not many countries in Europe that drive on the left. These include:
- United Kingdom;
- Malta;
- Ireland;
- Cyprus.
It is believed that all countries adopted the tradition of sticking to the left side of the road from Great Britain. There it was enshrined in law from the middle of the 18th century, but it is not known why in England it was considered convenient to drive on the left. In addition to the version imitating the Romans, there is a theory that road traffic was regulated by the same rules as maritime traffic. English ships bypassed each other, guided by the logic of left-hand traffic.
As for Cyprus, it was also occupied by British troops in the middle of the 19th century and was under their rule for quite a long time - more than 80 years. That is why in Cyprus, driving on the left is also accepted, although in Crete and neighboring Greece it is on the right.
For some reason, not all countries in Europe followed the lead of Great Britain - some took the example of France, which was also an influential power in those days when traffic rules were legislated. Most likely, this is due to the active foreign policy of those years, the formation of military alliances and the redistribution of colonies. For example, in Italy there was no uniform order; each city had its own rules of movement, but with the entry into the Triple Alliance, initiated by Germany, the Italian government legalized right-hand traffic.
Asian countries
There are many more countries in Asia that drive on the left side of the road than in Europe. These are states such as:
- Bangladesh;
- India;
- Hong Kong;
- Japan;
- FDRN;
- Dhivehi Rajje;
- Pakistan;
- Timor-Leste;
- Sri Lanka;
- Indonesia;
- Singapore;
- Thailand;
- Malaysia;
- Brunei Darussalam.
Many of these countries were colonies and borrowed travel rules from their former mother countries. The Japanese samurai themselves decided to stay on the left side of the road. They wore the nihonto on their left side, and the weapon could inadvertently hit an oncoming traveler, which is why left-hand traffic is established in Japan.
In the Far East, due to its proximity to Japan, there are a lot of cars in which the steering wheel is located on the right, despite the fact that in Russia it is customary to drive on the right. Some Russian cities have also introduced left-hand traffic on certain streets to reduce the load on the roads.
As for Thailand, it has always been an independent state, but still adopted left-hand traffic from its neighbors. History is silent about what exactly this is connected with; apparently, mutual migration and trade with neighboring countries require uniform rules.
In the PRC, despite the influence of neighboring and European states, traffic is oriented to the right: in China such a system developed a very long time ago, they did not even hesitate which direction to choose - right-hand or left-hand.
Vietnamese roads shock travelers with the ability to drive in any direction: because of this, at first glance it is not clear what kind of traffic is accepted in Vietnam, but still it is on the right. The driver may not be driving in his own lane, but then he is obliged to give way to those moving towards him. Fortunately, the wide concrete shoulders give you room to maneuver.
The DPRK and South Korea used to stick to the left side of the road, but in the mid-20th century they changed the rules and switched to driving on the right.
India and Pakistan were under British rule for so long that they managed to get used to driving on the left and did not change it, freeing themselves from the “suzerain”.
African countries
In African countries, driving on the left is also common, in particular in:
- Kenya;
- Botswana;
- SOUTH AFRICA;
- Tanzania;
- Lesotho;
- Mauritius;
- Seychelles;
- Northern and Southern Rhodesia;
- Swaziland;
- Uganda;
- Mozambique;
- Namibia.
Here, “drive on the left” also developed under the influence of the British colonialists.
Americas
Countries in North and South America mostly prefer driving on the right, except:
- Guyana;
- Suriname.
In the USA, driving on the left was legalized for some time, but then an active struggle began in America with the British government with the support of France and other powers. Lafayette, who led the allied forces, proposed his right-hand traffic control system. Canada, on the other hand, was a French colony and initially adhered to the approach adopted in the metropolis.
Oceania countries
The following countries drive on the left in this region:
- Australia;
- Tuvalu;
- Fiji;
- Line, Sporades and Gilbert Islands;
- Samoa;
- Nauru;
- Tonga;
- New Zealand;
- Papua New Guinea;
- Melanesia.
In which countries do cars drive on the left side: complete list
Humanity has long guessed: by agreeing on the direction of movement of cars, traffic jams and accidents can be greatly reduced. But today, more than a quarter of the world's roads belong to countries where cars drive on the left, and 34% of the world's population drive on the right. That is, it was not possible to reach an agreement.
Choosing a destination in different countries
The history of traffic rules and steering wheel positions goes back to ancient times. Scientists believe that as early as 50 BC. cab drivers obeyed Caesar's code of rules: excavations of a Roman quarry indicate that carts drove on the left. In addition, on the denarius of the same year there are riders riding on the left side.
For the latter, this side is all the more preferable - armed groups were constantly moving, holding a striking hand with a sword at the ready.
Right-hand traffic arose when walking around with a weapon ceased to be the norm and physiology began to play: it was easier for right-handers (of which the majority) to drive around, driving the cart with a strong, right hand. Gradually this became the norm.
It’s the same in Russia: at first, a side was chosen spontaneously and naturally. Later, in 1752, Empress Elizabeth by decree officially determined the movement on the right side.
In Japan, too, it all started with the samurai riders: carrying a katana in their belts, they stayed out of harm’s way and stuck to the left. In the years 1603-1867, traditionally those heading to the Japanese capital moved from the left, gradually spreading throughout the country.
In 1756, a bill was passed in the West regarding traffic on London Bridge - on the left. 20 years later, the “Road Act” introduced the left lane throughout the country, and later on railway tracks.
England is considered to be the main instigator of left-hand traffic in the world. Naturally, its colonies moved along a similar path.
France is often associated with the beginning of right-hand traffic: in 1789 - a Paris decree, a little later - Napoleon approved this order. At the beginning of the 19th century, his supporters - the Spaniards, Germans, Dutch, Swiss, Italians and Poles - followed his example. While the opponents - the British, Austro-Hungarians, Portuguese - went over to the left. France later influenced others.
The same States: at the end of the 18th century, thanks to General M. J. Lafayette, they smoothly changed traffic to right-hand traffic, except for Canada (until 1920).
Countries that have changed traffic lanes
Not only the USA, many countries gradually changed the order of movement for various reasons.
The former British colonies in Africa - Gambia, Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone - switched to the right-hand side: influenced by the proximity to the former French “ward” states.
Mozambique, on the contrary, moved to the left side of the road after Portuguese colonization because of its neighboring British colonies. Samoa did the same due to the dominance of used right-hand drive cars.
Korea changed the left lane in 1946, with the expiration of the Japanese occupation.
Okinawa moved to the left lane in 1977, citing the Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (where member countries must have the same transport system).
Czechoslovakia moved on the left side until 1938, since 1939, with the invasion and occupation of Hitler, it was transferred to the right.
Important! The most famous and last transition from left- to right-hand traffic occurred in Sweden. The N-Day reform took almost 5 years to prepare.
And so, in the fall of 1967, all the cars stopped at 4:50 in the morning to change lanes within 10 minutes. There was considerable confusion.
At first, due to the speed limit and simply unaccustomed drivers, almost paradise reigned on the roads - no accidents. However, everything soon returned to normal.
By the way, there are some deviations from the rules: in Odessa and St. Petersburg there are still left-hand streets for logistics during rush hours. There is one in Paris too: Avenue named after General Lemonnier.
List of countries with left-hand traffic
Today, 53 out of 193 countries drive on the left. For convenience, we will also include dependent territories in the list.
Asia
- Macao;
- Bangladesh;
- Brunei;
- Butane;
- East Timor;
- Hong Kong;
- India;
- Indonesia;
- Cyprus;
- Cocos Islands;
- Malaysia;
- Maldives;
- Nepal;
- Christmas Island;
- Cook Islands;
- Pakistan;
- Northern Cyprus;
- Singapore;
- Thailand;
- Sri Lanka;
- Japan.
Africa
- Botswana;
- Zambia;
- Zimbabwe;
- Kenya;
- Lesotho;
- Mauritius;
- Malawi;
- Mozambique;
- Namibia;
- Swaziland;
- Islands of Tristan Da Cunha, St. Helena, Ascension;
- Seychelles;
- Tanzania;
- Uganda;
- SOUTH AFRICA.
South America
- Guyana;
- Suriname;
- Falkland Islands.
Oceania
- Australia;
- Kiribati;
- Nauru;
- Niue;
- New Zealand;
- Norfolk;
- Solomon and Cook Islands;
- Papua New Guinea;
- Pitcairn;
- Samoa;
- Tokelau;
- Fiji.
In some “right-hand drive” countries, railways are left-hand drive for various reasons. And the only one in the world - Indonesia - has the opposite (influence of Holland).
