Why don't the United Kingdom and Australia drive on the right side of the road?

[tedtim]

In a post about the metric system.....

and while im at it... how about getting you guys to drive on the correct side of the road

So, what is up with that. All you do is change the steering wheel from one side to the other. The brake pedal and accelerator are in the same configuration. Heck, even the shift pattern is the same.

Why don't they conform and drive on the right side of the road?

Now, almightywife will go berserk because I mentioned the UK and Oz in the same sentence. How about it (or how aboot it). Time for a change!

 

[Red_5]

they don't drive on the right side of the road becasue they drive on the LEFT side of the road!

 

[redacted]

It would be too hard to read their road signs.

 

[Geoff_H]

We do it to annoy the French and the Americans.

 

[nereas]

And what about everyone switching over to Avoirdupois? (feet and gallons!)

 

[scubabeachboy]

OH Man, this one is too easy!
In the middle ages people going opposite directions used to pass each other with thier horses passing each other closest.
This prevented bandits from robbing passersby on the trail or road.
With time and advancement and automobiles, people began to need to pass each other without wrecking thier cars.
The europeans stuck with driver on the outside edge of the vehicle (same as horse travel), but used the opposite side of road to drive.
Americans used the left side to drive cars.

note: a roman chariot has a wheel base (distance between wheels) the same as a kart, the same as a early autos, the same as train tracks.

 

[Sadamune]

Why don't the United Kingdom and Australia drive on the right side of the road?

Short answer: Because most people are right handed.

Long answer: As most of the human population is right handed (>75%), humans have since antiquity traveled, whether on foot, horseback, or whatever, on the left side of a path. Doing so places passersby to the right of the traveller, which allows one to freely use the right hand to exchange greetings, exchange matériel, brandish a weapon, etc. This may be correlated with jousting as well. This common sense orientation simply became a tradition that continued into modern times, and although force of tradition is the main reason it is still practised, there are still some practical benefits (at least for right-handers) for doing so. Driving/riding/walking on the left side of the path is arguably still more sensible than on the right side as it is conveniently places the right side toward people passing you. The ancient rationale still applies. Who needs someone riding "shotgun" when the driver can both drive and shoot?

Of course, driving on the right side of the road is ideal for left-handed people, but that just means that 3/4 of the world gives preferential treatment to a minority segment of the population. Bollocks I say! 'Tis better to have all the right-handers drive on the left, and all the left-handers drive on the right. To each his own. Obviously, left-handers might find this a bit intimidating, but if they don't like it, they can just leave and start their own country. I'm sure they'd call the People's Republic of Leftia or maybe Leftistan.

Sadamune

 

[rubbachicken]

you forgot about south africa, japan, i'm not sure but i think china is the same

 

[scubabeachboy]

and Congo.

ha!

 

[gregorio]

I think india too.