Australia: Left-hand traffic We drive on the left for one reason and one reason only: Britain told us to. No, really. As a British colony up until we became a federation in 1901, Australia readily adopted left-hand traffic, no doubt because it made both cultural and economic sense to do so.
Ever since the first automobiles hit the dirt roads of Aussie capital cities in the late 1800s, they have been rolling around on the left-hand side.
Unlike 66% of the world's population, Australians abide by left-hand traffic laws. That also means the steering wheels in vehicles are on the right-hand side, so the driver is closer to the centre of the road. Other countries that do this include New Zealand, India, Japan, and the United Kingdom.
Left-hand driving was made mandatory in Britain in 1835. Countries which were part of the British Empire followed suit. This is why to this very day, India, Australasia and the former British colonies in Africa go left.
New York, in 1804, became the first State to prescribe right hand travel on all public highways. By the Civil War, right hand travel was followed in every State. Drivers tended to sit on the right so they could ensure their buggy, wagon, or other vehicle didn't run into a roadside ditch.
These wagons had nowhere for the driver to sit, so instead, they sat on the left-most horse so they could hold their whip in their right hand while they drove. Because of where they sat, they preferred to drive on the right so they could better see when other wagons overtook them.
In essence, driving on the left has little to do with cars. Quite the contrary, it's all for the convenience of the samurai and Japanese road usage logic. You see, at the time of the samurai, city streets and footpaths were quite narrow. In addition, most samurai were right-handed and wore their katana on the left.
Left Hand countries deliver safer driving
In left-hand traffic systems, the better-perfoming right eye is used to monitor oncoming traffic and the driver's wing mirror. In right-hand traffic, the weaker left eye takes over. Plus, left-sided driving is safer for the elderly due to their failing visual abilities.
According to the company, left-hand driving greatly improves safety since the driver can easily spot incoming vehicles. At present, only four European countries use the left-hand driving system. These countries include Malta, Ireland, Cyprus and the United Kingdom.
Traffic congestion in 18th century London led to a law being passed to make all traffic on London Bridge keep to the left in order to reduce collisions. This rule was incorporated into the Highway Act of 1835 and was adopted throughout the British Empire.
Realistically, the answer is no. Aussie driving standards are low enough without throwing in such a curve ball. It'd be a huge logistical task too, plus the costs would be high – though perhaps not as astronomical as you'd think.
Driving in Australia, like most other western nations, is relatively easy and straightforward - most of the cars you come across are automatic transmission and the road rules are similar to other countries.
The subsequent Revolutionary wars and Napoleon's European conquests led to the spread of driving on the right to Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands. Napoleon ordered his armies to use the right-hand side of the road in order to avoid congestion during military manoeuvres.
The practice is believed to date back to ancient Rome. Romans steered their carts and chariots with the left hand, to free up the right so they could use weapons to defend against enemy attacks. This carried over into medieval Europe and in 1773, the British government passed measures to make left-hand traffic the law.
England was the first nation to pass an official rule, in 1773, which made driving on the left the law.
As Australia 'drifted' north over millions of years its climate changed and its animals and plants changed with it. By 45 million years ago Australia was on its own.
Those findings have been roundly challenged, even discounted by many scholars since then. But new studies pop up all the time showing that lefties are, at the least, more prone to accidents, both on the road and off it.
Lefties--or at least relatives of lefties--may be better than right-handed people at remembering events, according to a new study. Since the mid-1980s, scientists have known that the two brain hemispheres of left-handers are more strongly connected than those of right-handers.
It has been noticed that countries that drive on the left side of the road have considerably fewer traffic accidents and fatalities than those that drive on the right side of the road. A study performed in 1969 by J.J.
The reason had to do with the folks driving those bulky Conestoga wagons, which reportedly started to be used around 1750. Per the Federal Highway Administration, "the drivers rode the left wheel horse" so they could better gauge the distance between passing wagons.
About 30% of the world's population drive on the left-hand side of the road but why is this? Interestingly, the answer to this question is thought to lie within ancient Rome. Archaeology has suggested that the Romans used to ride their horses, carts and chariots on the left.
As the story goes, the aristocracy in France used to drive on the left side, forcing the peasants over to the right, but after the French Revolution, aristocrats moved to the right to blend in.
To drive in Japan you must hold either: a valid Japanese licence; or. a valid International Driver's Permit and a current Australian state driver's licence.
But it's never going to happen. Cost – that's the problem. A couple of years after Sweden made the switch from left to right, the British government estimated it would cost £264m to do the same here – approximately £4bn in today's money. But that was four decades ago.
On Sunday, September 3, 1967, Sweden changed from driving on the left-hand side of the road to driving on the right. As you might imagine, this switch was anything but easy. The decision to move to the other side of the road was not taken lightly.