Have you ever wondered why countries that were former British colonies drive on the left, when most of the rest of the world tends to drive on the right side of the road? As it turns out according to one source: (http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm)
In the middle ages swordsmen preferred to keep to the left side of the road, with the majority of them being right handed they would be able to engage any opponents quickly.
This was the beginning of a mass movement worldwide where all transportation was done on the left sides of roads. Every country did that for a time because that was just the way of it. in New York in 1804 they began to drive their wagons on the right side of the road (probably since they were no longer affiliated with Britain at that time). Other states followed suit. Canada switched from left to right after the second world war. In the end, countries who were influenced by the American driving trend or who found it easier to make the switch than not to did so. Those still influenced by Britain (who at one point thought about switching as well, but did not), those countries remained in the English driving tradition.
List of left-driving countries
The following is a list of countries of the world whose inhabitants drive on the left-hand side of the road. Most of the drivers of these countries use right-hand-drive vehicles.
1. Anguilla
2. Antigua and Barbuda
3. Australia
4. Bahamas
5. Bangladesh
6. Barbados
7. Bermuda
8. Bhutan
9. Botswana
10. Brunei
11. Cayman Islands
12. Christmas Island (Australia)
13. Cook Islands
14. Cyprus
15. Dominica
16. East Timor
17. Falkland Islands
18. Fiji
19. Grenada
20. Guernsey (Channel Islands)
21. Guyana
22. Hong Kong
23. India
24. Indonesia
25. Ireland
26. Isle of Man
27. Jamaica
28. Japan
29. Jersey (Channel Islands)
30. Kenya
31. Kiribati
32. Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)
33. Lesotho
34. Macau
35. Malawi
36. Malaysia
37. Maldives
38. Malta
39. Mauritius
40. Montserrat
41. Mozambique
42. Namibia
43. Nauru
44. Nepal
45. New Zealand
46. Niue
47. Norfolk Island (Australia)
48. Pakistan
49. Papua New Guinea
50. Pitcairn Islands (Britain)
51. Saint Helena
52. Saint Kitts and Nevis
53. Saint Lucia
54. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
55. Samoa
56. Seychelles
57. Singapore
58. Solomon Islands
59. South Africa
60. Sri Lanka
61. Suriname
62. Swaziland
63. Tanzania
64. Thailand
65. Tokelau (New Zealand)
66. Tonga
67. Trinidad and Tobago
68. Turks and Caicos Islands
69. Tuvalu
70. Uganda
71. United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
72. Virgin Islands (British)
73. Virgin Islands (US)
74. Zambia
75. Zimbabwe
(Source: http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm)
List of right-driving countries
The following is a list of countries of the world whose inhabitants drive on the right-hand side of the road. Most of the drivers of these countries use left-hand-drive vehicles.
1. Afghanistan
2. Albania
3. Algeria
4. American Samoa
5. Andorra
6. Angola
7. Argentina
8. Armenia
9. Aruba
10. Austria
11. Azerbaijan
12. Bahrain
13. Belarus
14. Belgium
15. Belize
16. Benin
17. Bolivia
18. Bosnia and Herzegovina
19. Brazil
20. British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego García)
21. Bulgaria
22. Burkina Faso
23. Burundi
24. Cambodia
25. Cameroon
26. Canada
27. Cape Verde
28. Central African Republic
29. Chad
30. Chile
31. China, People’s Republic of (Mainland China)
32. Colombia
33. Comoros
34. Congo
35. Congo (former Republic of Zaire)
36. Costa Rica
37. Croatia
38. Cuba
39. Czech Republic
40. Denmark
41. Djibouti
42. Dominican Republic
43. Ecuador
44. Egypt
45. El Salvador
46. Equatorial Guinea
47. Eritrea
48. Estonia
49. Ethiopia
50. Faroe Islands (Denmark)
51. Finland
52. France
53. French Guiana
54. French Polynesia
55. Gabon
56. Gambia, The
57. Gaza Strip
58. Georgia
59. Germany
60. Ghana
61. Gibraltar
62. Greece
63. Greenland
64. Guadeloupe (French West Indies)
65. Guam
66. Guatemala
67. Guinea
68. Guinea-Bissau
69. Haiti
70. Honduras
71. Hungary
72. Iceland
73. Iran
74. Iraq
75. Israel
76. Italy
77. Ivory Coast
78. Jordan
79. Kazakhstan
80. Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of (North Korea)
81. Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
82. Kuwait
83. Kyrgyzstan
84. Laos
85. Latvia
86. Lebanon
87. Liberia
88. Libya
89. Liechtenstein
90. Lithuania
91. Luxembourg
92. Macedonia
93. Madagascar
94. Mali
95. Marshall Islands
96. Martinique (French West Indies)
97. Mauritania
98. Mayotte (France)
99. Mexico
100. Micronesia, Federated States of
101. Midway Islands (USA)
102. Moldova
103. Monaco
104. Mongolia
105. Morocco
106. Myanmar (formerly Burma)
107. Netherlands
108. Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, Saba)
109. New Caledonia
110. Nicaragua
111. Niger
112. Nigeria
113. Northern Mariana Islands
114. Norway
115. Oman
116. Palau
117. Panama
118. Paraguay
119. Peru
120. Philippines
121. Poland
122. Portugal
123. Puerto Rico
124. Qatar
125. Réunion
126. Romania
127. Russia
128. Rwanda
129. Saint Barthélemy (French West Indies)
130. Saint Martin (French West Indies)
131. Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)
132. San Marino
133. Sao Tome e Principe
134. Saudi Arabia
135. Senegal
136. Serbia and Montenegro
137. Sierra Leone
138. Slovakia
139. Slovenia
140. Somalia
141. Spain
142. Sudan
143. Svalbard (Norway)
144. Sweden
145. Switzerland
146. Syria
147. Taiwan
148. Tajikistan
149. Togo
150. Tunisia
151. Turkey
152. Turkmenistan
153. Ukraine
154. United Arab Emirates
155. United States
156. Uruguay
157. Uzbekistan
158. Vanuatu
159. Venezuela
160. Vietnam
161. Wake Island (USA)
162. Wallis and Futuna Islands (France)
163. West Bank
164. Western Sahara
165. Yemen
(Source: http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm)
(Source: http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm)
This brings up another question, is the pedal configuration different in a right drive car? The answer to that is “no” Wouldn’t want to make it too complicated for tourists I guess. Although the wipers may look backward and the steering wheel is on what seems to ber the opposite side, the Gas pedal is always on the right, brake and clutch on the left in every car you could sit in.
(Source: http://forum.miata.net/vb/archive/index.php/t-217665.html)
Hopefully you found that somwhat interesting. I’m done…for now…More later!