Why Do They Drive On The Wrong Side Of The Road In England

[Parche]

Why, Why, Why??? :grr: :grr: :grr:

[KatyMan]

1. Because

it's correct to do so....and this is the second posting of Abbey Road today, and I was at Abbey Road on Sunday, so I think Abbey Road is stalking me! Time to dig out the CD!

[billyskank]

2. If you want to know why, it makes perfect sense really.

Think back hundreds of years to when we all got around on horses. If you have a convention that everyone rides on the left side of the track, then you will most often mount your horse from its left side. If you're right handed then you can't mount it from the other side, because your sword will be hanging next to your left leg - it would get in the way when you try to mount.

I heard that the reason why Europe changed to the the right side is because Napoleon was left handed and he preferred to put everyone else at a disadvantage... ;)

The reason why America chose the right, well maybe you did it just because it was different to England. Plus, the sword had stopped being the weapon of choice by the time America had got into full swing.

[Hugin]

3. Napoleon was my kinda guy.

:thumbsup: <--- Note: LEFT hand.

Here I thought it was because the English built their cars backwards. :)

[kay1864]

4. Partially correct...

From The Straight Dope:

In the Middle Ages you kept to the left for the simple reason that you never knew who you'd meet on the road in those days. You wanted to make sure that a stranger passed on the right so you could go for your sword in case he proved unfriendly.

The system prevailed until the late 1700s, when teamsters in the United States and France began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver's seat. Instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since you were sitting on the left, naturally you wanted everybody to pass on the left so you could look down and make sure you kept clear of the other guy's wheels. Ergo, you kept to the right side of the road. The first known keep-right law in the U.S. was enacted in Pennsylvania in 1792, and in the ensuing years many states and Canadian provinces followed suit. In France the keep-right custom was established in much the same way.

In small-is-beautiful England, though, they didn't use monster wagons that required the driver to ride a horse. Instead the guy sat on a seat mounted on the wagon. What's more, he usually sat on the right side of the seat so the whip wouldn't hang up on the load behind him when he flogged the horses. (Then as now, most people did their flogging right-handed.) So the English continued to drive on the left, not realizing that the tide of history was running against them.

http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_021b.html

[billyskank]

5. Sigh

always sneering at the english. :(

[kay1864]

6. Oh no...

I didn't read "tide of history" that way at all... :hug:

Heck, look at communication in those days. How could the English know that so many countries would follow suit?

[Hugin]

7. I wouldn't say that... Your language was adopted in the U.S.

After we'd added a few improvements, of course.

So, don't y'all be takin' it personal like, y'hear?

It ain't a problem.

[AllegroRondo]

13. "most people did their flogging right-handed"

I know I do!

:)

[kay1864]

15. I *knew* someone would pick up on that...

God Bless the Lounge! :patriot:

[Critters2]

20. Grooms stand on the brides' right in weddings for the same reason

So they can go for their sword if necessary. In 21 years, I've never had a wedding where the groom needed to protect his bride with a sword, but just in case...

http://marriage.about.com/od/weddingtraditions/qt/brideleft.htm

[idgiehkt]

22. yeah, Americans have to be able to shoot out of the

driver side window when we are passing some dipwad on the right who is talking on a cell-phone.

:rofl:

[styersc]

8. The electrical outlets are all screwed up as well.

Empire indeed.

Did you know they call fries chips?

[AllegroRondo]

14. and they call chips crisps!

the nerve!

[DS1]

9. so we can claim innocence when more stupid americans are ran over

[kay1864]

10. Hey, you know what's really cool?

On St. Thomas, they still drive on the left, but they drive American cars with left-hand drive. That way the locals can wave to people they see on the sidewalk.

[Hugin]

11. I noticed "Autobody Repair" was a major industry there...

It's a mix of the worst of both worlds. :lol:

[guitar man]

12. because

the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the bloody car!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Well there are a couple of good things about it...

First of all, the driver will always exit the car on the curbside, instead of the street. Of course, passengers must be careful when exiting the car.

Also, if a car should wander across the center line into an oncoming vehicle, there's less likelihood that the drivers would be in the high-impact zone of the accident. Here again, it's more damgerous for passengers, though...

[billyskank]

17. All excellent points

except that cars here have the steering wheel on the right. ;)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

18. LOL

Those Americans! So bassackwards!

[Parche]

19. What Do You Know

Its bloody aweful.........:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :hi:

[caty]

21. I found this explanation:

"In the Middle Ages you kept to the left for the simple reason that you never knew who you'd meet on the road in those days. You wanted to make sure that a stranger passed on the right so you could go for your sword in case he proved unfriendly.
This custom was given official sanction in 1300 AD, when Pope Boniface VIII invented the modern science of traffic control by declaring that pilgrims headed to Rome should keep left.

The papal system prevailed until the late 1700s, when teamsters in the United States and France began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver's seat. Instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since you were sitting on the left, naturally you wanted everybody to pass on the left so you could look down and make sure you kept clear of the other guy's wheels. Ergo, you kept to the right side of the road. The first known keep-right law in the U.S. was enacted in Pennsylvania in 1792, and in the ensuing years many states and Canadian provinces followed suit."
http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_021b.html