Right-hand traffic and
left-hand
traffic mean regulations requiring all
bidirectional traffic to keep either
to the right or the left side of the
road,
respectively. This is so fundamental to traffic flow that it is
sometimes referred to as the
rule of the road.
This basic rule eases traffic flow and reduces the risk of head-on
collisions. Though originally most
traffic drove on the left worldwide,today about 66% of the world's
people live in right-hand traffic countries and 34% in left-hand
traffic countries. About 72% of the world's total road distance
carries traffic on the right, and 28% on the left.
Terminology
Universally (following a
treaty; see below)
each country specifies a uniform road traffic flow:
left-hand traffic (LHT) in which traffic keeps to
the left side of the road, or
right-hand traffic
(RHT) in which traffic keeps to the right.
Vehicles are manufactured in
left-hand drive (LHD)
and
right-hand drive (RHD) configurations,
referring to the placement of the driving seat and controls within
the vehicle. Typically, the placement of the steering wheel is
opposite to the rule of the road: LHT countries use RHD vehicles,
and RHT countries use LHD vehicles. This is so that the driver's
line of sight is as long as possible down the road past leading
vehicles, an important consideration for overtaking (passing)
manœuvres.
However, there are LHT countries where most
vehicles are LHD (see Caribbean
islands and Sweden
below)—and
there are some countries with RHT and mostly RHD vehicles (see
Afghanistan, Burma (Myanmar), and Russia below).
Furthermore, many countries permit both types of vehicles on their
roads. Terminological confusion can arise from the misuse of
"left-hand drive" or
"right-hand drive" to
indicate the side of the road along which vehicles are
driven.
The terms
nearside and offside are equestrian terms meaning left and right
respectively, and are used both in LHT countries (e.g., the
United
Kingdom
) and RHT countries (e.g., Denmark
). The
terms are often used in the British vehicle maintenance industry to
mean the left and right hand side of a motor vehicle, but are
commonly
misunderstood to mean specifically
kerbside and non-kerbside. For example
in Denmark, the offside is the kerbside.
Road traffic
Uniformity
Signatory countries to the
Geneva Convention on Road
Traffic (1949) have agreed to a uniform direction of traffic in
each country. Article 9(1) provides that:
In the past, there were several countries which had different rules
in different parts of the country (e.g., Canada until the 1920s).
Currently,
China is the only country for which this is the case, as the bulk
of it drives on the right, while the Special
Administrative Region of Hong Kong
and Macau
drive on the
left.
Left-hand traffic
- All traffic is generally required to keep left unless
overtaking.
- Oncoming traffic is seen coming from the right.
- Right-turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic.
- Most traffic signs facing motorists
are on the left side of the road.
- Traffic on roundabouts (traffic
circles or rotaries) goes clockwise.
- Pedestrians crossing a two-way road
look first for traffic from their right.
- The lane designated for normal driving and turning left is on
the left
- Most dual carriageway (divided
highway) exits are on the left
- Other vehicles are overtaken (passed) on the right, though in
some circumstances overtaking on the left is permitted.
- Most vehicles have the driving seat on the right.
- A left turn at a red light may be allowed after stopping.
- On roads without a footpath pedestrians may be advised to walk
on the right.
Right-hand traffic
- All traffic is generally required to keep right unless
overtaking.
- Oncoming traffic is seen coming from the left.
- Left-turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic.
- Most traffic signs facing motorists are on the right side of
the road.
- Traffic on roundabouts (traffic circles or rotaries) goes
anticlockwise.
- Pedestrians crossing a two-way road look first for traffic from
their left.
- The lane designated for normal driving and turning right is on
the right.
- Most dual carriageway (divided highway) exits are on the
right
- Other vehicles are generally overtaken (passed) on the left,
though in some circumstances overtaking on the right is
permitted.
- Most vehicles have the driving seat on the left.
- A right turn at a red light
may be allowed after stopping.
- On roads without a footpath pedestrians may be advised to walk
on the left.
Jurisdictions with left-hand traffic
Note:
Italics indicates year of change to driving on the
left.
* Until late 1960s, imported vehicles from USA were fitted with
left-hand drive layout
Total: 76 countries, territories and dependencies
Today
road traffic in the following seven European jurisdictions drives
on the left: Cyprus
, Guernsey
, Ireland
, Isle of
Man
, Jersey
, Malta
and the
United
Kingdom. None shares a physical border with a
country that drives on the right and all were once part of the
British Empire.
Some Commonwealth countries and other
former British colonies, such as
Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore
, New
Zealand
, Bangladesh
, India
, Pakistan
, Sri
Lanka
, Malaysia
and South Africa drive
on the left, but others such as Canada
, Gambia
, Ghana
, Nigeria
, Sierra
Leone
and the United States
drive on the right. Other countries that
drive on the left in Asia are Thailand
, Indonesia
, Bhutan
, Nepal
, East Timor
and Japan
.
In
South America, only Guyana
and Suriname
drive on the left. Most of the Pacific countries drive on the left, in line with
Australia and New Zealand, with Samoa
joining
most recently, on 7 September 2009, the first country for three
decades to change the side it drives on.
Jurisdictions with right-hand traffic
Note:
Italics indicates year of change to driving on the
right.
*1758 in Copenhagen, 1793 in the rest of Denmark
**In South Yemen
Total: 163 countries and territories
Changing sides at borders
Several countries in
Africa,
Asia and
South America
have land borders where drivers must change to the other side of
the road.
Where neighbouring countries drive on opposite sides of the road,
drivers from one to the other must change sides when crossing the
border. Thailand is particularly notable in this context. Thailand
drives on the left;
since Myanmar
(Burma) changed from left to right in 1970, 90%
of Thailand's borders are with countries that drive on the right
(only Malaysia drives on the left). Thailand is the only
sizable country with this issue.
Other
notable borders where a changeover is necessary are between
Afghanistan
and Pakistan, and between Sudan
and Uganda.
When borders coincide with natural barriers, such as mountains
(which may be in remote areas) or rivers, the traffic volumes are
relatively low and the number of border crossings is reduced. This
is true of many borders where traffic changes sides of the road,
especially in
Asia.
The four most common ways of switching traffic from one side to the
other at borders are
- Traffic lights. Examples include
- Crossover bridges. Examples include
- Border roads intersect with roundabouts or other
one-way traffic systems. Examples include
- No automatic infrastructure (signposts and
directions only), most commonly found at borders with low traffic
volumes. Examples include
- Poipet
between Thailand and Cambodia
- Mae
Sai
old bridge between Thailand and
Myanmar
- Khunjerab Pass
between Pakistan and China
- Moyale
between Kenya and Ethiopia
- Friendship Bridge between Nepal and China
- Service tunnel of the Channel
Tunnel
between the United Kingdom and France
(underground and not open to the public) –
Changing to right-hand traffic
Over the course of the 20th century, there was a gradual worldwide
shift from driving on the left to the right.
Portugal
changed to right-hand traffic in 1928, and the
parts of Canada which were still driving on the left changed
over by 1923 (although Newfoundland
was not part of Canada until 1949, and its
motorists drove on the left until 1947). The remainder of
Italy
changed over in the 1920s after Benito Mussolini came to power; Austria
and Czechoslovakia
changed when Germany
annexed or occupied them in late 1930s, and
Hungary
followed suit. In Austria the build-up
of new traffic lights and rebuilding of tram tracks was started
before the annexation.
The Latin American countries of Panama
and Argentina
changed in 1943 and 1945 respectively, and the
Philippines
and China
followed
suit in 1945 and 1946 respectively. Belize
changed to right-hand traffic in 1961.
Sweden changed in
1967 and Iceland
did as well in 1968. Burma
changed, allegedly on the advice of a wizard, in
1970. (For the logistics involved, see the Swedish
experience at
Dagen H.)
Taiwan
drove on the left under Japanese rule, but changed to
driving on the right in 1946 after the government of the Republic
of China
assumed administration; the same happened in
North and South Korea
, another former Japanese colony.
However,
some trains in Taiwan and Seoul
still keep to the left, as does pedestrian
traffic in the Seoul subway system.
The most common reason for countries to switch to right-hand
traffic is for conformity with neighbours, as it increases the
safety of cross-border traffic.
For example, several former British
colonies in Africa, such as The Gambia
, Sierra
Leone, Nigeria, and Ghana, have
changed from driving on the left to the right, because they all
share borders with former French colonies, which drive on the
right. The former Portuguese colony of Mozambique
continues to drive on the left, which is a legacy
of its Portuguese past; even though Portugal itself changed over in
the 1920s, Mozambique continues to drive on the left because all
its bordering countries do. Decisions by countries to drive
on the right typically centre on regional uniformity. There are
historical exceptions, such as
postilion
riders in France, but such historical advantages do not apply to
modern road vehicles.
There is a popular story that
Napoleon changed the rule of the road
in the countries he conquered from keep-left to keep-right. The
justifications mentioned are usually symbolic, such as that
Napoleon himself was left- (or right-) handed, or that Britain,
Napoleon's enemy, kept left. This story has never been shown to
have a factual basis and it appears to be a legend.
Changing to left-hand traffic
The
Japanese prefecture of Okinawa
, under US military rule and driving on the right
since June 24, 1945,
switched back to the left-hand traffic used by the rest of Japan on
July 30, 1978.
The event is locally known as "
730".
Samoa changed to
left-hand traffic in September 2009. The government brought
about the change to bring Samoa into line with other South Pacific
nations.
Foreign occupation and military transit
Many countries have temporarily or permanently changed their rule
of the road as a result of foreign
occupation.
Examples include
Austria and Czechoslovakia (details)
under German rule or military transit in the 1930s and
1940s. The
Channel Islands
also changed to driving on the right under
German occupation, but
changed back after liberation in 1945.
The Falkland
Islands
did the same under Argentine control during the 1982 Falklands War, although some islanders refused
to observe the new rule and continued to drive on the left.
East Timor changed to driving on the left under Indonesian
rule in 1976, and continues the practice as an independent
state.
The
Japanese region of Okinawa changed from left to right under US
control; in 1972 Okinawa was returned to Japanese sovereignty,
and six years later, in 1978, the driving rules reverted to left-hand traffic as in mainland
Japan.
Korea also changed from left to right at the end of
the Second World War.
This
occurred in September 1945, when Soviet-backed communist forces
occupied the North
and American forces arrived in the southern half
of Korea. Shortly afterwards the peninsula
was divided along the 38th parallel. Driving on the right was
implemented in both territories because military vehicles were now
either American-made or Russian-built LHD models.
Safety factors
Research in 1969 by
J. J. Leeming showed
countries driving on the left have a lower collision rate than
countries driving on the right. It has been suggested this is
partly because humans are more commonly
right-eye dominant than left-eye dominant.
In left-hand traffic, the predominantly better-performing right eye
is used to monitor oncoming traffic and the driver's
wing mirror. In right-hand traffic, oncoming
traffic and the driver's wing mirror are handled by the
predominantly weaker left eye. In addition, it has been argued that
left sided driving is safer for elderly people given the likelihood
of them having visual attention deficits on the left side and the
need at intersections to watch out for vehicles approaching on the
near-side lane.
Cyclists and horse riders typically mount from the left hand side.
This places them on the kerb when driving on the left.
History
In 1998,
archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Roman quarry near
Swindon,
England
. The grooves in the road on the left
side (viewed facing down the track away from the quarry) were much
deeper than those on the right side. These grooves suggest that the
Romans drove on the left, at least in this particular location,
since carts would exit the quarry heavily loaded, and enter it
empty.
Some historians, such as
C.
Northcote Parkinson, believed
that ancient travellers on horseback generally rode on the left
side of the road. As more people are right-handed, a horseman would
thus be able to hold the reins with his left hand and keep his
right hand free—to offer in friendship to passing riders or to
defend himself with a sword, if necessary.
The
first legal reference in Britain to an order for traffic to remain
on the left was in 1756 with regard to London Bridge
. The Highway Act 1773 contained a
recommendation that horse traffic should remain on the left and
this is enshrined in the
Highway Act
1835.
In the
late 1700s, the shift from left to right that took place in
countries such as the United States was based on teamsters'
use of large freight wagons pulled by several
pairs of horses. The wagons had no driver’s seat, so a
postilion sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right
hand. Seated on the left, the driver preferred that other wagons
pass him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the
wheels of oncoming wagons. He did that by driving on the right side
of the road.
Countries that became part of the
British
Empire adopted the British keep-left rule, although many have
since changed.
In Canada, the Maritime
provinces and British Columbia
initially drove on the left, but changed to the
right in order to make border crossings to and from other provinces
easier. Nova Scotia switched to driving on the right on 15
April 1923.
Trams (streetcars)
Tram and streetcar systems generally follow the same rules as
normal road traffic in the country concerned, both on road and on
reserved sections, with the passenger doors on the
kerbside. Various exceptions exist or have
existed, examples including the now-removed system in London and
the current system in Blackpool where some sections of tramway had
or have both tracks on the same side of the road with no physical
separation from road traffic.
The driver is usually positioned near the centre of the vehicle,
although some single-operator trams have been developed wherein the
driver sits nearer the centre of the road. On the left-hand running
Blackpool system and
Melbourne
trams built between the 1970s and 1990s, the driver sits on the
right. It has been said here that, on the old right-hand drive
Zagreb trams, the driver sits on the left; but
this seems unlikely, since a right-hand-drive vehicle, as defined
above, has the controls on the right-hand side and would be
difficult if not impossible to drive by a driver sitting on the
left. Before the extensive system was dismantled,
Sydney trams also drove on the left-hand
side.
When Sweden changed to driving on the right, its single-ended tram
had the doors on the wrong side, and this was taken as an excuse to
close down several systems.
Gothenburg operated its trams in
opposite-handed pairs, the left-hand-drive tram leading before the
changeover and the right-hand-drive tram afterwards. Over time, all
trams have been converted with many trams built in the sixties
still being operated.
In the north-eastern part of the system,
the trams pass through a tunnel under Hammarkullen
, which lies on top of a steep hill.
Since building a single central platform was cheaper, the trams
switch sides at
Hjällbo and run on the
left past the last four stops.
In
Vienna
, around the underground station Kagran,
Tramline 26 changes to the left to prevent passengers from crossing
the tram tracks.
Vehicles
Driver seating position
On most early
motor vehicles, the
driving seat was positioned centrally. Some car manufacturers later
chose to place it on the side of the car closest to the
kerb to help the driver avoid scraping walls,
hedges, gutters and other obstacles. Other car manufacturers placed
the driving seat on the side closest to the centre of the road to
give the driver the longest possible seeing distance in traffic.
This is the pattern that eventually prevailed.Today experimental
versions of
drive by wire and
brake by wire vehicles are being developed
which allow the driver to slide the steering wheel/brake controls
from left to right with the gauges in the center dashboard. They
are expected to become popular in countries such as Thailand that
have land borders with opposite-drive countries. The newest
Unimog models can be
changed from left-hand drive to right-hand drive
in the field to permit operators to work on the more convenient
side of the truck.
Bicycles
As with horse riding, where riders tend to prefer mounting from the
left, pedal cycles have evolved to be mounted from the same side.
The common chain-based transmission systems used overwhelmingly by
bicycles of all kinds are generally placed on the right hand side
of the bike. Riders can thus walk along with their cycles held out
to their right with less fear of their legs interfering with or
being made dirty by the transmission system which is on the far
side of the frame. This configuration suits the use of cycles on
roads designed for RHD vehicles where the cyclist can walk just off
the side of the road with their bike on the road and between them
and the traffic. From this position they can then mount their bike
by elevating and extending their right leg which tends to be easier
for right-handed individuals.
Legal restrictions on wrong-hand drive vehicles
For reasons of safety, politics, and/or economic
market protection, some countries ban the sale
or import of vehicles with the steering wheel on the "wrong"
side.
In
Australia, registration of non-vintage
(i.e., less than 30 years old) LHD vehicles is illegal. Imported
LHD vehicles must be converted to RHD (costing potentially
thousands of dollars), or driven with a permit which imposes severe
usage restrictions.
However, Western Australia
and the Northern Territory
(both which have at various times hosted U.S.
military facilities and had vehicles imported, used and sold by
U.S. service personnel) have LHD vehicles in circulation.
The
Australian Capital
Territory
(ACT) previously allowed non-vintage LHD
vehicles to be registered, but changed its legislation some years
ago.
In
India, LHD
vehicles cannot be sold commercially to customers, but they can be
imported for research and testing purposes under government
approval.
In
New
Zealand, LHD vehicles may be privately imported, and driven
locally under a LHD permit. Since 1999, only LHD vehicles
older than 20 years or cars owned and operated for at least 90 days
may be privately imported.
Diplomats and
Operation Deep Freeze
personnel are exempted from these restrictions.
In the
Philippines, RHD vehicles are banned. Public buses
and vans imported from Japan are converted to LHD, and passenger
doors are created on the right side. This ban was thought to be the
result of the increase of accidents involving RHD vehicles, most of
which were trucks. However, some vans keep their doors on the left
side, leading to the dangerous situation in which passengers have
to exit toward oncoming traffic. Some RHD industrial cranes and
other off-road vehicles remain.
Cambodia
banned the use of RHD cars, many of which were
smuggled from Thailand, from 2001, even though RHD vehicles accounted
for 80 percent of vehicles in the country. The government
threatened to confiscate all such vehicles unless they were
converted to LHD, in spite of the considerable expense involved.
According to a
BBC report, changing the steering
column from right to left would cost between
US$600 and US$2,000, in a country where
average annual income was less than US$1,000.
RHD Toyota Landcruiser in front of a
Pyongyang hotel
Although
it drives on the right, North Korea has imported various used RHD vehicles from Japan,
from tourist buses to Toyota Land Cruisers.
However,
many used vehicles exported
from Japan to countries like Russia
and Peru
are
already converted to LHD. But even if the driver's position
is left unchanged, some jurisdictions require at least replacement
of the headlamps.
Singapore bans LHD vehicles from being imported for
personal local registration, but temporary usage by tourists of LHD
vehicles is allowed. However, diplomatic vehicles in
Singapore are exempt from the RHD-only ruling, and there are a few
hydrogen and
fuel cell powered LHD
vehicles currently undergoing trials in Singapore.
In
Taiwan, Article 39 of the Road Traffic Security Rules
requires a steering wheel to be on the left side of a vehicle to
pass an inspection when registering the vehicle, so RHD vehicles
may not be registered in Taiwan. This rule does not apply
retroactively, so a RHD vehicle that was registered before this
rule does not lose its registered status and may continue to be
legally driven.
In
Trinidad
and Tobago
, LHD vehicles are banned except for returning
nationals who were resident in a foreign country and are importing
a vehicle for personal use. LHD vehicles are also allowed to
be imported for use as
funeral hearses.
In
West Africa, once-British Ghana and
Gambia have also banned RHD vehicles. Their
traffic has been changed from on the left to on the right. Ghana
prohibited new registrations of RHD vehicles after 1 August 1974,
three days before the traffic change on 4 August 1974. RHD vehicles
may be imported only temporarily into Sierra Leone, for example for
humanitarian programmes, but must be exported at the end of the
operation.
Most of the above bans on RHD and LHD vehicles apply only to
locally registered vehicles. Countries that have signed the 1968
Vienna Convention on
Road Traffic are not allowed to make such restrictions on
foreign-registered vehicles. Paragraph 1 of Annex 5 states "All
vehicles in international traffic must meet the technical
requirements in force in their country of registration when they
first entered into service". Therefore all signatory countries and
most non-signatory countries allow the temporary import (e.g., by
tourists) of foreign-registered vehicles, no matter which side the
steering wheel is on.
Oman
, which has
not signed the Vienna Convention, bans all foreign-registered RHD
vehicles.
Both RHD and LHD vehicles may generally be registered in any
European Union member state, but
there are some restrictions and regulations.
Slovakia
, despite being a member of the European Union, does not allow the local
registration of RHD vehicles, even if the vehicle is imported from
one of the four EU countries that drive on the left (UK, Ireland,
Cyprus, and Malta). Lithuania has prohibited new RHD vehicle
registration since 1993.
Buses
Buses typically have passenger doors only on the
kerbside, which severely restricts their
ability to operate effectively on the opposite side of the road to
that for which they were designed. Increasingly, touring
coaches, which are likely to cross frontiers
of traffic-handedness during their duties, are fitted with a door
on the opposite side from the kerb, to simplify access and egress
in the foreign country. In Britain this is known as a "continental
door", since its usefulness will be in continental Europe. It
doubles as an emergency exit, but is much more user-friendly than
an exit designed solely for emergency use.
It is usually fairly straightforward to retrofit a non-kerbside
door on buses with relatively low floor height; the many
traditional British
double-deckers
sold on for tourist use in the USA and Canada are examples.
Postal and other service vehicles
Post Office cars and vans in different countries such as the United
States, Canada, Finland, Estonia and Sweden have the steering wheel
on the opposite side to normal vehicles. This is so drivers can
easily drive up next to mailboxes or get out straight onto the
pavement without having to walk around their vehicles, or put mail
in boxes without getting out of their vehicles at all. In the US,
rural mail carriers often must provide their own vehicles and have
a limited selection of RHD vehicles that they can choose to buy or
lease. Some utility service vehicles are also RHD to allow
dismounting at the kerb and some newspaper carriers use RHD
vehicles to deliver papers to kerbside boxes rather than drive
along routes on the wrong side. The
Jeep
Wrangler is available in the United
States in RHD configuration, since this particular model is popular
with rural mail carriers who sometimes operate in less-than-optimal
road conditions and thus appreciate the Wrangler's 4WD
capabilities. Between 1991 and 1999, Subaru manufactured and sold a
right-hand steering version of its All-Wheel-Drive Legacy station
wagon model for use by U.S. Mail rural route and highway contract
route box delivery carriers, and many of the vehicles remain in
use, with the dwindling supply of used right-hand steering Subarus
much sought after by mail and newspaper carriers.
In Australia and the UK, LHD street sweeper trucks are common for
the purpose of the driver having a better view of the left side
kerb they are cleaning. Some styles of
Wheelie bin collection trucks also have kerb
side driver's seats to permit a better view of the bin being
emptied. Additionally, some of these vehicles have dual-control
systems, with a steering wheel and pedals on both sides of the cab.
This allows the drive to operate from whichever side offers the
best safety and visibility at the specific time.
Headlamps and other lighting equipment
Most low-beam
headlamps produce an
asymmetrical beam focused for use on only one side of the road.
Headlamps for use in LH-traffic countries have low-beam headlamps
that throw most of their light forward-leftward, while limiting the
light range forward-rightward; the beam is distributed with a
downward/leftward bias. Headlamps for RH-traffic countries have
low-beam headlamps that throw most of their light
forward-rightward, while limiting the light range forward-leftward;
the beam is distributed with a downward/rightward bias. The beam
thus lets the driver see obstacles and road signs on his own side
of the road at a safe distance, without blinding oncoming
traffic.
Within Europe, when driving a vehicle with RH-traffic headlamps in
a LH-traffic country or vice versa for a limited time (as for
example on holiday or in transit), it is a legal requirement to
adjust the headlamps temporarily so that the wrong-side hot spot of
the beam does not dazzle oncoming drivers. This may be achieved by
adhering blackout strips or plastic prismatic lenses to a
designated part of the lens, but some varieties of the
projector-type
headlamp can be made to produce a proper LH-
or
RH-traffic beam by shifting a lever or other movable element in or
on the lamp assembly.
Because blackout strips and adhesive prismatic lenses reduce the
safety performance of the headlamps, most countries require all
vehicles registered or used on a permanent or semi-permanent basis
within the country to be equipped with headlamps designed for the
correct traffic-handedness.
Without
sidecars attached, motorcycles,
motor scooters,
mopeds, and
bicycles are almost
symmetric with their handlebars in the centre. However, motorcycles
are often equipped with automotive-type asymmetrical-beam headlamps
that likewise require adjustments or replacement when brought into
a country with opposite traffic-handedness.
Rear fog lamps
Within the
European Union, each
vehicle must be equipped with one or two red
rear fog lamps. A single
rear fog lamp may be located on the vehicle centreline, or on the
driver's side of the vehicle. It may not be located on the
passenger's side of the vehicle. This sometimes requires the
purchase and installation of local-market lighting
components.
Specific jurisdictions
Afghanistan
Right
hand traffic was introduced in Afghanistan by Ghulam
Mohammad Farhad the Mayor of Kabul
. in the early 1950s, first in Kabul and later
in the rest of the country. Today most vehicles in much of the
country, however, are RHD cars imported from neighbouring Pakistan
(with the exception of Herat
and other western provinces).
In the
capital Kabul, most drivers have adapted to this problem,
leaning over the passenger seat (on the car's left side) before
making a left turn or before overtaking other vehicles by veering
into the left (oncoming traffic) lane. The country also has
a large volume of military vehicle traffic from the U.S., Canada
and EU militaries, much of which is LHD.
Argentina
When the
Pan American Highway from
Alaska
to Cape
Horn
was planned in the 1930s, it was decided it
should use one side of driving its entire length. A few
countries along the route used left-hand traffic, one being
Argentina. On 10 October 1944
Decreto Nacional 26965 was
issued, introducing right-hand traffic in Argentina eight months
later, on 10 June 1945. Strict speed limits kept the number of
fatal accidents low after the conversion. 10 June is still observed
each year as
Dia de la Seguridad Vial (Road Safety Day) in
Argentina.
Trains built by the British, as well as underground in Buenos
Aires, run on the left.
Australia
Australia drives on the left.
The decision to
drive on the left side of the road was made in the early 19th
century in the early
period of the British colony of
New
South Wales
by Governor Lachlan Macquarie after the first road was
built, and followed the British practice. Australian states and territories
had used the "give way to the right" rule; in the absence of
regulations specific to a particular situation, drivers must yield
the right of way to all vehicles to their right. This applies to
most uncontrolled intersections except for T-intersections.Give way
to the right does not apply to merging lanes, in that instance
vehicles must give way to any vehicle which is ahead. This is
sometimes called zip merging. If lines are marked, vehicles are not
zip merging but changing lanes, and must give way
accordingly.
Austria-Hungary
The
Austro-Hungarian Empire drove on
the left. Successor countries switched to the right separately.
Austria did it in stages, beginning from the west:
- Vorarlberg: 1919,
- Tirol and western half of Salzburg: 1930,
- Carinthia and East Tirol: 1935,
- Upper Austria, Styria, eastern half of Salzburg: 1 June
1938,
- Lower Austria: 19 September 1938.
Poland's Galicia switched to the right around 1924. Czechoslovakia
planned to start driving on the right on 1 May 1939, but the change
in Bohemia and Moravia was prompted by the German occupation forces
(Bohemia: 17 March 1939, Prague: 26 March, see
switch to right
hand traffic in Czechoslovakia for details). Hungary also acted
later than planned: the government decided about the change in June
1939 but postponed it and finally introduced it at 3am on 6 July
1941 outside Budapest and at 3am on 9 November 1941 in
Budapest.
Bangladesh
Being a
former British colony, Bangladesh follows driving on the left hand side of the road
and all vehicles are RHD. Due to traffic safety regulations,
all vehicles that are imported has to have RHD. Cars however
imported by foreign Embassies or Consulates may have the LHD
because of their diplomatic status.
Belgium
Before
1899, there was no uniform system in Belgium
. In some cities or provinces traffic
drove on the left and in others on the right. Beginning on 1 August
1899, right-hand traffic was introduced in the whole country.
Belize
As a
former British colony, Belize drove on the left until 1961, when it changed
to the right in anticipation of the Pan-American highway being
built to pass through the country. However, after
Hurricane Hattie the government had to
divert funds earmarked for the construction of the highway to
disaster relief, so the highway does not in fact run through
Belize.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and
Herzegovina
was part of the Austro Hungarian Empire at the
beginning of the 20th century, and
after the collapse of the empire, it started driving on the
right.
Burma (Myanmar)
As a
former British colony, cars in Burma (Myanmar) drove on the left; but the military
administration of Ne Win decreed that traffic
would drive on the right hand side of the road beginning 7 December
1970. It is alleged that this was because Ne Win had been
advised by his soothsayer, who had said "move to the right".
In spite
of the change, most passenger vehicles in the country continue to
be RHD, being pre-changeover vehicles and second-hand vehicles
imported from Japan, Thailand, and Singapore. Buses imported from Japan that were
never converted from RHD to LHD, have doors on the right side in
offset position, unlike their counterparts in the Philippines. However, government limousines, imported
from the People's Republic of China
, are LHD. Virtually all vehicles are
driven with a passenger in place to watch the oncoming traffic and
inform the driver as to whether it is safe to overtake or not, as
the driver cannot see this from the RHD position.
Cambodia
Cambodia
follows a keep-to-the-right rule derived from France
. In 2001 RHD cars, usually second hand from
Thailand, were banned.
Canada
Until
the 1920s, the rule of the road in Canada varied by province, with British
Columbia, New Brunswick
, Nova
Scotia
, and Prince Edward Island
having cars driving on the left, and the other
provinces and territories having motorists driving on the
right. Starting with inland British
Columbia on 15 July 1920 and ending with Prince
Edward Island on 1 May 1924, these provinces changed to
driving on the right. Newfoundland was not part of Canada until 1949, and its motorists drove on the left
until 2 January 1947.
One of
the very few places in Canada where traffic appears to drive on the
left is in Montreal
on Autoroute 20
for the 3 kilometres (2 mi) between its
junctions with Route 138 and
Autoroute 15. The two
roadways remain separated by a railway right-of-way for this entire
distance, and the changing of sides does not interfere with the
flow of traffic.
Hundreds of thousands of right-hand drive (RHD) vehicles were built
in Canada during World War II for the military from 1940 to 1945.
Most of these were DND Pattern (later called Canadian Military
Pattern) as well as some of the MCP (Modified Conventional Pattern
i.e. civilian pattern) vehicles. The reason is that Canada's
military forces were at that time intended to fight alongside of
the British military who used RHD vehicles. Britain also lost most
of her military vehicles in France in the 1940 retreat and so she
ordered thousands of new vehicles from Canada. Canadian Military
Pattern (CMP) vehicles became the most standardized vehicles in the
British Commonwealth. They were supplied to Canada, the UK,
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and India. Others were
supplied to the USSR after they changed sides in the war. A few,
diverted from shipment to Canadian troops in Hong Kong, were
supplied to the US Army in the Philippines and were used there
until the Japanese captured the islands. Post-war, thousands of RHD
Canadian-made vehicles were supplied to the United Nations for
relief (UNRRA) of countries that had suffered greatly in World War
II and went to countries such as Czechoslovakia and Greece. During
the Cold War in the 1950s, Canada gave many more to allies such as
Norway, Holland, France and Italy. During the War, Canada had built
RHD armoured vehicles such as tanks, armoured cars, armoured
trucks, scout cars, universal carriers, tracked jeeps, etc. One of
these was the
Ram tank which was the
inspiration for the later Sherman M4 tank.
There are some officially offered RHD vehicles in Canada, such as
Canada Post mail delivery trucks. These
have extra mirrors to increase
driver
visibility. Some
garbage trucks
and
street sweepers have dual
controls—both LHD and RHD. This allows the driver to enter and exit
the vehicle quickly no matter which side of the street is being
serviced. General-purpose RHD vehicles are allowed in Canada,
providing they comply with all applicable Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standards or are more than 15 years old and therefore
eligible for import
regardless of compliance with Canadian Federal regulations.
Caribbean
The
English-speaking Caribbean typically follows the keep-to-the-left rule and as
a result, most cars have a RHD configuration. Examples of this may
be noted in such countries as Barbados
, Jamaica
and Trinidad & Tobago
. In certain islands (mostly Lesser Antilles) such as the British
Virgin Islands
, U.S.
Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands
, the Bahamas
, as well as Turks and Caicos Islands, most
passenger cars are LHD, being imported from the United
States or Brazil
. Only some government cars and those
imported from RHD countries (Japan and the United Kingdom among
others) are RHD. The U.S. Virgin Islands are particularly known for
having a high accident rate caused by American tourists from the
mainland who are unfamiliar with driving on the left in their
rental cars.
Bonaire
and Curacao
use the right hand traffic.
China (see also Hong Kong and Macau)
Before
1946, driving in China was mixed,
with cars in the northern provinces driving on the right, and cars
in the southern provinces such as Guangdong
driving on the left. From 1946, China became a
right hand traffic-only country. However, Hong Kong and Macau were under
British (until 1997) and Portuguese (until 1999) administration
respectively before returning to Chinese control, and automobiles
in both locations still drive on the left.
Croatia
Croatia
was part of the Austro Hungarian Empire at the
beginning of the last century, and after the collapse of the
empire, it started driving on the right. Sometimes, on
parking garage entrances of the left side of a
one-way street the lanes on the entrance are
reversed to provide for unrestricted flow of traffic between the
garage and the street. One such example is the Importanne Gallery
parking garage. This was done so the traffic
lanes in the
one way
street from which one enters the
garage would not cross.
Cyprus
A former
British colony, Cyprus drives on the left, and cars sold locally are right
hand drive, including those used by the British forces in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri
and Dhekelia
. However, owing to its economic and
political isolation, there is a sizeable number of left-hand drive
vehicles in the self-proclaimed Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus
which were imported from Turkey
. Since Cyprus is now an EU member it is
common to find left-hand drive vehicles also (tourists overland or
else second hand imports from other EU countries with LHD
vehicles).
An increasing number of right hand drive
grey import vehicles from
Japan are now
sold in both parts of the island.
Ethiopia and Eritrea
Ethiopia
changed from left-hand to right-hand traffic on 8
June 1964. Eritrea
was at that time part of Ethiopia, so the same date
is applicable for that country. The reason for the
change is not clearly understood, as neighbouring Kenya
in the
south and Sudan in the west were driving on the
left.
France
France has long been a right-hand traffic country.
However, along the
of Avenue du Général Lemonnier in Paris
, which connects the Pont Royal
to the Rue de Rivoli
, traffic drives on the left, separated only by
a hump.Image:Avenue du Général Lemonnier 1.JPGImage:Avenue
du Général Lemonnier 2.JPG
Gibraltar
Although
the British overseas
territory of Gibraltar
changed to driving on the right on 16 June
1929, in order to avoid accidents involving vehicles from Spain
, some public buses until recently were RHD,
with a special door allowing passengers to enter on the right hand
side. However, most passenger cars are LHD, as in
Spain, with the exception of second-hand cars brought in from the
UK and Japan as well as
UK registered military vehicles used by the British Forces.
Guyana and Suriname
Guyana and Suriname are the only two remaining countries in the
mainland Americas that drive on the
left. As a result of the construction of the
Pan-American Highway, four
mainland American countries switched to driving on the right
between 1943 and 1961, the last of which was Belize. Both Guyana and Suriname are separated
from their neighbours by large rivers, with the first bridge
crossing one of these only opening in April 2009. The inland south
of both countries is sparsely populated with very few roads and
hence no border crossings.
In the
south west of Guyana near Lethem
, work was finally completed on 26 April 2009 on
the Takutu River Bridge across the Takutu
River into neighbouring Brazil, which drives on the right. The
changeover system is on the Guyana side, with one lane passing
under the other on the bridge's access road. Construction proceeded
slowly over the years before being completed by the Brazilian army.
Brazil had been keen to open the bridge, as it now gives Brazil
access to Caribbean sea ports on the north coast of South America.
Brazil
intends to permit Guyana registered (RHD) vehicles to go no further
than the Brazilian border town of Bonfim
. It is expected that Brazilian (LHD)
vehicles will be able to drive all the way through Guyana to the
coast. The Takutu Bridge is the Americas' only border crossing
where traffic changes sides of the road.
In Suriname most of the privately owned buses are imported from
Japan, and the exits are designed for driving on the left. Most
state-owned buses, however, are from the US (LHD) and often the
placement of the exits has to be adjusted.
Hong Kong and Macau
Being a former British
colony,
Hong Kong follows the
United Kingdom in driving on the left.
Macau, a former
Portuguese colony, historically followed Hong
Kong in driving on the left because most of the RHD cars in Macau
were imported through Hong Kong. Macau did not follow
either Portugal in 1928 or China in 1946 in
switching to driving on the right.
Under
the auspices of the "one
country, two systems" arrangement, the practice of driving on
the left continues in Hong Kong and Macau, now Special Administrative Regions
of the People's Republic of China. Most vehicles, even those of the
armed
forces, are RHD. LHD exceptions include some buses providing
services to and from the mainland.
There are four road border crossing points between mainland China
and Hong Kong. The largest and busiest is
Lok Ma Chau Control Point (
aerial map), which features two separate
changeover systems on the mainland side. In 2006, the daily average
number of vehicle trips recorded at Lok Ma Chau was 31,100. The
next largest is
Man Kam To, where there
is no changeover system and the border roads on the mainland side
simply intersect as one-way streets with a main road. There are two
border crossing points between mainland China and Macau.
The
newer crossing point is the Lotus Bridge
, which crosses a narrow channel of sea between
the mainland and Macau, and was opened at the end of 1999 (
aerial map). The Lotus Bridge was
designed to cater for high traffic volumes and features three lanes
in each direction as well as a full changeover system on the
mainland side, comprising bridges that loop around each other by
360° to swap the direction of the traffic. At the older Macau
crossing point, there is no changeover system and the border roads
continue with traffic on the left on the mainland side, and simply
intersect on to a roundabout. All of these Chinese changeover
systems can be viewed in high resolution using
Google Earth.
Iceland
Iceland switched traffic from left to right at 06:00 on
Sunday 26 May 1968, known as H-dagurinn. As in Sweden, most
passenger cars were already left hand drive. The only injury
from the changeover was a boy on a bicycle who broke his leg.
Numerous buses were also stuck in traffic jams.
India
India continued
with the practice of driving on the left hand side of the road
introduced by British before independence. Now all vehicles
are RHD with the government banning all new LHD vehicles in the
country except under special circumstances, such as cars imported
duty free by foreign embassies. Such vehicles are often left hand
drive so that they cannot be registered in India, and are
subsequently resold undercutting the nascent luxury car industry
which is subject to high duty levels.File:Delhi-Gurgaon Airport
Expressway, 2007.jpgFile:MumbaiPuneExpressway.jpg
Indonesia
Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, drives
on the left, despite being a former colony of the Netherlands
, which drives on the right. This originated
from British rule in Indonesia under
Thomas Stamford Raffles between 1811
and 1816.
Even though the country is an archipelago
there are three land borders, those with Malaysia, East
Timor and Papua New Guinea
. All of these countries also drive on the
left, Malaysia as a legacy of British rule, East Timor as a result of previous Indonesian occupation
and Papua New Guinea as a result of Australian rule following World
War I until 1975. However, cars imported from the US are
left hand drive, and trains keep to the right hand side of the
track, as in the Netherlands.
But an exception in Surabaya city, on Praban street (one of
central/main street on Surabaya) the traffic adopt right hand drive
style. It is only street that use the style and cover about 500
metres of the street length. This is because the central street is
quite crowded so while adopt the right hand drive style, it help
the continuous flow of traffic. Especially from Gemblongan street,
vehicles can directly turn righ to Praban street and vehicle from
Blauran street can also turn right directly. There is no problem
for Surabaya citizen to adopt this drive style on Praban street due
there is a separator on the middle of the street. In fact it is
very unique to have only one street which is adopt different style
from ordinary left drive style.
Ireland
Ireland is the next largest European state after the UK to drive on
the left. Visitors to Ireland are very likely to encounter a
warning sign near Irish airports, seaports, major tourist
attractions and outside major urban areas reminding them to drive
on the left (in English, French and German).
The Republic of
Ireland has a land
border with Northern Ireland
, a part of the United Kingdom where driving is on the left, and there is much
traffic between the countries.
In 2008, the leader of
Seanad
Éireann,
Donie Cassidy, said that
Ireland should consider changing to right-hand traffic.
Italy
Which side of the road the
Romans drove
on is disputed. Archaeological evidence in Britain seems to
indicate driving on the left but old Roman roads in Turkey suggest
Romans used the right hand side of the road.
In Italy the practice of traffic driving on the right first
began in the late 1890s, but it was not until the mid 1920s that it
became standard throughout the country. There was a long
period when traffic in the countryside drove on the right while
major cities continued to drive on the left. Rome, for example, did
not change from left to right until 20 October 1924. Milan was the
last Italian city to change to driving on the right (3 August
1926). Cars had remained right-hand drive (RHD) until this time.
Alfa Romeo and
Lancia did not produce LHD cars until as late as 1950
and 1953, respectively.
A few highways have some sections of road where the directions
cross, resulting in traffic driving on the left, such the A6
highway between Savona and Torino (
map), the A20 highway between Messina and
Palermo (
map), and the A19 highway between Palermo and
Catania (
map). However, these are short segments of
motorway, where the different directions do not interact, therefore
vehicles still overtake on the left on these sections.
Furthermore, exceptions to the rule can be necessary in urban
contexts.
For example, the Ponte Palatino bridge in
Rome
is known
to Romans to be "all'inglese" (English-style), because drivers are
required to drive on the left hand side of the bridge. This
situation is analogous to (although obviously reversed from) that
of
Savoy
Court in London.
Japan
Japan is one of
the few countries outside the Commonwealth of Nations to drive on
the left. An informal practice of left-hand passage dates at
least to the
Edo period, when
samurai are said to have passed each other to the
left in order to avoid knocking their longer
katana swords with each other (as swords were always
worn to the left side). During the late 1800s, Japan built its
first railways with British technical assistance, and
double-tracked railways adopted the British practice of running on
the left. Stage Coach Order issued in 1870 and the revision in 1872
said mutually approaching horses had to avoid each other by
shifting to the left. An order issued in 1881 said mutually
approaching horses and vehicles had to avoid each other by shifting
to the left. An order issued in 1885 stated that general horses and
vehicles had to avoid to the left, but they also had to avoid to
the right when they met army troops, until the double standard was
legally resolved in 1924.
After
the defeat of Japan during
World War II, Okinawa was under
control of the United States and made to drive on the
right. Okinawa was returned to Japanese control in 1972 and
changed back to driving on the left six years later, at 06:00 on 30
July 1978, as certain treaties required nations to have one system
throughout their territory. The changeover operation was known as
730 (
Nana-San-Maru).
Okinawa is one of very few places to have changed from right- to
left- traffic in the late
20th
century.
Japan does allow both RHD and LHD vehicles on their roads. In some
cases the same vehicle is available in both LHD and RHD
configurations.
Korea (North and South)
Since
the end of the Second World War,
traffic in both North and South
Korea drive on the right. However this was not
the case for historic Korea. In the 19th century traffic travelled on
the left as the country was under nominal influence of China's Qing
Dynasty
. When Japan annexed
Korea in 1910 it also maintained the left-hand
rule.
On
September 8, 1945, American forces arrived in the southern half of
Korea while at the same time Russian-backed communist forces were
occupying the North. Shortly afterwards the peninsula was
divided along the 38th parallel. Driving on the right was
implemented in both countries as the vehicles (particularly
military) used by the Korean states were either American-made or
Russian-built LHD models.
Malaysia
Malaysia has been driving on the left side of the road since
British colonial times. However, traffic drives on the right
can be found at Damansara-Puchong Expressway in the short tunnel
under the
Kota Damansara flyover and
Sunway
Bridge at Federal Highway Route 1 interchange.
Until it
was pedestrianised, the northern section of Penang Road in George Town, Penang
, now known as Upper Penang Road, had traffic
passing on the right hand side of the road, with a concrete kerb in
the middle. This was to allow clockwise traffic from the
one-way sections of Northam Road and Farquhar Street (at either end
of the road) to pass clockwise through the road without crossing
oncoming traffic.
Malta
Malta was a
British colony from 1800 to 1964, and continues with left-hand
traffic. As a standard on new imported cars, local vehicles
are right hand drive. Since Malta is now a EU member it is now
common to find left hand drive vehicles also (tourists overland or
else second hand imports from other EU countries with LHD
vehicles).
Mongolia
Mongolia
Traditionally in Mongolia, people rode in the
middle of the road, because of the track-like nature of
roads. The same rules, however, do not apply today.
Officially, Mongolia is now a right hand drive country, with
steering wheels mounted on the left hand side of vehicles.
New Zealand
New Zealand drives on the left, mainly due to its being a former
British colony.
At intersections, the general rule for priority in New Zealand is
"Give way to the right, and turning traffic give way to traffic
not turning", but there is an unusual variation compared with
other countries. Traffic turning left, as well as giving way to any
traffic travelling straight into the road they wish to take, must
also give way to right-turning traffic as well. The reason for this
rule is to reduce the likelihood of an impact with the driver's
side of the vehicle (right-hand side).
This rule also used
to apply in the Australian state of Victoria
until the early 1990s.
On the
underground access road to the Manapouri Power Station
vehicles must drive on the right. The
tunnel is one long spiral and drivers don't have much forward
visibility. Initially, tour buses drove on the left, but there were
many collisions, with buses wiping each other's wing mirrors off.
The change to driving on the right made it easier for drivers to
see how close they are to the tunnel wall. The road is, however,
only used by authorized vehicles and is not open to the
public.
Pakistan
Pakistan continued the British practice of driving on
the left hand side of the road after its independence in
1947. Pakistan is the westernmost country in Asia to drive
on the left.
The Khyber Pass
border crossing with Afghanistan is one of the
most well known places where traffic changes sides of the
road.
Philippines
Right-hand traffic was introduced in the Philippines on the last
day of the
Battle of Manila,
10 March 1945, to facilitate the combined Filipino and American
troop movements.
Poland
Poland
was recreated in 1918 as a sovereign republic from
territories former belonging to the Austro-Hungarian, German
and Russian
Empires. In the
former Austrian areas left-hand driving was in force. This was
changed in the 1920s.
In Lwow
(at that
time in Poland) the change-over took place in 1922 and in Kraków
in 1925.
Portugal
Portugal changed from left-hand to right-hand traffic on 1 June
1928.
This change was also implemented in most of
its overseas territories, except Goa
,
Macau and Mozambique, which had land borders with countries that drove
on the left. In East Timor right-hand traffic was introduced in 1928, but
changed back by Indonesia in 1975.
Russian Federation
Driving
on the right was introduced in Russia by the decree of Empress Elisaveta Petrovna on 5 February
1752.
Although
Russia drives on the right, cheaper used cars from Japan are
almost as popular as LHD cars of the same class. Russia is
estimated to have more than 1.5 million RHD vehicles on its roads.
In the
far eastern regions, such as Vladivostok
or Khabarovsk
, RHD vehicles make up to 90% of the
total. This includes not only private cars, but also police
cars, ambulances, and many other municipal and governmental
vehicles.
During spring 2005, the rumour that RHD vehicles would be
completely banned from the roads drove thousands of Russian
protesters to the streets . On 19 May 2005 the Russian Minister of
Industry and Energy
Viktor
Khristenko announced that RHD vehicles would be allowed on the
roads but would have to conform to all Russian traffic safety
requirements.
Many automobile owners blocked the roads
(in Moscow
, Saint Petersburg
, Vladivostok and many other cities), protesting against such
an interdiction. On 19 May 2005 two automobile movements
were born defending the interests of RHD automobile owners.
Samoa
Samoa used to be
a German colony until occupied by New Zealand at the beginning of the First World War. Until September 2009 it
maintained the German practice of driving on the right-hand side of
the road. This practice had been in place for more than a century.
A plan to drive on the left was first announced by the Samoan
government in September 2007 and was confirmed on 18 April 2008
when Samoa's parliament passed the Road Transport Reform Act 2008.
On 24 July 2008 Tuisugaletaua Avea, the Minister of Transport,
announced that the switch would come into effect at 6:00 am on
Monday, 7 September 2009. He also announced that the 7th and 8th
would be public holidays, so that residents were able to
familiarise themselves with the new rules of the road.
Samoa is the first
territory in over 30 years to change which side of the road is
driven on, the most recent to change being Nigeria, Ghana, Yemen
and Okinawa.
A new political party,
The People's
Party, had formed to try to block the change but was
unsuccessful as was the People Against Switching Sides protest
group which launched a last-minute legal challenge against the
decision.
The decision remains controversial, with an
estimated 18,000 people attending demonstrations against it in
Apia
in April
2008 and road signs reminding people of the change having been
vandalised. The motor industry was also opposed to the
decision as 14,000 of Samoa's 18,000 vehicles are designed for
right-hand traffic and the government has refused to meet the cost
of conversion. Bus drivers whose doors are now on the wrong side of
the road threatened to strike in protest at the change.
Prime Minister
Tuilaepa Aiono Sailele
Malielegaoi says the purpose of adopting left-hand traffic is
to allow Samoans to use cheaper right-hand-drive vehicles sourced
from Australia, New Zealand, or Japan, and so that the large number
of Samoans living in New Zealand can drive on the same side of the
road when they visit their country of origin. In order to reduce
accidents, the government has widened roads, added new road
markings, erected signs and installed speed humps. The speed limit
was also reduced and sales of alcohol banned for three days. The
Congregational Christian Church of Samoa has held prayer sessions
for an accident-free changeover and Samoa's Red Cross carried out a
blood donation campaign in case of a surge of accidents.
The change came into force following a radio announcement at 5.50
local time (16.50 GMT) which halted traffic and an announcement at
6.00 local time (17.00 GMT) for traffic to switch from the right to
the left-hand side of the road.
South Yemen
South Yemen, formerly the British
colony of Aden, changed to driving on
the right on 1 January 1977.
North Yemen
already drove on the right.
Singapore
In
Singapore, all traffic drives on the left hand side with drivers on
the right hand side of the vehicle, a legacy of British colonial rule as a crown
colony. This is also adopted in pedestrian traffic,
where people keep left voluntarily, or with the aid of signs in
crowded walkways,
MRTs, stairs, pavements. In
escalators and travellators, users are also encouraged to stand to
the left and let more urgent users pass them on the right side,
like the inside lane-outside lane system on a motorway. Cycling
lanes in parks also practice the keep left rule.
All roads are
designed for driving on the left hand side, except Grange Road
between Orchard
Road
and Somerset Road which is separated by a
refuge island. Certain small roads and car park entrances on
the right side of one way streets have driving on the right
observed, such as Carver Street by North Bridge Road. This is to
prevent the crossing of cars into the opposite lane of these small
roads and interfering with the natural flow of drivers exiting the
small road, if driving on the left was observed on these special
roads.
Spain
Spain has right traffic.
In the capital city, Madrid
, left-hand traffic was, however, in force until
10 April 1924. However,
Madrid Metro trains still run on the left-hand
side on all lines, a legacy of left-hand traffic in the city.
Sudan
After
the Ethiopian change-over from driving on the left to driving on
the right in 1964, Sudan only had short borders with two other countries
driving on the left (Kenya and
Uganda) in the south. In August 1973
Sudan swapped sides to correspond with most other countries of the
Arab world.
Suriname
See
Guyana and Suriname.
Sweden
Sweden had legal
left-hand traffic (Vänstertrafik in Swedish) from approximately 1734, when it
changed back from a short period of right-hand traffic starting in
1718. With or without legal rule, traditionally the left
side was used for carriages.
Finland
, under Swedish rule until 1809, also drove on the
left, and continued to do so as a Russian Grand
Duchy until 1858.
This continued well into the 20th century, despite the fact that
virtually all the cars on the road in Sweden were LHD. (One
argument for this was that it was necessary to keep an eye on the
edge of the road, something that was important on the narrow roads
in use at the time).
Also, Sweden's neighbours Norway
and Finland already drove on the right, leading to confusion at
border crossings.
In 1955 a
referendum was held on
the issue, resulting in an 82.9%-to-15.5% vote against a change to
driving on the right.
Nevertheless, in 1963 the Swedish parliament
passed legislation ordering the switch to
right-hand traffic. The changeover took place at 5am on
Sunday, 3 September 1967, which was known in Swedish as
Dagen H (H-Day), the 'H' being for
Högertrafik or right traffic.
Since Swedish cars were LHD, experts had suggested that changing to
driving on the right would be safer, because drivers would have a
better view of the road ahead. However, the accident rate soon rose
back to its original level. The speed limits were temporarily
lowered.
United Kingdom
The UK has left traffic. Many countries owe the fact that they
drive on the left to British colonial influence.
As a result of
European Union
legislation ensuring the free movement of goods, many British
consumers exercise their right to buy RHD cars from car dealers in
any other EU country, where they are often cheaper, despite
originating from the same factories as UK-sourced cars. Models
obtained from other EU countries often have a lower value upon
resale due to shorter warranty periods and UK dealers refusing to
buy them or accept them in part-exchange.
Although
the United
Kingdom is separated from Continental Europe by the English
Channel
, the level of cross-Channel traffic is very
high; the Channel
Tunnel alone carries 3.5 million vehicles per year
between the UK and France. Most vehicles crossing the English
Channel, whether via the Channel Tunnel or on ferries,
are UK-registered RHD vehicles. Relatively few
drivers from Continental Europe
take their LHD cars to the UK, but large
numbers of British drivers take their RHD cars to Continental
Europe for holidays and even for one-day shopping trips. It
was reported in 2000 that
Eurotunnel
wished to build a second Channel Tunnel because the existing rail
services are expected to outgrow their capacity by 2025. Unlike the
existing rail tunnels, a drive-through road tunnel was planned,
comprising a single bore tunnel containing one carriageway on top
of the other. The current status of this project is unclear.
Today, UK motor vehicles including postal delivery vehicles and
waste collection vehicles
are normally RHD. The main exceptions are service vehicles such as
road sweepers and gritters where view of the
kerb is more important than of the centre line.
These are generally LHD, although some have controls on both
sides.
In cities with heavy
tourism, LHD coaches
can cause problems as their passengers get off the vehicle into the
path of
traffic, rather than on a
pavement. Some fleet operators who regularly tour
from Continental Europe to the UK use coaches with doors on both
sides. Conversely, some
double-decker
buses exported to LHD countries for tourist purposes are
converted to have their doors on the other side.
For a variety of reasons, Continental European LHD
heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) have become
common on the UK's roads, particularly on major routes radiating
from ports and the Channel tunnel. An issue arising from this
concerns the safety of large LHD vehicles, with blind-spots arising
from the LHD and the probable inexperience of drivers with these
problems
Exceptions to the rule
There are some locations in the UK where road routing and layout
causes traffic to approximate or mimic right-hand traffic patterns
and practice.
The most notable is Savoy Court outside the Savoy Hotel
. Another example is the short links
between the two carriageways of Russell Lane in Whetstone.
It is also permissible to drive in any lane on a one-way street.
The
Highway Code usually says 'keep to
the left' and this is the norm on motorways and other fast roads,
i.e. use the leftmost lane available. But on small roads in towns
and cities it is common for one-way streets to split direction at
some point, so drivers choose the most appropriate lane, and are
encouraged to do so with lane markings, signage, and so on.
During
the Lockerbie bomb trial of
2000–02, Camp Zeist in
the Netherlands was decreed to be British territory subject to Scots
law. However,
Dumfries
and Galloway Police, who were responsible for policing traffic
movements within the compound, effected a clause which required
drivers to comply with the
Continental European practice of driving
on the right.
Traffic
drives on the left in the service tunnel of the Channel
Tunnel, part of which is in France. This is
not, however, a public highway.
Military fleets and bases
On some
British Army training
locations, where the army once trained for conflict in Eastern
Europe during the
Cold War, traffic is
meant to travel on the right. Most military bases in the UK,
though, have the normal rule of driving on the left.
Vehicles
within United States
visiting forces bases in the United Kingdom drive on the left, even though the United States
does not provide right-hand drive vehicles for its green fleet. However, its
white fleet does have some right-hand drive
vehicles for elements such as Non-Appropriated Fund activities and
UK-only specialist vehicles. Most
white
fleet vehicles (known as "GSA" or "TMP" vehicles) are shipped
over from the United States and are LHD. This is unlike British
practice in Germany, where even UK
green
fleet vehicles for
British
Forces Germany have been left-hand drive.
During World War II, American truck makers
Ford,
Chevrolet, and
Dodge built '
Canadian Military Pattern
truck' [CMP] for use throughout the British Empire and most
were right-hand drive to use in left-traffic countries.
On the
Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia
, traffic drives on the right due to the large
US military presence there even though it is part of the British
Indian Ocean Territory
.
United States
The U.S. drives on the right, in LHD (left-hand-drive)
vehicles.
The
first keep-right law in the United States, passed in 1792, applied
to the Philadelphia and Lancaster
Turnpike
, between Lancaster and Philadelphia. New
York (in 1804) and New Jersey (in 1813) also enacted keep-right
rules.
Early American motor vehicles were produced in RHD, following the
practice established by horse-drawn buggies. This changed in the
early years of the 20th century:
Ford changed
to LHD production in 1908 with the
Model T,
and
Cadillac in 1916.
Today, U.S. motor vehicles are normally LHD. Common exceptions
include garbage trucks and parking enforcement vehicles. Imported
RHD cars are also found on the road in the United States, mostly
Tuner Cars,
classic, or other collectors' items. Also a
large number of vehicles used for rural mail delivery are RHD, thus
enabling the driver to access roadside mail receptacles without
leaving the vehicle.
American motorists nearly always drive on the right and overtake
(pass) on the left, but are sometimes permitted to
overtake on the right on multi-
lane highways, one-way
streets, or when passing other vehicles preparing to turn left. The
laws vary from state to state.
The
United
States Virgin Islands is the only entire U.S. territory with
left-hand traffic, which was inherited at the time the U.S. took
over the Danish West Indies. Although Denmark drove and drives on the right, the majority of the
population of the islands was of British descent, and this may be
the reason for the traffic rules. Some limited-access
freeways in the US have small sections of
road where the directions cross, resulting in traffic driving on
the left.
Examples include the Golden State Freeway (I-5) in southern California during the descent/ascent of
the Castaic
Grade, several miles of Interstate 85 in Davidson
County
, North Carolina
( map),a very brief section of Interstate 275 in St.
Petersburg
, Florida
( map),the I-8 Freeway
east of Yuma,
AZ
( map)state
route 87 in Maricopa County,
Arizona through Rincon Pass ( map) and small parts of approaches to Interstate 64 running through Chesapeake
, Virginia
as part of the Hampton Roads Beltway. Diverging Diamond Interchanges
are another example. Because of the limited-access restrictions the
left-hand/right-hand orientation of the oncoming traffic is of no
consequence to the driver.
Traffic at Phoenix's Sky Harbor airport also drives on the left
around most of terminal 2 (
map).
Two
blocks of Bainbridge Street in Philadelphia
are divided with traffic driving on the left
due to flows from nearby streets and the one-way nature of the
street on undivided blocks.
Some parking garages on the left-hand side of one-way streets have
left-hand traffic in the driveway, as described above under
Croatia.
Uruguay
Uruguay had a law in place since 1918 requiring all vehicles or
carriages to drive on the left, but as in many other countries in
South America, this was changed in 1945, exactly at 4:00am on
Sunday September 2. A speed limit of 30 km/h was observed
until September 30 so as to avoid major collisions and help ease
the public into the new system.
Vanuatu
Vanuatu
, formerly the New Hebrides
, was a British-French Condominium for much of the
20th century, with two parallelgovernmental systems (British
and French). This caused confusion on Vanuatu's roads, as British
subjects drove on the left side of the road, while French citizens
drove on the right side of the road. Unable to decide which system
would prevail over the whole territory, authorities decided on an
arbitrary plan whereby the side of the road on which the territory
would drive would be decided by whichever side of the road the next
horse and buggy getting off a ship drove on. The next person off
the ship happened to be a French priest, and it was agreed to drive
on the right. This explanation may be apocryphal.
Trains
Trains may or may not adhere to the same directionality as cars. In
France, for instance, cars keep to the right, but the first train
lines were built by British
engineers, so kept to the left.
The Paris RER
trains
keep left, but have to operate on separate tracks within the
Paris Metro area which was designed to
run on the right. Another anomaly occurs in the Alsace
-Moselle
region, where trains keep to the right because
the lines were built in the late 19th century when Alsace-Moselle
was part of Germany. Bridges at the former border allow the
trains to swap sides. High-speed TGV trains, however, operate on
dedicated lines which were built more recently, but they keep left
because they interface with older lines.
Madrid Metro trains, as well as Rome Metro (but
not Milan) also operate to the left.Through specific stations of
the
London Underground's Victoria,
Northern and
Central Lines, trains run on the right.
On
Victoria Line it makes passenger interchange easier at Euston
and Kings Cross stations. This does not
confuse drivers, since the two lines are in separate tunnels.
However,
White
City
on the Central Line is above ground. In
the United States, the former
Chicago &
North Western railroad ran on the left because when the
C&NW built their depots, they were on the left hand side when
headed into Chicago. Later a second track was built outside the
first one, but because commuters headed into Chicago made more use
of a depot building than on their return journey, the railroad ran
its trains on the left. However, when it was bought by the
Union Pacific in 1995, some of these
lines were switched.
In the case of the North Line tracks
between downtown Chicago and Kenosha
, trains still operate left-handed.
In India trains generally run on the left hand side. In electric
locomotives the driver seats on left, and in diesel locomotives
seats are on both sides and the driver may use whichever is most
suitable.
Exceptions to the general of left or right hand traffic are much
more common for trains than for cars. Initially most steam engines
were RHD, with the engineer sitting on the right and the fireman on
the left. This was customary in the UK and it spread to the USA and
elsewhere in the world. RHD was never converted to LHD even if the
trains switched to right-hand running. RHD remains the customary
way for operating trains, with the driver on the right and the
assistant on the left. Some railways, particularly, the
London Underground, switched to LHD with
left-hand running. Left Hand Drive with left hand running also
became common on UK mainline railways, with the
Great Western Railway being the only
of the "big four" to keep the driver on the right. To ease
visibility, GWR signals were also occasionally placed on the
right-hand side of the tracks, even though this meant that they
were between the running lines, and a few examples of this have
managed to survive.Nowadays all British trains (except a few
preserved locomotives and a number of narrow-gauge railways) have
the driver on the left side of the train, and the signals are also
on the left-hand side of the track.
In the following countries trains generally keep to the right:
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- Croatia
- Czech Republic (except Břeclav–Bohumín line)
- Denmark
- Estonia
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Indonesia
- Latvia
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Philippines
- Poland
- Romania (most double track lines are optimized for
bi-directional traffic on either side)
- Russia (except between Moscow and Ryazan
)
- Slovakia
- Spain (approximately 80% of the network drives on the right.
El Sentido de la circulación de los trenes en la vía
doble - This percentage is likely to increase as all planned
new high speed lines will drive on the right)
- Taiwan (MRT–Mass Rapid Transit)
- Ukraine
- USA (except trains operating on the former Chicago &
Northwestern right-of-way)
In the following countries trains generally keep to left:
- Argentina
- Australia (In Victoria some lines have been set up for
bi-directional running, so it is possible for trains to use right
hand track instead of the standard left hand track. Locomotives are
still driven on the right.)
- Bangladesh
- Belgium
- Brazil
- China
- Chile
- France (except trains in Alsace and the Moselle part of the
Lorraine region; also except for metro systems other than the one
in Lyon)
- Hong Kong (except MTR Ma On Shan
Line)
- India
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy (except Milan Metro)
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
- New Zealand
- Pakistan
- Portugal
- Singapore
- Slovenia (the Zidani Most
–Dobova line keeps to the
right)
- South Africa
- Spain (approximately 20% of the network drives on the left. -
This includes Madrid and Bilbao Metros and routes between Madrid
and the north of Spain, originally operated by the Compañía de
Caminos de Hierro del Norte.)
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan (TRA-Taiwan Railway
Administration)
- UK
- Zimbabwe (mostly single track)
There is potential safety benefit for the train driver to sit on
the
nearside, farthest away from a
collision with whatever might protrude from an oncoming train on
the opposite track, such as an open cargo door. The driver's
placement on the nearside can facilitate his or her view rearward
of station platforms either directly or using mirrors, and of signs
and signals usually placed on the outside of double tracks—on the
right for right-hand traffic and on the left for left-hand traffic.
If 'train orders' or 'tokens' (permission to continue) need to be
handed up to the driver while the locomotive is in motion, he or
she is best able to receive them from the nearside.
Unlike the road, it is possible for trains safely to run on the
"wrong" side if bi-directional signalling is in place. This is
generally not done, as junctions and other infrastructure are
usually optimised for running in one direction.
Generally, the left/right principle in a country is followed mostly
on double track. On single track, when trains meet, the train that
shall not stop often uses the straight path in the switch point,
which can be left or right. If the meeting place contains a
passenger station, it is possible that the left/right rule is
followed, for passenger predictability.
Vessels and aircraft
Generally, all water traffic keeps to the right, under the
International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea.
This is historically because, before the use of a
rudder, the boat was steered by a
steering oar, which was located on the
right-hand side, also called
starboard side of the boat,
because the helmsman, standing in the middle of the boat and
looking ahead, used his right hand to operate it. Traditionally,
boats would also moor with the left hand side to the quay to
prevent damage to the steering oar, and this was referred to as
larboard (loading side), later replaced by
port
to prevent confusion from the similar sounding words. By keeping to
the right, boats pass "
port-to-port", protecting the steering
oar.When modern style rudders fixed to the stern were developed,
the helmsman was moved amidships (on the centreline), and when
steering wheels replaced tillers this generally remained the same.
Many motor yachts and other small craft are RHD, but some boats,
typically smaller pleasure craft and wooden speedboats are built
LHD, to give a better view of approaching and passing
traffic.
However, there are many exceptions, often indicated on the
particular bridge itself.
The rule of the road at sea is that powered vessels give way to
sailing vessels; but as between two powered vessels, if they are
crossing the rule is to give way to the starboard, while if they
are head on each must navigate to starboard so as to pass
port-to-port.
q.v. The upshot is that the vessel attempting to "pass on the
wrong side" must give way.
For aircraft and vessels, the U.S.
Federal Aviation Regulations
provide for passing on the right, both in the air, and on
water.
See also
References
- US Patent 6,276,476
- Australian Drivers Training Association
- (requires subscription)
- Samoans now drive on left side of the road,
Seattle Times
- Kincaid, pp. 14, 99–100
- The Age: Samoa road switch protest
- Salon News: Whose side of the road are you
on?
- BBC News: Samoan cars ready to switch sides
- '82 Falklands Conflict Left a Legacy of Tragedy, Hope,
Los
Angeles Times, April 1, 2002
- Chaurasia BD, Mathur BB. "Eyedness." Acta Anat
(Basel). 1976;96(2):301-5.PMID 970109.
- Reiss MR. "Ocular dominance: some family data."
Laterality. 1997;2(1):7-16. PMID 15513049.
- Ehrenstein WH, Arnold-Schulz-Gahmen BE, Jaschinski W. "Eye
preference within the context of binocular functions." Graefes
Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2005 Sep;243(9):926-32. Epub 2005
Apr 19. PMID 15838666.
- Foerch C, Steinmetz H. (2009). Left-sided traffic
directionality may be the safer "rule of the road" for ageing
populations. Med Hypotheses. 73(1):20-3. PMID 19327893
- Horse riders mounting from the left can apparently be traced to
medieval knights, who mounted from the left side so that their
scabbard would not be in the way. The scabbard was on their left
hip because most men are right-handed; the sword would be drawn by
the right hand across their body.
- The Straight Dope: "Why do the British Drive on the Left?"
November 11, 1988.
- Section 78
- Left-hand drive car imports allowed by Govt-India
Business-Business-The Times of India
- Strassenbau und Strassenverkehrstechnik 25/1963
- , New
York Times, 07 Dec 1970, p.6
- A triumph for left over right Winnipeg Free
Press, August 30, 2009
- Google Maps
- Frank and Joan's Adventures in Northern Cyprus,
2006-12-9. Retrieved 2008-3-19.
- Takutu bridge opens to traffic
- http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/21839270.jpg
- http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/21825479.jpg
- Hong Kong 2006 - Transport – Cross-Boundary
Traffic
- Iceland Review Online - Ask Eygló: Q&A, FAQ
about Iceland
- (New
York Times, 28 May 1968, p. 94)
- Ireland debates switch to right-hand driving |
Oddly Enough | Reuters
- RTÉ News, 7 February 2008
- " Sight for sure eyes", Honest John's Agony
Column, The Daily Telegraph, 28 March
2008
- Satellite imagery shows this very clearly
- Traffic and transportation conditions
1868～1891 JETRO (Japanese)
- Andrew H. Malcolm, " U-Turn for Okinawa: From Right-Hand Driving to
Left; Extra Policemen Assigned" The New York Times,
July 5, 1978, Page A2.
- Verbal information from manager operating the power plant.
- (in Russian)
- Right-to-left driving switch upsets Samoans,
Radio
Australia, August 12, 2008
- Samoa Observer: Road switch chaos predicted,
Samoa Observer March 26, 2009
- Historia de la Policia Municipal
- Switch to the Right TIME 15 September 1967
- Which side of the road do they drive on?
- FAR Sec. 91.113(e): "When aircraft are
approaching each other head-on, or nearly so, each pilot of an
aircraft shall alter course to the right."
- FAR Sec. 91.115(c): "When aircraft, or an
aircraft and a vessel, are approaching head-on, or nearly so, each
shall alter its course to the right to keep well clear."
External links
between Thailand and Laos, on Lao side
–
, between Thailand and Laos, on Thai side
–
between Hong Kong and mainland China
–
between Guyana
between Macau and mainland China –
Wikis
Quiz
Facts
Map
Search
