The 'rule of the road' in mainland Europe and the majority of countries in the world, including the United States is `to drive on the right'

In the United Kingdom and some of her former dominions; Australia, New Zealand, Kenya, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe; some Caribbean Islands including Barbados and St. Lucia; India and Pakistan; the Mediterranean island of Malta, where they are very happy to tell you that they drive in the shade , the rule of the road remains to drive on the left. This also applies in Japan and Thailand.

The origin of the rule of the road dates back to how people travelled in violent feudal societies. As most people are right handed it made sense to carry any protective weapon in this hand. When passing a stranger on the road, it would be safer to walk on the left, so ensuring that your weapon was between yourself and a possible opponent. Jousting knights would hold their lances in their right hand, therefore passing on each others' left.

Revolutionary France was to overturn this historic practice, as part of its social rethink. Their military general and self proclaimed Emperor, Napoleon Bonaparte was left handed, therefore his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and the advancing enemy. From this time any part of the world that was colonised by the French would travel on the right, the rest would remain travelling on the left.

Although America was originally a British colony, the French colonised the southern states such as Louisiana and the Canadian East coast including Quebec. The Dutch colonised New York (New Amsterdam), the Spanish and Portuguese colonised the Southern Americans and much of the south west parts of North America.

The British were in the minority when it came to shaping the traffic system. The new independent American republic adopted the drive on the right system, being anxious to cast away any remaining links with its British colonial past.

American motorcars were designed to be driven on the right by locating the drivers' controls on the vehicle's left side. With the mass production of reliable and economical motorcars from the United States, initial exports used the same design, so out of necessity other countries changed their rule of the road.

The last European country to convert to driving on the right was Sweden in 1967. While everyone was getting used to the new system, they paid more attention and took more care, resulting in a reduction of the number of road accident casualties.


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