American Couple Reacts: Why Does the UK & Other European Countries Drive on the Left? 

Do you know the real reason? We certainly didn't know why! Watch along with us as we look at the fascinating history behind different contributing factors. What do you think the answer is? Do you think all countries should drive on the same side? Have you driven on both? Please let us know what your thoughts are in the comments. Thank you SO much for watching! If you enjoy our content, please consider subscribing to our channel, it is the BEST way to support our channel and it's FREE! Also, please click the Like button. Thank you for your support!

In Cornwall, UK, we mostly drive in the middle of the road to avoid potholes, free-roaming sheep, cattle and ponies, and catching wing mirrors on Cornish hedges - our roads are narrow with a few passing bays. 😊

It's because most people are right-handed and when you're on a horse, it's better for wielding weapons and things. Also, it's why the steps in a castle tower go in a clockwise direction

I have lived in the UK since birth and so learned to drive on the left. I have travelled by car in Europe extensively and have no trouble at all in driving on the right and can switch between left and right seamlessly.

In Australia it is because we are mainly right handed and we carry our boomerang on our left hip and use our right hand to reach across and grab it with our right hand to deal with any attackers

Strangely enough, this changes when on water. On the rivers and canals in the UK, boats stay to the right.

A funny story around the day Sweden switched over. Apparently loads of people stayed at home that night not wanting to get caught out, I believe the weather wasn't great either. That night on the TV was a talent and the winner was a young woman called Anni-Frid Lyngstad. Because so many more Swedes watched the programme than would normally have she became quite a star and gained a recording contract. She later went on to super stardom as 1 A of ABBA.

I’m English and moved to the States in 1973. I Learned to drive in the USA and it was a weird sensation…but even worse when I returned home 13 years later and took my test at home and then drove on the Left. It was quite disconcerting on lonely country roads at nighttime and I often felt freaked out that I was going to have a head on crash because it felt so wrong!

Everyone used to drive on the left going right back to Roman times. Then after the French Revolution the French decided to change how many thing were done in France, including which side of the road to drive. This gradually caused all their neighbours to switch too. Partly enforced by Napoleon, later for safety reasons, especially once cars were introduced. Sweden held out until 1967 before switching. Around 30% of countries (35% of the world's population) continue to drive on the left.

When I moved to Poland from the UK I took my right hand drive car with me as well as my left hand drive mini bus, adapting to driving on the right was a lot easier in the bus, driving on the right in my car was often hillarious though because my dog liked to sit upright in the passenger seat, seeing the expressions on the faces of passing motorists when they thought that she was driving was priceless 🤣

I prefer driving on the left because it just makes sense. Most people are right handed , which means the strong hand stays on the steering wheel when changing gears in a manual or shifting down in an automatic. Of course I live in Australia and I have only ever driven in countries that drive on the left. The right side of the road is the wrong side for me. Cheers.

Really glad to see that you've discovered Alanna and 'Adventures & Naps'. I've been a Patreon member of hers for a number of years now and the diverse range of quality videos she puts out on a whole range of topics is really impressive....don't worry, so are yours!!

I'm from the UK and tried driving on the right here. I was amazed at how many motorists got angry at me. I blamed it on watching American TV shows...............😜

My first visit to the USA I drove on the right straight off the flight from the UK. Found it easy since you just remember that the driver of the car is the one closest to the centre line of the road. Easy peasy.

Other European countries drive on the right. I have heard that it goes back to the days of horse and carriage. In England with narrow country lanes the driver sat on the right so when passing another carriage it was easier to judge the distance between you and an oncoming carriage if the driver drove to the left. In the USA and other countries with wider open space they drove longer distances and when they came to town they drove on the right so the driver could step down onto the sidewalk and avoid getting off in the muddy street. Check every western and see what side the driver of a carriage or stage coach sits on. That's right, the right hand side! When the first cars were made in the USA some were right hand drive, some left hand drive, and some with a central driving position. When Henry Ford set up mass production he decided on the left and so it stuck.

I am British and learned to drive in the UK, but now live in Spain. You get used to being able to drive on both sides of the road but you can lapse into forgetting where you are. I once picked my son up, in the UK, drove away only for him to say “We drive on the left here, Dad”.

I'm old enough to remember when we switched to right-lane traffic in Sweden. can't remember the time but all the cars stopped at like 11:55 on the left side and when it was 12:00 they turned over to the right side.

Interestingly she didn’t mention Japan - definitely never a British possession, but always drove in the left.

Here's an interesting fact. Parts of Spain also used to drive on the left. When the first section of the Madrid Metro opened in 1919 the trains had left hand running, unlike the rest of Spanish railways that have right hand running, because they copied the road traffic in the streets above which ran at that time on the left. Although Spain has long since switched to driving on the right the Madrid Metro stuck with left hand running even though over the years it has increased in size to the massive underground railway system it is today.

She’s right that at one time half of Europe drove the same as us. Sweden and Iceland being the latest countries to change over in the 1960s. The reason former Dutch colony Indonesia drives on the left is because the Netherlands used to, the same with Macao being a former Portuguese colony.

Burma drove on the left until 1970, when either President Ne Win had a dream that they should change sides or his wife's astrologer advised it. Whichever, he immediately ordered the switch with zero preparation, causing problems which exist to this day. Most cars still have the steering wheel on the right, and many road signs, traffic lights, bus stops etc. are incorrectly positioned.

Being on the left also means that your dominant eye (usually the right eye for 80% of people) is nearer the centre of the road, making judging passing distances more accurate,

It's pretty clear that loads of countries changed from left to right as Napoleon's armies took over. I was always told (with no source) that right hand driving was introduced in republican France before Napoleon took over. Incidentally in Sweden before the switch Swedish cars had the driver's seat on the left which made the swap a lot easier than it would be in England

If memory serves me, Argentinas trains operate on the left as British companies played a big part in setting up the countries rail system in the late 1800s. Their cars also used to drive on left due to this but was changed around WW2 to drive on the right

In the UK, we just drive on what's left of the road( there are so many potholes). I've driven in France and, apart from one mistake in a small village, found it easy to drive on the opposite side of the road.

I'm from Scotland. I now live in England so have always driven on the left. I have driven in the USA and in Europe. Switching sides was a little strange at first, but I was surprised how quickly I adapted. I imagined it would be harder than it actually was. Going through junctions/roundabouts when driving on the right definitely took more concentration but after a couple of times it was fine 😁xx

I'm from Australia and the first time I jumped into a car in Europe, it really felt weird and the wife needed to remind me ever few minutes that I was drifting to the left. The first day was definitely "exciting", especially since we were in the middle of Catania in Sicily (not recommended for a newbie given Italian traffic, Italian drivers and the narrow streets). By the end of the first day I was only moderately dangerous on the road and within a few days it almost felt normal, but I still needed to concentrate at intersections and roundabouts. I've now clocked up many months of driving in Europe over several years and in fact I'm currently in northern Norway (yes ladies, I still watch your videos, even when on holiday overseas!). Jumped straight into the car when I arrived and it felt pretty normal. So it really doesn't take that long to get used to changing sides.

I was quite surprised when you said that US Mail delivery vehicles have the driving position on the right, even though they also drive on the right. But then I realised that it all makes sense: they need to have immediate access to the kerb (US:curb?) so having a driving position on the right is practical. In the days of milk deliveries in the UK (still there but disappearing as we speak,) the milk floats drove (drive!) on the left hand side of the street, but still had (have!) the steering position on the left.

When I lived in New Zealand I found it very easy to change to driving on the left side but coming home to Sweden and having to start to drive on the right again was tricky, so don't be afraid off left side drivning😊. Wouldn't mind switching to left side driving.

In Australia, We drive on the left for one reason and one reason only: Britain told us to. No, really. As a British colony up until we became a federation in 1901, Australia readily adopted left-hand traffic, no doubt because it made both cultural and economic sense to do so.

The simple reason is that we're Brits, we just like to be different😅😅

11:40 Self sourcing Napoleon pastry followed by a beef with Wellington! I thank you. I'm here all week! 🙃

A factor for Britain is that it is an island, which means it has no land borders with countries where people drive on the right. Therefore there are no complicated land crossing points where both streams of traffic have to be switched from one side of the road to the other. Vehicles either arrive by 'roll on roll off' ferries and are directed to the left, or via the Eurotunnel on a train where, again, they are directed to the left, on embarkation.

And a gentleman walked on the outside next to the road to protect his lady from mud splashes with his body and defend her from ne'er do wells with his sword. {:o:O:}

Really interesting video I didn’t know any of that. People probably wouldn’t like to change now. Love ya both ❤️❤️

It is for a similar reason that 99% of English spiral staircases ( predominately in castles and church towers ) rotate clockwise, when viewed from above, so that you can draw your sword with your right hand to defend yourself much better when enemies are coming up :)

Off the top of my head (without completing the watch), it relates to where the driver of a horse and cart would be seated. Reins men generally sat of the right, and the driver sits next to the middle of the road. In the early days, the US kept to the left, but mysteriously switched to the right (I read this somewhere). The British Empire imposed the left on its territories, for the most part, and Japan copied Britain. When they chose the left they were copying everything British, the Royal Navy being most significant. Little known fact: recently Samoa switched to the left. The former German colony used to drive on the right, but they found that by driving on the left they could easily import RHD cars from Japan, hence the switch. Another little known fact: the only part of New Zealand that drives on the right is in Antarctica, as the nearby US base at McMurdo Station drives on the right and Americans are incapable of switching to the left when they enter NZ's Scott Base.

There’s a very interesting vid about Sweden - they swapped to the right literally overnight in the 60’s, and the most significant downside was that they had to sell off all their old buses to avoid passengers leaving via doors that now faced out into the traffic

Really interesting video. I have driven on both sides of the road and find the switch quite easy. Its easier if you have a car that has the steering wheel on the side of the car that the country you are in normally does. Its more challenging when you drive a car with the steering wheel on the opposite side.

In London in the early 1800's had a chaotic mess with people with horses and carts, taxis all tried to go down the city streets without a system it would have ground to a halt and then they decided to bring left hand drive..

I owned for a couple of years a car with the steering wheel on the rignt side, so when I came to Britain and should drive there it wasn't that hard. It took about three days, but in the beginning it was rather adventurous. An experience that has served me well for a long time afterwards.

I have heard that, if faced with a possible collision ahead, your brain tends to want to pull you to the left to avoid a crash. So if you are driving on the left, you would pull off of the road. If you are driving on the right, then pulling to the left would take you into the on-coming traffic. If that is true, driving on the left would seem to be safer.

I suspect the reason in the late 60's the UK looked at changing over was in part because we were attempting to join the EEC, the forerunner to the EU. The cost proved to be prohibitive. Just like the cost of changing our road signs over to Metric Kilometers. Despite formally adopting the Metric System, or SI, our roads are still measured in miles and speeds in miles per hour.

I am British, i dont drive. But yes I can see why we do drive on the left. As yes lots of people are right handed

Driving on either side of the road is, and should not be, a problem for any drivers. I am from the UK and learned to drive a manual car but now prefer an automatic and have driven my own vehicle in some European countries as well as driving left hand drive vehicles in Europe, the USA and lately the Philippines. Driving in the Philippines would give a lot of drivers a heart attack with people in vehicles, trikes, scooters overtaking anywhere and pulling out of side roads in front of you .. but you just have to be aware of everything around you and be patient with others.

Unlike most Americans think, the model T was not the first car to be produced. Cars had been produced in Europe and even in the USA. The model T was the first car car to be mass-produced.

The advice I got given to adapt was keep your passenger near the side of the road. That really helped me transition, of course this only works when driving a car suitable for that country

Same as castles always have the spiral staircases that go clockwise when going upwards, it makes the right handed use of a weapon easier for the defender who would usually be facing downwards.

The only exception is Gibraltar which despite being a British overseas territory drives on the right because it shares a land border with Spain.

Canadian here (right side driving) but I lived in New Zealand for two years (left side driving). I didn't have any issues with driving because I would be paying attention. The two scenarios where I did have issues were as a passenger (not paying attention, and get startled when the driver turns into the 'wrong' lane). Other is as a pedestrian. I spent my whole life looking to the left as I stepped off the curb (or kerb as they say in NZ). In NZ that's a good way to get hit by a car from my right. Also, I did read something about Halifax (in Canada) used to drive on the left (oddly enough on a 'fun historic facts' poster in a pedway crossing over Barrington Street, downtown).

It goes back to the Knights on horses in UK - the weapon (the lance) was usually held in the right hand.

As Jersey is a British island we drive on the left. Being that the island is only 15 miles off the coast of France and is only an hour's ferry ride to France I have often taken a car across to France. I would say the first time I drove in France it took me about 30 minutes to get used to driving on the right and this is with a car that has its steering wheel on the right side of the car.

The one country that switched and did it very poorly was Myanmar in 1970. The dictator made the announcement suddenly without warning based on an astrology reading and bad luck and gave no time for the public or infrastructure to adapt. And coupled with poverty, people couldn't update their vehicles, including buses for decades. Bus passengers were entering and exiting buses in the middle of the road instead of the sidewalk.

As a brit, I have driven in many countries around the world, including the USA, and have no difficulty in driving on the left or the right, I also have no difficulty in driving left or right hand drive vehicles. Maybe I'm just lucky I guess.

Great video ladies. I didn't know any of this

Great video loved it and love this channel

I can't imagine driving anywhere but on the left. It would be weird driving on the wrong side of the road.

I'm from the UK and my first experience driving on the 'wrong side' was in Lanzarote. It took some getting used to, I would try to put the handbrake on but would find a door in the way. But the actual driving on the right I got used to quite quickly which surprised me. Also the roads that I was on were quite quiet, not much traffic which I think helped at least to begin with.

The big question really is how easy is it to drive a car with the steering wheel and the peddles moved to the other side in the car. If you take your own car with you to a country with the cars driving on the other side your driving position will mean you are near the curb and not the centre of the road. This means you can’t see what is coming when you are behind the traffic in the now your lane!!!! As a British veteran I drove a lot in Germany I had to get used to that little blip in driving perception because I wasn’t going to buy a car just Germany so I had to drive my own can which had the steering on the right, figure that one out?

We drive on the left hand side because that's the right side to be on 😊

I’ve driven in the USA, doesn’t take long to adapt to the other side of the road, frankly I was more scared of the cops over there lol.

I visited Myanmar just before Covid. It's formerly British but became independent after the war. I was not surprised to get in my taxi and see the steering wheel on the right. But they drive on the right too, which produces an enormous blind spot when overtaking. The reason the steering wheels are on the right is that nearly every car was second-hand and imported from Japan.

Sweden here 😉 I took my drivers license before the change. A few minor mistakes from most drivers I suppose, myself included. We had quite harsh speed limits in force for a couple of days. They were soon raised in steps as it was noticed that accidents actually started to come down from a relatively high level. Worth noticing is that we never changed to right hand drive cars which made overtaking a major risk as the roads were still quite narrow and winding left right up and down through the landscape. That was crazy! But, I'm happy now 😉👍 I've been driving quite a lot in England and it takes a few days to get used to it but no big problem. A right hand drive car certainly helps a lot since you will have a disadvantage sitting to the left, especially in roundabouts and crossings in general.

If you want a consistent description of sidedness of road and vehicle controls... use nearside and offside - the same descriptions then work mirrored for both left and right hand lane systems, and when the vehicle is backwards. So the US Postal trucks are driven with other traffic, but from a nearside driver's seat, so they can more easily embark and disembark without needing to negotiate traffic.

Great video, very interesting, I have driven both sides and found it quite easy in cars designed in the country I am driving in, harder to take a british car to drive abroad, took much more concentration and confusion for me.

Historically when getting married the man stands on the right again with the reason being so his sword can still be drawn if needed by his right hand. To acclimatise it depends which car you are driving - When renting a car in Europe it takes me about half an hour to an hour as I am sat on the left hand side of the car - so when changing gear I go for the wrong side- and judging where the width and distance of the car. I also put a post it on my steering wheel for roundabouts so I remember which lane and which way round to go. When taking my own car (right hand drive) into Europe you don't have time to acclimatise - it is either driven onto a ferry in the UK (usually Dover (there is an overnight one from Hull)) the crossing is less than 2 hours - then you are driving on the right as soon as you leave the port. Even more quickly is using the Eurotunnel - drive the car onto a train just outside Dover and are in Calais (just outside) in around 25 minutes - again straight away on the right hand side - you have to make sure that mirrors are set up okay - change to kmh (if digital speedos) . Usually a good idea to have a driver as a passenger to help with overtaking and changing lanes on the motorways. I've done left, right, left (UK, France, Belgium, France, UK ) in one day = as have many others. In the UK we used to drive on the left of the road - now we drive on what's left of the road. Gibraltar (British colony) used to drive on the left - and had a sort of crossover on their land border with Spain - due to it's small size they changed to driving on the right to get rid of the crossover and the amount of driving into Spain would make more sense

It's all down to the government of the country I am in England so drive on the left,when we go into Europe we drive on the right, first ten minutes can be a little difficult but all is fine thereafter. Napoleon changed so much in such a short time in power that still lasts to this day. Interesting subject, thanks for posting ladies.

Very interesting presentation. I was typing the comments at the end of this comment during the presentation, there might me some additional facts here. My interest is due to a long interest in the motor industry. In answer to your question at the end; as a Brit, the UK did not change due to the shear cost. The difference in driving side is why the channel tunnel is rail only to ensure that people had to stop driving before changing side. As a Brit who lives in FRance I have driven LH & RH drive vehicles in both countrie, the most difficult situation is when, after driving a vehicle with the "wrong" side controls you return to the country where the controls are correct. I once drove for 4 miles on the wrong side of a winding road in the UK with my family on board only realising my error when arriving at a main road and finding all the signage to be "wrong"!! The other problem is after performing a 'U' turn, it is easy to just continue on what now seems to be the correct side. It would be more interesting to know why the USA drives on the right, was it because the US decided to use English as the official language and as a sop to the powerful German community it was agreed to drive on the right ? Most of Europe drove on the left until the 1930s, Germany being an exception (note that Napoleon did not sucessfully invade Germany and that, to my knowledge, the Prussians drove on the right) Hitler then enforced RH driving on Austria & Norway after invesions, Norway simply continuing the practice after the war. In the ealy days of motor manufacture in France, the cars whilst driving on the right (reason not clearly established, thought to be Napoleon) the cars had their steering wheels on the right in line with carriage driving where, even today, all horse drawn vehicles have the postillion sitting on the right (even in the USA), the whip-hand being the right one and storage of the whip was, and still is on the right. Sweden changed from driving on the left to the right in 1967 due to a high proportion of road accidents occuring on the land border with Norway. all vehicles had to be converted at a cost to the taxpayers; This chage has resulted in the practicality of a bridge link to Denmark. Africa is complex as the driving side is largely a function of the colonial power. The country that intruiges me and for which I have not found the answer is China, is it because the communist party wished to emulate the USSR. Which side did they drive on before 1948? Note that French surface railways still drive on the left whilst the metro drives on the right. Similarly in Belgium as the British rebuilt the rail network after the war starting from the French border. The trains switch from LH to RH driving at the first dutch station where the overhead electrical system also changes (this does nor apply to the TGV that simply swith sides close to the border.

The medieval period is responsible for the left hand riding, driving, and fighting, emphasis on the latter. The crusades taught knights how handicapped they were invading the enemy castles. All future attempts were made by left handed swordsmen once the outer defences were breached. That idea was later incorporated by the Normans and used here in England. I love history' Thanks ladies good show look forward to the next live show on YT. xx

I believe we drive on the left due to military requirements for driving artillery on the battlefield but there is a fuller explairnation than that. Nothing to do with the video you are watching.

When we went to the USA we hired an RV to get around. It was very strange driving on the wrong side of the road. In particular first thing in the morning and when you are tired you have to be really careful and remind yourself to keep right or you will revert back to what you are used to.

driven in the USA a bit, 5000 miles on our road trip in 2022 as well as in Canada for 3 weeks. Driven and ridden motorcycles in Europe quite a few times too.. As long as you remember you sit in the middle of the road and the passenger side is on the kerb side it is easy...The only problem comes when you have different laws like turning right at traffic lights in the USA being seen as a stop sign and you can turn even on a red light. In the UK and Europe red just means stop so no turning right (in Europe) or turning left (in the UK) on a red light at all. The hardest thing is when you get into the car and pull away remembering its the other side of the road for that first few seconds as your natural reaction is to pull onto the side of the road you are used to driving. But that goes away after a couple of days and it becomes second nature.

I've never had a problem driving on either side of the road ( I'm a Brit who lived in the US for three years) as providing that you're driving a car that's set up for the road layout it comes pretty naturally (because you're sat on the appropriate side of the car). I've also driven on mainland Europe in a British car and although it's more awkward (because sightlines etc are not clear) it's certainly not difficult to adapt.

😅 very interesting video,learning about history of driving.

As mentioned....on September 7, 2009, Samoa became the first country in more than 40 years to switch the side of the road upon which its vehicles are driven (from driving on the right to driving on the left). One major reason that I heard was that, at the time, second hand vehicles imported from Australia and Japan were cheaper and, of course, all right hand drive.

I am English and lived many years in Italy too. Have driven much in Europe on the Right. But I just change automatically when crossing the Channel. The only thing which confuses momentarily is a roundbout and having to circle the other way!

As is widely accepted, the reason for driving on the left goes back to the point when two horsemen approached each other their (RH) sword hand was immediately visible and thus the LH position was good for both the defense and attack. Also, passing on the LHS would mean that a weapon could be disguised behind a shield held on the right arm. This convention was appropriate for travellers in the era of pistols. Many countries in Europe adopted this convention but all things changed when Napoleon decreed a change to the left out of spite for the British and this expanded due to the French occupations of Europe at the beginning of 19th C. There were many countries using the RHD principle in Europe but eventually converted to LHD for cross border consistency, Italy being one of the last in mainland Europe to change. Also, it should be noted that the colonies of the main powers, Britain, France, Holland, Germany, Spain, Portugal adopted their home driving conventions. The UK has at times looked at the switch over to LHD but the complications of the change over and the sheer cost have precluded action being taken, despite what EU wants. I have held a UK driving license for 50+ years and have driven widely abroad and TBH its easy for my brain to switch between driving on the left and right. I have used a LHD car in UK for many years and find no problems getting around except at toll booths, where to the possible annoyance of following drivers I have to get out, walk around the vehicle, pay and then walk back, which can take precious seconds. When I use it to travel in Europe its a pleasant change for (only) a few moments to drive on the right with a LHD car. Parking on the road and getting out of LHD car is one of the benefits.

China drives on the right but Hong Kong (formerly British occupied) and Macau (former Portuguese colony) drive on the left. Not a problem until they started building bridges... There is one place in the UK where you are required to drive on the right, the approach to the entrance to the Savoy Hotel. There is a short road, about 30m, sorry, 30yds where you enter on the right and exit on the left.

Hello Ladies. I learned to drive in South Wales in the late 60’s. In 1994 I went to work in New York for a 6 month secondment. That drive from Newark Airport to Staten Island was my first driving experience on the left hand side. It was also dark, snowy and icy. I didn’t know where I was going, just had to follow my boss in his car. It was relatively easy, no problem adjusting.

I know this may sound controversial, but the main reason driving is on the left in UK is that we use manual gear shift instead of automatics. Because there is a majority of right handed people, it makes it easier to change gears and operate all other devices in the car. I presently live in the UAE, driving on the right, and it takes me up to 3 days to get back to the left when back in the UK, and that can be an issue. Especially when getting in the vehicle from the wrong side so often. Lol.

I've lived in both types of countries. It takes only minutes to switch. But when you comes and visit Australia or NZ, be careful at times when there is little traffic (early mornings etc) That's the only time I turned out of a car park onto the wrong side of the street. Right turns will be as tricky as left turns are in the States. The weirdest country I've been to was Myanmar, which decided to change the side they drove on when they broke away from the UK. They just changed to right overnight, but all of the cars were still right-hand drive. So if you catch an old bus in Myanmar, the door opens into the middle of the street.

I don't drive myself, thankfully UK has a wonderful public transport system. I have visted the USA with my parents and an Aunt. My Aunt and Dad always did the driving in the USA. It usually took a day for them to translate driving on the right. My Mum refused to try as she felt it would be to confusing. My sister did a school transfer and lived in the USA for a year. She learnt to drive over there. When she came back it took her a couple of days to translate to driving on the left. She also had to take her UK driving test as well. Though the USA driving licence in those days allowed her to drive in the UK for about a month before she had to take the UK test.

I used to drive a tank in Germany. There are a few stories of vehicles coming of the training area, straight on to the left hand side of the road! I can only imagine he look on the face of the driver coming towards you😀

I got a hire car in NYC and drove to PA for a weeks holiday. I did open the passenger door once or twice as the drive. But only once turning left on to the road, went into the wrong lane. It was rural PA at night with NO one else about. The rest of the time I was fine even driving in NYC

The chap who mentioned the dominant eye has a point. Also the most dangerous part about driving is what's going on behind. I used to drive a motorcycle so you have to turn your head (and shoulders) to really se what's coming up behind. On holiday touring France it was quite hard to get a good view as you have to turn your head leftwards (try it). All this assumes you are right handed.

As others have commented, most people are right-handed and fought with weapons in their right hand. In medieval castle towers the spiral staircases ran clockwise upwards. This made attacking the tower difficult as the central column got in the way of the right hand on the way up. A right-handed swordsman would have the weapon hung on their left side making mounting a horse easier from the left and drawing the sword to the right to meet an opponent, right against right. The same for pedestrians it was most practical to meet right side to right side ie walking on the left. By the time the Americans changed to the right side most people were using guns so left or right wasn't so important. Well the British are slow to change and why change things we've been doing for millenia. Note our trains also drive on the left hand side and many more countries still do that, even the French and other European countries. If the majority of people were left-handed things would have been so much different.

Yay your reacting to Alanna off Adventures and Naps one of my favourite since lockdown. Driven in France and was quickly ok with it as when you come out the channel tunnel you go onto the motorway and are thus on the right. Starting off from hotels in the morning was the tricky bit.

In School its correct Nepoleon did changed everything to the opposite way what the English did including the horse riding for the cannons. I have a imported car from UK and drive on the right the stick shift on the left. When I visit UK I go back to driving on the left with the same car. Merci. Jean-Marc

Britain didn’t want the switch because of money

The average driver will find that the change of hand whilst driving from right to left is not difficult because the driver will always want the central line under his eye that closest to it.

I have heard/read that driving on the right in the northern hemisphere promotes the incidence of whirlwinds/tornados.

I’m pretty sure it’s to do with the old days, the days of horses and carts. The reason why we drive on the left is to keep the right hand free to joust and fight enemies and avoid injury. Don’t quote me? I remember hearing this somewhere.

The US while always travelled on the right, built their first cars RHD, all of them. That was until the Ford Model T as mentioned in the video. This was because Henry Ford thought it was safer for passengers to enter and exit the car from the right as doing it from the left with all other cars meant they had to do it standing in traffic. All the other auto manufacturers in the US eventually followed suit, as did Canada, as she mentioned. Incidentally I'm in New Zealand where we drive on the left but I've owned and driven American LHD cars since the late 80s. Samoa shifted from right to left side of the road because they import a lot of second hand cars from NZ.

Think about the old boats, steer board in the right hand , load on and off the port side left. then do the same for your wagon.

I'm a Brit and I've travelled a lot in Europe on my motorcycle. It just takes a few minutes to adjust. Thinking about it, unlike a car, you don't have to get used to being in a different position on the road, and if you hire a vehicle you don't have to get used to the controls being on the wrong side. Obviously that proves that motorcycles are better 😅

At the opening of this I suddenly thought of how, on what you would term the sidewalk, it was expected that if a couple was walking along side by side, the man would be on the road-side. And maybe that sunk in a bit, because I always move past someone on that side.

I grew up in the UK but moved to spain when i was 17, so I learned to drive in Spain. 15yrs later, I moved back to England. Driving in the uk was second nature to me as i grew up here. Driving in spain is also second nature to me as that's where I learned. I switch between them easily because the roads, signs, and surrounding environment and the fact the steering wheel is on the other side makes the two experiences different enough to be able to separate them.

There's a great pic of the chaos caused on the day Sweden swapped from driving on the left to right. Apparently the military helped change the road signs road markings over a month, then nearly 2 million vehicles had to change overnight!

I’ve driven on left and right many times. I don’t even have to think about it. Sometimes I have to drive on the left in the morning and the right in the evening. It just comes naturally. It’s a non-issue.

Japan and Thailand also famously drive on the left and they were never part of the British Empire unlike many of the former colonial, but now independent countries, that drive on the left to this day.