How Sweden ACTUALLY Changed Driving Sides Overnight 

Since the comments section can often be a cesspool of bad emotions and hate, let me attempt to change that by saying (because you can't hear enough of it) that you're an amazing story teller. Your presentations are always top notch and compelling, even over some seemingly mundane subject like keeping on the correct side of the road.

"For all those ride by stabbings!...". Deadpan delivery. I love it. Great video as usual Amy! 👍

As a Swede that likes history, this was really interesting to see, and I've tried to do some research of it too earlier. Thanks Amy. Some other things about the changeover was buses. Since the door had to be placed on the side of of the sidewalk, it was important that the door for passengers was on the correct side. I was visiting a museum for traffic where an old bus from before 1967 was shown. I don't know how it looked under the floor, but it was really apparent that there was a cutout for the staircase and door on both sides. They explained that it was made so that the door actually could switch sides around dagen H, so it could be used both before and after. If I recall correctly, they where called "omställningsbussar" or changeover buses.

I didn’t know about Canada’s driving history - thank you for helping me learn something new today. I love seeing Amy branch out and tell different stories - I hope to see more and more videos like this. Yeah - I’m always down for a space story but I love it when good story tellers branch out into different spaces.

One minor point of interest I've gleamed about the Swedish changeover was that, the day of the changeover, there was special programming on Swedish television to encourage as many drivers to stay home as possible and one of the specials was a music contest featuring the television debut of a young "Frida", Anni-Frid Lyngstad, in the early days of her singing career a few years before she became one half of the A ladies in ABBA.

Really love Pete......had one just about like him. He died last fall at 18+ years old. A great cat.

In Canada switching from driving on the left side of the road to driving on the right happened in provinces at different times in the 1920s. In British Columbia where my grandfather lived he said switching from the left side of the road to driving on the right hand happened in stages over three weeks. In the first week of the change heavy trucks switched from driving on the left hand side to driving on the right hand side. In the second week, light trucks switched to driving on the right hand side of the road. In the final week, passenger cars moved to driving on the right hand side of the road.

I've driven rhd and lhd for many years, and as long as your driving a vehicle designed for the roads your driving all you need to remember is that the driver should be in the middle of the road, if you aren't and your driving your on the wrong side of the road.

Yet another well researched and interesting story - thank you for your effort Amy!

I never thought about car imports and exports in relation to driving sides before, this was an interesting rabbit hole!

I love your bookshelf. It looks like the books are actually read and referenced. Your knowledge and research is appreciated!

The Ford Model T didn't have a lock on its doors, which were open half doors. The Model A had locks on all the doors but only had a key on the passenger/Right front door. The idea was you could enter from the curb side and slide over. Or, if you had a passenger, you would certainly hold the door for your passenger before getting in on your side.

Marvellous. A note though is that shipping traffic on water canals was traditionally on the left side and often pulled by donkeys or even people from the left side. We still mount bicycles and motorcycles from the left side worldwide. So driving on the left makes more sense everywhere and it's a pity we are bound to drive on the right now. I'm German and used to both systems as I often drove in England too and I prefer the english traffic.

I just happened on this video when trying to figure out which side Jamaica drives on (for an upcoming trip). Very well explained! We experienced the confusion in Turks & Caicos recently where they drive left side but half the cars’ driving side is left. It doesn’t just affect drivers but also pedestrians. It was much easier to deal with London where it’s consistent but backwards than in T&C which was just chaos!

Very interesting! Thank you. When I was a teen, I thought the Honda Coupe 9 was one of the coolest cars around. It was about the last engineering project overseen by Soichiro Honda before his retirement and we in Australia had more chance of finding one because I don't think it was adapted for right-driving USA.

My mother did her driving test while they were still driving on the left here in Sweden, but received her driving license after the change to driving on the right.

I've researched this subject before but there was some new information here. Very well done

Japanese island of Okinawa did the reverse in 1975 they switched from right hand driving (US post war occupation Influence) to left hand driving (Japanese mainland influence). Dense population concentrated (with narrow roads and highways) on the southern 1/3 of the island

The Falkland Islands switched to driving on the right when Argentina invaded in 1982, then switched back to driving on the left later that year when the British liberated the islands.

I remember Dagen H very well because for some unknown reason the Canadian Broadcasting Company reported on it, complete with video clips. Interestingly, they reported the changeover as being a logical, well-planned process where everything went well. There was no mention of chaos at all.

My mother in law gave me her 1970 right hand drive imported English Mini Cooper to sell for her. It was a bit odd to drive on the right side of the car. My boss had imported some Australian off road trucks we used daily so I was some what use to it.

Thank you for covering this detail of modern history. I liked that very much.

The lest hand side does have the advantage in modern cars as your dominant hand is the primary steering hand, as is your dominant foot for the accelerator. Less of a problem with automatics to be fair. The biggest argument for right sided is existing dominance of it

Thanks for the birthday present Amy. I love your videos.

At time of switch 1967, quite few controlled-access highway had been built but a lot was planned for, making it kind of the last possible time to switch without having to do very costly rebuilds. One stupid thing is that trains generally still drive on left side in Sweden, with the exception on some tracks toward borders. And we have different electricity than most of our neighbour countries making the trains going abroad requiring expensive dual electrical system capability.

In Japan they drive on the left because people would walk on the left. And people would walk on the left because of Samurai. The Samurai wore their scabbards on the left, and it stuck out. If you walk on the right and cross another Samurai, your (very prescious) scabbards would collide. Because of this, they walked on the left.

Great video. I'm about to start my Left hand driving tour from Japan, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

Hi Pete … I’ve seen this before but not at this detail. Very good job.

The Romans neglected the utility of holding a shield on the left and swinging a sword from the right. The reins could be hitched briefly until more control was needed.

That was really fun, Amy. Keep up the good work!

Another awesome video Amy, cheers from Brisbane Australia..

after WWII the UK made a big export drive to sell cars in North America. The export drive did not go very well as the cars had the steering wheels on the right.

As an Aussie it makes sense to me to keep your dominant hand on the wheel when changing gears or altering radio etc. LHD is just weird to me.

Excellent video. I have an antique car and I love anything to do with early car history such as this. BTW, did you also know that Highway 2 (in Ontario) was once also called Highway 2 in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as well. It was Canada's first interprovincial highway. Parts of it go back to the 1600's (in Quebec). Now it is sort of like Route 66, disconnected and disjointed. You might look up the Roosevelt International Highway too. This was supposed to be an international highway that went through the US and Canada. In the end it never happened. That would make a great video I think. This was the days before highways were numbered and had names like the Lincoln Highway etc. Not to be pedantic (well maybe), as a person who was born in the Maritimes, that red star (9:59) over Newfoundland instead of the Maritimes kind of bugs me. You need to move it to the left and down. Also, to be technically correct, NB switched on Dec 1, 1922, NS on on April 15, 1923, and PEI on May 1, 1924. I guess you could say that the Maritimes finished changing over in 1924. They were originally supposed to change at the same time, but it didn't happen. Fun fact - In Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia the year 1923 is still known as "The Year of Free Beef"! Evidentially, the price of beef dropped dramatically because oxen which had been trained to keep to the left could not be retrained. Many teamsters had to replace their oxen with new ones trained to keep to the right; therefore the displaced oxen were sent to slaughter. If you find antique cars in the Maritimes from 1924 or earlier, they will be Right Hand Drive, just as they are in the UK. I once saw a Model T like that. BTW - I have a picture of a early NS Route sign that is on the left side of the road if you are interested. It was taken in the 1930s, but clearly it was not changed after the switchover.

Nice work Amy, and lovely to see new content. Strangely I had the reverse experience of your 'wrong' side driving. I was living in outback Australia when I traveled to Canada and had to deal with driving on the left and driving in a city at the same time. Results were variable.

I frequently do all four. Right side of the vehicle, left side of the road. Right side of the vehicle, right side of the road. left side of the vehicle, right side of the road. Left side of the vehicle, left side of the road. Have driven in a centre driving seat, but not often. The delights of being a commercial driver in Europe and having family in The States 😁 My preference? My driving style is to use any piece of tarmac that works, and sometimes leaving the tarmac if that works too 🤷‍♂😆

Quite different from your usual fare. Great work- thanks.

Whoa, that's a sturdy-looking coffee table! Must be strong.

I've wondered about this very subject, after a visit to Israel (drive on R side like US) which was a former British territory, and then a visit to Hong Kong which has the old British L hand drive; a change of directions in HK would be chaotic, as they already drive bad (my opinion). How and when Israel switched is interesting too. An oddity I encountered in Peru were taxis imported from Japan with levers adding a set of foot controls for driving on the R, retaining the instrument cluster on the R. Interesting and informative, Space Vixen.

Beautiful Kitty, I have 2 myself, and I rescued a German Shepherd mix

Pete has that classic cat look of, "I like the petting but I think she wants me to be here so I don't want to be here".

Very, very interesting! Thank you Amy.

I once heard a comedy folk song about this.... too long ago to remember any details sadly..... great to hear the actual story. And yeah... (being English)... even sitting in the back of a Taxi is a freak-out when in Europe and on "the wrong side" of the road.

Great topic and very informative as always!

Very interesting. Lovely to see you again too.

I imagine it wasn't just signs that had to change, but in some cases the whole engineering of intersections and slip roads. Occasionally I hear people suggest the whole world should switch to the right side, it's never going to happen now, and it doesn't need to as self driving cars become a reality.

Great job Amy!

Interesting video. I don't know how I would manage if I were to visit a left driving country. I took a cruise to the Bahamas once. They drive on the left but I never drove while I was there.

I remember when this happened. As it was reported here in the USA it seemed to happen rather flawlessly with only minor incidents. I was in the Navy at that time. My first experience of being in a left driving country was in 1968 when we came into Japan. At that time many Taxis were big old American cars with left driving. First time a group of us jumped into a big old DeSoto cab and it took off we had a shock as a car turned a corner and I thought we were going to crash. It passed us on the right. Then I remembered about Japan drove different than the US.

I was half-expecting the story to include one outlier that doggedly kept driving right down the middle of the road.

The British Virgin Islands is a British Territory. The drive on the left side of the road with left hand drive cars. The American Virgin Islands is a US territory. They also drive on the left side of the road with left hand drive cars.

I've heard we're switching in the uk apparently we're doing it in stages, we're doing trucks and buses the first month and cars and bikes the following month! 😎

A Norwegian joke is they started with moving the trucks to the right side, while the regular cars continued on the left for a week more.

Don't forget about Okinawa. They were driving on the right side during the post ww2 American occupation/administration, but changed back to the left side in 1978.

I'm in a niche percentage of your audience as I live in the UK (RHD vehicle, LH road system) but I drive a truck across Europe so RHD vehicle plus RHD roads like the Swedish would have had. However I used to drive a LHD vehicle, so I've experienced all possible scenarios! (Including swapping both sides of the road and side of vehicle multiple times in a day) Fascinating video !

So that's why we drive on the side we drive on. Love your content.

The transition was actually meticulously prepared and extremely orderly carried out. So the word "chaos" is definitely incorrect.

Yeah. The day before I was born. So I missed it by less than 20 hours. What a bummer!

Non-driving North American, here. I have sat in the front of a right-hand drive car tho'. Terrifying. Also, being a pedestrian in right-drive countries is dangerous for me: I habitually look the _wrong way_ when crossing the street.

French trains still drive on the left, because France's government hired British engineers to build it and that's just how they built it...except in 1871 the Prussians invaded and annexed the Alsace, they changed the trains to drive on the right and when France took back their lost territory in 1919 the never changed the trains back to driving on the left so the old border is marked to this day with cross overs.

Hi Amy, is this a new channel? None-the-less, I've subscribed.

great video!!! loved it

First of all. Is Pete a Lion, holy hell he is huge. Second, what a great article, this was so interesting to me. Keep up the great work. 🙂

At 3:30 min, you say drivers would whip with their left hand, but i do all my horse whipping with my right.

I've always been curious about this. I could never understand what determines what side people drive on from country to country. I wish you had covered the Asian countries too, though. I'm curious about their driving origins as well, but I guess I could look that up. Nevertheless, it was still a very informative video. Thank you, Amy!

The weirdest driving experience is the U.S. Virgin Islands. They drive on the left side of the road, but almost all the cars especially rental cars are U.S. left side driver cars.

Love the Pete bug!

Interrobang near-miss at 0:57.

I love how modern tech is so closely based on ancient history! Can you validate the story the Space Shuttle Booster size was based on Roman chariots? Because Roman roads were rutted, railroads on those paths retained the 4'8" width, which determined tunnel size in the US, which determined the booster size....

I drive American cars in the UK.... it is quite interesting!

Thank you for the Video Amy . Did you have a Twin that did Vintage Space , is it still going ? My Brother visited Ireland and rented a Car and hit a Stone wall Right away . It could have been Left away , I am not sure what side of the Car was Damaged ? Hard to remember it was 35 Years ago .

I couldn't help but think that left-side driving U. K. would joust from the right-side in tournaments. :-)

Most of this would be ambidexterity , bobcat didn't pass the dead wagon train rider story idea, would be horrific. Probably and maybe doesn't eat horsemeat, sure the whip hand, perhaps ahead theirs things not already known. The semi mechanised human relied on it's attitude the way that the predators that never were passed by thinking the tilting wheels and harness were steering the prey to roadside stillness. After the destruction of the earth sci fi scenario driving , the head turners is less of a problem, perhaps it for the best to heed simulators too. Self driving advert conflict about dashboards, guess people love cars and know more about multi national driving procedure packages. There are also road sign's , manual gearing exquisite. This is like another time another feeling.

You haven't lived until you have driven a British van full of rambunctious teenagers through Paris at midnight.

Great video from a correct side driving Great Britian 😁

This is SO FREAKY. I was trying to explain this to my 6 year old LAST NIGHT. (we get in odd conversations - she asks such random questions)

Look into Okinawa 1968.

I'm always fascinated by people who come to the UK (or some other LHS country) and find it so hard to drive on the other side! I've driven in Europe many times (both in local hire cars and my own UK car) and it really is not hard to switch. Why the freak out?

Awesome video😎 luv ya

I have only watched the first 3 minutes and the out of sync audio is really bothering me. The sync is just lightly off but still. I hope it isn't just me.

I'm a righty,, hold the wheel with my left, and hold my whip with the right.

Pete is so cute and I'm glad he contributed to this report.

well i think your sexier talking about space at first but now your pretty amzing on history is what i see.

You are a person that someone would want to spend there entire life with!! We are all IN LOVE WITH YOU!!

Oooo, grumpy Pete!

I have heard so many urban myths about left and right driving, thank you for this great overview. Just disappointed that my belief that Napoleon insisted on right hand travel as he was left handed is just a myth. Yes my first driving in the desert around Los Almos I spent half the time on the wrong side of empty roads. Shauna is right - your work is very similar to James Burke.

Loved the subject of the video, hated the techno music that kept intruding into the dialog

Interesting! Also ... Pete! 🥰

Huh-gerr-traff-eek-omm-legg-ning-enn ;) BTW. Trains in Sweden still drive on the left side, whereas in Germany they drive on the right. (Not that this matters other than being convention)

1:40 Ha. Nice.

I'm Norwegian, and my dad, who was 13 years old at the change time, told me that when the Swedes changed side from driving on the left to the right side, this worked well, for about a month. After that, people fell back into all habits, like waking up late and getting into the car and turning the wrong way and apparently, there was a spike in accidents that year before it normalised :)

It finally clicked as to who you remind me of - the BBC News science reporter/commentator James Burke. His series of "Connections" and "The Day the Universe Changed" show how the past influences the present - in often unexpected ways. Your stories show that topics are not in a simple silo, but are influenced by other complex factors. Well done!

We (Sweden) actually had right hand driving in law from 1718. The law text says something like "when meeting, postal carriages shall hold to the right". Then in the last complete overhaul of the Swedish laws in 1734 that got switched to the left along with rules for who should yield to who, pedestrians to horse riders, horse riders to wagons, empty wagons to full wagons etc.

Always a pleasure to listen to you! And fun to hear this anecdote from my little corner of the world viewed from the outside! One of my neighbours that is 90 years old and was a bus driver at the time loves to tell the story about him being one of the few allowed to drive just at the time of the switchover.

I’m wondering if an age based demographic study has ever been done. When I was a young U.S. Air Force member - too young to realize how young - and did a lot of globetrotting, switching from right to left and back again was seamless. Today I think I’d struggle if I were suddenly required to, say, drive in the UK.

We drive on the right in NL but I've been with my car to the UK and the moment you left the train with the car it was switched ofc. The change went seemessly, but I guess it has to do with your sense of logic and how fast you process that :) Thanks for another interesting video!

A friend asked another friend "how does the channel tunnel handle it if the French drive on the right and the British drive on the left?" And another friend deadpan explained "They gotta switch half way through the tunnel. Theres no traffic light or anything, you just gotta go, its wild."

My hardest problem driving in NZ was that the turn indicator and wiper stalks are opposite what I've been used to, so when it rained I'd turn right and when I'd want to turn left the wipers came on.

Enjoyed the video. If you want to experiment with driving on the opposite side there are some games that will let you try. I'd suggest European Truck Simulator 2. You can drive in the UK and Europe and try both with LH drive and RH drive. Might be an interesting thing to try when streaming.

Congrats on getting Pete to sit that long for the camera before leaving, usually he's gone in a few seconds!