# Driving on the left **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [February 19, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/345202 "2006-02-19T15:05:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![paulmarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@paulmarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulmarkj)\ **Post date:** [February 19, 2006, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/345202/1 "2006-02-19T15:05:36Z")
[Original article](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_021b.html) Many people ask why we drive on the left, as if we are the only ones doing it, but there are many countries that drive on the left. Being an Island, there is little reason to change, though the question arises every few years. All main roads are now built with symmetrical junctions, so they can be changed to driving on the right. The cost of changing is prohibative. Think of all the road signs, road markings, rebuilding of many roads. Traffic lights and all the cars that have the steering on wrong side. Safety is also an issue: it has been said that when British people drive on the continent, most accidents happen within the first 5 miles, because we simply forget which side to drive on. Imagine one morning we all wake up and have to drive on the ‘wrong side’, how many people would forget? According to [http://www.2pass.co.uk/goodluck.htm](http://www.2pass.co.uk/goodluck.htm) these countries drive on the left: Anguilla Antigua & Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Bermuda Bhutan Botswana British Virgin Islands Brunei Cayman Islands Channel Islands Cyprus Dominica Eire-Ireland England Falkland Islands Fiji Grenada Guyana Hong Kong India Indonesia Isle of Man Jamaica Japan Kenya Lesotho Macau Malawi Malaysia Malta Mauritius Montserrat Mozambique Namibia Nepal New Zealand Northern Ireland Pakistan Papua New Guinea Seychelles Scotland Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka St Kitts & Nevis St. Helena St. Lucia Surinam Swaziland Tanzania Thailand Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands Uganda US Virgin Islands Zambia Zimbabwe St. Vincent & Grenadines ---
**Author:** ![UselessGit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/74df32/32.png) [@UselessGit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UselessGit)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2006, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/345202/2 "2006-02-25T14:15:26Z")
Iceland changed from the right to left in 1907, so that legs of horse-riding women would not be exposed to other people on the road–women, of course, riding …thingamaboby… with both legs on the left side of the horse. We planned to change to the right side in 1941 but put it on hold out of consideration for the British army; we eventually switched back to the right side in 1968, without accidents, mind you. I’ve seen a lot of British people driving here without any trouble and I can’t imagine how they do it; I, for one, am never risking driving on the left. I’ve sat in a “lefty” car once and it felt all sorts of wrong… like walking on the ceiling or breathing fluid. I guess. ---
**Author:** ![paulmarkj](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@paulmarkj](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/paulmarkj)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2006, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/345202/3 "2006-02-26T14:44:02Z")
> [@UselessGit](#): > > Iceland changed from the right to left in 1907, so that legs of horse-riding women would not be exposed to other people on the road–women, of course, riding …thingamaboby… with both legs on the left side of the horse. We planned to change to the right side in 1941 but put it on hold out of consideration for the British army; we eventually switched back to the right side in 1968, without accidents, mind you. > > I’ve seen a lot of British people driving here without any trouble and I can’t imagine how they do it; I, for one, am never risking driving on the left. I’ve sat in a “lefty” car once and it felt all sorts of wrong… like walking on the ceiling or breathing fluid. I guess. I have driven in the US many times, and it is always the first few miles that are confusing (and driving automatics, which are not very common in the UK). It is the cross roads and T junctions that confuse me. Never had an accident yet! ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/345202/4 "2006-02-28T19:57:47Z")
After a quick scan of the list, a question comes to mind. Were all or most of the places listed once under British rule or influence? ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2006, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-left/345202/5 "2006-02-28T22:59:49Z")
> [@](#): > > Were all or most of the places listed once under British rule or influence? Mostly, with some exceptions. Japan and Thailand were never colonized by European powers, nor were they under the particular influence of any one of them. Nepal kept its independence but was under British influence. Indonensia and Suriname were Dutch colonies. Macau and Mozambique were Portuguese colonies. Namibia and part of Tanzania were German possessions before WWI. After the war, Namibia became a protectorate of South Africa and Tanzania became a protectorate of the U.K. US Virgin Islands were a Danish possession before WWI and U.S. afterward.