# Driving on the Right

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-right/197894>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [August 27, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-right/197894 "2003-08-27T03:31:05Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Agback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/977dab/32.png) [@Agback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agback)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-right/197894/1 "2003-08-27T03:31:05Z")

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G’day

What was the first country to make a law that one ought to drive on the left side of the road? When was this law enacted?

What was the first country to make a law that one ought to drive on the right side of the road? When was this law enacted?

Regards,  
Agback

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**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\
**Post date:** [August 27, 2003, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/driving-on-the-right/197894/2 "2003-08-27T04:33:22Z")

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I’m still looking (with no hope of success) for actual legislation in various countries to control _motor_ vehicles, but while you are waiting for a more definitive answer to your specific question, you might want to peruse the answer that The Master provided for the more generic question, [Why do the British drive on the left?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_021b.html) He does actually provide the answer dating to the period of horse- and oxen-drawn (and shank’s mare) transportation.

(He also considered, (I would not exactly claim that he _addressed_), the issue of [When happens when you drive between two countries that drive on opposite sides of the road?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a4_242.html))