# How hard would it be for the UK to start driving on the right? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 8, 2010, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131 "2010-02-08T12:16:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/41 "2010-02-10T10:09:28Z")
> [@Mk\_VII](#): > > Japan would still drive on the left whatever we did here. True. Japan drives on the left, but allows either RHD or LHD cars on the road. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 10:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/42 "2010-02-10T10:20:37Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > True. Japan drives on the left, but allows either RHD or LHD cars on the road. I think that’s the case everywhere else - it’s just that the wrong sort of car is inconvenient to drive, so they tend to be uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/43 "2010-02-10T11:05:04Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think that’s the case everywhere else - it’s just that the wrong sort of car is inconvenient to drive, so they tend to be uncommon. I didn’t know that (I’m not really a car enthusiast). But I know they don’t allow it (or at least didn’t allow it while I lived there) in Australia. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/44 "2010-02-10T12:21:12Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I don’t think Sweden had many expressways or limited access highways in the 1960s. Simple roads with simple intersections or roundabouts can easily be switched back and forth from RHD to LHD. This is exactly why the Swedish government pushed for the switch in 1967, even though the public was skeptical. At that time it was still possible to make the switch, but it didn’t take much imagination to see that the day was coming when switching sides would have become prohibitively expensive. ---
**Author:** ![chicken\_wire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@chicken\_wire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chicken_wire)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/45 "2010-02-10T12:26:25Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I didn’t know that (I’m not really a car enthusiast). But I know they don’t allow it (or at least didn’t allow it while I lived there) in Australia. I saw a Corvette drive down the street the other day, it was LHD. Didn’t have any stickers or warning signs on the back, and it seemed to be registered. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/46 "2010-02-10T12:58:33Z")
But how would this affect jousting tournaments? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Giles](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giles/32/60_2.png) [@Giles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giles)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/47 "2010-02-10T14:31:53Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > I didn’t know that (I’m not really a car enthusiast). But I know they don’t allow it (or at least didn’t allow it while I lived there) in Australia. I think there are two questions here: (1) Can left-hand drive vehicles be registered in Australia? I think they can, but I think they might be required to carry a warning sign. (2) Can left-hand drive vehicles registered in another country (e.g., in the US) be driven in Australia? I’m pretty sure they can, but people do this very rarely, because of the time and expense in shipping a car or other vehicle to Australia. ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/48 "2010-02-10T14:38:37Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > I think there are two questions here: > (1) Can left-hand drive vehicles be registered in Australia? I think they can, but I think they might be required to carry a warning sign. > (2) Can left-hand drive vehicles registered in another country (e.g., in the US) be driven in Australia? I’m pretty sure they can, but people do this very rarely, because of the time and expense in shipping a car or other vehicle to Australia. I believe RHD vehicles are legal in the U.S. I knew a guy who owned a surplus postal truck, and I even drove it once. (Postal delivery trucks in the U.S. have the driver on the right side, so they can reach mailboxes by the side of the road from the driver’s seat without) ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/49 "2010-02-10T14:42:11Z")
> [@fortytwo](#): > > If England did a switch it would be a real bugger when driving across the border into Scotland and Wales. Actually, it wouldn’t be that bad, since Scotland has those single-lane roads with passing bays. I assume Scots drivers are used to taking up the whole road, then. ---
**Author:** ![mutantmoose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a87d85/32.png) [@mutantmoose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mutantmoose)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/50 "2010-02-10T14:53:35Z")
Which makes more sense - RHD or LHD? I would say RHD because most people are right handed and it allows you to keep your strongest hand on the wheel while changing gears/radio stations etc. If you suddenly go over a hole in the road or get a blow out or something unexpected like that, you want your strongest hand on the wheel. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/51 "2010-02-10T14:54:06Z")
Actually, a fad in Canada nowadays is importing Japanese used sports cars. I’ve seen a few on the roads with RHD. The biggest inconvenience is that you can’t use the drive-through lanes at fast food places unless you have a passenger. This will definitely discourage the trend in America, having to get out and walk in to get your junk food. IIRC, the rule for New Zealand (I assume Australia is similar) is that you can bring back your personal vehicle that you used abroad, even if it is LHD. You had to own it for a year beforehand, and can’t sell it for 6 months(?). SO basically if it really was your car overseas you can keep it but wholesale import of the wrong sort of car is not allowed. As a side note about traffic; my first time in London, yes, it was amazing how deeply instinctive it is to look only the one (wrong) way when stepping out into the road. OTOH, once you are in a car, driving was easy. The only times I almost caused an accident was on deserted country roads or unmarked parking lots with no other traffic cues to guide you. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/52 "2010-02-10T14:56:58Z")
> [@mutantmoose](#): > > Which makes more sense - RHD or LHD? > > I would say RHD because most people are right handed and it allows you to keep your strongest hand on the wheel while changing gears/radio stations etc. > > If you suddenly go over a hole in the road or get a blow out or something unexpected like that, you want your strongest hand on the wheel. OTOH, the right hand is the most agile for complicated tasks, like switching gears, setting the radio and fiddling with the knobs. With power steering, which hand is stronger for steering is probably moot. Any comments from lefties about whether RHD or LHD is more comfortable? ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/53 "2010-02-10T15:13:43Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > (1) Can left-hand drive vehicles be registered in Australia? I think they can, but I think they might be required to carry a warning sign. There is at least one category of vehicles that probably are LHD for practical reasons, at least they are RHD in Sweden: Post office cars, both those that collect mail and those who deliver it. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/54 "2010-02-10T15:37:02Z")
I wonder how difficult it would be to retrofit a RHD car to LHD? It seems possible to move the steering column and the linkage to the wheels. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/55 "2010-02-10T15:39:25Z")
> [@Hairy\_Bob](#): > > I think it would be pretty difficult to orchestrate in the UK, not only are the vast majority of our cars RHD, but many road junctions are set out specifically to be driven on the left, and would need reworking to facilitate the change. > Never mind the fact that most Britons are stubborn and would see the change as some sort of infringement, there would be massive backlash against any government that tried to bring it in. Of course they’d see it the change as some sort of infringement, for the same reason I consider _Titanic_ some sort of movie. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/56 "2010-02-10T16:32:29Z")
We’ve grown up changing gear with the left hand, and doing it with the other feels weird (on the limited number of occasions that I’ve driven cars with the wheel on the wrong side). It’s possible to register a car with the wheel on the wrong side, and such is often done by people who want to own ‘classic’ American cars of the Fifties. Such cars, if here more than temporarily, do have to conform to the regulations, which could require changes in indicator or brake lights. Among other things, it’s illegal to register a car whose speedometer is not calibrated in miles (as well as kilometers, all current production models have both) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/57 "2010-02-10T17:32:03Z")
> [@elmwood](#): > > I don’t think Sweden had many expressways or limited access highways in the 1960s. . There aren’t that many even now. Quite simply, you can’t compare the likes of Sweden in the 1960s to the UK in 2010. The amount of traffic and density of road infrastructure just aren’t in the same league. Regarding LHD cars in the UK, obviously the UK wouldn’t be able to legislate against them due to being a part of the EU, where the majority of countries drive on the right hand side of the road. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Poster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Happy\_Poster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Poster)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/58 "2010-02-10T19:28:18Z")
I see the only real issue (apart from the sheer pointlessness of this project) as being junctions. I have both LHD and RHD cars in the UK and aside from the occasional toll booth I have no difficulties driving the former - in fact I would add that the CORRECT way to overtake, usually, involves positioning ones car fully in the opposing lane of traffic before committing to the overtake - I would highly recommend those who haven’t purchase a copy of road craft to understand why. The circumstances where this is not the case the RHD is probably not very important, in fact when overtaking during a right hand bend for example, LHD is usually safer . Thos with a certain mindset may enjoy this website: [Bad Junctions | Roads.org.uk](http://www.cbrd.co.uk/badjunctions/) ---
**Author:** ![toodlepip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/97f17d/32.png) [@toodlepip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toodlepip)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2010, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/59 "2010-02-10T21:12:25Z")
> [@md2000](#): > > Actually, it wouldn’t be that bad, since Scotland has those single-lane roads with passing bays. I assume Scots drivers are used to taking up the whole road, then. Ah yes, those picturesque [Scottish roads](http://m8motorway.tripod.com/m8_glasgow_J22.htm). Mind you, we’d have to re-train the sheep, they’d be blocking the road in the wrong direction. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![tetranz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a587f6/32.png) [@tetranz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tetranz)\ **Post date:** [February 12, 2010, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131/60 "2010-02-12T17:41:16Z")
> [@Quercus](#): > > I believe RHD vehicles are legal in the U.S. A few years ago I’m sure I saw a Morris Minor drive past here in New Hampshire. I was so shocked that I didn’t take much notice of the driver but I think he or she was on the right. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen a RHD Landrover around town here a few times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-hard-would-it-be-for-the-uk-to-start-driving-on-the-right/528131.md?page=4)