If one is left-handed which of left-hand/right-side of road driving or right-hand/left-side of road driving is easier and safer or is there any significant difference?
The same question for right-handed people.
I’m sure I could have phrased this better!
I’m right-handed. I’ve driven for about 30 years in Australia on the left, and about 8 years in the US on the right. I find no difference in how easy it is, and only have a problem adjusting to the change either way for a short time. (The main problem I have is turning on the windscreen wipers when I want to signal a turn). I’ve seen it suggested that having a manual transmission and changing gears with the left hand would be a problem: I’ve never found that.
I have driven both sides and never have any problem at all switching. right handed.
I’m left-handed.
I learned to drive in Australia, and lived there until i was 30. I’ve now lived in the US for almost 8 years.
While my very first time driving on the left-of-car/right-of-road was a bit tricky, i now find both sides pretty much equally easy, and have no problems swapping back and forth when i visit other countries.
When driving a manual, i find that it feels very slightly more natural to change gears with my left hand than with my right, but i’m not sure if that the reason for this is (a) because i’m left-handed, or (b) because that’s the hand i used when i learned how to drive.
Oldest and strongest habit… In a panic stop, I still hit the clutch and I have not driven a manual transmission 4 wheeler for over an hour total in 20 years.
Bikes don’t count.
People who fly two-pilot airplanes reverse which hand does which job (steer or throttle) depending on which seat they sit in. I’ve never heard of anyone having a problem switching back & forth. Nor have I ever read of any research on whether one or the other was more natural for pilots of a particular handed-ness.
My (anecdotal) bottom line: If there is a difference, I’d bet it’s pretty slight, and almost certainly smaller than the effect of just a few days’ practice, as pointed out by mhendo.
I’m left handed and have driven in the US for 20 years and the UK for 12. I’ve driven both left and right hand drive cars on the left and right sides of the road. I agree with the others, once you get used to the switch it’s no big deal. The things like gear levers and indicators don’t require much dexterity so it’s easy to change.
Watching someone try to use a computer with the mouse on the wrong side can be entertaining.