International Driving

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Which side of the road do they drive on?

1. INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY

The question of which side of the road people drive on in various countries arises from time to time. This fairly comprehensive list has been compiled by various people over the years; it was obtained around 1991 two gentlemen named Brian Lucas and Bernd Wechner, along with many other people have been updating it ever since. Mr. Lucas wrote this in Rec-Travel and could be very useful if you plan on traveling to a country which you may not know the driving customs and right-of -way. To quickly deal with the single most frequently asked question on this topic, you don't have to worry about what side to drive on in the Chunnel (the tunnel between England and France, under the English Channel), because you don't drive in the Chunnel. When you arrive at the terminal, you drive your car onto a train car, and the train takes you across.

I don't know much about the reasons for choosing one side of the road over another, and am looking for more information about the reasons for the original choice and the motivations for changing sides. In Europe and the Americas, it seems that left-hand driving was originally the general rule; this was legislated by papal decree in or about 1300. France changed to the right under Robespierre as a gesture of independence from the popes, and when Napoleon later conquered much of Europe, the conquered countries were made to change sides and they never went back. The United States of America drove on the left when they were British colonies, and gradually changed sides of the road beginning in 1792. Driving preferences of most countries which have been colonies of European countries can be traced back to their colonial masters -- for example, most former British colonies drive on the left, with the notable exception of the USA.

I have been told that the authoritative reference on this subject is a book called The Rule of the Road, by an author named Kincaid. The book is out of print but you may be able to find it in libraries. I have not read it myself yet, but I am trying to obtain a copy.

2. THE LIST

R

Drive on the right-hand side of the road (and mostly the driver sits on the left side of the car).

L

Drive on the left-hand side of the road (and mostly the driver sits on the right side of the car).

R, L

As above, but unconfirmed reports, unsure, or guesses.
?
Unknown to me so far.
0
Pretty much uninhabited or no convention established.

3. BORDER CROSSINGS

A related question, of course, is "If (some country) and (some other country) have a land border, how do drivers switch sides when they cross the border?" This is not such a great puzzle as it might seem, because in general, one has to stop at a border crossing anyway.

In most cases, it seems that you drive into the customs area, park your vehicle for inspection, and then when you leave via the other side of the parking lot, you simply make sure you are on the correct side of the road.

Here are a few reports from the scene...

Andrew Myles: It was not a problem at the only border I have been to like this (Zaire -Uganda). The traffic was slow and there was very little of it. There was just a sign reminding you to swap sides.

Lynn Garry Salmon: The border crossing from China (where they drive on the right) to Pakistan (where they drive on the left) merely has a sign at the side of the road that says "Entering Pakistan, Drive Left" and for those going the other way "Entering China, Drive Right".

agsmith@matai.vuw.ac.nz: Usually you don't drive straight through a border post. The only place I've crossed a land border where the side of the road for driving changes is between Afghanistan and Pakistan. We drove into a car park (using the right hand side) and after the border formalities, drove out using the left hand side. Douglas Clark: Both Hong Kong and Macao drive on the left and China on the right. In each case, now, when you cross the border, you do so through a car park/customs area and merely exit onto the correct side of the road.

4. OTHER INTERESTING TIDBITS

The USA once drove on the left. Most people in the USA don't realize this, but the United States of America drove on the left when they were settled by Europeans -- they were, after all, British colonies and of course adopted British driving practices. The native Americans already on the continent presumably either had no preference established and/or were not involved in the decision.

I have been told that the USA began to switch to right-hand driving state by state beginning in 1792 I don't know why the change was made, but I will continue to gather more information. Napoleon marched on the right Mark Brader writes: "...a Toronto Star article of October 21, 1991... notes that in Europe, left-side driving was once the general rule, but it was promulgated by the popes; Robespierre changed France to the right, apparently to weaken papal influence over everyday lives. Then Napoleon's armies also marched on the right, and other countries that he invaded changed perforce." Others have stated that the keep-left rule become law across Europe because of a papal decree around 1300 that on all roads leading to Rome, pilgrims must keep to the left side of the road. Changing from one side to the other

Trevor Jordan says, "The Channel Isles drove on the right, under German influence, in the early 1940s just as the Falkland Islands did, under Argentine influence, in the early 1980s... the influence of conquerors did not end with Napoleon but has not generally been as great or as permanent."

Malcolm Roe writes, "Sweden changed from driving on the left to driving on the right in the 1960s. This, of course, was because all its neighbors drove on the right. I remember the newspaper reports of this happening. The roads were completely closed, apart from emergency vehicles, for a day or two while changes were made to road signs etc. I think this was over a weekend. Then a very low speed limit was applied which was raised in a number of steps. The whole process, if I remember correctly, took about a month. Everyone knew that it was going to happen several years before and started to buy left hand drive vehicles so, by the time the change occurred, many of the vehicles had been replaced.

Mark Brader notes that until the 1920s, the 10 present Canadian provinces were split 5-5 between driving on the right and the left. Others have noted that Ontario switched from left to right in the 1820s, and B.C. and the Maritimes switched from left to right in the 1920s.Those who really have it tough

Almost always, in countries where one drives on the right-hand side of the road, the cars are built so that the driver sits on the left-hand side of the car. Conversely, driving on the left-hand side of the road usually implies that the driver's seat is on the right-hand side of the car. The driver generally sits on the side of the car that is nearest the centerline. However, this is not universally true.

Joe Flake notes that in 1983, he visited St Thomas (US Virgin Islands) and found that one drives on the left side of the road, but the cars are all US-standard, with the driver sitting on the left-hand side of the car. "Confusing enough to be on the 'wrong' side, but passing on the narrow roads was a real treat. You really depend on the passenger! Ease out across the center line and get either approval or a loud 'NO!' from the passenger."

Malcolm Roe says that in Cyprus, both north and south, they drive on the left. "However, because of the political isolation of the North, vehicles are imported from Turkey, mostly second hand. As a consequence the same situation has arisen as in the US Virgin Islands: i.e., left hand drive cars driven on the left."

What about trains?

It is the signaling equipment that determines whether a double track railway goes on the left or on the right. Modern main-line railways are usually equipped to allow traffic at full speed in either direction on either track, and in some cases it is normal to use both tracks for trains in the same direction simultaneously. But on tracks with older signaling equipment, as well as on lines with heavy traffic such as metros and suburban traffic, each track is almost always used in one direction only. Most railway authorities then have a general rule. (Jens Brix Christiansen)

Specific rules for some European countries:

Left: Sweden, UK, Belgium, France, Switzerland, Italy

Right: Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands

Most of the time, countries pick one side or the other for their trains, there are often exceptions, sometimes for reasons which are unknown, at least to us, and sometimes for historically interesting reasons. In France (where cars keep to the right), most trains run on the left, but the Paris Metro runs on the right, as does one line of the RER commuter system (which is run by the city transit system (RATP) rather than the national railway, SNCF). (Mark Brader)

Russia's exception is that while trains in most of the country run on the right, the trains on the line between Moscow and Ryazan run on the left. This line was designed and built by British engineers. (Sergey Fedosov) Most trains in Britain operate on the left, like road traffic, but there are a number of short sections on the London Underground where for one reason or another they operate on the right. (Mark Brader)

In the USA and Canada, trains generally keep to the right, with one interesting exception: the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, running on the left. Two reasons have been suggested for the C&NW's left-hand operation. One possibility is that its original construction was financed by British capital, which influenced the track plans. The other is that the stations, oriented for inbound traffic, were arbitrarily placed all on one side of the tracks when the line was single-track, and when the second track was added it was impractical to change all the station alignments so the outbound track ended up on the left. (Don Howard, Eric Zimmerman)

In Korea the trains drive on the left, presumably because the system was built by the Japanese when Korea was a Japanese colony. The Seoul subway, on the other hand, was constructed beginning in the 1980s with French aid; by that time, Korean and French drivers were both driving on the right, so the subway does too... except for one subway line which connects directly to the National Railway, and therefore must be on the left. "It can be confusing when deciding which side of a concourse to board a train," says Douglas Clark

Rui Gustavo Crespo notes that where neighboring countries run their trains on opposite sides of the track, trains must switch sides at the border. "In Netherlands trains run on the right, but in Belgium they move on the left. Last Sunday I traveled between the two countries. At Roosendal (a Dutch city close to the border), the train stopped at the railway station and had to wait for permission to move to the left track: from then, although we were still in Netherlands, our train was conducted on the left."

And boats?

Rob Dvorak writes (20 Feb 1997) "It's nice to know all shipping and boating is keep to the right. Even in the GB intercostal waterways and canals it is keep to the right. I wonder how the British like that?"

5. POPULATION DISTRIBUTION

Analysis by Bernd Wechner, b.wechner@aitec.edu.au, November 1996:
Having often encountered the implicit assumption that everyone but England and some of her colonies drive on the right side of the road, I compiled from the above list, a quick table of populations to provide a clue as to just how evenly the sides are represented. As it turns out, some 4 billion people drive right, and 2 billion drive left (when they drive at all that is). So a goodly third of the world drives on the left.

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