Why do people in England drive on the left side of the road? Do they drive this way in the whole UK?

Show all answers

Polo

We drive on the left side because it's the right side, not the wrong side....

levi636

In the Middle Ages you kept to the left for the simple reason that you never knew who you'd meet on the road in those days. You wanted to make sure that a stranger passed on the right so you could go for your sword in case he proved unfriendly.

This custom was given official sanction in 1300 AD, when Pope Boniface VIII invented the modern science of traffic control by declaring that pilgrims headed to Rome should keep left.

The papal system prevailed until the late 1700s, when teamsters in the United States and France began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses.

These wagons had no driver's seat. Instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team.

Since you were sitting on the left, naturally you wanted everybody to pass on the left so you could look down and make sure you kept clear of the other guy's wheels. Ergo, you kept to the right side of the road.

The first known keep-right law in the U.S. was enacted in Pennsylvania in 1792, and in the ensuing years many states and Canadian provinces followed suit.

In France the keep-right custom was established in much the same way. An added impetus was that, this being the era of the French Revolution and all, people figured, hey, no pope is gonna tell ME what to do.

Later Napoleon enforced the keep-right rule in all countries occupied by his armies. The custom endured even after the empire was destroyed.

In small-is-beautiful Britain, though, they didn't use monster wagons that required the driver to ride a horse. Instead the guy sat on a seat mounted on the wagon.

What's more, he usually sat on the right side of the seat so the whip wouldn't hang up on the load behind him when he flogged the horses. (Then as now, most people did their flogging right-handed.)

So the English continued to drive on the left, not realizing that the tide of history was running against them and they would wind up being ridiculed by folks like you with no appreciation of life's little ironies.

Keeping left first entered English law in 1756, with the enactment of an ordinance governing traffic on the London Bridge, and ultimately became the rule throughout the British Empire.

The trend among nations over the years has been toward driving on the right, but Britain has done its best to stave off global homogenization.

Its former colony India remains a hotbed of leftist sentiment, as does Indonesia, which was occupied by the British in the early 19th century. The English minister to Japan achieved the coup of his career in 1859 when he persuaded his hosts to make keep-left the law in the future home of Toyota and Mitsubishi.

Nonetheless, the power of the right has been growing steadily. When Germany annexed Austria in 1938, it brutally suppressed the latter's keep-left rights, and much the same happened in Czechoslovakia in 1939.

The last holdouts in mainland Europe, the Swedes, finally switched to the right in 1967 because most of the countries they sold Saabs and Volvos to were righties and they got tired of having to make different versions for domestic use and export.

jungle j

we drive on the left handside here in OZ as well......

greenorlagh

Yes - the whole of the UK drives on that side. As does Republic of Ireland.

snafu

i think driving in the england originated from olden days when horses were used.back then the men carried swords and as most people are right handed the sword and scabbard was on the left side and therefore would be kept away from the riders coming in the other direction and also would mount the horse from the left side...so would travel to the left side of the road.
it is thought that more people have a stronger seeing right eye which would make driving on the left the more natural way and some studies have argued that there have been less accidents in left side of the road countries.

"Traffic flows in a clockwise direction when driving on the left which enables right eyed people to use the right eye to see oncoming traffic. When overtaking (passing) on a right-side-driving road, the right-eyed driver looks in the wing mirror (side mirror) with the left eye and also views the oncoming traffic with the left eye which is not suited to the majority right-eyed people."
(excerpt from wikipedia website.)

im from uk and yes we do drive on the left throughout the uk not just england.
it does seem odd to drive on the right hand side which for you seems natural and vica versa driving on the left must seem odd to you.
it was not my intention to argue the case of which is the better but just to give comment to your question.

T T

No, you clown. When they face the other way they are on the other side hahaha

Maxi Robespierre

We invented the car so we drive exactly where we want to.

EDIT:It was not Ford. Far from it

KAHLAH1O1

in Jamaica we drive o the left also.

yup. Fraid so.

Jeff Egg

what side is left?

Not sure why we drive on the left but yes the whole of the UK and Ireland drive on the left as well.

Ca$h Bag$$

because they want 2

JUAN B

That custom comes from old times, before there were cars. When people used to travel, they preferred to be on the left side of the road so they had more liberty to use the right hand to defend themselves against any robbers, using a sword or a gun.
Why in the other countries of Europe people drive on the right side, is because of Napoleon. When Napoleon conquered Europe, many of the roads were in bad shape since Roman times. Napoleon fixed the major roads across Europe and established the circulation of traffic on the right side. Some say he did just to go against the way the British traveled , to show that he was no aristocrat. Others say that it was easier for him to control his horse so he made everybody else to travel on the same side he traveled.

Jasmine Peters At Home

It's an old custom from way back that we drive on the left. However, some drivers DO drive on the right and this invariably results in a serious head-on crash which is something most of us here try to avoid.

"Do they drive this way in the whole UK?" - No. In London we drive on the left, but in Birmingham they drive on the right.....are you by any chance a friend of "Miss Piggy" the Muppet?

popa

yes thewhole of uk work it out how would it workout if only part of the country drove on the left. why do we drive on the left it gose back when swords were worn on the left drawn by right arm should the need arise.popa

Carrie S

Yes, the whole of the UK and some former colonies too. It made sense in the past when men rode horses and needed their right hands to weald a sword to any passer-by who might not have been very friendly. 75 countries currently drive on the left.

Steff

depends on what way your driving

fardy

We in the Uk drive on the left side of the road which is the right side of the road ............!!!!!!

The Lost Elf

its not just in England but al the countries like India , canada which are or were once a prt of British empire drive on the left

Lord worthy of knotso.

The reason is that most people are right handed, so when a stage coach driver held a whip it was in his right hand. They sat on the right and kept to the left so when he used the whip it was away from people walking. In mainland Europe instead of whips they had a man sit on the lead horse, he sat on the left so that he could hold the reins of the other horse in his right hand. I hope that helps.

yep we drive like that dont know why we just do lol

blackgrumpycat

There is one street in London where you drive on the right. It is outside the Savoy Hotel in London. I understand that this is the opposite way around so that cab drivers can (or could) get out of the cab safely to open the doors for their customers. As far as I am aware, this is the only road in the UK which operates like this. The Savoy Hotel is closed at the moment, so I am not sure if the road is still open or not.

Ken B

No, of course not, every individual village and town decides on which side it wants to drive, thereby ensuring total chaos, and providing car repairers with a decent living.

Monkey Hanger

Because its our country and yes it is across the UK & Ireland

MarJoe

They do this so when they pull up to the curb, they can get out of the car with out stepping into traffic. The whole U K is that way.

johndehaura

I prefer the chaotic+calm system over in the Netherlands.

A much cleverer race than those of other denied EU status.

I don't think they'll EVER have the UK in the EU.

We must try harder to prove ourselves to be a sensible nation with at least some intelligence.

Lalana

I think the king at the time of the first driver was left handed.

Rev. Dr. Al Poe

The Queen makes them do it.

Enter Your Message or Comment

User Name:
User Email:
Post a comment: