Prompt Cast
The History and Reasons Behind Driving on the Left or Right Side of the Road
TLDR The choice of which side of the road to drive on varies globally, with 70% of countries driving on the right and 30% on the left. The tradition of driving on the left in Britain may be a legacy from Roman times, while the rest of Europe drives on the right due to the influence of Rome.
Timestamped Summary
00:00
There is no global standard for which side of the road to drive on, despite there only being two possibilities.
01:49
Approximately 70% of humanity lives in a right driving country and 30% in a left driving country, with the large percentage of left-hand driving countries being islands or former British colonies, and the lack of incentive to change due to the significant number of left-hand driving countries.
03:30
Most theories about driving on the left or right side of the road are based on the fact that most people are right-handed, with the British tradition of driving on the left likely being a legacy from its time as a Roman province, while the rest of Europe drives on the right due to the larger impact of Rome on continental Europe.
05:05
Most countries standardized driving on the right side of the road over time, with France being the first to adopt this convention, and many countries choosing the right side because their neighbors did, while the United States and Canada initially used the right side due to the influence of early settlers.
06:43
Sweden switched from driving on the left to driving on the right in 1967, which required a complete ban on non-essential traffic in the country for the day.
08:27
Switching from driving on the left to driving on the right requires changing road signs, bus stops, and a marketing campaign, and most cars manufactured for driving on the right are left-hand drive.
10:14
Switching from driving on the left to driving on the right requires adjusting to different gear shifting and turning on the windshield wipers instead of the turn signal, but with practice, it becomes easier to switch between driving on different sides of the road.
