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Driving on either the left or the right side of the road reduces the incidence of vehicles being involved in head-on traffic accident with each other. This is so fundamental that it is sometimes known simply as the rule of the road. About 34% of the world by population drive on the left, and 66% on the right. By roadway distances, about 28% drive on the left, and 72% on the right,{{cite web|last=Lucas | first=Brian | title= Which side of the road do they drive on? | year=2005 | url=http://www.brianlucas.ca/roadside/ | accessdate=2006-08-03--> even though originally most traffic drove on the left worldwide.

History 's change in 1858


In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Ancient Rome quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on one side were observed to be much deeper than those on the other side, which would make sense given that carts would be driven without any load on the way to the quarry, but would return laden with stone. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this particular location.

In fact, some believe that ancient travellers on horseback generally rode on the left side of the road. As more people are right-handed, horsemen would thus be able to hold the reins with their left hands and keep their right hand free—to offer in friendship to passing riders or to defend themselves with swords, if necessary. This also explains why men's jackets and shirts have the buttons on the right. It was important to be able to reach a weapon inside a cloak, so for a right-handed person, the cloak had the left flap over the right flap and the right hand could easily reach in and grab the weapon.

The first legal reference in Britain to an order for traffic to remain on the left occurred in 1756 with regard to London Bridge. The Highway Act 1773 contained a recommendation that horse traffic should remain on the left and this is enshrined in section 78 of the Highway Act 1835.

In the late 1700s, a shift from left to right took place in countries such as the United States, when teamsters started using large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. The wagons had no driver’s seat, so the driver sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right hand. Seated on the left, the driver naturally preferred that other wagons overtake him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the wheels of oncoming wagons. He did that by driving on the right side of the road.

The British, however, kept to the left. They had smaller wagons, and the driver sat on the wagon, usually on the right side of the front seat. From there he could use his long whip in his right hand without entangling it in the cargo behind him. In that position, on the right side of the wagon, the driver could judge the safety margin of overtaking traffic by keeping to the left side of the road. Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted the keep-left rule too, although there were some exceptions. Canada, for example, where the maritime provinces and Vancouver (later to become British Columbia) drove on the left, eventually changed to the right in order to make border crossings to and from the United States easier. Nova Scotia switched to driving on the right on 15 April 1923.

On most early motor vehicles, the driving seat was positioned centrally. Some car manufacturers later chose to place it near the centre of the road to help drivers see oncoming traffic, while others chose to put the driver's seat on the Curb (road) side so that the drivers could avoid damage from walls, hedges, gutters and other obstacles. Eventually the former idea prevailed.

In Europe, the 20th century saw a slow but steady shift from keep-left to keep-right. Portugal switched to the right early in the 20th century. Austria and Czechoslovakia changed to the right when occupied by Nazi Germany at the end of the 1930s, and Hungary followed suit. Sweden changed in 1967 and Iceland in 1968. Today, just four European countries still drive on the left: United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta. All 4 are island nations that have no border with countries that drive on the right.

Terminology A country's traffic-handedness is most properly designated with reference to the rule of the road, i.e., the side of the road along which traffic flows. Using such a referent, countries are said to have left-hand traffic (LHT) or right-hand traffic (RHT). However, traffic-handedness is sometimes designated with reference to the placement of the steering wheel and driver's seat within vehicles. Using this terminology, countries are said to be left-hand drive (LHD) or right-hand drive (RHD). In almost all cases, the placement of the steering wheel is opposite to the rule of the road: LHT countries use RHD vehicles, and RHT countries use LHD vehicles. Confusion can arise from the misuse of "LHD" and "RHD" to indicate the side of the road along which vehicles are driven. In addition, there have been markets (such as some Caribbean islands, and Sweden before the 1967 change from LHT to RHT) that use mostly LH-drive vehicles with LH-traffic, or mostly RH-drive vehicles with RH-traffic. In addition, "wrong" hand-drive vehicles are permitted in many markets.

Right-hand traffic

Left-hand traffic

Myths and miscellaneous facts in Johannesburg, South Africa during rush hour as it passes through the Suburbs of Johannesburg of Sandton, Gauteng. Like most former British colonies in Africa, South Africa drives on the left.'s Great Ocean Road reminding foreign motorists to keep left.Approximately one quarter to one third of the world's traffic travels on the left-hand side of the road. Some claim that this practice arose from the prevalence of right-handedness, although such prevalence occurs in virtually all populations, regardless of which side of the road is used. In any case, the need to be ready for self-defence on rural roads inclined most horse-riders to keep to their left when encountering oncoming wayfarers, so as to be able to deploy a sword or other hand-weapon more swiftly and effectively should the need arise. Also, those on foot and in charge of horse-drawn vehicles would more usually hold the animals' heads with their right hand, and thus walk along the left hand side of the road.

The British author C. Northcote Parkinson has presented what he calls "proof" that the British way of driving (on the left side of the road) is the natural one.

Some claim that left-hand traffic is thought to be a singularly British custom, the corollary being that the rest of the world "naturally" keeps to the right when meeting. The historical record suggests otherwise. (See "Places of Interest" section below.) Prior to World War I, countries observing the left-hand rule included parts of Canada, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, parts of Austria, Sweden, Iceland, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, parts of Brazil, parts of Chile, parts of Italy, China, the Philippines, and Burma. Italy changed when Benito Mussolini came to power, Austria and Czechoslovakia when Adolf Hitler annexed or occupied them, the Latin American countries by 1945, the Philippines and China in 1946 (leaving Hong Kong and Macau isolated), and Burma/Myanmar in 1970 on the advice of a soothsayer.

Some Commonwealth of Nations countries and other former Crown colony — notably India and Hong Kong — continue to drive on the left, but others, such as #Canada, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the #United States switched to the other side.It should be noted, of course, that some of these former British colonies ceased to be colonies and became independent before the advent of motor vehicles, e.g., the United States and Canada.

Apart from former British colonies, most countries' traffic now moves on the right hand side. Exceptions are Indonesia, Suriname, #Japan, Thailand, Mozambique, East Timor, Macau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

One frequently hears the story that Napoleon changed the rule of the road in the countries he conquered from keep-left to keep-right. The justifications mentioned are usually symbolic, such as that Napoleon himself was left- (or right-) handed, or that Britain, Napoleon's enemy, kept left. This story has never been shown to have a factual basis and it appears to be a legend; Peter Kincaid concludes so in his book on the rule of the road (pp. 14, 99-100). More research is needed on European rule-of-the-road legislation during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Research in 1969 by J.J. Leeming showed that countries that drive on the left had a lower accident rate than countries that drive on the right, but this research is questioned in Peter Kincaid's book on the rule of the road. Some countries that have switched to driving on the right (such as #Sweden) saw their long term accident rates increase by more than any increase in traffic volumes. It has been suggested, but not proven, that this is partly because it is more common to be ocular dominance.Chaurasia BD, Mathur BB. "Eyedness." Acta Anat (Basel). 1976;96(2):301-5.PMID 970109.Reiss MR. "Ocular dominance: some family data." Laterality. 1997;2(1):7-16. PMID 15513049.Ehrenstein WH, Arnold-Schulz-Gahmen BE, Jaschinski W. "Eye preference within the context of binocular functions." Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2005 Sep;243(9):926-32. Epub 2005 Apr 19. PMID 15838666. 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 on a right-side-driving road, the right-eyed driver looks in the wing 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.

Changing sides at borders

There are many instances of traffic having to change sides at border crossings, such as at those between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Laos and Thailand, Sudan and Uganda. Thailand is particularly notable in the context of border crossings, as it is the only sizeable country that has nearly all of its borders with countries that drive on the opposite side. It drives on the left, but 90% (4,357 km or 2,707 miles) of its borders are with countries that drive on the right, with only Malaysia driving on the left since Myanmar (Burma) changed from driving on the left to driving on the right in 1970.

Many borders are formed from natural barriers such as mountains or rivers, and this is particularly true of borders where traffic changes sides of the road, especially in Asia. These natural barriers make the number of border crossings much lower than would otherwise be the case. Furthermore, given their remoteness, most mountain border crossings have relatively low traffic volumes and so changing sides of the road is even less of an issue.

The four most common ways of switching traffic from one side to the other at borders are:







Changing the rule The most common reason for countries to switch to driving on the right is for conformity with neighbours, as it increases the safety of cross-border traffic. For example, former British colonies in Africa, such as Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana, have all changed from left- to right-hand traffic, as they all share borders with former French colonies, which drive on the right. The former Portuguese colony of Mozambique has always driven on the left, as all its neighbours are former British colonies. Decisions by countries to drive on the right typically concern conformity and uniformity rather than practical reasons. There are historical exceptions, such as postilion riders in France, but such historical advantages do not apply to modern road vehicles.

In the former British Crown colony of #Hong Kong and Macau and the former Portugal enclave of #Hong Kong and Macau, traffic continues to drive on the left, unlike in #China (mainland), despite the fact that they are now its Special administrative region (People's Republic of China)s. On the other hand, Taiwan, formerly under Taiwan under Japanese rule, changed to driving on the right in 1946 after the government of the Republic of China assumed administration; the same happened in Korea (both North and South), a former Japanese colony under U.S. and Soviet occupation. However, some trains in Seoul, as well as pedestrian traffic in the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system, still keep to the left.

Foreign occupation and military transit Many countries have temporarily or permanently changed their rule of the road as a result of foreign Military occupation. Recent examples include Austria, Czechoslovakia (Switch to right hand traffic in Czechoslovakia) and Hungary under German rule or military transit in the 1930s and 1940ss. The Channel Islands also changed to driving on the right under German occupation, but changed back after liberation in 1945. The Falkland Islands did the same under Argentine control during the 1982 Falklands War. (Although the Argentine government officially ordered the islanders to drive on the right, they often drove on the left to assert their defiance to occupation.) East Timor changed to driving on the left under Indonesian rule in 1976, and continues the practice as an independent state. The Japanese region of Okinawa changed from left to right under U.S. occupation; after the occupation ended, it changed back to driving on the left to match the rest of Japan.

Uniformity in London (the UK usually drives on the left), England heading towards Scotland.Article 9(1) of the United Nations' Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) (requires subscription) requires each country to have a uniform direction of traffic, i.e. each country may have either left-hand traffic or right-hand traffic, but not both. The exact wording of the article is:Before that, a country could have different rules in different parts, for example Canada until the 1920s.

When islands are excluded, the only continents in which the same rule of the road applies over the entire continent are:
  • Australia with left-hand traffic.
  • Mainland Europe, since Sweden changed to right-hand traffic in 1967.
  • North America, including Central America, since British Honduras changed to right-hand traffic in 1961.


    • Africa, Asia, and South America have land borders where drivers must change to the other side of the road.

    Vehicles Legal restrictions on "wrong-hand drive" vehicles For safety reasons (and in some cases political or economic reasons), some countries have banned the sale or import of vehicles with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side.

    from the United States with RHD assembled from Complete knock down by Australian Motor Industries in 1969. Even the antenna location was changed.In Australia this is the case with non-vintage (i.e. less than 30 years old) LHD vehicles, with the result that Australians who import such vehicles usually must pay sometimes thousands of dollars to convert them to RHD. The exceptions are for vehicles registered in Western Australia and the Northern Territory - both which have at various times hosted U.S. military facilities and had vehicles imported, used and sold by U.S service personnel in circulation. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) previously allowed non-vintage LHD vehicles to be registered, but changed its legislation some years ago.

    In New Zealand, LHD vehicles may be privately imported, and driven locally under a LHD permit. Since 1999, only LHD vehicles older than 20 years or cars owned and operated for at least 90 days may be privately imported. Diplomats and Operation Deep Freeze personnel are exempted from these restrictions.

    In the Philippines, RHD vehicles especially cars, are banned. Public buses and vans imported from Japan are converted to LHD, and passenger doors are created on the right side. However, some vans keep their doors on the left side, leading to the odd (and dangerous) situation in which passengers have to exit toward oncoming traffic.

    Cambodia banned the use of RHD cars, many of which were smuggled from Thailand, from 2001, even though RHD vehicles accounted for 80 per cent of vehicles in the country. The government threatened to confiscate all such vehicles unless they were converted to LHD, in spite of the considerable expense involved. According to a BBC report, changing the steering column from right to left would cost between US$600 and US$2000, in a country where average annual income was less than US$1000.

    Although it drives on the right, North Korea has imported various used RHD vehicles from Japan, from tourist buses to Toyota Land Cruisers.

    However, many grey import from Japan to countries like Russia and Peru are already converted to LHD. But even if the driver's position is left unchanged, some jurisdictions require at least readjustment of the headlights.

    Singapore bans LHD vehicles from being imported for personal local registration, but temporary usage by tourists of LHD vehicles is allowed. However, diplomatic vehicles in Singapore are exempt from the RHD-only ruling, and there are a few hydrogen and fuel cell powered LHD vehicles currently undergoing trials in Singapore.

    In Taiwan, Article 39 of the Road Traffic Security Rules (s:zh:道路交通安全規則) require a steering wheel to be on the left side of a vehicle to pass an inspection when registering the vehicle, so RHD vehicles may not be registered in Taiwan. This rule does not apply retroactively so older RHD vehicles may continue to be legally driven.

    In Trinidad and Tobago, LHD vehicles are banned except for returning nationals who were resident in a foreign country and are importing a vehicle for personal use. LHD vehicles are also allowed to be imported for use as funeral hearses.

    In West Africa, once-British Ghana and Gambia have also banned RHD vehicles. Their traffic has been changed from on the left to on the right. Ghana prohibited new registrations of RHD vehicles after 1 August 1974, three days before the traffic change on 4 August 1974. RHD vehicles may be imported only temporarily into Sierra Leone, for example for humanitarian programmes, but must be rexported at the end of the operation.

    Most of the above bans on RHD and LHD vehicles apply only to locally-registered vehicles. Countries that have signed the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic are not allowed to make such restrictions on foreign-registered vehicles. Paragraph 1 of Annex 5 states "All vehicles in international traffic must meet the technical requirements in force in their country of registration when they first entered into service". Therefore all signatory countries and most non-signatory countries allow the temporary import (e.g. by tourists) of foreign-registered vehicles, no matter which side the steering wheel is on. Oman, which has not signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic bans all foreign-registered RHD vehicles.

    Both RHD and LHD vehicles may generally be registered in any European Union member state, but there are some restrictions and regulations. Slovakia, despite being a member of the European Union, does not allow the local registration of RHD vehicles, even if the vehicle is imported from one of the four EU countries that drive on the left (UK, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta). Lithuania proibits new RHD vehicle registration since 1993.

    Headlamps and other lighting equipment Most low-beam headlamps are specifically designed for use on one side of the road or the other. Headlamps for use in LH-traffic countries have low-beam headlamps that "dip to the left", i.e., the light is distributed with a downward/leftward bias to show the driver the road and signs ahead without blinding oncoming traffic. Headlamps for RH-traffic countries have low beams that "dip to the right", with most of their light directed downward/rightward. Within Europe, when driving a vehicle with RH-traffic headlamps in a LH-traffic country or vice versa for a limited time (as for example on vacation or in transit), it is a legal requirement to adjust the headlamps temporarily so that the wrong-side hot spot of the beam does not dazzle oncoming drivers. This may be achieved by adhering blackout strips or plastic prismatic lenses to a designated part of the lens, but some varieties of the Headlamp#Projector (polyellipsoidal) lamps can be made to produce a proper LH- or RH-traffic beam by shifting a lever or other movable element in or on the lamp assembly.

    Because blackout strips and adhesive prismatic lenses reduce the safety performance of the headlamps, most countries require all vehicles registered or used on a permanent or semi-permanent basis within the country to be equipped with headlamps designed for the correct traffic-handedness.

    Anecdotal reporters have observed the requirement to adjust headlamps for the traffic-handedness of the country is increasingly flouted, and is now rarely enforced by European police forces. In France, this may be due in part to the 1993 deletion of the previous requirement for Selective yellow headlamp light; foreign-registered vehicles are now much less conspicuous at night.

    Without sidecars attached, motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, and bicycles are almost symmetric with their handlebars in the centre. However, motorcycles are often equipped with automotive-type asymmetrical-beam headlamps that likewise require adjustments or replacement when brought into a country with opposite traffic-handedness.

    Rear fog lamps Within the EU, vehicles must be equipped with one or two red Automotive Lighting#Rear fog lamps. A single rear fog lamp may be located on the vehicle centreline, or on the driver's side of the vehicle. It may not be located on the passenger's side of the vehicle. This sometimes requires the purchase and installation of local-market lighting components.

    Buses coaches.Buses typically have passenger doors only on the Curb (road) side, which severely restricts their ability to operate effectively on the opposite side of the road to that for which they were designed. Increasingly, touring Coach (vehicle), which are likely to cross frontiers of traffic-handedness during their duties, are fitted with a door on the opposite side from the kerb, to simplify access and egress in the foreign country. In Britain this is known as a "continental door", since its usefulness will be in continental Europe. It doubles as an emergency exit, but is much more user-friendly than an exit designed solely for emergency use.

    It is usually fairly straightforward to retrofit a non-kerb-side door on buses with relatively low floor height, for example the many traditional British Double-decker bus sold on for tourist use in the USA and Canada.

    Trains Trains often do not operate on the same side of the road as cars do. In France, for instance, the first train lines were built by an English engineer, so kept to the left - which is the opposite for cars. An exception is the Alsace-Moselle region, where trains keep to the right because the lines were built in the late 19th century when Alsace-Moselle had been part of Germany. Bridges at the former border allow the trains to swap sides.

    Moreover the exceptions of left or right hand driving are much more common for trains than for cars. Initially, most steam engines were RHD, with the driver (engineer) sitting on the right, and the fireman (conductor) sitting on the left. This was customary in the UK and it spread to the USA and elsewhere in the world. RHD was never converted to LHD even if the trains switched to right-hand running. RHD remains the customary way for operating trains, with the driver on the right and assistant, sitting on the left side of the cab. Ironically, some railways, particularly, the London Underground, switched to LHD with left-hand running. Left Hand Drive with left hand running also became common on UK mainline railways, with the Great Western being the only of the "big four" to keep the driver on the right.

    In countries with trains keeping to the right it is often said that RHD is safer, as it is possible that something from a train passing on the left track (like opened cargo doors) may hit the train. In such case driver on the right is safer than if he were sitting to the left. Also, since signs and signals are usually placed on the outside of double track formations (e.g left hand side for left hand running or right hand side for right hand running), having the driver on the side as well makes it easier for them to see signs and signals, and also to view back along the platform either directly or using mirrors, particularly useful with one person operated trains.

    Tram and Streetcar systems follow the same rules as normal road traffic in the country concerned, both on road and on reserved sections. The driver is usually positioned towards the centre of the vehicle, although some one person operated trams have been developed where the driver sits towards the centre of the road (e.g on the left hand running Blackpool system, the driver is on the right) with the passenger doors on the kerb side.

    Unlike on the road, it is possible for trains to safely run on the wrong side so long as bi-directional signalling is installed. This is normally only done in limited circumstances, since junctions and other infrastructure is usually optimised for running in one direction.

    Countries with trains generally keeping to the right (incomplete list)http://www.brianlucas.ca/roadside/

    Countries with trains generally keeping to the left (incomplete list):

    Boats Generally all water traffic keeps to the right. This is historically because, prior to the use of a rudder, the boat was steered by a steering oar, which was located on the right-hand side of the boat, because the helmsman, standing in the middle of the boat and looking ahead, used his right hand to operate it. By keeping to the right, boats pass port (nautical)-to-port, protecting the steering oar. Contrary to popular belief, starboard does not derive from steer board, but in fact from steering side. Traditionally, boats would also moor with the left hand side to the quay to prevent damage to the steering oar, and this was referred to as larboard (“loading side”), later replaced by port to prevent confusion from the similar sounding words.When modern style rudders fixed to the stern were developed, the helmsman was moved amidships (on the centreline), and when wheels replaced tillers this generally remained the same. Some boats, typically smaller pleasure craft, have the wheel on the left hand side, to give a better view of passing traffic.

    However, there are many exceptions, often indicated on the particular bridge itself.

    Priority As well as the side of the road, priority rules also differ between countries. In the United Kingdom, priority is always indicated by signs or road markings, in that almost every junction not governed by traffic lights or a roundabout has a concept of a major road and minor road. In most of Continental Europe, the default priority is to give way to the right, but this default is overridden by signs or road markings on all but very minor roads. In many residential areas in Germany and Luxembourg now you have to give way to the right in an effort to slow down traffic. In France, until the 1980s, the "priorité à droite" (give way to the right) rule was employed at most roundabouts, in that traffic already on the roundabout had to give way to traffic entering the roundabout. Most French roundabouts now have give-way signs for traffic entering the roundabout, but there remain some notable exceptions that operate on the old rule, such as the Place de l'Étoile around the Arc de Triomphe. Traffic on this particular roundabout is so chaotic that French insurance companies deem any accident on the roundabout to be equal liability. United Kingdom, and Ireland drivers, who are accustomed to having right of way by default unless they are specifically told to give way, are often more confused by the default give-way-to-the-right rule used on minor roads in nearby Continental Europe than they are by switching sides of the road.

    Lanes When driving on the left:

    When driving on the right:

    Places of interest Afghanistan Afghanistan drives on the right. Most vehicles in much of the country, however, are RHD cars imported from neighbouring Pakistan (with the exception of Herat and other western provinces). In the capital Kabul, most drivers have adapted to this problem, leaning over the passenger seat (on the car's left side) before making a left turn or before the dangerous practice of overtaking other vehicles by veering into the left (oncoming traffic) lane. The country also has a large volume of military vehicle traffic from the U.S., Canada and EU militaries, much of which is LHD.

    Australia Australia drives on the left. For many decades all Australian states and territories used the "give way to the right" rule, requiring vehicles, even on major, multi-lane roads, to give way to another vehicle entering (however abruptly) from a side road and turning right onto the major road. As traffic densities and speeds increased, the collision rate became too great and the rule was changed in the early 1980s, with turning movements made much safer by various combinations of line marking, signposting and the introduction of the "T rule".{{cite web|url=http://www.transport.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/14012/Road_Rules_Handbook_Jan_2006_Part_C1.pdf|publisher=Road Transport Agency, Australian Capital Territory|title=Road Rules Handbook Jan 2006 Part C1--> However, the old rule can still apply in cases such as failed traffic lights on crossroads or unmarked rural junctions.

    Austria-Hungary The Austro-Hungarian Empire drove on the left. Successive countries switched to the right separately. Austria did it in stages, beginning from the west: Poland's Galicia switched to the right around 1924. Hungary began driving on the right in 1934, while Czechoslovakia planned to do it on 1 May 1939, but the change in Bohemia and Moravia was prompted by the German occupation forces (Bohemia: 26 March 1939).

    Canada Until the 1920s, the rule of the road in Canada varied from province to province, with British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island having cars driving on the left, and the other provinces and territories having motorists driving on the right. Starting with the interior of British Columbia on 15 July 1920 and ending with Prince Edward Island on 1 May 1924, these provinces changed to driving on the right. Newfoundland and Labrador was not part of Canada until 1949, and its motorists drove on the left until 2 January 1947.Some RHD vehicles can be found, particularly smaller Canada Post service trucks. These have extra mirrors to increase driver visibility. A few other vehicles, such as some garbage trucks may have dual LHD and RHD. The advantage of such arrangements is that the driver can hop in and out of the vehicle easily. RHD vehicles are allowed for import in Canada, providing that they were manufactured over 15 years ago. One of the very few places in Canada where traffic drives on the left is in Montreal on Quebec Autoroute 20 for the 3km between its junctions with Quebec route 138 and Quebec Autoroute 15. The two roadways remain separated for the entire 3km and the changing of sides doesn't interfere in any way with the flow of traffic.

    Caribbean The English-speaking Caribbean typically follows the keep-to-the-left rule and as a result, most cars have a RHD configuration. Examples of this may be noted in such countries as Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. In certain islands such as the British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands, most passenger cars are LHD, being imported from the United States or Brazil. Only government cars and those imported from Asia are RHD. The U.S. Virgin Islands are particularly known for having a high accident rate caused by American tourists from the mainland who are unfamiliar with driving on the left in their rental cars.

    China (mainland) Until 1946, driving in mainland China was mixed, with cars in the northern provinces driving on the right (probably to concur with Russian practice, which was "keep right" from 1920), and cars in the southern provinces such as Guangdong driving on the left, probably a result of their proximity to the British crown colony of #Hong Kong and Macau and the Portugal exclave of #Hong Kong and Macau.

    After 1946, China followed the United States, by changing to driving on the right, due to political reasons that the United States helped China to fight against Japanese occupation during World War II and American cars (mostly LHD) were already popular in the mainland.

    During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Red Guards in some cities considered that to drive on the right side of road was to take the "rightist's route/policy", and they were said to have ordered vehicles to drive on the left side. Some also attempted to reverse the traditional meaning of traffic signals by having the red light mean "go" and the green light "stop". These two changes caused a great deal of confusion and resistance so both were abolished within several months.

    There is still a great deal of confusion among drivers when they travel between the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and the rest of China. Hong Kong and Macau continue to drive on the left, while the rest of China drives on the right. It can be very disorienting, since the traffic is on opposite sides of the road, and the internal vehicle configurations are reversed as well.

    Croatia Croatia was part of the Austro Hungarian Empire at the beginning of the century, and after the collapse of the empire, it started driving right. However, there is one universal case where a garage in its capital, Zagreb is LHD. This was done so the traffic lanes in the One-way traffic from which one enters the Parking garage wouldn't cross.

    Cyprus A former British colony, Cyprus drives on the left, and cars sold locally are right hand drive, including those used by the Military of the United Kingdom in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. However, owing to its political and economic isolation, many vehicles in the self-proclaimed 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' are left hand drive, being imported from Turkey. An increasing number of right hand drive grey import vehicles from Japan are now sold in both parts of the island.

    Finland Although traffic in Finland has driven on the right-hand side since 1858, and the cars have the steering wheel on the left side, some cars, especially the cars of the Post Office (Suomen Posti) have the steering wheel on the right side, and many Post Office cars & vans in different countries including the United States have the steering wheel on the right hand side. This is so the driver can easily drive up next to mailboxes and get out straight onto the pavement without having to walk around their vehicle, or even put mail in boxes without getting out of their vehicle at all.

    Gibraltar Although the British overseas territory of Gibraltar changed to driving on the right on 16 June 1929, in order to avoid accidents involving vehicles from Spain, some public buses until recently were RHD, with a special door allowing passengers to enter on the right hand side. However, most passenger cars are LHD, as in Spain, with the exception of second-hand cars brought in from the UK and Japan and some vehicles used by the British forces.

    Guyana and Suriname Guyana and Suriname are the only two remaining countries in the mainland Americas that still drive on the left. As a result of the construction of the Pan-American Highway, four mainland American countries switched to driving on the right between 1943 and 1961, the last of which was Belize. Both Guyana and Suriname are separated from their neighbours by large rivers, over which no road bridges have yet been built. The inland south of both countries is sparsely populated with very few roads and hence no border crossings.

    However, in the south west of Guyana near Lethem, work is under way to build the Takutu River Bridge across the Takutu River into neighbouring Brazil, which drives on the right. Unlike road bridges between other countries that drive on opposite sides of the road, the changeover system will be in the country that drives on the left, i.e. Guyana, where one lane will pass under the other on the bridge's access road. Despite stalling construction in recent years, Brazil is keen to open the bridge, as it will give Brazil access to Caribbean sea ports on the north coast of South America. Brazil intends to permit Guyana registered (RHD) vehicles to go no further than the Brazilian border town of Bonfim. It is expected that Brazilian (LHD) vehicles will be able to drive all the way through Guyana to the coast. The bridge is expected to be completed by the middle of 2007. Once opened, the Takutu Bridge will be the Americas' only border crossing where traffic changes sides of the road.

    In Suriname most of the privately owned buses are imported from Japan, since the exits are designed for driving on the left. Most state-owned buses, however, are from the US (LHD) and often the placement of the exits has to be adjusted.

    Hong Kong and Macau Being a former British colony, Hong Kong follows the United Kingdom in driving on the left. Macau, a former Portuguese exclave, follows Hong Kong in driving on the left because most of the RHD cars in Macau are imported through Hong Kong. Macau did not follow either Mainland China in 1946 or Portugal in 1928 in switching to driving on the right.

    Under the auspices of the one country, two systems arrangement, traffic continues to move on the left in Hong Kong and Macau, now Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, unlike in the mainland. Most vehicles are RHD and even suppliers for the People's Liberation Army have specially made RHD version vehicles for the garrison to drive in Hong Kong and Macau. LHD exceptions include some buses providing services to and from the mainland. Vehicles registered in Hong Kong and Macau are required to have a special number plate issued by the authorities in Guangdong province to drive legally on the mainland.Registration Plates of the World, Neil Parker, John Weeks and Reg Wilson, Europlate, 1994, pages 279 and 362

    There are three road border crossing points between mainland China and Hong Kong. The largest and busiest is Lok Ma Chau ( aerial map), which features two separate changeover systems on the mainland side. The next largest is Man Kam To, where there is no changeover system and the border roads on the mainland side simply intersect as one-way streets with a main road. There are two border crossing points between mainland China and Macau. The newer crossing point is the Lotus Bridge, which crosses a narrow channel of sea between the mainland and Macau, and was opened at the end of 1999 ( aerial map). The Lotus Bridge was designed to cater for high traffic volumes and features three lanes in each direction as well as a full changeover system on the mainland side, comprising bridges that loop around each other by 360° to swap the direction of the traffic. At the older Macau crossing point, there is no changeover system and the border roads continue with traffic on the left on the mainland side, and simply intersect on to a roundabout. All of these Chinese changeover systems can be viewed in high resolution using Google Earth.

    Iceland Iceland switched traffic from left to right at 06:00 on Sunday 26 May 1968. The only injury from the changeover was a boy on a bicycle who broke his leg. (New York Times, 28 May 1968, p. 94) Numerous buses were also stuck in traffic jams.

    India India continued the colonial practice of driving on the left hand side of the road after independence. Now all vehicles are RHD with the government banning all new LHD vehicles in the country except under special circumstances, such as cars imported duty free by foreign embassies. Such vehicles are often left hand drive so that they cannot be registered in India, and are subsequently resold undercutting the nascent luxury car industry which is subject to high duty levels.

    Indonesia Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, drive on the left. Even though the country is an archipelago there are three land borders, those with Malaysia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea. All of these countries also drive on the left, Malaysia as a result of previous British occupation, East Timor as a result of previous Indonesian occupation and Papua New Guinea as a result of Australian occupation following World War One until 1975. Indonesia is outside of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is a former Dutch colony and may have changed to driving on the left during British occupation between 1811 and 1816.

    Ireland The Republic of Ireland is the next largest European state after the UK to drive on the left. Given that the Republic of Ireland shares a land border with the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) this is very unlikely to change in future. Imported cars are all RHD. Visitors to Ireland are very likely to encounter a warning sign near Irish air and sea ports, reminding them to drive on the left.

    Italy Which side of the road the Romans drove on is disputed. Archaeological evidence in Britain seems to indicate driving on the left and old Roman roads in Turkey suggest Romans used the right hand side of the road. In Italy the practice of traffic driving on the right first began in the late 1890s, but it was not until the mid 1920s that it became standard throughout the country. There was a long period when traffic in the countryside drove on the right while major cities continued to drive on the left. Rome, for example, did not change from left to right until 20 October 1924. Milan was the last italian town to change to driving on the right (August 3, 1926). Cars had remained right-hand drive (RHD) until this time. Lancia did not produce LHD cars until as late as the early 1960s, and only stopped making RHD cars altogether in 1994. Lancia is expected to start manufacturing RHD cars again in 2008.

    Japan Japan is one of the few countries outside the Commonwealth of Nations to drive on the left. An informal practice of left-hand passage dates at least to the Edo period, when samurai are said to have passed each other to the left in order to avoid knocking swords with each other (as swords were always worn to the left side). During the late 1800s, Japan built its first railways with British technical assistance, and double-tracked railways adopted the British practice of running on the left. However, army troops were ordered to keep to the right while travelling on roads, creating a double standard that was not legally resolved until 1924, when all road travel in Japan switched to the left.

    After the defeat of Japan during Driving on either the left or the right side of the road reduces the incidence of vehicles being involved in head-on traffic accident with each other. This is so fundamental that it is sometimes known simply as the rule of the road. About 34% of the world by population drive on the left, and 66% on the right. By roadway distances, about 28% drive on the left, and 72% on the right,{{cite web|last=Lucas | first=Brian | title= Which side of the road do they drive on? | year=2005 | url=http://www.brianlucas.ca/roadside/ | accessdate=2006-08-03--> even though originally most traffic drove on the left worldwide.

    History 's change in 1858


    In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Ancient Rome quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on one side were observed to be much deeper than those on the other side, which would make sense given that carts would be driven without any load on the way to the quarry, but would return laden with stone. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this particular location.

    In fact, some believe that ancient travellers on horseback generally rode on the left side of the road. As more people are right-handed, horsemen would thus be able to hold the reins with their left hands and keep their right hand free—to offer in friendship to passing riders or to defend themselves with swords, if necessary. This also explains why men's jackets and shirts have the buttons on the right. It was important to be able to reach a weapon inside a cloak, so for a right-handed person, the cloak had the left flap over the right flap and the right hand could easily reach in and grab the weapon.

    The first legal reference in Britain to an order for traffic to remain on the left occurred in 1756 with regard to London Bridge. The Highway Act 1773 contained a recommendation that horse traffic should remain on the left and this is enshrined in section 78 of the Highway Act 1835.

    In the late 1700s, a shift from left to right took place in countries such as the United States, when teamsters started using large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. The wagons had no driver’s seat, so the driver sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right hand. Seated on the left, the driver naturally preferred that other wagons overtake him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the wheels of oncoming wagons. He did that by driving on the right side of the road.

    The British, however, kept to the left. They had smaller wagons, and the driver sat on the wagon, usually on the right side of the front seat. From there he could use his long whip in his right hand without entangling it in the cargo behind him. In that position, on the right side of the wagon, the driver could judge the safety margin of overtaking traffic by keeping to the left side of the road. Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted the keep-left rule too, although there were some exceptions. Canada, for example, where the maritime provinces and Vancouver (later to become British Columbia) drove on the left, eventually changed to the right in order to make border crossings to and from the United States easier. Nova Scotia switched to driving on the right on 15 April 1923.

    On most early motor vehicles, the driving seat was positioned centrally. Some car manufacturers later chose to place it near the centre of the road to help drivers see oncoming traffic, while others chose to put the driver's seat on the Curb (road) side so that the drivers could avoid damage from walls, hedges, gutters and other obstacles. Eventually the former idea prevailed.

    In Europe, the 20th century saw a slow but steady shift from keep-left to keep-right. Portugal switched to the right early in the 20th century. Austria and Czechoslovakia changed to the right when occupied by Nazi Germany at the end of the 1930s, and Hungary followed suit. Sweden changed in 1967 and Iceland in 1968. Today, just four European countries still drive on the left: United Kingdom, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta. All 4 are island nations that have no border with countries that drive on the right.

    Terminology A country's traffic-handedness is most properly designated with reference to the rule of the road, i.e., the side of the road along which traffic flows. Using such a referent, countries are said to have left-hand traffic (LHT) or right-hand traffic (RHT). However, traffic-handedness is sometimes designated with reference to the placement of the steering wheel and driver's seat within vehicles. Using this terminology, countries are said to be left-hand drive (LHD) or right-hand drive (RHD). In almost all cases, the placement of the steering wheel is opposite to the rule of the road: LHT countries use RHD vehicles, and RHT countries use LHD vehicles. Confusion can arise from the misuse of "LHD" and "RHD" to indicate the side of the road along which vehicles are driven. In addition, there have been markets (such as some Caribbean islands, and Sweden before the 1967 change from LHT to RHT) that use mostly LH-drive vehicles with LH-traffic, or mostly RH-drive vehicles with RH-traffic. In addition, "wrong" hand-drive vehicles are permitted in many markets.

    Right-hand traffic

    Left-hand traffic

    Myths and miscellaneous facts in Johannesburg, South Africa during rush hour as it passes through the Suburbs of Johannesburg of Sandton, Gauteng. Like most former British colonies in Africa, South Africa drives on the left.'s Great Ocean Road reminding foreign motorists to keep left.Approximately one quarter to one third of the world's traffic travels on the left-hand side of the road. Some claim that this practice arose from the prevalence of right-handedness, although such prevalence occurs in virtually all populations, regardless of which side of the road is used. In any case, the need to be ready for self-defence on rural roads inclined most horse-riders to keep to their left when encountering oncoming wayfarers, so as to be able to deploy a sword or other hand-weapon more swiftly and effectively should the need arise. Also, those on foot and in charge of horse-drawn vehicles would more usually hold the animals' heads with their right hand, and thus walk along the left hand side of the road.

    The British author C. Northcote Parkinson has presented what he calls "proof" that the British way of driving (on the left side of the road) is the natural one.

    Some claim that left-hand traffic is thought to be a singularly British custom, the corollary being that the rest of the world "naturally" keeps to the right when meeting. The historical record suggests otherwise. (See "Places of Interest" section below.) Prior to World War I, countries observing the left-hand rule included parts of Canada, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, parts of Austria, Sweden, Iceland, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, parts of Brazil, parts of Chile, parts of Italy, China, the Philippines, and Burma. Italy changed when Benito Mussolini came to power, Austria and Czechoslovakia when Adolf Hitler annexed or occupied them, the Latin American countries by 1945, the Philippines and China in 1946 (leaving Hong Kong and Macau isolated), and Burma/Myanmar in 1970 on the advice of a soothsayer.

    Some Commonwealth of Nations countries and other former Crown colony — notably India and Hong Kong — continue to drive on the left, but others, such as #Canada, Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and the #United States switched to the other side.It should be noted, of course, that some of these former British colonies ceased to be colonies and became independent before the advent of motor vehicles, e.g., the United States and Canada.

    Apart from former British colonies, most countries' traffic now moves on the right hand side. Exceptions are Indonesia, Suriname, #Japan, Thailand, Mozambique, East Timor, Macau, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

    One frequently hears the story that Napoleon changed the rule of the road in the countries he conquered from keep-left to keep-right. The justifications mentioned are usually symbolic, such as that Napoleon himself was left- (or right-) handed, or that Britain, Napoleon's enemy, kept left. This story has never been shown to have a factual basis and it appears to be a legend; Peter Kincaid concludes so in his book on the rule of the road (pp. 14, 99-100). More research is needed on European rule-of-the-road legislation during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

    Research in 1969 by J.J. Leeming showed that countries that drive on the left had a lower accident rate than countries that drive on the right, but this research is questioned in Peter Kincaid's book on the rule of the road. Some countries that have switched to driving on the right (such as #Sweden) saw their long term accident rates increase by more than any increase in traffic volumes. It has been suggested, but not proven, that this is partly because it is more common to be ocular dominance.Chaurasia BD, Mathur BB. "Eyedness." Acta Anat (Basel). 1976;96(2):301-5.PMID 970109.Reiss MR. "Ocular dominance: some family data." Laterality. 1997;2(1):7-16. PMID 15513049.Ehrenstein WH, Arnold-Schulz-Gahmen BE, Jaschinski W. "Eye preference within the context of binocular functions." Graefes Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol. 2005 Sep;243(9):926-32. Epub 2005 Apr 19. PMID 15838666. 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 on a right-side-driving road, the right-eyed driver looks in the wing 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.

    Changing sides at borders

    There are many instances of traffic having to change sides at border crossings, such as at those between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Laos and Thailand, Sudan and Uganda. Thailand is particularly notable in the context of border crossings, as it is the only sizeable country that has nearly all of its borders with countries that drive on the opposite side. It drives on the left, but 90% (4,357 km or 2,707 miles) of its borders are with countries that drive on the right, with only Malaysia driving on the left since Myanmar (Burma) changed from driving on the left to driving on the right in 1970.

    Many borders are formed from natural barriers such as mountains or rivers, and this is particularly true of borders where traffic changes sides of the road, especially in Asia. These natural barriers make the number of border crossings much lower than would otherwise be the case. Furthermore, given their remoteness, most mountain border crossings have relatively low traffic volumes and so changing sides of the road is even less of an issue.

    The four most common ways of switching traffic from one side to the other at borders are:







    Changing the rule The most common reason for countries to switch to driving on the right is for conformity with neighbours, as it increases the safety of cross-border traffic. For example, former British colonies in Africa, such as Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana, have all changed from left- to right-hand traffic, as they all share borders with former French colonies, which drive on the right. The former Portuguese colony of Mozambique has always driven on the left, as all its neighbours are former British colonies. Decisions by countries to drive on the right typically concern conformity and uniformity rather than practical reasons. There are historical exceptions, such as postilion riders in France, but such historical advantages do not apply to modern road vehicles.

    In the former British Crown colony of #Hong Kong and Macau and the former Portugal enclave of #Hong Kong and Macau, traffic continues to drive on the left, unlike in #China (mainland), despite the fact that they are now its Special administrative region (People's Republic of China)s. On the other hand, Taiwan, formerly under Taiwan under Japanese rule, changed to driving on the right in 1946 after the government of the Republic of China assumed administration; the same happened in Korea (both North and South), a former Japanese colony under U.S. and Soviet occupation. However, some trains in Seoul, as well as pedestrian traffic in the Seoul Metropolitan Subway system, still keep to the left.

    Foreign occupation and military transit Many countries have temporarily or permanently changed their rule of the road as a result of foreign Military occupation. Recent examples include Austria, Czechoslovakia (Switch to right hand traffic in Czechoslovakia) and Hungary under German rule or military transit in the 1930s and 1940ss. The Channel Islands also changed to driving on the right under German occupation, but changed back after liberation in 1945. The Falkland Islands did the same under Argentine control during the 1982 Falklands War. (Although the Argentine government officially ordered the islanders to drive on the right, they often drove on the left to assert their defiance to occupation.) East Timor changed to driving on the left under Indonesian rule in 1976, and continues the practice as an independent state. The Japanese region of Okinawa changed from left to right under U.S. occupation; after the occupation ended, it changed back to driving on the left to match the rest of Japan.

    Uniformity in London (the UK usually drives on the left), England heading towards Scotland.Article 9(1) of the United Nations' Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949) (requires subscription) requires each country to have a uniform direction of traffic, i.e. each country may have either left-hand traffic or right-hand traffic, but not both. The exact wording of the article is:Before that, a country could have different rules in different parts, for example Canada until the 1920s.

    When islands are excluded, the only continents in which the same rule of the road applies over the entire continent are:
  • Australia with left-hand traffic.
  • Mainland Europe, since Sweden changed to right-hand traffic in 1967.
  • North America, including Central America, since British Honduras changed to right-hand traffic in 1961.


    • Africa, Asia, and South America have land borders where drivers must change to the other side of the road.

    Vehicles Legal restrictions on "wrong-hand drive" vehicles For safety reasons (and in some cases political or economic reasons), some countries have banned the sale or import of vehicles with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side.

    from the United States with RHD assembled from Complete knock down by Australian Motor Industries in 1969. Even the antenna location was changed.In Australia this is the case with non-vintage (i.e. less than 30 years old) LHD vehicles, with the result that Australians who import such vehicles usually must pay sometimes thousands of dollars to convert them to RHD. The exceptions are for vehicles registered in Western Australia and the Northern Territory - both which have at various times hosted U.S. military facilities and had vehicles imported, used and sold by U.S service personnel in circulation. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) previously allowed non-vintage LHD vehicles to be registered, but changed its legislation some years ago.

    In New Zealand, LHD vehicles may be privately imported, and driven locally under a LHD permit. Since 1999, only LHD vehicles older than 20 years or cars owned and operated for at least 90 days may be privately imported. Diplomats and Operation Deep Freeze personnel are exempted from these restrictions.

    In the Philippines, RHD vehicles especially cars, are banned. Public buses and vans imported from Japan are converted to LHD, and passenger doors are created on the right side. However, some vans keep their doors on the left side, leading to the odd (and dangerous) situation in which passengers have to exit toward oncoming traffic.

    Cambodia banned the use of RHD cars, many of which were smuggled from Thailand, from 2001, even though RHD vehicles accounted for 80 per cent of vehicles in the country. The government threatened to confiscate all such vehicles unless they were converted to LHD, in spite of the considerable expense involved. According to a BBC report, changing the steering column from right to left would cost between US$600 and US$2000, in a country where average annual income was less than US$1000.

    Although it drives on the right, North Korea has imported various used RHD vehicles from Japan, from tourist buses to Toyota Land Cruisers.

    However, many grey import from Japan to countries like Russia and Peru are already converted to LHD. But even if the driver's position is left unchanged, some jurisdictions require at least readjustment of the headlights.

    Singapore bans LHD vehicles from being imported for personal local registration, but temporary usage by tourists of LHD vehicles is allowed. However, diplomatic vehicles in Singapore are exempt from the RHD-only ruling, and there are a few hydrogen and fuel cell powered LHD vehicles currently undergoing trials in Singapore.

    In Taiwan, Article 39 of the Road Traffic Security Rules (s:zh:道路交通安全規則) require a steering wheel to be on the left side of a vehicle to pass an inspection when registering the vehicle, so RHD vehicles may not be registered in Taiwan. This rule does not apply retroactively so older RHD vehicles may continue to be legally driven.

    In Trinidad and Tobago, LHD vehicles are banned except for returning nationals who were resident in a foreign country and are importing a vehicle for personal use. LHD vehicles are also allowed to be imported for use as funeral hearses.

    In West Africa, once-British Ghana and Gambia have also banned RHD vehicles. Their traffic has been changed from on the left to on the right. Ghana prohibited new registrations of RHD vehicles after 1 August 1974, three days before the traffic change on 4 August 1974. RHD vehicles may be imported only temporarily into Sierra Leone, for example for humanitarian programmes, but must be rexported at the end of the operation.

    Most of the above bans on RHD and LHD vehicles apply only to locally-registered vehicles. Countries that have signed the 1968 Vienna Convention on Road Traffic are not allowed to make such restrictions on foreign-registered vehicles. Paragraph 1 of Annex 5 states "All vehicles in international traffic must meet the technical requirements in force in their country of registration when they first entered into service". Therefore all signatory countries and most non-signatory countries allow the temporary import (e.g. by tourists) of foreign-registered vehicles, no matter which side the steering wheel is on. Oman, which has not signed the Vienna Convention on Road Traffic bans all foreign-registered RHD vehicles.

    Both RHD and LHD vehicles may generally be registered in any European Union member state, but there are some restrictions and regulations. Slovakia, despite being a member of the European Union, does not allow the local registration of RHD vehicles, even if the vehicle is imported from one of the four EU countries that drive on the left (UK, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta). Lithuania proibits new RHD vehicle registration since 1993.

    Headlamps and other lighting equipment Most low-beam headlamps are specifically designed for use on one side of the road or the other. Headlamps for use in LH-traffic countries have low-beam headlamps that "dip to the left", i.e., the light is distributed with a downward/leftward bias to show the driver the road and signs ahead without blinding oncoming traffic. Headlamps for RH-traffic countries have low beams that "dip to the right", with most of their light directed downward/rightward. Within Europe, when driving a vehicle with RH-traffic headlamps in a LH-traffic country or vice versa for a limited time (as for example on vacation or in transit), it is a legal requirement to adjust the headlamps temporarily so that the wrong-side hot spot of the beam does not dazzle oncoming drivers. This may be achieved by adhering blackout strips or plastic prismatic lenses to a designated part of the lens, but some varieties of the Headlamp#Projector (polyellipsoidal) lamps can be made to produce a proper LH- or RH-traffic beam by shifting a lever or other movable element in or on the lamp assembly.

    Because blackout strips and adhesive prismatic lenses reduce the safety performance of the headlamps, most countries require all vehicles registered or used on a permanent or semi-permanent basis within the country to be equipped with headlamps designed for the correct traffic-handedness.

    Anecdotal reporters have observed the requirement to adjust headlamps for the traffic-handedness of the country is increasingly flouted, and is now rarely enforced by European police forces. In France, this may be due in part to the 1993 deletion of the previous requirement for Selective yellow headlamp light; foreign-registered vehicles are now much less conspicuous at night.

    Without sidecars attached, motorcycles, motor scooters, mopeds, and bicycles are almost symmetric with their handlebars in the centre. However, motorcycles are often equipped with automotive-type asymmetrical-beam headlamps that likewise require adjustments or replacement when brought into a country with opposite traffic-handedness.

    Rear fog lamps Within the EU, vehicles must be equipped with one or two red Automotive Lighting#Rear fog lamps. A single rear fog lamp may be located on the vehicle centreline, or on the driver's side of the vehicle. It may not be located on the passenger's side of the vehicle. This sometimes requires the purchase and installation of local-market lighting components.

    Buses coaches.Buses typically have passenger doors only on the Curb (road) side, which severely restricts their ability to operate effectively on the opposite side of the road to that for which they were designed. Increasingly, touring Coach (vehicle), which are likely to cross frontiers of traffic-handedness during their duties, are fitted with a door on the opposite side from the kerb, to simplify access and egress in the foreign country. In Britain this is known as a "continental door", since its usefulness will be in continental Europe. It doubles as an emergency exit, but is much more user-friendly than an exit designed solely for emergency use.

    It is usually fairly straightforward to retrofit a non-kerb-side door on buses with relatively low floor height, for example the many traditional British Double-decker bus sold on for tourist use in the USA and Canada.

    Trains Trains often do not operate on the same side of the road as cars do. In France, for instance, the first train lines were built by an English engineer, so kept to the left - which is the opposite for cars. An exception is the Alsace-Moselle region, where trains keep to the right because the lines were built in the late 19th century when Alsace-Moselle had been part of Germany. Bridges at the former border allow the trains to swap sides.

    Moreover the exceptions of left or right hand driving are much more common for trains than for cars. Initially, most steam engines were RHD, with the driver (engineer) sitting on the right, and the fireman (conductor) sitting on the left. This was customary in the UK and it spread to the USA and elsewhere in the world. RHD was never converted to LHD even if the trains switched to right-hand running. RHD remains the customary way for operating trains, with the driver on the right and assistant, sitting on the left side of the cab. Ironically, some railways, particularly, the London Underground, switched to LHD with left-hand running. Left Hand Drive with left hand running also became common on UK mainline railways, with the Great Western being the only of the "big four" to keep the driver on the right.

    In countries with trains keeping to the right it is often said that RHD is safer, as it is possible that something from a train passing on the left track (like opened cargo doors) may hit the train. In such case driver on the right is safer than if he were sitting to the left. Also, since signs and signals are usually placed on the outside of double track formations (e.g left hand side for left hand running or right hand side for right hand running), having the driver on the side as well makes it easier for them to see signs and signals, and also to view back along the platform either directly or using mirrors, particularly useful with one person operated trains.

    Tram and Streetcar systems follow the same rules as normal road traffic in the country concerned, both on road and on reserved sections. The driver is usually positioned towards the centre of the vehicle, although some one person operated trams have been developed where the driver sits towards the centre of the road (e.g on the left hand running Blackpool system, the driver is on the right) with the passenger doors on the kerb side.

    Unlike on the road, it is possible for trains to safely run on the wrong side so long as bi-directional signalling is installed. This is normally only done in limited circumstances, since junctions and other infrastructure is usually optimised for running in one direction.

    Countries with trains generally keeping to the right (incomplete list)http://www.brianlucas.ca/roadside/

    Countries with trains generally keeping to the left (incomplete list):

    Boats Generally all water traffic keeps to the right. This is historically because, prior to the use of a rudder, the boat was steered by a steering oar, which was located on the right-hand side of the boat, because the helmsman, standing in the middle of the boat and looking ahead, used his right hand to operate it. By keeping to the right, boats pass port (nautical)-to-port, protecting the steering oar. Contrary to popular belief, starboard does not derive from steer board, but in fact from steering side. Traditionally, boats would also moor with the left hand side to the quay to prevent damage to the steering oar, and this was referred to as larboard (“loading side”), later replaced by port to prevent confusion from the similar sounding words.When modern style rudders fixed to the stern were developed, the helmsman was moved amidships (on the centreline), and when wheels replaced tillers this generally remained the same. Some boats, typically smaller pleasure craft, have the wheel on the left hand side, to give a better view of passing traffic.

    However, there are many exceptions, often indicated on the particular bridge itself.

    Priority As well as the side of the road, priority rules also differ between countries. In the United Kingdom, priority is always indicated by signs or road markings, in that almost every junction not governed by traffic lights or a roundabout has a concept of a major road and minor road. In most of Continental Europe, the default priority is to give way to the right, but this default is overridden by signs or road markings on all but very minor roads. In many residential areas in Germany and Luxembourg now you have to give way to the right in an effort to slow down traffic. In France, until the 1980s, the "priorité à droite" (give way to the right) rule was employed at most roundabouts, in that traffic already on the roundabout had to give way to traffic entering the roundabout. Most French roundabouts now have give-way signs for traffic entering the roundabout, but there remain some notable exceptions that operate on the old rule, such as the Place de l'Étoile around the Arc de Triomphe. Traffic on this particular roundabout is so chaotic that French insurance companies deem any accident on the roundabout to be equal liability. United Kingdom, and Ireland drivers, who are accustomed to having right of way by default unless they are specifically told to give way, are often more confused by the default give-way-to-the-right rule used on minor roads in nearby Continental Europe than they are by switching sides of the road.

    Lanes When driving on the left:

    When driving on the right:

    Places of interest Afghanistan Afghanistan drives on the right. Most vehicles in much of the country, however, are RHD cars imported from neighbouring Pakistan (with the exception of Herat and other western provinces). In the capital Kabul, most drivers have adapted to this problem, leaning over the passenger seat (on the car's left side) before making a left turn or before the dangerous practice of overtaking other vehicles by veering into the left (oncoming traffic) lane. The country also has a large volume of military vehicle traffic from the U.S., Canada and EU militaries, much of which is LHD.

    Australia Australia drives on the left. For many decades all Australian states and territories used the "give way to the right" rule, requiring vehicles, even on major, multi-lane roads, to give way to another vehicle entering (however abruptly) from a side road and turning right onto the major road. As traffic densities and speeds increased, the collision rate became too great and the rule was changed in the early 1980s, with turning movements made much safer by various combinations of line marking, signposting and the introduction of the "T rule".{{cite web|url=http://www.transport.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/14012/Road_Rules_Handbook_Jan_2006_Part_C1.pdf|publisher=Road Transport Agency, Australian Capital Territory|title=Road Rules Handbook Jan 2006 Part C1--> However, the old rule can still apply in cases such as failed traffic lights on crossroads or unmarked rural junctions.

    Austria-Hungary The Austro-Hungarian Empire drove on the left. Successive countries switched to the right separately. Austria did it in stages, beginning from the west: Poland's Galicia switched to the right around 1924. Hungary began driving on the right in 1934, while Czechoslovakia planned to do it on 1 May 1939, but the change in Bohemia and Moravia was prompted by the German occupation forces (Bohemia: 26 March 1939).

    Canada Until the 1920s, the rule of the road in Canada varied from province to province, with British Columbia, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island having cars driving on the left, and the other provinces and territories having motorists driving on the right. Starting with the interior of British Columbia on 15 July 1920 and ending with Prince Edward Island on 1 May 1924, these provinces changed to driving on the right. Newfoundland and Labrador was not part of Canada until 1949, and its motorists drove on the left until 2 January 1947.Some RHD vehicles can be found, particularly smaller Canada Post service trucks. These have extra mirrors to increase driver visibility. A few other vehicles, such as some garbage trucks may have dual LHD and RHD. The advantage of such arrangements is that the driver can hop in and out of the vehicle easily. RHD vehicles are allowed for import in Canada, providing that they were manufactured over 15 years ago. One of the very few places in Canada where traffic drives on the left is in Montreal on Quebec Autoroute 20 for the 3km between its junctions with Quebec route 138 and Quebec Autoroute 15. The two roadways remain separated for the entire 3km and the changing of sides doesn't interfere in any way with the flow of traffic.

    Caribbean The English-speaking Caribbean typically follows the keep-to-the-left rule and as a result, most cars have a RHD configuration. Examples of this may be noted in such countries as Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. In certain islands such as the British Virgin Islands, United States Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, and Turks and Caicos Islands, most passenger cars are LHD, being imported from the United States or Brazil. Only government cars and those imported from Asia are RHD. The U.S. Virgin Islands are particularly known for having a high accident rate caused by American tourists from the mainland who are unfamiliar with driving on the left in their rental cars.

    China (mainland) Until 1946, driving in mainland China was mixed, with cars in the northern provinces driving on the right (probably to concur with Russian practice, which was "keep right" from 1920), and cars in the southern provinces such as Guangdong driving on the left, probably a result of their proximity to the British crown colony of #Hong Kong and Macau and the Portugal exclave of #Hong Kong and Macau.

    After 1946, China followed the United States, by changing to driving on the right, due to political reasons that the United States helped China to fight against Japanese occupation during World War II and American cars (mostly LHD) were already popular in the mainland.

    During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), Red Guards in some cities considered that to drive on the right side of road was to take the "rightist's route/policy", and they were said to have ordered vehicles to drive on the left side. Some also attempted to reverse the traditional meaning of traffic signals by having the red light mean "go" and the green light "stop". These two changes caused a great deal of confusion and resistance so both were abolished within several months.

    There is still a great deal of confusion among drivers when they travel between the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau, and the rest of China. Hong Kong and Macau continue to drive on the left, while the rest of China drives on the right. It can be very disorienting, since the traffic is on opposite sides of the road, and the internal vehicle configurations are reversed as well.

    Croatia Croatia was part of the Austro Hungarian Empire at the beginning of the century, and after the collapse of the empire, it started driving right. However, there is one universal case where a garage in its capital, Zagreb is LHD. This was done so the traffic lanes in the One-way traffic from which one enters the Parking garage wouldn't cross.

    Cyprus A former British colony, Cyprus drives on the left, and cars sold locally are right hand drive, including those used by the Military of the United Kingdom in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia. However, owing to its political and economic isolation, many vehicles in the self-proclaimed 'Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus' are left hand drive, being imported from Turkey. An increasing number of right hand drive grey import vehicles from Japan are now sold in both parts of the island.

    Finland Although traffic in Finland has driven on the right-hand side since 1858, and the cars have the steering wheel on the left side, some cars, especially the cars of the Post Office (Suomen Posti) have the steering wheel on the right side, and many Post Office cars & vans in different countries including the United States have the steering wheel on the right hand side. This is so the driver can easily drive up next to mailboxes and get out straight onto the pavement without having to walk around their vehicle, or even put mail in boxes without getting out of their vehicle at all.

    Gibraltar Although the British overseas territory of Gibraltar changed to driving on the right on 16 June 1929, in order to avoid accidents involving vehicles from Spain, some public buses until recently were RHD, with a special door allowing passengers to enter on the right hand side. However, most passenger cars are LHD, as in Spain, with the exception of second-hand cars brought in from the UK and Japan and some vehicles used by the British forces.

    Guyana and Suriname Guyana and Suriname are the only two remaining countries in the mainland Americas that still drive on the left. As a result of the construction of the Pan-American Highway, four mainland American countries switched to driving on the right between 1943 and 1961, the last of which was Belize. Both Guyana and Suriname are separated from their neighbours by large rivers, over which no road bridges have yet been built. The inland south of both countries is sparsely populated with very few roads and hence no border crossings.

    However, in the south west of Guyana near Lethem, work is under way to build the Takutu River Bridge across the Takutu River into neighbouring Brazil, which drives on the right. Unlike road bridges between other countries that drive on opposite sides of the road, the changeover system will be in the country that drives on the left, i.e. Guyana, where one lane will pass under the other on the bridge's access road. Despite stalling construction in recent years, Brazil is keen to open the bridge, as it will give Brazil access to Caribbean sea ports on the north coast of South America. Brazil intends to permit Guyana registered (RHD) vehicles to go no further than the Brazilian border town of Bonfim. It is expected that Brazilian (LHD) vehicles will be able to drive all the way through Guyana to the coast. The bridge is expected to be completed by the middle of 2007. Once opened, the Takutu Bridge will be the Americas' only border crossing where traffic changes sides of the road.

    In Suriname most of the privately owned buses are imported from Japan, since the exits are designed for driving on the left. Most state-owned buses, however, are from the US (LHD) and often the placement of the exits has to be adjusted.

    Hong Kong and Macau Being a former British colony, Hong Kong follows the United Kingdom in driving on the left. Macau, a former Portuguese exclave, follows Hong Kong in driving on the left because most of the RHD cars in Macau are imported through Hong Kong. Macau did not follow either Mainland China in 1946 or Portugal in 1928 in switching to driving on the right.

    Under the auspices of the one country, two systems arrangement, traffic continues to move on the left in Hong Kong and Macau, now Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China, unlike in the mainland. Most vehicles are RHD and even suppliers for the People's Liberation Army have specially made RHD version vehicles for the garrison to drive in Hong Kong and Macau. LHD exceptions include some buses providing services to and from the mainland. Vehicles registered in Hong Kong and Macau are required to have a special number plate issued by the authorities in Guangdong province to drive legally on the mainland.Registration Plates of the World, Neil Parker, John Weeks and Reg Wilson, Europlate, 1994, pages 279 and 362

    There are three road border crossing points between mainland China and Hong Kong. The largest and busiest is Lok Ma Chau ( aerial map), which features two separate changeover systems on the mainland side. The next largest is Man Kam To, where there is no changeover system and the border roads on the mainland side simply intersect as one-way streets with a main road. There are two border crossing points between mainland China and Macau. The newer crossing point is the Lotus Bridge, which crosses a narrow channel of sea between the mainland and Macau, and was opened at the end of 1999 ( aerial map). The Lotus Bridge was designed to cater for high traffic volumes and features three lanes in each direction as well as a full changeover system on the mainland side, comprising bridges that loop around each other by 360° to swap the direction of the traffic. At the older Macau crossing point, there is no changeover system and the border roads continue with traffic on the left on the mainland side, and simply intersect on to a roundabout. All of these Chinese changeover systems can be viewed in high resolution using Google Earth.

    Iceland Iceland switched traffic from left to right at 06:00 on Sunday 26 May 1968. The only injury from the changeover was a boy on a bicycle who broke his leg. (New York Times, 28 May 1968, p. 94) Numerous buses were also stuck in traffic jams.

    India India continued the colonial practice of driving on the left hand side of the road after independence. Now all vehicles are RHD with the government banning all new LHD vehicles in the country except under special circumstances, such as cars imported duty free by foreign embassies. Such vehicles are often left hand drive so that they cannot be registered in India, and are subsequently resold undercutting the nascent luxury car industry which is subject to high duty levels.

    Indonesia Indonesia, the world's fourth most populous country, drive on the left. Even though the country is an archipelago there are three land borders, those with Malaysia, East Timor and Papua New Guinea. All of these countries also drive on the left, Malaysia as a result of previous British occupation, East Timor as a result of previous Indonesian occupation and Papua New Guinea as a result of Australian occupation following World War One until 1975. Indonesia is outside of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is a former Dutch colony and may have changed to driving on the left during British occupation between 1811 and 1816.

    Ireland The Republic of Ireland is the next largest European state after the UK to drive on the left. Given that the Republic of Ireland shares a land border with the United Kingdom (Northern Ireland) this is very unlikely to change in future. Imported cars are all RHD. Visitors to Ireland are very likely to encounter a warning sign near Irish air and sea ports, reminding them to drive on the left.

    Italy Which side of the road the Romans drove on is disputed. Archaeological evidence in Britain seems to indicate driving on the left and old Roman roads in Turkey suggest Romans used the right hand side of the road. In Italy the practice of traffic driving on the right first began in the late 1890s, but it was not until the mid 1920s that it became standard throughout the country. There was a long period when traffic in the countryside drove on the right while major cities continued to drive on the left. Rome, for example, did not change from left to right until 20 October 1924. Milan was the last italian town to change to driving on the right (August 3, 1926). Cars had remained right-hand drive (RHD) until this time. Lancia did not produce LHD cars until as late as the early 1960s, and only stopped making RHD cars altogether in 1994. Lancia is expected to start manufacturing RHD cars again in 2008.

    Japan Japan is one of the few countries outside the Commonwealth of Nations to drive on the left. An informal practice of left-hand passage dates at least to the Edo period, when samurai are said to have passed each other to the left in order to avoid knocking swords with each other (as swords were always worn to the left side). During the late 1800s, Japan built its first railways with British technical assistance, and double-tracked railways adopted the British practice of running on the left. However, army troops were ordered to keep to the right while travelling on roads, creating a double standard that was not legally resolved until 1924, when all road travel in Japan switched to the left.

    After the defeat of Japan during

     

    Right Hand Drive



     
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