Go Back   Team-BHP > Buckle Up > Street and Travel Experiences > Street Experiences

Street Experiences Experiences on the road. NO STREET RACING


Reply
 
Thread Tools
Old 21st January 2009, 13:23   #1 (permalink)
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 60
Default Interesting facts about Left Side or Right Side Driving

Hello Readers,

I was curious about why we drive on left side of the road & others (America, France,..) on the right side. Found many interesting facts on net and would like to share with you all, even though most of you would have known these things.
  • Today 75 countries have left side driving rules & 164 countries right side driving.
  • About 28% of world’s total road distance carries traffic on left side and 72% on right side.
3. In the past, there were several countries which had different rules in different parts of the country (eg. Canada until the 1920s).Currently, China is the only exception to this rule, with Hong Kong and Macau driving on the left while the rest of China drives on the right.
  1. Today, only four European countries continue to drive on the left: Cyprus, Ireland, Malta and the United Kingdom.
  2. In the Middle Ages people kept to the left for the simple reason that they never knew who they would meet on the road in those days. They wanted to make sure that a stranger passed on the right so they could go for their sword in case he proved unfriendly. 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. 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.
6. 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 so a driver sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right hand. Seated on the left, the driver preferred that other wagons pass 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.
  1. In France the keep-right custom was established in much the same way. Later Napoleon enforced the keep-right rule in all countries occupied by his armies. The custom endured even after the empire was destroyed.
  2. In England, 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. 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. So the English continued to drive on the left. 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.
  3. Countries that came under British rule like India adopted the British keep-left rule, although many have since changed. Canada, for example.
  4. 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 Honda.
11. Over the course of the 20th century, there was a gradual worldwide shift from driving on the left to the right.
  1. 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.
  2. The most common reason for countries to switch to right-hand traffic is for conformity with neighbors, as it increases the safety of cross-border traffic.
14. On lighter note will Bangalore’s some famous right side driving roads leave a foot note in history.

Last edited by Technocrat : 21st January 2009 at 13:31. Reason: Removed Font tags
kreddy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21st January 2009, 13:36   #2 (permalink)
Team-BHP Support
 
Technocrat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Pune
Posts: 7,838
Default

Nice compilation

Most of the content looks from Here

Please make sure that you also provide references as well.
__________________
The Holy Trinity: Traction, Torque and Tarmac
Technocrat is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21st January 2009, 13:59   #3 (permalink)
BHPian
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 373
Default

I do remember reading a book by Frederick Forsyth(not sure which one now) wherein he mentions that many studies have ,apparently , proven that left side driving is a bit safer than the right side driving- or at least has the potential to result in fewer accidents.
This is because in a situation where head-on collision may occur, most men have a natural tendency to veer the steering towards the left.ie counter clockwise movement of the steering (much like, in a dance,when you are asked to circle, right handed men normally do a counter clockwise circle. Few people, and mostly lefthanders, do a clockwise circle).

In the case of right side driving, in a hypothetical 2 lane situation, this tendency may mean that you avoid one vehicle to hit another,whereas in the left side driving case, it may mean that you move off the road into the mud or bushes etc.
sridharps is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21st January 2009, 14:11   #4 (permalink)
Team-BHP Support
 
bblost's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 1,839
Default

Auto rickshaws are the future.

I did not know the history behind the left or right. Thanks for an interesting article.
__________________
Ever catch yourself listening to a nice song on the radio and dedicating it to your car.
bblost is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 21st January 2009, 14:13   #5 (permalink)
BHPian
 
watashi75's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Hyderabad
Posts: 471
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by bblost View Post
Auto rickshaws are the future.
Did you mean they sit in the middle or because they drive on the wrong side in Hyderabad?

Last edited by watashi75 : 21st January 2009 at 14:14.
watashi75 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th May 2009, 15:00   #6 (permalink)
Team-BHP Support
 
Rehaan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 10,345
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by kreddy View Post
.... They wanted to make sure that a stranger passed on the right so they could go for their sword in case he proved unfriendly. ...
Another interesting and related fact :

In a lot of castles with spiral staircases (in the turrets etc) the stairs always a ascend clockwise.
This is because the soldiers defending the castle (descending the steps) would be able to use their right hand & sword better in this situation than the attacking soldiers coming up the steps (whos right hand would be cramped by the central part of the staircase).

cya
R
__________________
The memory of you will ride by our side forever.
Rehaan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th May 2009, 15:45   #7 (permalink)
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 207
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rehaan View Post
Another interesting and related fact :

In a lot of castles with spiral staircases (in the turrets etc) the stairs always a ascend clockwise.
This is because the soldiers defending the castle (descending the steps) would be able to use their right hand & sword better in this situation than the attacking soldiers coming up the steps (whos right hand would be cramped by the central part of the staircase).

cya
R
Actually, IMO it would have been worse -- since in a spiral staircase you tend to climb up/down on the broader outer edge: A soldier coming down the stairs would have his sword arm cramped by the outer wall, while the one climbing up would have his sword arm along the stair centerline and have more room for movement.

Just wondering...
71Convertible is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th May 2009, 16:54   #8 (permalink)
BHPian
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 294
Default

Very interesting thread. I remember reading that the US soldiers starting moving on the right side of the road during the war of independence. The reason cited was - Defiance. The British units moved on the left side and to defy them and have a separate identity the US troops moved on the right side. This was the origin on left hand drive. Qwerky this may seem, but our US pals are known to be this way. This was the origin on left hand drive.

Kreddy, the article was very informative.

+1 to your observation 71convertible.
__________________
We didn't start the fire; Me and my Dzire!
dushmish is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 25th May 2009, 17:31   #9 (permalink)
Team-BHP Support
 
Rehaan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Bombay
Posts: 10,345
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 71Convertible View Post
Actually, IMO it would have been worse -- since in a spiral staircase you tend to climb up/down on the broader outer edge: A soldier coming down the stairs would have his sword arm cramped by the outer wall, while the one climbing up would have his sword arm along the stair centerline and have more room for movement.

Just wondering...
71C,

I guess you are picturing a fairly wide spiral staircase? What i am talking about is just about wide enough for 1 person, and the inside of the stairs touch the central axis.

Something like this :
Name:  227231954_8eff876d1c.jpg
Views: 547
Size:  121.2 KB
Source : Spiral staircase. Portchester Castle on Flickr - Photo Sharing!


If you are ascending, and the person higher up is more than a 1/4 revolution away, the central column will get in your right-handed way, whereas not so much for the person above you.

Still have doubts? Lets meet at the old water tower at 6pm. (I will be there before you). Bring your sword!

cya
R
__________________
The memory of you will ride by our side forever.

Last edited by Rehaan : 25th May 2009 at 17:32.
Rehaan is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Thread Tools


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Right side lower than Left - Swift & now Dzire! rajatsingh78 Technical Stuff 25 29th August 2009 15:55
Left Side drift on my Chevy Spark sudipt123 Technical Stuff 17 17th April 2009 11:20
Real use of Left Side Rear View Mirror !! mithun Technical Stuff 134 17th March 2009 19:39
Why is Petrol Tank inlets on the Left Side ? navdeep The Indian Car Scene 17 8th November 2006 10:26
Corsa left side noise ... pramods Technical Stuff 6 17th October 2005 10:38


All times are GMT +5.5. The time now is 04:35.


Powered by vBulletin
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO 3.1.0
Copyright ©2000 - 2009, Team-BHP.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 367 368 369 370 371 372 373 374 375 376 377 378 379 380 381 382 383 384 385 386 387 388 389 390 391 392 393 394 395 396 397 398 399 400 401 402 403 404 405 406 407 408 409 410 411 412 413 414 415 416 417 418 419 420 421 422 423 424 425 426 427 428 429 430 431 432 433 434 435 436 437 438 439 440 441 442 443 444 445 446 447 448 449 450 451 452 453 454 455 456 457 458 459 460 461 462 463 464 465 466 467 468 469 470 471 472 473 474 475 476 477 478 479 480 481 482 483 484 485 486 487 488 489 490 491 492 493 494 495 496 497 498 499 500 501 502 503 504 505 506 507 508 509 510 511 512 513 514 515 516 517 518 519 520 521 522 523 524 525 526 527 528 529 530 531 532 533 534 535 536 537 538 539 540 541 542 543 544 545 546 547 548 549 550 551 552 553 554 555 556 557 558 559 560 561 562 563 564 565 566 567 568 569 570 571 572 573 574 575 576 577 578 579 580 581 582 583 584 585 586 587 588 589 590 591 592 593 594 595 596 597 598 599 600 601 602 603 604 605 606 607