In most countries, cars are set up to put the driver s seat in the centre of the road, to give them improved visibility. The history of left and righthand traffic international driving authority. Today i found out why some countries drive on the right and some countries drive on the left. Many early cars had the driver s seat in the center of the car rather than on one side or the other. In asia bangladesh bhutan brunei east timor hong kong india. Standing on the right, he would hit the archer or the chariot. The reason isnt the steering wheel location but because of the age. The majority of countries now drive on the right, in left hand drive vehicles. In most countries, cars are set up to put the drivers seat in the centre of the road, to give them improved visibility. Canada used to drive on the left but changed to the right to make border crossings with the usa more manageable. Others have answered the question, but ill give you one exception. In which countries are vehicles drivers seats on the right side. Guide to which countries drive on the left left hand. That puts the right eye, which tends to be stronger, in a better position to see oncoming traffic.
The reasons for driving on different sides of the road are historical. In many remaining countries, confusion and vacillation were observed. In which countries are vehicles drivers seats on the. The other two thirds of the countries in the world drive on the right including the usa, china and russia.
Although the majority drive on the right, there is no global standard driving system which causes some. Hello, 78 countries and territories drive on the left side of the road. Currently around 66% of the worlds population live in countries which drive on the right side of the road, usually but not always in vehicles with the drivers seat. Lefthand traffic lht and righthand traffic rht are the practice, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. A fundamental element to traffic flow, it is sometimes referred to as the rule of the road. Why some countries drive on the right and some countries. In both cases, the seat positions the driver close to the middle of the road for better visibility. This is still the position in all horse drawn vehicles where the driver sits on the vehicle rather than on one of the horses. The wagons had no drivers seat, so the typically right handed postilion held.
A righthanded driver prefers to hold the whip in his right hand. John wilson jw driving tuition i like it that all the questions are there for free, and when i took my actual theory test the questions were virtually identical so i got 5050 on my first go. This is a summary of countries who drive on the left side of the road. Rht is used in 165 countries and territories, with the remaining 75 countries. In most countries, people can import cars which are engineered to drive on the wrong side of the road and use them legally on the open road, but this is not always. This designates what side of the road a driver will stay on. British horseback riders used to ride on the left hand side of the road. Whats the penalty for driving a righthanded car in the u. It is illegal to drive a newer right hand drive car in the us. A photo of a highway in england, showing traffic driving on the left hand side. Whats the reason behind righthand driving in some countries. Typically, a righthand drive vehicle drives on the left side of the road, or lefthand traffic lht. In countries with right side driving, the drivers seat is on the left, while left hand countries have drivers seats on the right.
Conversely, driving on the lefthand side of the road usually implies that the driver s seat is on the right hand side of the car. The wagons had no drivers seat, so the typically righthanded postilion held his whip in his. The wagons had no drivers seat, so the typically righthanded postilion held. In asia bangladesh bhutan brunei east timor hong kong india indonesia japan macau malaysia maldives nepal pakistan singapore sri lank. In lht traffic keeps left, and cars have the steering wheel on the right, putting the driver on the side closest to the centre of the road. Throughout the world, countries observe either lefthand traffic lht or righthand traffic rht. Conversely, driving on the lefthand side of the road usually implies that the drivers seat is on the righthand side of the car. Almost always, in countries where one drives on the right hand side of the road, the cars are built so that the driver sits on the lefthand side of the car.
Why do different countries drive on different sides of the. Nearly 75% of countries in the world require drivers to drive on the right side of traffic. All my pupils find the free highway code practice tests at right driver a great help. British horse riders used to ride on the left hand side of the road, thus keeping their right arm. Of course, there are cars for left and righthand driving.
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