A Brief History
On September 3, 1967, Sweden corrected a long-standing mistake by switching from driving on the left, as they do in Britain, Australia, Japan, India, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal, Bhutan, Suriname, Mozambique, and some other confused places.
Digging Deeper
All European countries except the islands listed above drive on the right, like the US, Canada, Mexico and the rest of the civilized world. Just to keep things confusing, some countries such as China and even the US have places where driving is on the left whereas the rest of the country drives on the right!
While the benefits of driving on the left or the right are debated, about 2/3 of the world drives on the right and the other third drives on the left. Obviously, this difference is a problem for car and truck manufacturers and for drivers that visit other countries.
Note: The author is trying to be funny about kidding left side drivers. He actually has no real opinion as to which side is “right.”
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which side do you think is the “right” side?
If you liked this article and would like to receive notifications of new articles, please feel welcome to follow History and Headlines on Facebook and X!
Your readership is much appreciated!
Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Godridge, Phill. How To Drive On The Left – An Essential Guide For Visitors Driving In The U.K. Kindle, 2012.
Skelton, James. Stay On The Right Side Of The Road: “A Driver’s Guide To Avoiding Offenses In Europe.” Independently published, 2024.
