Should we go left hand drive?

murpheous81

It will reduce the price of cars for 1

Lobster

Think about the cost of changing the roads to suit, roundabouts etc. Imagine the fun going into N. Ireland?

L1011

murpheous81 wrote: »

It will reduce the price of cars for 1

I seriously doubt it would. Namely because we are just one tiny RHD market compared to some bloody massive ones.

Our road network is full of asymmetric junctions that would need to be rebuilt; and the time after changeover when most people have 'wrong' cars would probably see a marked increase in RTAs - overtaking, parking and roundabouts are two things which are very 'fun' in a wrong way around car.

383Ger

Yep...it will defo reduce the prices of cars and shoot up the insurance premiums....

murpheous81

Sweden changed over night in the mid 60's, plus it will create employment.

spartacus93

Far too dangerous and far too much money to change. I don't think the advantages would in anyway justify such a change. (Is there even a significant advantage?)

Every sign post moved also speed limit signs. All road markings removed and changed, all motor way / dual carridgeway on and off ramps changed (many needing to be rebuilt).

Would be a huge operation, and one that would take alot of people and time.

murpheous81

I am open to correction but is it only ireland, england, south africa and australia drive on the right? If so thats a small proportion of countries who drive on the right.

L1011

murpheous81 wrote: »

Sweden changed over night in the mid 60's, plus it will create employment.

Sweden changed overnight in an era before multistory carparks, freeflow road junctions, pervasive personal car ownership, etc. And still had a horrific increase in road crashes as a result.

Where do you think it will generate employment? Once off blip for sign makers, small increase in A&E staff and insurance assesors for the next decade...


As goes car prices, 2 of the top 5 brands here are RHD native as it is (Japanese) and the rest of them just sell us UK models with some spec ripped out and km/h clocks. There are no magical special Irish-only RHD cars being built with huge extra costs as a result.

murpheous81

Plus Japan

L1011

murpheous81 wrote: »

I am open to correction but is it only ireland, england, south africa and australia drive on the right? If so thats a small proportion of countries who drive on the right.

Japan, Pakistan, lots of other southern and eastern African countries for whom S.A. is their main trade partner; many of the Carribean islands, Malaysia... the list goes on. Its about 30% of road traffic.

spartacus93

Lobster wrote: »

Imagine the fun going into N. Ireland?

Thailand and Laos share a land border (a bridge between them). Thailand drives on the left, and laos on the right.

I'd say it's a strange sight!

L1011

spartacus93 wrote: »

Thailand and Laos share a land border (a bridge between them). Thailand drives on the left, and laos on the right.

I'd say it's a strange sight!

And its only the one bridge, vs. the what, 80 or so border crossings we have left now? Eventually hundreds if they reopen all the severed ones.

Richard

spartacus93 wrote: »

Thailand and Laos share a land border (a bridge between them). Thailand drives on the left, and laos on the right.

I'd say it's a strange sight!

There are a number of places in Africa where it changes at the border. But it would be very dangerous on the Irish Border as it is not a controlled border.

spartacus93

MYOB wrote: »

And its only the one bridge, vs. the what, 80 or so border crossings we have left now? Eventually hundreds if they reopen all the severed ones.

Sounds like a disaster to me...

No need to change imo

Johnboy Mac

Hard enough driving here already with out the added complication completing changing the road system, I don't want to even consider the mayhem. As already stated insurance costs would rocket.

BlaasForRafa

murpheous81 wrote: »

I am open to correction but is it only ireland, england, south africa and australia drive on the right? If so thats a small proportion of countries who drive on the right.

India, Pakistan and many other UK colonies also drive on the left hand side of the road. Also so does Japan, lefties make up about 1/3 of the worlds population so thats by no means a small percentage.

No way should we switch, not only would it be huge expense but also completely pointless, just like switching speedos from mph to kph was.

bazz26

Considering the Irish have been driving for decades on the right hand side and we still cannot master it correctly, imagin the carnage we would have trying to drive on the left.

briktop

you want an irish government to oversee something like this , when they couldnt oversee to qoute bishop brennan " a nun shoot in a nunnery " ???????

Tipsy Mac

The majority of people are right handed so it's safer to hold the steering wheel with your right hand, therefore driving on the left hand side of the road is safer.

Hogzy

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

The majority of people are right handed so it's safer to hold the steering wheel with your right hand, therefore driving on the left hand side of the road is safer.

Arent you suppost to hold the wheel with two hands?:rolleyes:

rainbowtrout

bazz26 wrote: »

Considering the Irish have been driving for decades on the right hand side and we still cannot master it correctly, imagin the carnage we would have trying to drive on the left.

Maybe the problem is people not knowing their left from their right

We drive on the left


There's a fair amount of countries out there with left hand drive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_on_the_left_or_right#Left-hand_traffic

Heroditas

Hogzy wrote: »

Arent you suppost to hold the wheel with two hands?:rolleyes:

But you can't hold a mobile phone then :pac:

Mr.David

murpheous81 wrote: »

Sweden changed over night in the mid 60's, plus it will create employment.

As opposed to gradually phasing it in?:eek:

Hogzy

Mr.David wrote: »

As opposed to gradually phasing it in?:eek:

THe morning commute would have been a challenge

SAABMAN

Mr.David wrote: »

As opposed to gradually phasing it in?:eek:

Heard an old guy being wound up in the pub a few years ago. He was being told that it was going to be brought in gradually, according to surnames. A-D were to change on Mondays, E-J on Tuesdays etc. He fell for it hook line and sinker, never thinking of the other 20 or so "letters" coming straight at him on a Wednesday:eek:

crosstownk

bazz26 wrote: »

Considering the Irish have been driving for decades on the right hand side and we still cannot master it correctly, imagin the carnage we would have trying to drive on the left.

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Maybe the problem is people not knowing their left from their right

We drive on the left

It depends whether you mean the car or the road. We drive right hand drive cars in left hand traffic. See how confusing it is after less than 30 posts?

Thomas_S_Hunterson

Our way is the correct way.

Driving on the right doesn't make any sense.

FredH3as

Why not compromise and drive straight down the middle?

TaxiManMartin

I just drive on whatever side im in the mood for

ART6

Mr.David wrote: »

As opposed to gradually phasing it in?:eek:

In the first year HGVs drive on the right, private cars on the left, until everyone gets used to it:D

Blazer

Apparently driving on the left hand side of the road is the safest form of driving.
Nearly all countries in the world drove on the left before switching to the right hand side due to conformity with their neighsbours etc eg..linked countries eg Germany/France etc.



Research in 1969 by J. J. Leeming showed countries driving on the left have a lower collision rate than countries driving on the right. It has been suggested this is partly because humans are more commonly right-eye dominant than left-eye dominant.[18][19][20] In left-hand traffic, the predominantly better-performing right eye is used to monitor oncoming traffic and the driver's wing mirror. In right-hand traffic, oncoming traffic and the driver's wing mirror are handled by the predominantly weaker left eye.

Berty

For those of you who "may" be wondering why we drive on the left.

Well:

Its had to do with soldiers/warriors riding a horse. They would ride on the left because they would be mostly right handed and hold their sword/joust in the right hand so had to pass each other on the left to kill people.

Hence the left hand side thing.

AND because the British decided they would take over most of the world all those years ago, those countries ended up driving on the left to follow suit.

Let me throw something else into the equation. All our cars would fail the NCT(except for the boy racers who imported headlights from the US) because the beam direction would be the wrong way around.

Boskowski

Tipsy Mac wrote: »

The majority of people are right handed so it's safer to hold the steering wheel with your right hand, therefore driving on the left hand side of the road is safer.

But the majority of the people's right eye is dominant. Shouldn't it be therefore rather in the middle of the car?

Obviously I'm not serious. I just wanted to reply with something that makes as about much sense as the OP.

1huge1

murpheous81 wrote: »

Sweden changed over night in the mid 60's, plus it will create employment.

First of all it was widely shot down by the public, over 80% were against it and the government did it in the end without public support.
Secondly it did not go well at all
check this out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H

Anyway as previously said, over 30% of the worlds population drive on the left, hardly a small miniority. With countries like India (which will have the biggest population in 2 decades), Japan etc

bazz26

rainbowtrout wrote: »

Maybe the problem is people not knowing their left from their right

We drive on the left


There's a fair amount of countries out there with left hand drive

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_on_the_left_or_right#Left-hand_traffic

LOL I was just back from the pub but I was referring to the position of the steering wheel.

kleefarr

It would make us even more like the USA.

No thanks!

Berty

From 1huge1 's link

However, many older people gave up driving rather than learn to cope with the new rule of the road.

AHA There is light in this idea at least.

Never thought about the whole bus thing though. All the doors would be on the wrong side.

brayblue24

FredH3as wrote: »

Why not compromise and drive straight down the middle?

Is that not what most do here anyway?

FrankieD

MYOB wrote: »

Japan, Pakistan, lots of other southern and eastern African countries for whom S.A. is their main trade partner; many of the Carribean islands, Malaysia... the list goes on. Its about 30% of road traffic.

I actually thaught it was 60% of of the world where right hand drive.
It was originally came about before cars where invented in the days of napolian of france, who was a lefty, when all traffic i.e horses and the likes rode on the the left so the sword would be in the right hand and napolian being left handed changed this in the countries he invaded so his sword would be in his left hand and hitler follwed suit years later also being a leftie.
Just some useless information