Question - the side that cars drive on the roads

carlowplayer

Have a question:
cars in ireland have the driver seat steering wheel on the right side of the car and they drive on the left side of the road. What other countries have cars built and drive on this same way.?
I also know that cars in america have the driver on the left side of the car and drive on the opposite of the road.What countries have it the same way as america?
Is their a name for this system?
Would it cost a lot of money for this to be homogenised ie have all cars drive on the same side of the road and have the driver seat on the same side?
Also if you are licensed to drive in ireland does that apply to the rest of the world

MGWR

About 35 percent of the world's population live in countries that drive on the left and have the controls on the right side of road vehicles. There is a full list here.

This page has an interesting theory on the history of left-side travel:

In the past, almost everybody travelled on the left side of the road because that was the most sensible option for feudal, violent societies. Since most people are right-handed, swordsmen preferred to keep to the left in order to have their right arm nearer to an opponent and their scabbard further from him. Moreover, it reduced the chance of the scabbard (worn on the left) hitting other people.

Furthermore, a right-handed person finds it easier to mount a horse from the left side of the horse, and it would be very difficult to do otherwise if wearing a sword (which would be worn on the left). ...

Looks like opinion to me (especially feudalism being particularly "violent"; after all, the most violent wars in human history were fought by non-feudal nations), but it's still noteworthy.

For an interesting case where a country switched from left side to right side of the road, look up Sweden's conversion in 1967. (It was coincidental with withdrawing of trams to be replaced by buses.)

Banjoxed

MGWR wrote: »

About 35 percent of the world's population live in countries that drive on the left and have the controls on the right side of road vehicles. There is a full list here.

This page has an interesting theory on the history of left-side travel:Looks like opinion to me (especially feudalism being particularly "violent"; after all, the most violent wars in human history were fought by non-feudal nations), but it's still noteworthy.

For an interesting case where a country switched from left side to right side of the road, look up Sweden's conversion in 1967. (It was coincidental with withdrawing of trams to be replaced by buses.)

Driving on the wrong side AND scrapping trams? Screw that 'merican nonsense

galwaycyclist

MGWR wrote: »

For an interesting case where a country switched from left side to right side of the road, look up Sweden's conversion in 1967. (It was coincidental with withdrawing of trams to be replaced by buses.)

I think this part is mad interesting

On the Monday following Dagen H, there were 125 reported traffic accidents, compared to a range of 130 to 198 for previous Mondays, none of them fatal. Experts suggested that changing to driving on the right reduced accidents while overtaking as people already drove left-hand drive vehicles, thereby having a better view of the road ahead; additionally, the change made a marked surge in perceived risk that exceeded the target level and thus was followed by very cautious behaviour that caused a major decrease in road fatalities. Indeed, fatal car-to-car and car-to-pedestrian accidents dropped sharply as a result, and the number of motor insurance claims went down by 40%. These initial improvements did not last though. The number of motor insurance claims returned to normal over the next six weeks, and by 1969, the accident rate were back to the levels seen before the change.[3] On the day of the change, only 150 minor accidents were reported. Traffic accidents over the next few months went down. By 1969, however, accidents were back at normal levels.[4] Fatality levels took two years to return to normal.[5][6]

Irish Steve

Not a problem. Significant number of "drivers" here use the "wrong" side on most roads that have more than one lane already!

Change to driving on "the other side", and that would just make it easier for that number of drivers.

Resignalling the Luas to allow opposite direction operation might be more expensive though, and some of the Freeflow junctions on the M50 would be pretty disastrous, and a lot of other junctions would not work correctly with no feeder lanes in the right places.

Might make the prices of new cars more attractive, given the % that are RHD in Europe, UK & Ireland are the only RHD, everyone else is LHD, and you have to go a very long way before you come to another RHD country.

Carawaystick

Irish Steve wrote: »

you have to go a very long way before you come to another RHD country.

Well one of the countries that borders France drive on the left, but it is one of those parts of France that's a very long way away




Surinam

foxy farmer

One of the weirdest things i experienced was being in the passenger seat of a LHD car on Irish roads. Being in the centre of the road with no steering wheel or brakes. Overtaking lorries and such while on your own ina LH lane country in a LHD vehicles must be interesting to say the least.

MGWR

foxy farmer wrote: »

One of the weirdest things i experienced was being in the passenger seat of a LHD car on Irish roads. Being in the centre of the road with no steering wheel or brakes. Overtaking lorries and such while on your own in a LH lane country in a LHD vehicles must be interesting to say the least.

That was the status quo in Sweden before the 1967 changeover. However, the people voted down the changeover in 1955 in spite of that, so (of course) the government pushed it through against the people's will.

Alun

Carawaystick wrote: »

Well one of the countries that borders France drive on the left, but it is one of those parts of France that's a very long way away

Surinam

Suriname was Dutch Maybe you're thinking of their next door neighbour, French Guiana?

L1011

foxy farmer wrote: »

One of the weirdest things i experienced was being in the passenger seat of a LHD car on Irish roads. Being in the centre of the road with no steering wheel or brakes. Overtaking lorries and such while on your own ina LH lane country in a LHD vehicles must be interesting to say the least.

It's not fun anyway. I find driving a hire car in the US easier than my own car on the continent. Even motorways are a pain. And that's even with hating auto boxes and not understanding mile speed limits intuitively like with km/h

Carawaystick

Alun wrote: »

Suriname was Dutch Maybe you're thinking of their next door neighbour, French Guiana?

Ah, I was unclear. Suriname borders France and they drive on the left in Suriname.

icdg

Not really practical to change now. You'd be rendering every bus in the country obsolete overnight and make running cross border services more difficult. I'm also not sure how difficult it would be to reconfigure our infamous restricted junctions on the motorway network (the M4/M6, M7/M8, and M7/M9 junctions, where there is no access for traffic heading northbound on the M4/M7 to the M6/M8/M9).

killbillvol2

Carawaystick wrote: »

Ah, I was unclear. Suriname borders France and they drive on the left in Suriname.

Suriname doesn't border France - it's in South America.

PCX

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Suriname doesn't border France - it's in South America.

It does. It borders French Guiana which, even though it is in South America, is part of France under french and international law. It is concidered a french region the same way as say Normandy for example is.

Alun

killbillvol2 wrote: »

Suriname doesn't border France - it's in South America.

Well, it kind of does, because French Guiana is officially a part of France, a "département d'outre-mer" or DOM (overseas department), and isn't actually a sovereign state in its own right as recognized by the UN. A DOM has the same status as any other département in France itself.

Qualitymark

It would really be sensible if the whole world drove on the same side - economies of scale in car/van/truck manufacture - at the moment factories have to be set up in different ways to make right-hand- and left-hand-drive vehicles.

killbillvol2

I stand corrected - you learn something every day on boards!

MGWR

Qualitymark wrote: »

It would really be sensible if the whole world drove on the same side - economies of scale in car/van/truck manufacture - at the moment factories have to be set up in different ways to make right-hand- and left-hand-drive vehicles.

I do not think that Japan would take well to switching sides from left to right, just for one country in particular.

And then there are some lorries that have dual controls.

MGWR

icdg wrote: »

Not really practical to change now. You'd be rendering every bus in the country obsolete overnight and make running cross border services more difficult. I'm also not sure how difficult it would be to reconfigure our infamous restricted junctions on the motorway network (the M4/M6, M7/M8, and M7/M9 junctions, where there is no access for traffic heading northbound on the M4/M7 to the M6/M8/M9).

I'd find it a sort of "back to the future" moment to be driving on the south quays into Dublin city centre as well; when I was young, south quays were inbound and north quays outbound, with the bus stops adjacent to the river.

I am not sure I would take as readily to driving up College Street and turning left at D'Olier Street if I were coming from Dame Street/College Green, however. Not that it'd be driveable should that BXD tram get built through the area. Imagine Townsend Street being inbound from Ringsend and those areas?

Pinch Flat

Alun wrote: »

Well, it kind of does, because French Guiana is officially a part of France, a "département d'outre-mer" or DOM (overseas department), and isn't actually a sovereign state in its own right as recognized by the UN. A DOM has the same status as any other département in France itself.

They have the euro as their currency as well

Muahahaha

Did Germany have a changeover from left to right as well as Sweden?

Ive heard the reasoning given earlier about needing to draw a sword with your right hand, though I'd heard it was the Romans who marched along roads on the left. Not sure if there is any truth in it.

Qualitymark

MGWR wrote: »

I do not think that Japan would take well to switching sides from left to right, just for one country in particular.

Oh, I don't know; Japan is one country that has made enormous societal changes without a flicker of a problem many times in its history. Changing the side they drive on would scarcely cause them the loss of an eyelash.

endacl

Alun wrote: »

Suriname was Dutch Maybe you're thinking of their next door neighbour, French Guiana?

Yeah. That's what he said.

Mrs OBumble

carlowplayer wrote: »

Have a question:
cars in ireland have the driver seat steering wheel on the right side of the car and they drive on the left side of the road. What other countries have cars built and drive on this same way.?
I also know that cars in america have the driver on the left side of the car and drive on the opposite of the road.What countries have it the same way as america?
Is their a name for this system?
Would it cost a lot of money for this to be homogenised ie have all cars drive on the same side of the road and have the driver seat on the same side?
Also if you are licensed to drive in ireland does that apply to the rest of the world

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic#Uniformity

Answers many of your questions.

I've just had a fascinating read on Wikipedia - and discovered that Samoa changed most recently, on 7 September 2009, the first country for three decades to change the side on which it drives. They were right-hand-drive due to being a German colony from the late 1800s, but wanted to change because on the strong links with with Australia and NZ and to reduce dependence on US imports. Actions taken to reduce the chance of accidents at the changeover included banning alcohol sales for three days - I cannot imagine that happening here, Good Friday already induces panic-buying!

Thankfully they don't share a land border with American Samoa.

Also if you are licensed to drive in ireland does that apply to the rest of the world

That's a question for the rest of the world!

Each country sets it's own rules about who is allowed to drive there, and what restrictions apply (eg no learners / visitor on certain roads).

Most countries do allow visitors who are (fully) licensed in their home to also give in the country being visited.

But there are sometimes catches, for example, Ireland says that visitors may drive on licenses from (a long list of countries) - but only if they intend to stay for less than 12 months. Officially someone who plans to stay here for more than 12 months is not allowed to drive here until they have either traded in their license (this is an option for some visitor), or gone through Ireland's licensing process.

I haven't researched it, but suspect that many other countries may have similar policies.

MGWR

Qualitymark wrote: »

Oh, I don't know; Japan is one country that has made enormous societal changes without a flicker of a problem many times in its history. Changing the side they drive on would scarcely cause them the loss of an eyelash.

No, they are quite stolid and resistant to change, in fact. They especially despise "gaijin" telling them what to do.

Qualitymark

MGWR wrote: »

No, they are quite stolid and resistant to change, in fact. They especially despise "gaijin" telling them what to do.

Don't we all! But the Japanese have made many major changes, including ending for many years their military-based society from the 1940s, including opening to world trade after a period of being completely closed off before the 18th century, including the end of their whole feudal system.

The Japanese are symbolised to me by how they knock down and renew their houses every 15-25 years; there is only one castle in the whole country that's from the 16th century - they're gobsmacked to see our ancient houses still in daily use.

Hotblack Desiato

Qualitymark wrote: »

Oh, I don't know; Japan is one country that has made enormous societal changes without a flicker of a problem many times in its history. Changing the side they drive on would scarcely cause them the loss of an eyelash.

Okinawa switched from driving on the right (a legacy of US military administration) to the left in 1978.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/730_(transport)

Oafley Jones

Pinch Flat wrote: »

They have the euro as their currency as well

Probably. Was in the Caribbean Island of St. Martin there two or three years ago and was surprised that the currency was there. Bit annoying as I'd only a few dollars on me and a good few Euros back on the boat.

Carawaystick

Pinch Flat wrote: »

They have the euro as their currency as well

Thats because they use the euro in France....

Take out a euro banknote, look at the bridge side, the various far flung parts of France are in boxes beside the main map of some of continental europe

MGWR

Qualitymark wrote: »

Don't we all! But the Japanese have made many major changes, including ending for many years their military-based society from the 1940s, including opening to world trade after a period of being completely closed off before the 18th century, including the end of their whole feudal system.

The Japanese are symbolised to me by how they knock down and renew their houses every 15-25 years; there is only one castle in the whole country that's from the 16th century - they're gobsmacked to see our ancient houses still in daily use.

Japan is also very geologically active, and probably have to demolish/rebuild due to seismic/volcanic events.

Japan is re-militarising, incidentally; mostly due to China's rise in the region. Shinzo Abe, the prime minister and the primary force behind the push to either rewrite or scrap Article 9, is part of a group whose goal is to re-institute state Shintoism and re-recognise the emperor as the descendant of Amaterasu. (Off-topic, so I won't elaborate.)

Del2005

Muahahaha wrote: »

Ive heard the reasoning given earlier about needing to draw a sword with your right hand, though I'd heard it was the Romans who marched along roads on the left. Not sure if there is any truth in it.

There's a Roman quarry where the ruts are deeper on the left than the right implying that the Roman's used the left of the road.

AugustusMinimus

Often read that driving on the left is indeed safer than driving on the right.

Right handed people in emergencies, tend to turn left instead of right. Thinking is that we automatically do this to turn our strong side towards danger.

Well, if you drive in a LHD country, this would mean you turn into the ditch. In a RHD country it would lead you into oncoming traffic.

number10a

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Each country sets it's own rules about who is allowed to drive there, and what restrictions apply (eg no learners / visitor on certain roads).

Most countries do allow visitors who are (fully) licensed in their home to also give in the country being visited.

But there are sometimes catches, for example, Ireland says that visitors may drive on licenses from (a long list of countries) - but only if they intend to stay for less than 12 months. Officially someone who plans to stay here for more than 12 months is not allowed to drive here until they have either traded in their license (this is an option for some visitor), or gone through Ireland's licensing process.

I haven't researched it, but suspect that many other countries may have similar policies.

Unless you have an EU licence, though.

Those rules are excepted for anyone who has a licence from another EU state, and vice versa if you hold an Irish licence elsewhere in the EU.

You do not need to trade it for an Irish one until it expires. Once it expires, if you live in Ireland, you trade it for an Irish licence. EU driver licences are tied to where you are resident, rather than where you are a citizen. Also, you can trade in an EU licence without having to do any test as the testing process now has some basics as standard across the EU - with some extras in each country, e.g. driving on ice in Sweden and Finland, driving on an autobahn in Germany's test, etc.

There are a small number of non-EU countries that are treated in the same way. But for the most part, to trade in a non-EU licence for an Irish one, you need to do as Mrs OBumble says, and likely sit the test again. These are the non-EU countries that can trade their licence for an Irish one without any hassle:

• Australia
• Japan
• Norway
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Switzerland
• New Zealand
• Taiwan

Anyone not on the list would need to do the Irish driving test eventually. For example, US citizens can drive in Ireland for 12 months on their own licence, but after that, they need to go through the full testing procedure and get an Irish licence as we do not regard their testing system to be of a high enough standard to allow a simple swap of licence.

MJohnston

number10a wrote: »

For example, US citizens can drive in Ireland for 12 months on their own licence, but after that, they need to go through the full testing procedure and get an Irish licence as we do not regard their testing system to be of a high enough standard to allow a simple swap of licence.

Rightfully so too - had to take the California driving test as I lived there for a while, and no exaggeration - it was just 20 very, very easy minutes of urban driving, with the only "manoeuvre" being to reverse for 15 feet. Absolutely shockingly low standards. Obviously no testing of manual gearbox usage at all.

Mrs OBumble

number10a wrote: »

These are the non-EU countries that can trade their licence for an Irish one without any hassle:

• Australia
• Japan
• Norway
• South Africa
• South Korea
• Switzerland
• New Zealand
• Taiwan

One limit on this: if your original licence does not show whether your test was manual or automatic, then you can only trade in for a license for driving an automatic.

There is one country which has only been on that list for a short time. When it was added, there was a mixup over the manual / automatic thing, and some people who had traded in and been issued unrestricted licences actually had guards calling to their houses demanding the licences back. This was particularly galling for people who had sat the test originally in a manual, but for whom this wasn't recorded on their home country's system.