Should we move to left hand drive cars?

glomar

with the possibility of brexit being a hard one .. would it not make sense from a buyers perspective if we moved to left hand drive vehicles .. would make our buying options a lot better

ED E

Irelands not nearly organized enough to pull it off.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H

Charles Babbage

This forum seems to favour the same thread over and over again.

glomar

glomar wrote: »

with the possibility of brexit being a hard one .. would it not make sense from a buyers perspective if we moved to left hand drive vehicles .. would make our buying options a lot better

You can buy a left hand drive car anyway. Brexit has SFA to do with that decision.

If you’re suggesting changing to driving on the right hand side of the road, the answer is a hard ‘no’.

There’s enough crap driving as it is without adding that confusion into the mix.

Atlantic Dawn

No we will be raped out of it either way, same thing as when we presumed post single currency we would be charged nearly same for a VW Golf in Germany as we do here and we were not because of facilitation for our kip of a country.

Woodsie1

no

bazz26

This topic seems to pop up here nearly every year at this rate.

Who's going to pay for readjusting all the roads, motorways, car park entrances, etc OP? How is Brexit going to change the fact that Britain will still need to buy cars from Europe so Europe will continue to make rhd drive cars? How do you deal with having to switch from lhd to rhd when driving between Northern Ireland and the South.

I cannot see one benefit or saving to switching that would outweigh any of the above disadvantages.

CJhaughey

No JDM muscle? I say no.

Vic_08

bazz26 wrote: »

This topic seems to pop up here nearly every year at this rate.

Who's going to pay for readjusting all the roads, motorways, car park entrances, etc OP? How is Brexit going to change the fact that Britain will still need to buy cars from Europe so Europe will continue to make rhd drive cars? How do you deal with having to switch from lhd to rhd when driving between Northern Ireland and the South.

I cannot see one benefit or saving to switching that would outweigh any of the above disadvantages.

Giving the Brits two fingers in the time honoured Paddy tradition of slapping ourselves in the face seems to be the most compelling reason anyone can find.

shanec1928

Vic_08 wrote: »

Giving the Brits two fingers in the time honoured Paddy tradition of slapping ourselves in the face seems to be the most compelling reason anyone can find.

They did it in Myanmar when the brits left. When we take back the north we could follow suit.

Henry Ford III

We should make the change a gradual one

Sarn

Henry Ford III wrote: »

We should make the change a gradual one

Exactly, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to start. Or is that Monday, Tuesday and Thursday.

uck51js9zml2yt

In India they drive on the left and the right....and the middle and wherever else they want.
The golden rule is beep your horn... incessantly:)

Seems to work ok

Ultimanemo

We should so I can drive from Ireland to Spain with no problems

colm_mcm

shanec1928 wrote: »

They did it in Myanmar when the brits left. When we take back the north we could follow suit.

They did it around 20 years after that on the whim of the then dictator.

Pawwed Rig

Any project that has to start with an estimate of the number of deaths is not great tbh.

_Brian

JayZeus wrote: »

You can buy a left hand drive car anyway. Brexit has SFA to do with that decision.

If you’re suggesting changing to driving on the right hand side of the road, the answer is a hard ‘no’.

There’s enough crap driving as it is without adding that confusion into the mix.

You can, but I see it’s a question on insurance forms, do they load the policy if the car is left hand drive ?

No, for a multitude of reasons one of them being it’s the wrong side of the road to drive. The steering whee on the right and driving on the left is the technically correct way to do it.

joujoujou

Henry Ford III wrote: »

We should make the change a gradual one

Aye.

Lorries and busses would start driving on the right on Monday, the remaining few a week later.

Del2005

glomar wrote: »

with the possibility of brexit being a hard one .. would it not make sense from a buyers perspective if we moved to left hand drive vehicles .. would make our buying options a lot better

With the way Brexit is going it could still be worth while buying in the UK even when you add VAT and duty, Sterling is falling and could fall more.

Switching sides of the road can't be done here as it would involve way to much work, which couldn't be done in a single night.

Henry Ford III

Maybe it could be tested here and there on a pilot basis?

Kilgarvan Co. Kerry would be a good place to start.

Ultimanemo

To do it easily say left hand drive cars are good to reduce climate change because blah blah blah blah, they will follow you like zombies and every opposition will be silenced.

Ultimanemo

Eventually It will happen naturally, cyclists are forcing me to drive on the right more and more every day

billie1b

Ultimanemo wrote: »

We should so I can drive from Ireland to Spain with no problems

I drive Ireland to Poland every year, multiple times, through France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany with no problems at all, what problems do you encounter?

Cee-Jay-Cee

shanec1928 wrote: »

They did it in Myanmar when the brits left. When we take back the north we could follow suit.

I have to laugh everytime I read comments like the above. If there ever is a United ireland, it’ll not be in anyone here’s lifetime.

I don’t want to derail this thread although it’s been beaten to death several times before but how do all the little republicans propose a United Ireland is going to happen when 50% of the NI population is unionist? Do you think they’ll just roll over and give in? It’s a ridiculous idea and I’d be willing to bet a lot of money it doesn’t happen in the next 50
Years.

Atlantic Dawn

As a right handed person RHD is the only way to go.

Ultimanemo

billie1b wrote: »

I drive Ireland to Poland every year, multiple times, through France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany with no problems at all, what problems do you encounter?

I thought it would be hard to overtake there

Panthro

We'll all get helicopters. Roads are over rated anyways.
Airborne is the new thing now

Effects

shanec1928 wrote: »

When we take back the north we could follow suit.

It won't matter which side of the road we drive on at that stage, we'll all be using flying cars.

Panthro

Effects wrote: »

It won't matter which side of the road we drive on at that stage, we'll all be using flying cars.

Ohhh snap.

Harry Palmr

Cost huge, advantage negligible.

TheValeyard

Ultimanemo wrote: »

I thought it would be hard to overtake there

Nah, ask the Germans, very easy to overtake Belgium and the Netherlands on your way to other places.

languagenerd

shanec1928 wrote: »

Vic_08 wrote: »

Giving the Brits two fingers in the time honoured Paddy tradition of slapping ourselves in the face seems to be the most compelling reason anyone can find.

They did it in Myanmar when the brits left. When we take back the north we could follow suit.

Myanmar's a mad one - they changed their sides of the road the whim of an army general but no-one changed their cars - and still now 40 years later, 90% of cars in Myanmar are RHD even though they drive on the right. They have a terrible road safety record as well. Not sure that's an example we'd want to follow! (even if it was just to annoy the Brits.)

Harry Palmr

Sweden gets named checked a lot but of course they drove LHD vehicles on RHD roads until 1967 due to a quirk of history so when they switched over they could actually see ahead much better. One supposes that in Sweden they kept a good distance back from the next vehicle so they could overtake at some point. or maybe Swedes just drove at the speed of the "lead vehicle" until it or they made a turn.

In the mix for us would be the existing infrastructure - junctions esp are engineered for RHD if we jumped to the other side it would be adding an extra level of danger (blind sides in panel vans etc). Imagine the number of collisions we'd see at roundabouts in the first few weeks as people look the wrong way as they enter.

Pawwed Rig

Harry Palmr wrote: »

Sweden gets named checked a lot but of course they drove LHD vehicles on RHD roads until 1967 due to a quirk of history so when they switched over they could actually see ahead much better. One supposes that in Sweden they kept a good distance back from the next vehicle so they could overtake at some point. or maybe Swedes just drove at the speed of the "lead vehicle" until it or they made a turn. .

And there was a fraction of the number of cars on the road.

road_high

When cars first started appearing it was a pretty dumb idea to have two different sides for driving, should have chosen either left or right for the whole planet. But I suppose the world was a different place then and there was no mechanism to come together and agree.
Ireland has no land border with a left drive nation/s so no big need to convert. Unless the uk ever did which is very unlikely

billie1b

Ultimanemo wrote: »

I thought it would be hard to overtake there

Never had any problems at all, people in Europe have lane discipline so it’s hassle free most the time, no lane hogging etc etc, over taking is just like at home

road_high

billie1b wrote: »

Never had any problems at all, people in Europe have lane discipline so it’s hassle free most the time, no lane hogging etc etc, over taking is just like at home

How come almost every time I seem to be stuck behind lane hoggers here they’re nearly always rental cars driven by holiday makers!! Three yesterday in the M9 alone- two had to be flashed continuously to move over. One only doing about 100 Kmh in the overtaking lane in a Corsa and came up to them very quickly indeed. Perhaps they’re all Americans or other but it’s something I really find with rentals

Car99

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

shanec1928 wrote: »

They did it in Myanmar when the brits left. When we take back the north we could follow suit.

It’s a ridiculous idea and I’d be willing to bet a lot of money it doesn’t happen in the next 50
Years.

Placing a large bet and waiting 50 years for a pay out is a ridiculous idea too.

Charles Babbage

Self driving cars will drive on either side, so when they are introduced they'll just broadcast a signal and they'll all change over.

Pawwed Rig

billie1b wrote: »

Never had any problems at all, people in Europe have lane discipline so it’s hassle free most the time, no lane hogging etc etc, over taking is just like at home

Europe? What all of it? Try driving in Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, France etc. It can be terrifying.
Rural Czech had the worst driving I have seen outside of third world countries.

road_high

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Europe? What all of it? Try driving in Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, France etc. It can be terrifying.
Rural Czech had the worst driving I have seen outside of third world countries.

I give out about the driving standards here but in reality I don't think they are that bad compared to the rest of the world. Probably verge more on the cautious/slow/hesitant side here vs the lunatics especially in southern and eastern Europe. Driving style here is a lot calmer and more relaxed if a tad unaware of other traffic and flows.
We are close to top of the list now for low road deaths so at least we are fairly safe.

billie1b

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Europe? What all of it? Try driving in Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, France etc. It can be terrifying.
Rural Czech had the worst driving I have seen outside of third world countries.

Was actually only in Prague last week, drove over the mountains from the Karpacz to it for a 2 night break away, didn’t find it bad at all, thats including windy country roads, rural and motorway. Have racked up a lot of miles in France, all corners of it, but especially the north west to the southwest, never any problems at all, each to their own I suppose

Skatedude

billie1b wrote: »

I drive Ireland to Poland every year, multiple times, through France, Belgium, Netherlands and Germany with no problems at all, what problems do you encounter?

Drivers that have no clue what lane to use, even if they never left Ireland

I Am The Law

Are you insane?

Del2005

road_high wrote: »

When cars first started appearing it was a pretty dumb idea to have two different sides for driving, should have chosen either left or right for the whole planet. But I suppose the world was a different place then and there was no mechanism to come together and agree.
Ireland has no land border with a left drive nation/s so no big need to convert. Unless the uk ever did which is very unlikely

People used to drive on the left before cars were invented, there's a Roman quary were the tracks show this, as that way your sword arm was open. Driving on the right is the wrong side.

josip

Pawwed Rig wrote: »

Europe? What all of it? Try driving in Czech Republic, Italy, Greece, Slovakia, France etc. It can be terrifying.
Rural Czech had the worst driving I have seen outside of third world countries.

Never been to Montenegro then?

mea_k

You must be mad. With all the deaths around this weekend on roads, people as is cannot drive safely.
Tailgating, cutting in front and big one indicating.
I nearly had close one again. And lady lost her **** at me untill I actually had to show her in RSA Book she was in wrong.
It would only make matters worse.
Half the time I wonder how did they pass their test in first place.
Cork is mayham at the moment. If anything best would be in investing with photo radars. Will cut the amount of people speeding...

Guy:Incognito

Del2005 wrote: »

People used to drive on the left before cars were invented, there's a Roman quary were the tracks show this, as that way your sword arm was open. Driving on the right is the wrong side.

Right handed people drive on the left, left handed people drive on the right. Simple.

road_high

road_high wrote: »

How come almost every time I seem to be stuck behind lane hoggers here they’re nearly always rental cars driven by holiday makers!! Three yesterday in the M9 alone- two had to be flashed continuously to move over. One only doing about 100 Kmh in the overtaking lane in a Corsa and came up to them very quickly indeed. Perhaps they’re all Americans or other but it’s something I really find with rentals

Another two of these plonkers today and absolutely no surprises again- tourists in rentals! I can't fathom it, how you'd tootle along at 100 km/h on a motorway in the overtaking lane totally oblivious to all behind you. So it's certainly not an Irish thing only

Del2005

road_high wrote: »

Another two of these plonkers today and absolutely no surprises again- tourists in rentals! I can't fathom it, how you'd tootle along at 100 km/h on a motorway in the overtaking lane totally oblivious to all behind you. So it's certainly not an Irish thing only

They could be confused and think that they are in the driving lane not realising that it's different when you swap sides of the road. At least people on holidays have an excuse there's way to many Irish people who do worse.