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This Is Why They Drive On The Left Side In The UK

This Is Why They Drive On The Left Side In The UK

The true reason behind why they drive on the left will surprise you, and it predates the invention of the car.

For everyone who lives outside of the United Kingdom or a former colony it looks awfully strange to see them drive on the left side of the street. It seems perfectly normal for everyone to drive on the right side, so what is their reason?

Shockingly, the practice has nothing to do with cars at all, and in fact predates the invention of the automobile by centuries. Historians claim that the practice dates back to the Middle Ages, back when the fortunate would ride on horses or in wagons and poor would simply walk. So why on the left side?

Apparently, it was more a security concern than a matter of convenience or urban planning. Since most people are right handed, they would walk or ride on the left side of the road to keep their right hand free in case they were subjected to an attack.

We’ve all watched Game of Thrones and Robin Hood, cutting someone off in the middle of the forest is the signature move of the era.

As the United Kingdom grew, they started to spread the practice into colonies, and many of them never dropped it.

Matter of fact, many European nations used to drive on the left. Some were forced to change, like Czechoslovakia and Austria who switched from left to right when Hitler’s troops occupied them.

Britain itself has considered switching, like Sweden did in 1967, but no serious efforts has been made so far.

One small nation even once found reason to switch from driving on the right to driving on the left. In 2009, Samoa did the switch to be able to import cheaper cars from Australia and New Zealand.

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