why we use left hand drive in india and right hand drive in europe ........?

Question

which is better ......... in which places..............................

Answer 1

This is the short answer read the link, it is real interesting

About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do are mostly old British colonies. This strange quirk perplexes the rest of the world; but there is a perfectly good reason.

In the past, almost everybody traveled 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). It is safer to mount and dismount towards the side of the road, rather than in the middle of traffic, so if one mounts on the left, then the horse should be ridden on the left side of the road.

Answer 2

Europe Left Hand Drive

Answer 3

you have made a mistake while asking the question. In india we use right hand drive while in Europe it is left hand drive. We in India follows the British system . Since British had ruled India for a long time British systems are in vogue in many aspects.
Since in right hand driving steering wheel is on the right side of the car we move through the left side of the road and our traffic signals also on the right side. Nothing special in this system except maintaining the traditional system without any inconvenience.

Answer 4

Very few countries use right hand drive (the steering wheel on the right). They are Great Britain (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland), Ireland, Australia, India, and Japan.

Every other nation, to the best of my knowledge, has the steeering wheel on the left hand side.

You're confusing left hand drive with driving on the left side of the road.

Which is better? I personally prefer when the steering wheel is on the left side, but that doesn't make it better. It is what I grew up with. I'm left handed, but shift with the right. Again, this is what I was taught.

Answer 5

The old British colonies took after Britain, which drives on the left.
It was Napoleon who introduced driving (riding) on the right in Europe, and thus French, Spanish etc colonies took to driving on the right.
America drives on the right, probably as a mark of defiance against then British Colonial rule.

Answer 6

because of the width of the roads

Answer 7

RIGHT PEOPLE >>>RIGHT PATH>>>RIGHT HAND DRIVE
WRONG PEOPLE>>> WRONG PATH>>> LEFT HAND DRIVE

Answer 8

i think its the other way round!
anyways there is not much difference!

Answer 9

This is the short answer read the link, it is real interesting

About a quarter of the world drives on the left, and the countries that do are mostly old British colonies. This strange quirk perplexes the rest of the world; but there is a perfectly good reason.

In the past, almost everybody traveled 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
It is safer to mount and dismount towards the side of the road, rather than in the middle of traffic,
so if one mounts on the left, then the horse should be ridden on the left side of the road



Keeping to either the left or the right prevents vehicles moving in opposite directions from colliding with each other. This is so fundamental that it is sometimes known simply as the rule of the road. About 34% of the world by population drive on the left, and 66% keep right. By roadway distances, about 28% drive on the left, and 72% on the right,[1] even though originally most traffic drove on the left worldwide.[2]

In more sophisticated systems such as large cities, this concept is further extended: some streets are marked as being one-way, and on those streets all traffic must flow in only one direction. A driver wishing to reach a destination already passed must use other streets in order to return.

In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on one side were observed to be much deeper than those on the other side, which would make sense given that carts would be driven without any load on the way to the quarry, but would return laden with stone. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this particular location.

In fact, some believe that ancient travelers on horseback generally rode on the left side of the road. As more people are right-handed, horsemen would thus be able to hold the reins with their left hands and keep their right hand free—to offer in friendship to passing riders or to defend themselves with swords, if necessary. This also explains why men's jackets and shirts have the buttons on the right. It was important to be able to reach a weapon inside a cloak, so for a right-handed person, the cloak had the left flap over the right flap and the right hand could easily reach in and grab the weapon.

In the late 1700s, a shift from left to right took place in countries such as the United States, when teamsters started using large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. The wagons had no driver’s seat, so the driver sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right hand. Seated on the left, the driver naturally preferred that other wagons pass him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the wheels of oncoming wagons. He did that by driving on the right side of the road.

The British, however, kept to the left. They had smaller wagons, and the driver sat on the wagon, usually on the right side of the front seat. From there he could use his long whip in his right hand without entangling it in the cargo behind him. In that position, on the right side of the wagon, the driver could judge the safety margin of passing traffic by keeping to the left side of the road. Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted the keep-left rule too, although there were some exceptions. Canada, for example, eventually changed to the right in order to make border crossings to and from the United States easier.

On most early motor vehicles, the driving seat was positioned centrally. Some car manufacturers later chose to place it near the centre of the road to help drivers see oncoming traffic, while others chose to put the driver's seat on the kerb side so that the drivers could avoid damage from walls, hedges, gutters and other obstacles. Eventually the former idea prevailed.

Political events in France had a big effect on driving habits. Before the French Revolution, the aristocracy drove its carriages along the left side of the roads, forcing the peasants to the other side. But once the Revolution started, these nobles desperately tried to hide their identity by joining the peasant travelers on the right. By 1794 the French government had introduced a keep-right rule in Paris, which later spread to other regions as the conquering armies of Napoléon I marched through much of continental Europe. It is not surprising that Napoléon favored keeping to the right. One reference work explains that because he was left-handed, "his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and any opponent."

In Europe, countries that resisted Napoléon kept to the left. Russia and Portugal switched to the right early in the 20th century. Austria and Czechoslovakia changed to the right when occupied by Nazi Germany at the end of the 1930s, and Hungary followed suit. Today just four European countries still drive on the left: Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta. Interestingly, although Japan, Indonesia and Thailand never were British colonies, they too drive on the left.

A country's traffic-handedness is most properly designated with reference to the rule of the road, i.e., the side of the road along which traffic flows. Using such a referent, countries are said to have left-hand traffic (LHT) or right-hand traffic (RHT). However, traffic-handedness is sometimes designated with reference to the placement of the steering wheel and driver's seat within vehicles. Using this terminology, countries are said to be left-hand drive (LHD) or right-hand drive (RHD). In almost all cases, the placement of the steering wheel is opposite to the rule of the road: LHT countries use RHD vehicles, and RHT countries use LHD vehicles. Confusion can arise from the misuse of "LHD" and "RHD" to indicate the side of the road along which vehicles are driven. In addition, there have been markets (such as some Caribbean islands, and Sweden before the 1967 change from LHT to RHT) that use mostly LH-drive vehicles with LH-traffic, or mostly RH-drive vehicles with RH-traffic. In addition, "wrong" hand-drive vehicles are permitted in many markets.

[edit] Right-hand traffic

* Oncoming traffic is seen coming from the left.
* Left-turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic.
* Most traffic signs facing motorists are on the right-hand side of the road.
* Traffic on roundabouts (traffic circles or rotaries) goes anticlockwise (counter-clockwise).
* Pedestrians crossing a two-way road should first look for traffic from their left.
* Most vehicles have a left-hand driver's position.

[edit] Left-hand traffic

* Oncoming traffic is seen coming on the right side.
* Right-turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic.
* Most traffic signs facing motorists are on the left side of the road.
* Traffic on roundabouts (traffic circles or rotaries) goes clockwise.
* Pedestrians crossing a two-way road should first look for traffic from their right.
* Most vehicles have a right-hand driver's position.

Changing sides at borders
The Change of traffic directions at the Laos-Thai border takes place on Lao territory just off the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.
The Change of traffic directions at the Laos-Thai border takes place on Lao territory just off the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.
Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge.
Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge.
Change from left to right hand drive at the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.
Change from left to right hand drive at the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.

There are still many instances of traffic having to change sides at border crossings, such as at those between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Laos and Thailand, Sudan and Uganda. Thailand is particularly notable in the context of border crossings, as it is the only sizeable country that has nearly all of its borders with countries that drive on the opposite side. It drives on the left, but 90% (4,357 km or 2,707 miles) of its borders are with countries that drive on the right, with only Malaysia driving on the left since Myanmar (formerly Burma) changed from driving on the left to driving on the right in 1970.

Many borders are formed from natural barriers such as mountains or rivers, and this is particularly true of borders where traffic changes sides of the road, especially in Asia. These natural barriers make the number of border crossings much lower than would otherwise be the case. Furthermore, given their remoteness, most mountain border crossings have relatively low traffic volumes and so changing sides of the road is even less of an issue.

The four most common ways of switching traffic from one side to the other at borders are:

* Traffic lights. Examples are:
o Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Laos, change takes place on Lao side - photo, photo
o Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, between Thailand and Laos, change takes place on Thai side
o Friendship Bridge between Thailand (Mae Sot) and Myanmar (Myawaddy) - photo
o New bridge between Thailand (Mae Sai) and Myanmar (opened in 2006) - photo

* Crossover bridges. Examples are:
o Lok Ma Chau between Hong Kong and mainland China - Google Maps
o Lotus Bridge between Macau and mainland China - Google Maps

* Border roads intersect with roundabouts or other one-way traffic systems. Examples are:
o Man Kam To between Hong Kong and mainland China - Google Maps
o Land border between Macau and mainland China - Google Maps

* No automatic infrastructure (signposts and directions only), most commonly found at borders with low vehicular traffic volumes. Examples are:
o Poipet between Thailand and Cambodia - photo, photo
o Old bridge between Thailand (Mae Sai) and Myanmar - photo, photo
o Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China - photo
Changing the rule

The most common reason for countries to switch to driving on the right is for conformity with neighbours, as it increases the safety of cross-border traffic. For example, former British colonies in Africa, such as Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana, have all changed from left- to right-hand traffic, as they all share borders with former French colonies, which drive on the right. The former Portuguese colony of Mozambique has always driven on the left, as all its neighbours are former British colonies. Decisions by countries to drive on the right typically concern conformity and uniformity rather than practical reasons. There are historical exceptions, such as postilion riders in France, but such historical advantages do not apply to modern road vehicles.

In the former British Crown colony of Hong Kong and the former Portuguese enclave of Macau, traffic continues to drive on the left, unlike in mainland China, despite the fact that they are now its Special Administrative Regions. On the other hand, Taiwan, formerly under Japanese rule, changed to driving on the right in 1946 after the government of the Republic of China assumed administration; the same happened in Korea (both North and South), a former Japanese colony under U.S. and Soviet occupation.


Uniformity
Traffic driving on the right in Savoy Court in London (the UK usually drives on the left)
Traffic driving on the right in Savoy Court in London (the UK usually drives on the left)
Vehicles driving on the left on the A1 Motorway near Washington Services in Tyne and Wear, England heading towards Scotland.
Vehicles driving on the left on the A1 Motorway near Washington Services in Tyne and Wear, England heading towards Scotland.

Article 9(1) of the United Nations' Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949)[7] requires each country to have a uniform direction of traffic, i.e. each country may have either left-hand traffic or right-hand traffic, but not both. The exact wording of the article is:
“ All vehicular traffic proceeding in the same direction on any road shall keep to the same side of the road, which shall be uniform in each country for all roads. Domestic regulations concerning one-way traffic shall not be affected ”

Before that, a country could have different rules in different parts, for example Canada until the 1920s.

When islands are excluded, the only continents with the same side of the road to drive on over each whole continent are:

1. Australia with left-hand traffic
2. Mainland Europe, since Sweden changed from left-hand traffic in 1967
3. North America, including Central America, since British Honduras changed from left-hand traffic in 1961

Africa, Asia, and South America have land borders where drivers must change to the other side of the road.

India

India continued the colonial practice of driving on the left hand side of the road after independence. Now all vehicles are RHD

Answer 10

Keeping to either the left or the right prevents vehicles moving in opposite directions from colliding with each other. This is so fundamental that it is sometimes known simply as the rule of the road. About 34% of the world by population drive on the left, and 66% keep right. By roadway distances, about 28% drive on the left, and 72% on the right,[1] even though originally most traffic drove on the left worldwide.[2]

In more sophisticated systems such as large cities, this concept is further extended: some streets are marked as being one-way, and on those streets all traffic must flow in only one direction. A driver wishing to reach a destination already passed must use other streets in order to return.

In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on one side were observed to be much deeper than those on the other side, which would make sense given that carts would be driven without any load on the way to the quarry, but would return laden with stone. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this particular location.

In fact, some believe that ancient travelers on horseback generally rode on the left side of the road. As more people are right-handed, horsemen would thus be able to hold the reins with their left hands and keep their right hand free—to offer in friendship to passing riders or to defend themselves with swords, if necessary. This also explains why men's jackets and shirts have the buttons on the right. It was important to be able to reach a weapon inside a cloak, so for a right-handed person, the cloak had the left flap over the right flap and the right hand could easily reach in and grab the weapon.

In the late 1700s, a shift from left to right took place in countries such as the United States, when teamsters started using large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. The wagons had no driver’s seat, so the driver sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right hand. Seated on the left, the driver naturally preferred that other wagons pass him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the wheels of oncoming wagons. He did that by driving on the right side of the road.

The British, however, kept to the left. They had smaller wagons, and the driver sat on the wagon, usually on the right side of the front seat. From there he could use his long whip in his right hand without entangling it in the cargo behind him. In that position, on the right side of the wagon, the driver could judge the safety margin of passing traffic by keeping to the left side of the road. Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted the keep-left rule too, although there were some exceptions. Canada, for example, eventually changed to the right in order to make border crossings to and from the United States easier.

On most early motor vehicles, the driving seat was positioned centrally. Some car manufacturers later chose to place it near the centre of the road to help drivers see oncoming traffic, while others chose to put the driver's seat on the kerb side so that the drivers could avoid damage from walls, hedges, gutters and other obstacles. Eventually the former idea prevailed.

Political events in France had a big effect on driving habits. Before the French Revolution, the aristocracy drove its carriages along the left side of the roads, forcing the peasants to the other side. But once the Revolution started, these nobles desperately tried to hide their identity by joining the peasant travelers on the right. By 1794 the French government had introduced a keep-right rule in Paris, which later spread to other regions as the conquering armies of Napoléon I marched through much of continental Europe. It is not surprising that Napoléon favored keeping to the right. One reference work explains that because he was left-handed, "his armies had to march on the right so he could keep his sword arm between him and any opponent."

In Europe, countries that resisted Napoléon kept to the left. Russia and Portugal switched to the right early in the 20th century. Austria and Czechoslovakia changed to the right when occupied by Nazi Germany at the end of the 1930s, and Hungary followed suit. Today just four European countries still drive on the left: Britain, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta. Interestingly, although Japan, Indonesia and Thailand never were British colonies, they too drive on the left.

A country's traffic-handedness is most properly designated with reference to the rule of the road, i.e., the side of the road along which traffic flows. Using such a referent, countries are said to have left-hand traffic (LHT) or right-hand traffic (RHT). However, traffic-handedness is sometimes designated with reference to the placement of the steering wheel and driver's seat within vehicles. Using this terminology, countries are said to be left-hand drive (LHD) or right-hand drive (RHD). In almost all cases, the placement of the steering wheel is opposite to the rule of the road: LHT countries use RHD vehicles, and RHT countries use LHD vehicles. Confusion can arise from the misuse of "LHD" and "RHD" to indicate the side of the road along which vehicles are driven. In addition, there have been markets (such as some Caribbean islands, and Sweden before the 1967 change from LHT to RHT) that use mostly LH-drive vehicles with LH-traffic, or mostly RH-drive vehicles with RH-traffic. In addition, "wrong" hand-drive vehicles are permitted in many markets.

[edit] Right-hand traffic

* Oncoming traffic is seen coming from the left.
* Left-turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic.
* Most traffic signs facing motorists are on the right-hand side of the road.
* Traffic on roundabouts (traffic circles or rotaries) goes anticlockwise (counter-clockwise).
* Pedestrians crossing a two-way road should first look for traffic from their left.
* Most vehicles have a left-hand driver's position.

[edit] Left-hand traffic

* Oncoming traffic is seen coming on the right side.
* Right-turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic.
* Most traffic signs facing motorists are on the left side of the road.
* Traffic on roundabouts (traffic circles or rotaries) goes clockwise.
* Pedestrians crossing a two-way road should first look for traffic from their right.
* Most vehicles have a right-hand driver's position.

Changing sides at borders
The Change of traffic directions at the Laos-Thai border takes place on Lao territory just off the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.
The Change of traffic directions at the Laos-Thai border takes place on Lao territory just off the Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.
Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge.
Thai-Myanmar friendship bridge.
Change from left to right hand drive at the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.
Change from left to right hand drive at the Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge.

There are still many instances of traffic having to change sides at border crossings, such as at those between Afghanistan and Pakistan, Laos and Thailand, Sudan and Uganda. Thailand is particularly notable in the context of border crossings, as it is the only sizeable country that has nearly all of its borders with countries that drive on the opposite side. It drives on the left, but 90% (4,357 km or 2,707 miles) of its borders are with countries that drive on the right, with only Malaysia driving on the left since Myanmar (formerly Burma) changed from driving on the left to driving on the right in 1970.

Many borders are formed from natural barriers such as mountains or rivers, and this is particularly true of borders where traffic changes sides of the road, especially in Asia. These natural barriers make the number of border crossings much lower than would otherwise be the case. Furthermore, given their remoteness, most mountain border crossings have relatively low traffic volumes and so changing sides of the road is even less of an issue.

The four most common ways of switching traffic from one side to the other at borders are:

* Traffic lights. Examples are:
o Friendship Bridge between Thailand and Laos, change takes place on Lao side - photo, photo
o Second Thai–Lao Friendship Bridge, between Thailand and Laos, change takes place on Thai side
o Friendship Bridge between Thailand (Mae Sot) and Myanmar (Myawaddy) - photo
o New bridge between Thailand (Mae Sai) and Myanmar (opened in 2006) - photo

* Crossover bridges. Examples are:
o Lok Ma Chau between Hong Kong and mainland China - Google Maps
o Lotus Bridge between Macau and mainland China - Google Maps

* Border roads intersect with roundabouts or other one-way traffic systems. Examples are:
o Man Kam To between Hong Kong and mainland China - Google Maps
o Land border between Macau and mainland China - Google Maps

* No automatic infrastructure (signposts and directions only), most commonly found at borders with low vehicular traffic volumes. Examples are:
o Poipet between Thailand and Cambodia - photo, photo
o Old bridge between Thailand (Mae Sai) and Myanmar - photo, photo
o Khunjerab Pass between Pakistan and China - photo
Changing the rule

The most common reason for countries to switch to driving on the right is for conformity with neighbours, as it increases the safety of cross-border traffic. For example, former British colonies in Africa, such as Gambia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana, have all changed from left- to right-hand traffic, as they all share borders with former French colonies, which drive on the right. The former Portuguese colony of Mozambique has always driven on the left, as all its neighbours are former British colonies. Decisions by countries to drive on the right typically concern conformity and uniformity rather than practical reasons. There are historical exceptions, such as postilion riders in France, but such historical advantages do not apply to modern road vehicles.

In the former British Crown colony of Hong Kong and the former Portuguese enclave of Macau, traffic continues to drive on the left, unlike in mainland China, despite the fact that they are now its Special Administrative Regions. On the other hand, Taiwan, formerly under Japanese rule, changed to driving on the right in 1946 after the government of the Republic of China assumed administration; the same happened in Korea (both North and South), a former Japanese colony under U.S. and Soviet occupation.


Uniformity
Traffic driving on the right in Savoy Court in London (the UK usually drives on the left)
Traffic driving on the right in Savoy Court in London (the UK usually drives on the left)
Vehicles driving on the left on the A1 Motorway near Washington Services in Tyne and Wear, England heading towards Scotland.
Vehicles driving on the left on the A1 Motorway near Washington Services in Tyne and Wear, England heading towards Scotland.

Article 9(1) of the United Nations' Geneva Convention on Road Traffic (1949)[7] requires each country to have a uniform direction of traffic, i.e. each country may have either left-hand traffic or right-hand traffic, but not both. The exact wording of the article is:
“ All vehicular traffic proceeding in the same direction on any road shall keep to the same side of the road, which shall be uniform in each country for all roads. Domestic regulations concerning one-way traffic shall not be affected ”

Before that, a country could have different rules in different parts, for example Canada until the 1920s.

When islands are excluded, the only continents with the same side of the road to drive on over each whole continent are:

1. Australia with left-hand traffic
2. Mainland Europe, since Sweden changed from left-hand traffic in 1967
3. North America, including Central America, since British Honduras changed from left-hand traffic in 1961

Africa, Asia, and South America have land borders where drivers must change to the other side of the road.

India

India continued the colonial practice of driving on the left hand side of the road after independence. Now all vehicles are RHD.