Is it now time for the whole world to change over to driving on the left?

Question

Science shows it would prevent millions of accidents.

When changing gear in a UK car with the steering wheel on the right, your left hand changes gear and your right hand stays on the steering wheel, (this is safer for right handed people.)

The reverse is the case in countries where one must drive on the right.-- in the USA you hold the steering wheel with your left hand and change gear with your right hand, this is dangerous if you are right handed.

Bicycles: Try mounting a bike in the USA and you will find yourself in the stream of traffic when getting on the bike---- try it yourself. Mounting a bike in the UK is done from the sidewalk by right handed people .

To reverse in the UK hold the steering wheel with right hand and look over my left shoulder to the rear window. In a USA car left hand is used and view is over right shoulder.

Right handed people are mostly "right eyed" the traffic comes toward them on their right in the UK but from the left in the US

Tracing the history back NAPOLEON forced people to change from the logical LH driving because he was left handed. The USA changed to RH driving in order to spite the English when the USA gained independence. Changing to RH driving was a massive mistake and will have caused millions of accidents

BARBARA O. I still think the world should change ,allthough the facts of driving on the left don't change the question is a different one. OK , I doubt any change will happen because as a few pointed out the changeover would itself cause an accident peak.

Casa Hiedra, The UK is one of the the safest countries and has the least road accidents partly due to driving on the left
When overtaking on a right hand driving road the right eyed/handed driver looks in the mirror with the left eye and also views the oncoming traffic with the left eye. A change of gear is sometimes needed to overtake so he/she is driving left handed while changing gear with the right hand and looking in the mirror and oncoming traffic with the left eye. Of course the gear change should in theory be completed before pulling out but this in practice is not always the case. The prevalence of automatic gear change in the USA may not be just luxury after all but necessity. .

BARBARA O. I still think the world should change ,allthough the facts of driving on the left don't change the question is a different one. OK , I doubt any change will happen because as a few pointed out the changeover would itself cause an accident peak.

Casa Hiedra, The UK is one of the the safest countries and has the least road accidents partly due to driving on the left
When overtaking on a right hand driving road the right eyed/handed driver looks in the mirror with the left eye and also views the oncoming traffic with the left eye. A change of gear is sometimes needed to overtake so he/she is driving left handed while changing gear with the right hand and looking in the mirror and oncoming traffic with the left eye. Of course the gear change should in theory be completed before pulling out but this in practice is not always the case. The prevalence of automatic gear change in the USA may not be just luxury after all but necessity. .

Answer 1

Ha Ha!
I love it.
The Napoleon reference is quite correct, and nobody likes the bluddy french, not even the bluddy french.
Stick-shift? didya hear about the yankee teenage car-jackers that took so long trying to figure out how to make the car "go" that the police stood outside the coffee shop chowing down doughnuts to see what they'd do next, and laughing at them? (true story).
The killer - The EU has graciously "allowed" the UK to keep imperial measures - why?
(have you ever tried to estimate how much it would cost to change all the road signs?).

Answer 2

You know, though, there will be millions of accidents in the first year or so of the changeover. It's really hard to switch! I know, because I travel between the US and Japan, and for the first three days, I have to be extra careful turning corners and backing up.

Also, think about all the accidents caused in the first several years by people driving on the left with cars designed to drive on the right. You know people won't go out and buy new cars just to satisfy the new driving laws! Some Japanese people have imported cars from America with the steering wheel on the "wrong" side -- they can't see easily to pass, and there are other problems.

Because of the economics and the short-term dangers, I don't think you'll *ever* see a uniform world-wide driving system. It would help your argument if you could provide per capita deaths and accidents for each country, according to whether they drive on the right or the left. I think you'll have to wait until cars are phased out and the next mode of transportation comes into use. Lightflyers? Bubble tubes? Wormholes? (-:

Answer 3

of course it quite is authentic, particularly the reality that the final hand is mandatory to administration the steerage wheel, additionally the bicycle mounting element is a competent one. As you're saying all a r/h guy or woman has to do is mount a motorbike in a united states which drives on the final and you will finally end up at risk from site visitors.i think of no united states will admit getting the kind of element incorrect and for lots time. It ain't going to happen yet employing on the left is scientifically ultimate for precise exceeded people who make up over 70% of the international. the finished element is a great worldwide comedian tale yet a unhappy one EDIT: under pressure out for sound, your links are especially in simple terms historic coaching and don't provide any reason tochronic on the final, A link on your Wikipedia website incorporates a link to Mike's motives for employing on the LEFT and that i could not detect a single clarification for employing on the final on your links

Answer 4

First off most americans dont like driving sticks, & dont bother to learn so the shifting really doesent matter. The auto industry doesent even bother to make manual trans over here. So if someone has a american car with a manual, then that gearbox is ordered from a foreign company. Also if you move the wheel to the right side of the car then you have to reverse the direction of the roads. it'd be almost impossible to merge left onto the highway with cars in you're blindspot if u were on the passenger side of the vehicle. Just more accidents if you ask me.

Answer 5

There is very strong evidence that the Romans (Imperial variety, not the modern ones) drove on the left.
If it was good enough for Gaius Julius Caesar et al, then it should be good enough for everyone else.

Incidentally, the USA didn't all change to driving on the right at the same time. There were places where they were driving motor vehicles on he left into the 20th century. It was probably Henry Ford and his mass produced left-hand-drive cars that forced the issue for them.

Answer 6

Have a long think about this, if they have to change the side:

The cost and time to change all traffic lights, road markings, layouts etc - it's impossible.

Answer 7

Where is your statistical evidence?

If it happens then people whose names start A to M will have to change at one time and then everyone else can change at a later date. This should then avoid confusion. Hey, maybe just left handed people could change!

Answer 8

you have already raised this point and the question is resolved why do so again? Don't you think millions of accidents would be caused if all of a sudden we said "ok, everyone drive on the left now"? you have made your point.

Answer 9

with more than 60% of world driving on right.. you'll have a hard time convincing mate

Answer 10

What was the question?? I fel asleep half way through that!!