eli5 Why do countries differ on the side (left or right) the driver seat should be placed?
In: Other
Mainly historical reasons. I’ll use a few examples in Southeast Asia
Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore are former British colonies, so they followed British legacy and drive on the left.
Indonesia is a former Dutch colony, having been under Dutch rule since 17th century. Netherlands switch to driving on the right at 1906, but Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) did not. However, their railway followed suit, and thus runs on the right.
East Timor used to be a Portuguese colony and switched to the right when Portugal did so in 1928. However, they switched to the left in 1970s when they were invaded by Indonesia. After they regained independence in the 1990s, they kept the same driving direction.
Thailand is not a British colony. However, they drove on the left likely due to close ties with neighbouring then-British colonies of Malaya and Burma. .
Myanmar is a former British colony and initially drove on the left. But it then switched to right in 1970, presumably due to the eccentricity of its then-dictator.
Philippines is quite interesting. It drove on the left during Spanish, pre-WW2 American, and Japanese occupation period. They only switched sides on 1945 after American reoccupation of the archipelago.
Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam are formerly part of French Indochina, and thus followed France’s drive on the right rule.
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