Eli5 why driving on one side of a car is more practical than driving in the middle of one. Surely, the middle gives you better spacial awareness but things like the Monza SP1 exist and you still sit on one side of the vehicle

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Eli5 why driving on one side of a car is more practical than driving in the middle of one. Surely, the middle gives you better spacial awareness but things like the Monza SP1 exist and you still sit on one side of the vehicle

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Anonymous 0 Comments

Humans are better at judging short distances than long distances, so sitting near the side of danger makes it easier to avoid.

Before cars became common, the major danger was the ditch on the side of the road, so it was common to drive your wagon from the curb side.

This convention carried over to the first cars, [you drove on the curb side](https://automotivehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/july30-1-wintonad-1024×933.jpg).

When introducing the Model T, Henry Ford thought it made sense for passengers to enter/exit on the curb side, and moved the driver to the left. Safer for the passengers, and because the driver was now in the middle, easier to judge the center line and avoid head-on collisions.

That was a pretty good idea, so everyone did it, and it’s now universal to drive on the side of the car closest to the middle of the road.

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