Why does Japan drive on the left, even though they have never been a part of the British Empire?
In: 9363
Driving on the left isn’t a British thing, per se. Many of the countries of Europe drove on the left. The French had chosen the right and when Napoleon was conquering Europe he forced each conquered nation to change to the right.
As an Australian, I love that we can import Japanese cars and get them registered with minimum fuss, since we also are RHD. Back when the Fast and Furious first came out there were sooo many Supras, Skylines, Evos and WRXs getting around.
Edit: RHD, we drive cars on the left side of the road.
Because driving on the left isn’t exclusively a choice made by the British, and driving on the right is not an adopted global standard.
Riding on the left side comes from horse riding (carriages). A man would have his sword (hilt) on the left side of the body to be drawn with the right hand towards the right side of the body. If you would be riding on the right side of the road, you would be drawing your sword towards the pavement (side walk) rather than towards your enemy on your right hand side.
Since then, riding on the left just didn’t change for some countries.
They’ve never been part of the USA either. What are they supposed to do, add an extra lane and always drive in the middle? They had to pick a side, doesn’t matter which one as long as they commit to it.
Latest Answers