Why is there left-hand traffic in England?

Did you ever have to think about why in England the left-hand traffic? Well, in all known and often visited countries, drivers drive to the right, and on Foggy Albion differently. Why?

A tribute to tradition? But where did this habit come from and why did it become established?

Why is there left-hand traffic in England ? First version

Let's try to understand why right-hand traffic is prevalent in the world, and then we will try to apply the obtained facts to the traditions of Great Britain.

In general, it should be noted that the tradition of moving along the street arose long before humanity invented the car.

In accordance with one of the main versions, right-hand traffic could have arisen even in medieval Europe. It was then that the courageous and strong riders on their horses rode along narrow enough roads, connecting the settlements with each other. And, of course, each of them was armed.

Imagine a warrior: on a well-coordinated horse, a middle-aged man, dressed in armor, sits proudly, in whose left hand the shield of a giant shield gleams in the sun. We ponder further. Most of the inhabitants on the planet are right-handed people. Hence it naturally follows that in the event of the slightest danger, the right hand at any time was ready to snatch a sword from its scabbards. Accordingly, to adhere to the displacement was the right side. It is more comfortable.

But why did not the residents of this UK follow this principle? Let's analyze one more hypothesis.

Why is there left-hand traffic in England? Version two

There is an opinion that this fact is directly connected with the driving of horse carriages and crews. The streets were so unsuited for the ride of the horse-drawn transport that the two drivers could not be missed. Someone had to give way. To do this, came up with a special rule, according to which at the meeting everyone had to direct his crew towards the right side of the road.

Why exactly right? Most likely, it again was due to the fact that most of the inhabitants of our planet still have the right hand dominating the left, so the reins were tightened by it.

This happened throughout Europe, so historians came to the conclusion that the tradition was preserved even after the appearance of radically new vehicles, the first cars.

And this option, apparently, for some completely absurd accident also did not affect the Albion.

  Why is there left-hand traffic in England? Version three

Now I propose to think about why neither the first nor the second version works in this state. And after all, it is the legislator of the left-sided movement. Probably, all business in its island location. The country contacted, and continues to communicate with the continent mainly through sea routes. There the shipping industry developed actively. Those. The life of the country was subordinated in many respects to the maritime department, which once issued a decree that all ships in the movement should adhere to the left side.

After some time, this law spread to the emerging roads everywhere, and later to countries that at different times fell under the influence of Great Britain.

I also faced the view that the government of this country was very concerned about the safety of its pedestrians, so that in order to avoid accidentally hurting a pedestrian whipping the horse, the driver had to operate his cart or crew, sticking to the left Side.

And in what countries does the left-hand movement exist up to now?

I note that in our country a single right-hand traffic (for pedestrians, cabmen and carriages) was adopted in 1752 as a result of the decree of the Russian Empress Elizaveta Petrovna.

In general, in the world there were quite often cases when the whole country had to adapt to the new rules anew. Why? If a state was neighboring and actively maintained economic relations with its right-handed neighbors, the government sooner or later had to decide on the adoption of general norms. For example, the British colonies in Africa had to do the same. And after the end of the Japanese occupation, the direction of the movement was changed to South Korea and North Korea.

The most recent country on this list was Sweden, whose government approached this issue very consciously and in advance carefully planned all the necessary list of actions. Four years before the introduction of the reform, a special commission was set up, which was to develop and then implement a whole range of necessary measures. And finally, at the beginning of September 1967, at exactly 4:50 local time, the whole transport of the country was obliged to stop and after 10 minutes to resume traffic, but already on the right side of the road. In addition, at first a special speed limiting mode was introduced.

Are there still countries with left-hand traffic? Yes. And these states are quite far apart from each other. Judge for yourself: Australia, Great Britain, New Zealand, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, Japan and a number of countries in the African continent.

Residents of these countries, of course, take this unusual direction of the traffic for granted, but tourists are often advised not to take risks, but try to resort to the services of local drivers or taxi drivers.