![]() ![]() This was the case even on roads wide enough for two lanes. In a study of the ancient traffic system of Pompeii, Eric Poehler was able to show that drivers of carts drove in the middle of the road whenever possible. Academic Chris McManus notes that writers have stated that in the year 1300, Pope Boniface VIII directed pilgrims to keep left however, others suggest that he directed them to keep to the right, and there is no documented evidence to back either claim. It has been suggested that wagon-drivers whipped their horses with their right hand, and thus sat on the left-hand side of the wagon, as in RHT. Also referenced is the need for pedestrians to keep their swords in the right hand and pass on the left as in LHT, for self-defence. So people walking horses might use RHT, to keep the animals separated. Horses are traditionally mounted from the left, and led from the left, with the reins in the right hand. About 90 percent of people are right-handed, and many explanations reference this. There are many myths that attempt to explain why one or the other is preferred. Historically, many places kept left, while many others kept right, often within the same country. Boats are traditionally piloted from the starboard side to facilitate priority to the right.įormerly a mix of left and right in various parts of the country, now drives on the right Boat traffic on rivers is always RHT, regardless of location. In most countries, rail traffic follows the handedness of the roads, although many of the countries that switched road traffic from LHT to RHT did not switch their trains. RHT is the opposite of this: traffic keeps right, the driver usually sits on the left side of the car (LHD – left hand drive), and roundabouts circulate counterclockwise. In LHT, traffic keeps left and cars usually have the steering wheel on the right (RHD – right hand drive) and roundabouts circulate clockwise. Similarly, many of the countries that were a part of the French colonial empire adopted RHT. Many of the countries that adopted LHT were formerly part of the British Empire, although some, such as Indonesia, Japan, Mozambique, Nepal, Suriname, Sweden ( RHT since 1967), Thailand, and the city of Macau were not. Between 19, 34 of the LHT territories switched to RHT. In 1919, 104 of the world's territories were LHT and an equal number were RHT. Ĭountries that use left-hand traffic account for about a sixth of the world's land area, with about a third of its population, and a quarter of its roads. RHT is used in 165 countries and territories, with the remaining 75 countries and territories using LHT. ![]() For example, a driver in an LHT country would typically overtake on the right of the vehicle being overtaken. The rule also extends to where on the road a vehicle is to be driven, if there is room for more than one vehicle in the one direction, as well as the side on which the vehicle in the rear overtakes the one in the front. The terms right- and left-hand drive refer to the position of the driver and the steering wheel in the vehicle and are, in automobiles, the reverse of the terms right- and left-hand traffic. They are fundamental to traffic flow, and are sometimes referred to as the rule of the road. Left-hand traffic ( LHT) and right-hand traffic ( RHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. ![]()
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