An old lady was watching the news on television when suddenly a story came on saying somebody was driving the wrong way down the highway (the same road her husband drives to work on each day.) Being very nervous about it, she decided to call her husband to caution him and to ensure that he was all right. “Dear, I want you to be careful about driving to work. Somebody is driving the wrong way down the highway!” To which her husband replied, “It’s not only one vehicle, all of them are!”
There are 195 countries in the world: two-thirds of those countries (130) drive on the right side of the road and one-third of those countries (65) drive on the left side of the road. Included in that left-side-of-the-road driving list are: Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Malta, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Thailand, Trinidad, Uganda, Wales, etc.
And in particular, why is it that America and Britain, so alike in so many other ways, are on the opposite ides of the road when it comes to driving? Here’s why,
Practical (America) – At the time of the American Revolution, big wagons (pulled by teams of horses) were being used for the transporting of people and goods. And these wagons contained no seat for the driver (you rode instead on the rear left horse). This in turn allowed the driver to use his right hand when required to lash the horses. As well, the driver needed to see any wagons coming in the opposite direction (to keep a proper distance between the two). So laws were passed in the United States requiring all wagons to travel on the right side of the road. And this is why later when Henry Ford built his cars, the driver was placed behind the left side of the engine (just like the driver on the rear left side of the team of horses. Political (Britain) – At the time of the French Revolution, the law in Europe was that people of means (rich riding in carriages) rode exclusively down the left side of the road and people of no means ( poor walking on foot) had to keep to their right. But when the peasants arose in protest against the aristocrats, that was one of the first laws in France to be changed. And this new equality rule meant that the rich must move over and now travel down the same right side of the road as the poor (unless they wanted their heads guillotined). As well, in every European nation Napoleon conquered, the same move from the left to the right side of the road was required. But England refused to change. One, Napoleon never ruled them. Two, they hated the French. And three, because they did not believe all men were created equal, i.e., the royalty. And so most lands of the then British Empire, the 65 nations, still drive on the left side today.
That included Canada. Up to 1930 (with the exception of Quebec) this was a drive on-the-left-side of the road nation. And Newfoundland remained that way until 1950. But eventually all of the provinces changed
because of money (wanting the American tourism dollars and wanting the American auto part contracts).
(In life, Christians should be middle-of-the-road travelers, avoiding going too far to the left or going too far to the right. The Bible says in Isaiah 30:21 –
And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.
The bottom line? When I look at the potholes on our streets, I can’t help but comment – “In England, they drive on the left side of the road, in Wingham we drive on what’s left of the roads!”
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