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History
In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon, England. The grooves in the road on the left side (viewed facing down the track away from the quarry) were much deeper than those on the right side. These grooves suggest that the Romans drove on the left, at least in this location, since carts would exit the quarry heavily loaded, and enter it empty.[4]
Some historians, such as C. Northcote Parkinson, believed that ancient travellers on horseback generally rode on the left side of the road. As more people are right-handed, a horseman would thus be able to hold the reins with his left hand and keep his right hand free'to offer in friendship to passing riders or to defend himself with a sword, if necessary.[41]
Traditionally one leads a horse or a horse and cart from the right. This allows the person leading the horse to hold the harness with his/her left and console the horse with the right. It also allows the man to walk on the better drained and less muddy crown of the road. If a wagonner is seated on a wagon and uses a whip, he will hold the whip in the right hand. Driving on the left allows the whip to swing freely and not get snagged in the hedges etc. bordering a road.
The history of the keep-left rule can be tracked back to ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome, and was more widely practised than right-side traffic. Ancient Greeks, Egyptians and Romans adhered to the left side while marching their troops. If two men riding on horseback were to start a fight, each would edge toward the left. Thus, they would be able to draw swords from their right and uphold a defensive position. Eventually, this turned into custom, and later, a law.[42] The keep-left rule was doubtless well-established in ancient Rome because of congestion in the city. In the city of Rome, rules banned wagons and chariots during the day; in other parts of the Empire wheeled traffic was banned during the night, so as not to disturb citizens from sleep.[43] Pilgrims who wished to visit the city were instructed to keep to the left side of the road. By the time the Pope ordered instructions to keep left of the road, this rule was already widely used.[43] The regulation has been practised by some countries ever since.
There is a popular story that Napoleon changed the rule of the road in the European countries he conquered from keep-left to keep-right. Some justifications are symbolic, such as that Napoleon himself was left- (or right-) handed, or that Britain, Napoleon's enemy, kept left. Alternatively, troops passing on the left may have been tempted to raise their right fists against each other. Forcing them to pass on the right reduced conflict. Hence, island nations such as Britain and Japan (using ships to move troops around and having less need to move them overland) continued to drive on the left.[44]
In the late 18th century, the shift from left to right that took place in countries such as the United States was based on teamsters? use of large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. The wagons had no driver's seat, so a postilion sat on the left rear horse and held his whip in his right hand. Seated on the left, the driver preferred that other wagons pass him on the left so that he could be sure to keep clear of the wheels of oncoming wagons.[45] He did that by driving on the right side of the road.[41]
Decisions by countries to drive on the right typically center on regional uniformity. There are historical exceptions, such as postilion riders in France, but such historical advantages do not apply to modern road vehicles.
Change to right-hand traffic
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Europe
In the UK, keeping to the left was an ancient custom. The first legal reference in Britain to an order for traffic to keep to the left was in 1756 with regard to London Bridge.[43] The General Highways Act of 1773 contained a recommendation that horse traffic should keep to the left[46] and this was incorporated in the Highway Act 1835.[47][48] The making of a rule was due to the increase in horse traffic by the end of the 18th century. By 1771, the number of coaches rose from 300 in 1639 to 1,000.[43] Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted the British keep-left rule; some have since changed.
In Russia, in 1709, the Danish envoy under Peter I noted the widespread custom for traffic in Russia to pass on the right. On 5 February 1752, Empress Elizabeth issued an edict for traffic to keep to the right in Russian cities.[26]
In Continental Europe, driving on the right is associated with France and Napoleon Bonaparte. During the French Revolution, a decree of 1792 created a uniform traffic law, requiring traffic to keep to the "common" right. A little later, Napoleon consolidated this position by ordering the military to stay on the right side, even when out of the country, so that everyone who met the French army had to concede the way. In the early 19th century, those countries occupied by or allied to Napoleon ? the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain ? adopted right-hand traffic. Britain, Sweden, Austria-Hungary and Portugal continued or adopted left-hand traffic. In Denmark, the keep-right rule was adopted in Copenhagen in 1758, and the rule was adopted for the rest of Denmark in 1793. In Belgium, before 1899 there was no uniform system, with some places driving on the left and others on the right. On 1 August 1899, Belgium changed to right-hand traffic throughout the country.[49]
There was a movement in the 20th century towards harmonisation of laws in Europe and there has been a gradual shift from driving on the left to the right. Portugal changed to right-hand traffic in 1928, though the change did not apply to all its overseas territories. Those parts of Italy not already driving on the right changed over in the 1920s after Benito Mussolini came to power. In Spain, there was no uniform national rule until the 1930s. Before then, some parts had driving on the right (e.g., Barcelona) while in others it was on the left (e.g., Madrid). On 1 October 1924, Madrid changed to driving on the right. The Austro-Hungarian Empire drove on the left. Successor countries switched to the right separately. Austria did it in stages, beginning from the west: Vorarlberg in 1919, Tirol and western half of Salzburg in 1930, Carinthia and East Tirol in 1935, Upper Austria, Styria, eastern half of Salzburg in 1 June 1938, and Lower Austria in 19 September 1938. Poland's Galicia switched to the right around 1924. Czechoslovakia planned to start driving on the right on 1 May 1939, but the change in Bohemia and Moravia took place under German occupation: Bohemia: 17 March 1939, Prague: 26 March. (See switch to right-hand traffic in Czechoslovakia for details.) Hungary also acted later than planned: the government planned for a change in June 1939, but postponed it and finally introduced it on 6 July 1941 (outside Budapest), and on 9 November 1941 in Budapest. Sweden changed in 1967 and Iceland did the same in 1968. In Europe only four countries still drive on the left: the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, as well as the British Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
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