Americans drive on the right side of the road, we British drive on the correct side of the road.

It always feels odd that Americans get so anxious about driving on the left. People in the UK don’t seem to get anxious about driving in continental Europe and I’ve never heard of Europeans worrying about driving in the UK.

The first time I visited the USA in the late 1970s I rented a car and had no difficulty driving on the right. In fact once in San Francisco my American friends were very impressed with my parallel parking. I made a round trip on my own, covering over 4000 miles and I only got one parking ticket in Carmel, California on the way to San Francisco. By the way, I'm from the UK.

Brits drive on the left because horses are always mounted on the left, as most people are right handed. This makes it easier to mount a horse using one's strongest hand. So it is natural to stay on the left hand side of the road. This also allows the riders right hand to be free to hold a weapon to face people coming the other way, it also means the weapons are not blocked by roadside buildings. It was only Henry Ford's use of right hand for his mass production line of cars that made the right side the main thing. Japan, Australia, New Zealand & other former British territories all still drive on the left side of the road.

P.S. India, they drive on the left. Australia and New Zealand drive on the left. South Africa and Kenya drive on the left.

I'm glad they drive on the right side of the road in America. Can you imagine all the drive-by shootings if they had their right arms free next to the window?

Yep, Britain.... it's where the history comes from 😂

Napoleon, Hitler, Ford... Britain resisted evil.

Yes, Americans drive on the wrong side of the road. We were using the left side of the road when Americans didn't even have roads. You drive on your side and we will drive on ours.

Actually Tyler it is not as hard as you think to adjust - it is uncomfortable at first but you would find you quickly adapt. British drivers have to adjust when we drive on the continent as do European drivers when they come across to Britain.

It also allowed us Brits to keep our dominant hand on the steering wheel at all times, allowing our weaker hand to be used for gear changing and tuning the radio etc - which before power steering was a little heavier going

Small correction - the US doesn't use the Imperial System, it uses the US Customary System. Which is mostly the same, but fluid measurements are completely different as the US uses the wine gallon, Imperial uses something closer to the ale gallon.

I was 7 years old when we here in Sweden change to drivning on thr Right side of the Road

I’m from the UK and passed my driving test in August 1968 aged 17½, taught by my dad with a run around Bridgend by my local vicar to get to know the test area. Up until 1994 I had only driven in the UK but several continental & American vacations had given me an experience, as a passenger. When my employer moved me to Staten Island (NY) for 6 months in 1994. This required me to drive, got off the plane in Newark (NJ) and got in a rental car within minutes. Followed my NY boss and a fellow colleague in convoy out of the airport, along the freeways, across a toll bridge on t o Staten Island in the dark & icy roads straight off a inter-continental flight. From then on I drove every day back and fore to my apartment and work. I later took and passed a NY driving licence, I could only use my UK licence for 6 months and I would be there for 6½ months. For you to drive in the UK then it would be no difference for you in the UK. I always recommend for US visitors is get from the airport to your London hotel by public transport. Only hire a car when you want to leave London. If I can manage driving in the US then an average US driver should manage driving in the UK, give care and remember we have narrower roads.

Theres a difference between driving on the right side of the road and driving on the RIGHT side of the road.

Did you know the stairs in castles is traditionally designed to give the sword hand advantage to the defender coming down the stairs whereas the attacker can’t raise their sword due to the stone angled stairway.

Spiral stairs used to also be built with the swordswinging arm in mind... So that you could protect your home a little easier against an attacker...

Australia, Japan, Singapore, Malta and Ireland are the same as the UK. Sweden was up until 1967 when they changed overnight to driving on the right!

The strangest thing for UK drivers driving on the continent is going round roundabouts the wrong way. That and the occasionally different rights of way for bicyclists

Back in the 70s my science teacher who was American moved here to NZ and one of the kids asked him how long it took him to get used to driving on the other side of the road, his answer was classic! "Not long when you're life depends on it!" American cars while they drove on the right were RHD as some of the drivers controls were mounted outside the car and operated with the right hand. When Henry Ford designed the Model T he thought that having everyone enter and exit the car on the road side was dangerous so standardised LHD in the Model T, over the next 20 years the other US cars makers followed suit. As the video said Napoleon forced travellers in some European countries to switch from left to right. Canada (British) drove on the left but switched because Quebec and the US drove on the right. Hitler also forced some European countries to switch from left to right. After WWII China switched from left side of the road to the right, and in the 60s Sweden switched from the left to the right. Recently Western Samoa switched from the right to the left. There's a couple of countries/territories that drive on the right in RHD cars and a few that drive on the left in LHD cars. The Virgin Islands, British and American, both drive on the left in LHD US supplied cars. Here in NZ it's drive on the left in predominantly RHD cars, but of the twenty cars I've owned since school five have been LHD including my current one, a 98 Cadillac Deville.

Basically there was no pressing reason to change in Britain, so we just kept on keeping on. And it would be chaos to try and change now. There was a study done at one time which determined that driving on the left was marginally safer.

I once got out at Prague airport, went to a taxi and jumped in the driver seat for about 20 seconds without realising while the driver put the cases in the boot. Luckily he saw the funny side, I guess you had to be there

When you come over, if you take your car through the channel tunnel, when you come out in France (some 20 miles away), you have to remember to switch to the right side of the road.

Wow 4.9 million of us from the UK visit America and have no issue with driving on the right poor simple Americans

I was going to mention that it is normal for most people to mount or dismount a horse from the left (pull yourself up with your stronger arm which is usually the right). In town traffic going both ways, if everyone stays on the left, you can mount and dismount frpm the side of the road, rather than the middle of the traffic.

I've never understood why Americans take fright at doing anything that's outside their comfort zone, like driving on the left. Such a fuss about nothing . 😂

Re: The big US wagons, you might ask why with a pair of horses you'd choose to sit on the left rather than the right horse, thats also because of right-handedness, you could reach both horses with your whip hand 👍🏻

You said it yourself "The steering wheel is on the RIGHT side of the car"

As Brits we are more travelled than Americans. Mainland Europe drive on the right.. but so many other countries also drive on the left, Americans are shocked that the Japanese drive on the left

Modern convenience provides an advantage to driving on the left. Driving on the left means you'll be driving a right hand drive car so the driver's window is free to their right arm which is more convenient for the majority for things like toll booths and drive through windows

I remember the first time I visited the USA having flown for 7 hours I picked up a rental car at the airport. Never driven an American car or on the right side of the road good job it was an automatic. I actually managed ok for the 30 or 40 mins it took to get to the rental and only once tried to turn down the wrong side of the road hehe

I’ve driven a UK car in France and a French car in the UK. It’s a strange experience in both, not being on the middle side of the road. If you’re going to overtake someone it’s generally safer to have a passenger with you in the front seat to tell you when it’s good to go because you can’t see yourself 😊

its due to napolean, everyone used to ride on the left side, its due to your sword arm, being your right hand, and your shield being your left hand, people would pass on the left so you could defend yourself, napoleon hated britain with him being french and all, forced people to pass on the right to piss off the british, when america had the war of independance they asked the french that supplied them with weapons which side did they pass on and was told the right, so they also adopted passing on the right, instead of the left as it was seen as anti-british.

Japan also drives on the left-hand side of the road for similar reasons as the british. Because the majority of people are right-handed, the ninja fourt with their sword in the right hand.

One has a compelling historical precedent, two logical reasons why it was prudent to drive on the left. The other is a tale of how lazy farmers and wagoners couldn’t be arsed to re jig a bridle, to allow them to sit on the RIGHT rear horse and comply with the established traffic procedures, and then how the whole of the country thought “yeah that’s a good idea” I suspect it is a deep desire to do the opposite way to the British, this unfortunately leads to America constantly doing things the wrong way…..

Why do you get on your horse the same side as us, on the left? Because your sword was on your left and wouldn't get in the way when you swung your leg over the saddle!

That's reminds me of when I was wee my dad was drunk (he got drunk on sangria) we were on holiday in Lanzarote he argued with the cars saying there going the wrong way my mum and my nanny trying to stop him. Someone asking him if he was English he said NO I'm Scottish he got thumbs up from the person. My dad told me when I was older

Canadian (RHD) here. I lived in New Zealand (LHD) for a few years, and driving really wasn't an issue for me. My guess is because I'm paying attention while driving. The two issues I had were: >Being a passenger I pay less attention and a few times I started paying attention while the driver was making a turn and turned into the left side; >As a pedestrian it's ingrained in my mind to look to my left as I step off the sidewalk. And if Tyler is shocked by the fact that horses played a part in determining the side cars drive on; he should look up how space shuttles owe their design to horses' asses.

A little motto thats easy to remember, "drive on the right, look to the left. Drive on the left, look to the right". Very useful for oncoming traffic like junctions and roundabouts. Iv never had any issues driving in europe from the uk.

Also if you think about the engine facing inline,you have the exhaust pipes on the right and the starter motor so Henry Ford put the steering box on the left side where there is more room ,British cars crammed everything on the right which made it all tight and little space to work.being an island helps a lot .

We don't drive on the left side of the road, we drive on the right side of the road, now when I say right I mean correct, right and if you don't drive on the right, there's only one place left, right?! Good!

Since the UK is so close to Continental Europe, many British drivers have driven there on the right: it takes about 20 minutes of concentration before your brain adapts to doing the mirror image of what you have been used to and driving on the right becomes fairly easy. (The same would apply to habitual right-side drivers driving on the left in the UK or other parts of the World where it is the rule.) It helps if you have a passenger (who can also drive) occasionally remind you when it seems appropriate. You do have to remain alert at large intersections, and be conscious of whether the road you're on is a single or dual carriageway, but unless you're a careless driver to begin with, it shouldn't be a major problem. However, residents of US military bases (where right-side driving is maintained) in left-side driving countries sometimes forget when they drive off the base: deaths have resulted. And yes, the default in horse-riding has long been to mount and dismount on the horse's left side, because horses are creatures of habit and some may be unsettled by someone doing so on their unaccustomed side, so it's easier if nobody does. On a waggon with pairs of horses, a driver could not easily mount a right-side horse from the left, an additional reason to the vision question for riding one on the left.

Yes, you mount and dismount a horse on the left side. Again this is because your sword hung on your left side and would get in the way if you tried to mount the horse from the right side..

Mountain, Molehill comes to mind. When I 1st drove on the right in France it took about 20 minutes to adjust. All you have to do is make sure the road central divide is on the drivers side. Unless, like me I was using my right hand drive UK car.

Most people today are also right handed, I always assumed the seat was on the right hand side which means your dominant hand is always on the steering wheel, leaving the left hand for gear changes. My husband's left handed and prefers automatic cars for this reason, he refers to his right hand as useless all the time.😆

When Britain was under pressure to convert to right-hand driving in the mid sixties (in readiness for our application to join the 'Common Market'), a feasability study concluded that the cost of altering our entire road infrastructure, ie: road markings, traffic lights, road signs and roundabouts etc, would be a very expensive waste of money. But it was our fleet of tens of thousands of double decker buses that finally scuppered the idea. "Just move the doors to the other side" they said, forgetting that the internal stairs would no longer work.

The UK and Ireland drive on the left. The rest of Europe drive on the right. (Napoleon). Some countries changed sides due to Hitler and for other reasons (Like Sweden in the 60s). The British Empire took left driving to the colonies.

The whole "right handed" thing still works better in the UK today aswell, as having your strongest arm in control of the vehicle, even with a manual transmission, means you have better control over the vehicle at all times. Obviously, when you start going into automatic cars, its less of an issue as both hands should be on the wheel at all times.

Just another interesting little fact. Due to couples 'kissing' in cars' (driver usually a man) American and British couples incline their heads in opposite inclines, another anomally due to right and left side drivers.

I have owned 2 left hand drive cars in Australia. The only down side is when you park on the side of the road. YOU CAN'T SEE ANY ON COMING CAR WHEN PULLING OUT.

It’s easy,the driver sits on the outside whatever side of the road you are on. I have driven in the USA and had no trouble. I learned to drive in England and now live in Australia,both of which countries drive on the correct (left) side of the road.

When I'm in the UK I always try to rent a car that is either auto or EV. It's not so much driving on the other side of the road or having the steering wheel or the other side, but having the stick shift on the other side. Using my right hand to change gears is so second nature to me that I don't even think about it when I drive, but if I have to use my left hand I sort of have to look at the gear stick for a millisecond to change gears.

So why didn't the wagon drivers sit on the rear right horse? Because most drivers carried the whip in their right hand. Up to the end of the 19th century there was no standardisation of left or right hand drive cars amongst automobile manufacturers in the States. I recall. Reading that one of the most influential lobbyists for left-hand steering wheels was member reading a long time ago it was still up for grabs in the late 19th century in the USA, but one of the most influential lobbyists for steering wheels on the left was Henry Ford. Apparently, he found they could produce left hand drive cars more cheaply than right hand drive cars.

At one time half of Europe drove the same as we do. Sweden and Iceland being the latest to change over to driving on the right in the 1960s

Most people are right-handed and right eye aligned. It's fractionally safer to drive on the left and overtake on the right because of right eye alignment, you literally see oncoming traffic before someone that drives on the right.

Uk, Ireland, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, Japan etc etc

We actually seem to use a mixture of measurement systems in the UK for some strange reason. For example, speed limits are in miles per hour, car manufacturers give us the fuel consumption of our cars in miles per gallon, but when we go to the petrol station we buy fuel in litres. In the supermarket we can buy a pint of milk and 500 grams of butter. lol

I have never had an issue driving on the right or the left, or also in a left or right hand drive vehicle. I piece of advice is if you are driving a left hand drive car on the left, or a right hand drive car on the right, the sight lines are different so, for example, the kerb can be obscured by the door pillar, and yes I have done all of the above combinations including driving in the USA. Just ask Anne Sacoolas. She's an american who knows all about driving in the UK.

When I moved to America more then once my wife had to remind me to drive on the right when I first started driving here, but that was 23 years ago and I’ve pretty much got it down now😉

I'm in the UK but have driven in Canada / USA / Spain / France . I don't have a problem driving on the right. although I drove my UK car in Europe which wasn't a problem except when driving through Toll booths. When on my own it really was a problem but usually my passenger would pay the toll for me.

Actually the US uses the Customary Measurement System. This is different to Imperial (which UK used to use) in terms of volume measurement - the US pint, quart and gallon are different to Imperial, plus the US uses the Cup which was never an official Imperial measure, as far as I know.

Mail deliveries/collections are made in the US in vehicles with steering wheels on the right.

Started off driving on the right side off the road at the begging ended up switching driving to the left side mad one 😅

Have you ever asked the question of why do US citizens drive on the right? There is no right or wrong, it's just that somewhere along the line, someone had to make a choice for various reasons.

Tyler, you won't want to be driving in Japan or Thailand either. You really need to see what happens with cars at the Thai-Cambodian border when they have to change sides. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the Cambodian cars were bought in Thailand so they have their own steering wheels on the 'wrong' side.

I am from France and Canada, I drove a whole Summer in England and Scotland, no problem.

Just a bit of info, over 50 countries drive on the left hand side, including Japan, India,Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand 😊

What you have to understand is that we drive on the LEFT and that's right. You drive on the RIGHT and that's wrong!

In europe, the UK, Ireland, Malta, and Cyprus all drive on the left as do the Channel Islands of Jersey, Gurnsey, and Alderney. And the Isle of Man. As does the island of Bermuda, Turkes and Caicos and a number other island nations that make up the West Indies.

It's easy...just remember...DRIVER IN THE MIDDLE

The US started as a colony at the start of the 17th Century, whilst Britain started driving on the left by the Romans.

When I went over to the States, Nd drove on the right side, It took me about 15 mins to get use to it, It was a peace of Pisa

Yes we do dismount a horse on the left.

Brit here. I've driven across America many times, and never worried about being on the wrong side of the road. I've worried more about the driving and the state of your vehicles much more!

If you drive a manual( stick ) the gear change from 2nd to 3rd is an easy move across the body, if you are on the other side, ie right hand drive,your movement is pushing the ( stick ) gear lever, away from you.

As a Brit I drove in Downtown Toronto, Scarborough (Toronto Suburb), and upstate New York. I drove my cousin's car first which is a manual so had the gearstick on the wrong side. Even still, straight from the start I didn't struggle. The landscape looks so different to England (opposite would be true if you were in England as an American) so I know when it looks like this I drive on the right. Plus the steering wheel being on the other side is a benefit cos it means it feels weird to even try and attempt taking a left or right turn to the left side of the road. It would be harder driving in the UK but it's because of the landscape. Every single road felt huge to me in Canada so were easier to drive on, whereas the roads will feel tiny to you cos you're used to big roads. But it really isn't hard. Driving in France when you're from England is hard, cos a lot of countryside-ish roads in France can look like they're in England, so you default, but because you're going US to UK it'll be easy.

Driving on the right side of the road came down to 1 person. Even in the US most cars were right hand drive. Till the model t ford that were made left hand drive. At one point over 1/2 the cars in the world were model t fords.

Something missing. As any Western movie will show you, travelling in a stagecoach across hostile territory require someone to sit beside the diver, with a gun. (Hence riding Shotgun!) To allow maneuvrabilty the man with the gun would sit on the right side of the driver. I think.

You think this is an issue? Try taking your car to the continent... Right hand drive car, driving on the right 😎 You'll find it surprisingly easy, most do - The only worry is in the first 5 minutes every morning!

Yes, the proper way to mount/dismount a horse is on the left. This dates back again to medieval times, a right handed swordsman would keep his sword on his left hip, getting on/off a horse on the left means the scabbard wouldn’t get in the way. Because of this all horse tack is was and still is designed to be buttoned and fastened in the horse’s left. If a horse is used to being mounted on the left, it might react unpredictably if you mount it in a way or side it isn’t used to. This is why the American wagon drivers rode the back left horse, if they rode a horse on the right and tried to dismount left they’d be dismounting in the middle of the horses, where is dismounting from a horse on the left let’s you get clear. As the UK didn’t have huge wagons, as our countries were in different stages of development, different distances to travel and different needs there was never any pressure to switch away from the tradition left hand driving, and having a seat on the carriage meant you’d want to steer the reigns with your left hand so your right hand was free to whip.

From Ireland, we drive on the left. I've driven across America, the length of France and Spain. The down through Morocco across the Atlas mountains. All on the right hand side of the road. Just do it....😂😂😂

horses are used to being mounted on the left, whilst they can physically be mounted on the right its best if you mount on the side their used to

As a brit who has often driven my own RH drive car in France and Spain on holiday, and also hired LHD cars abroad, I'd say the hardest part to adjust to is changing gear with the 'wrong' hand. Using my own car abroad, after a couple of days you are pretty used to it. Overtaking is a bit more difficult because it's awkward to see past the car in front, and if you have a passenger to help its a lot easier. Driving a LHD car makes overtaking easier, but general driving takes a lot more concentration because you're always remembering to change gear with your right hand, which feels all wrong, but once again, after a couple of days you adjust.

In Europe they drive on the right, in the UK and Ireland on the left. I have often been to mainland Europe, both in my own car and renting a car from airports. It really isn't that scary driving on the opposite side of the road or changing gear with your other hand. Your brain pretty quickly mirrors everything (within minutes) and it becomes completely normal.

You draw your sword across your body If you have your sword drawn then you use the pommel to dismount So if you pull up to dismount your path is on the left

I don't imagine that small carriages were a "fad" in the UK; our roads are far narrower and older than yours so to this day, vehicles are smaller over here than in the US.

Simple solution to american wagon would be "driver, sit on right rear horse, instead of left rear horse..." instead they make whole country switch what side of the road they drive on... 🤦‍♂️

30 years ago when I was in my 30s I just passed my driving test. I drove onto the ferry and across to France. It never crossed my mind to be anxious about it. In hindsight, obviously I should’ve read the highway code for France.

The UK just uses both measurements tbh

Yes, you can, you do the _'left side dominate'_ every single day. You open a book or website and read from the left. Just to help visitors to our country we smart Brits have decided put the hand brake and the gear stick on the left of your driving position to remind you to keep left! Specifically for people from North America you can hire an Automatic too!

As for driving on the left there’s India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, in Europe there’s the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta (all islands, notice), there’s all of southern and eastern Africa as far north as Kenya. Samoa switched from driving on the right to driving on the left as recently as 2009, since they get most of their cars second-hand from Australia or New Zealand.

I think UK, Ireland and Malta are the only countries that drive on the left in Europe. As far as I can remember, around the world, the biggest countries to drive on the left are India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia(not sure why), Japan, Thailand (Not sure why) , South Africa and Australia.

Motorcycle side stands are on the left, so most bikers mount from the left ! Spiral staircases normal go clockwise upwards, because its easier for a righthanded swordsman to defend an attacker coming up the stairs.

8:48 - UK, LEFT vs U.S. RIGHT EVEN EXTENDS TO DIAGONALLY STRIPED TIES. If you pay attention to the direction of diagonal stripes on men's ties, you'll notice they're different in the UK from the USA. I recall a story where a US citizen attempting to pass as a member of an elite UK club by wearing a tie with matching colours neglected to notice the orientation of the stripes. This revealed him to all other members.

My husband and I went to Europe for many years in the car where we had to drive on the right with no problem it doesnt take much to get used to the other way round if you are a competent driver!!!!!

As a Brit I have driven in many European countries, the USA and Canada. You'd be surprised how quickly you can adapt to it Tyler.

Tyler, you really are a first class muppet. I'm sure you covered this subject some time ago' also most British can use both Metric & Imperial

There's no pressure to change in Britain, because we only have one land border (in Ireland, which also drives on the left). Great Britain doesn't have any at all!

there are a couple of researches done on that looked at left and right side of the car. they came up that it was actually safer to be on the right hand side because most people are right handed, so your dominant side is the right side so your right has better perception than your left. also using your left hand hand for gears, radio switches etc is less distracting than using your right. I guess that means that in America left hand people are better drivers. PS i cant find links.

We do drive on the left and so do many other countries in the world. Most countries apart from America seem to cope with this fact, Brits cope when they drive in Europe or the USA