Would Rather Fight Than Switch : Britain Clings to Driving on the Left

LONDON —  While many things are no longer the same anymore for Britons, they take comfort in the knowledge that at least they still drive on the left.

In fact, one sure way to rile them is to suggest that they change lanes to get in line with the rest of Europe and many other parts of the world.

So heaven help those who dare to propose shifting from the left lane to the right, as a West German politician discovered when he raised the matter.

Horst Seefeld, a member of the European Parliament, suggested that the multinational assembly take a look at the trade and road safety advantages to be derived from a lane change by Britain.

“Most of the British members attacked me,” he told a reporter. “They said it was absolute nonsense, and that if the Europeans didn’t like it they could also switch to the left.”

Fear of Forced Switch

Feasibility studies were done in the 1970s when Britain joined the European Common Market. Sweden, the last Continental country to drive on the left, had switched lanes in 1967, and with Britain then heading toward joining the Common Market, it was afraid it, too, might have to change.

But the studies concluded that it would be prohibitively expensive.

The consensus in Britain is that the problem is not acute enough to merit a change that could cost $20 billion in new road signs and transplanted bus doors and steering wheels.

True, the highest concentration of road accidents involving Britons is on the first 60 miles after they drive off the ferry boats in right-hand France. But otherwise, say the experts, the accident factor in shifting lanes is negligible, measured against the vast growth in the number of private cars crossing the English Channel by ferry to Europe since Britain joined the Common Market.

However, problems could arise in the future.

Which Side in a Tunnel?

Noting that Britain and France are once again considering the idea of a tunnel or bridge across the English Channel, British lawmaker Teddy Taylor has asked the Transport Department how French and British drivers will avoid collision. He says he has not received a reply.

At first, driving on the other side of the road is an awkward experience for someone accustomed to keepingt to the right, like reading a book through a mirror. But after the initial embarrassment of jumping into the car to discover that the steering wheel is on the other side, most foreigners acquire the knack within a day or two.

Almost 40 countries still drive on the left. With few exceptions, notably Japan, they are former British colonies ranging from Australia and India to Fiji and Botswana.

Oddly, while the English passionately defend left-hand driving, they seem to know little about how it all began. The Encyclopedia Britannica says the origin is open to conjecture.

In early Roman times an edict went out that “in order to stop congestion on the Tiber Bridge, all traffic should go on the left.”

Suited Napoleon

One theory holds that Europe switched because it suited Napoleon’s armies to attack from the right.

Other guesses are based on the side on which horsemen kept their swords.

In America, traffic gradually moved from left to right in the wake of the Conestoga wagons, whose horses were more easily maneuvered from the left, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.