"mastic" dont@thisaddress wrote in message
...
Since the group has so many intelligent people on it here is a
question that you may be able to answer for me.
I have often wondered how come America and Canada drive on the "Wrong"
side of the road. Since the Brits drive on the left and all British
colonies drive on the left how come America and Canada drive on the
right keeping in mind that they were also British colonies?

Please have a look at the following links:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/right.htm

http://www.i18nguy.com/driver-side.html

On Sun, 07 Sep 2003 23:19:32 +1000, mastic dont@thisaddress wrote:

Since the group has so many intelligent people on it here is a
question that you may be able to answer for me.
I have often wondered how come America and Canada drive on the "Wrong"
side of the road. Since the Brits drive on the left and all British
colonies drive on the left how come America and Canada drive on the
right keeping in mind that they were also British colonies?

One explanation I have read walking on the left side of the road was
important for personal protection. If you were approaching someone
you did not trust, you would naturally want to keep your sword arm,
normally your right to the strangers. At one point it was mandated
that pilgrims walk on the left for that reason.

Countries that now drive on the right side generally had a period of
time when large, multi-team wagons were common. In that case you
would want to sit where you could easily check the clearence with
oncomming wagons while having your strongest hand free to do things
like handle the whip and reins. For that reason, driving on the right
side became the norm.

Art

On Mon, 8 Sep 2003 13:46:12 +0000 (UTC), DejaVU
wrote:

snip


I'm left handed, and I drive on the left like anyone else here, and
since I THINK too, I think that walking on the same side you drive
makes for much easier walking traffic.
snip

No... means you have less warning of the need to jump out of the way if your
back is to the approaching traffic. Always walk facing the traffic if there is
no pavement/sidewalk :-)

Mark Rand (PS I'm part of the sinistral minority as well)
RTFM

It reminds me of something an old Foreign Office chap told me about his
years in Malta....In the UK we drive on the right side of the road, most
foreigners drive on the wrong side of the road, in Malta they drive in the
shade.......

chrisc

More tea vicar?

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 22:27:30 +0100, "ChrisCrosskey"
wrote:

It reminds me of something an old Foreign Office chap told me about his
years in Malta....In the UK we drive on the right side of the road, most
foreigners drive on the wrong side of the road, in Malta they drive in the
shade.......

That's what my dad tried to explain to me when I was learning to
drive, the idea being that, in spring, you should try to drive on the
south side of the road (in the shade) while the frost comes out on the
north side. As he explained this, he steered around a large pothole
and the model A dropped through the surface crust and the running
boards were pushed up to the point we couldn't open the doors. I had
to go out the window and walk three miles to get the neighbours team
to pull the car out of the mud. We used to have a three week school
break every spring due to road conditions.
Gerry :-)}
London, Canada

On Mon, 15 Sep 2003 22:27:30 +0100, "ChrisCrosskey"
wrote:

It reminds me of something an old Foreign Office chap told me about his
years in Malta....In the UK we drive on the right side of the road, most
foreigners drive on the wrong side of the road, in Malta they drive in the
shade.......

chrisc

More tea vicar?

Or as we said driving in Zambia - they don't drive on the left, they
just pass on the right. The "great north road" from Livingstone to
Lusaka, and to a lesser degree up through Kabwe to Luansha and the
copper belt, was just a big chicken game. In the early seventies much
of it was single lane paved, with dirt on both sides. Through the
Zaire Panhandle, where supposedly one drove on the right, it was a
case of driving where the road was and the potholes weren't, or in one
case, driving up the "ditch" to pass a large "lorry" because it was
smoother than the road, and no oncoming traffic.