On which side of the road should we be? Deciphering the Global Leadership Dilemma

Why do people drive on different sides of the road in different parts of the world? Perhaps most importantly, how did these differences arise?

The answers to these questions are interesting, and involve multiple historical contexts that must be taken into account. I consider the answers interesting because of their incredible diversity, from large-scale protests to simple things that are only necessary. With that in mind, let's take a look at how this happens.

Left: Merchants/Sellers

There are some historical records that indicate the presence of left-wing traffic in the ancient world. Why the left side? Well, this was mostly a matter of convenience, which seems to be a pattern in relation to this topic.

It is a well-known fact that the majority of people use the "right hand", which means that they are more familiar with using their right hand in daily activities. Consider two people in the ancient world who used horses the most:

The right-handed person, who sits in the middle and controls two horses, finds it convenient for the carriage to tilt to the left, as this would provide better control and free space for the driver.

Turning to the Right: The Industrial Revolution

The early nineteenth century brought two revolutions that directly affected the side on which traffic moves. These two revolutions were:

Industrial Revolution: The late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are closely linked to the emergence of capitalism and the Industrial Revolution, which gave rise to modern methods of production and impetus to the overall production process. The amount of goods produced can no longer be transported in small carts owned by merchants or sellers. This is how freight carts were introduced into the transport system. Freight carts were large transport containers that needed to be transported by a team of horses (and later steam engines). The carriages usually did not have a central seat for the driver, and the driver was sitting on top of one horse, on the left side, allowing him to control the other horses with his right hand. The carriages then moved naturally to the right side of the road, so that the driver could control the horses and drive properly.

Turning to the Right: The French Revolution

The French Revolution created a stark division between the nobility and the common people. Since the revolution was bloody, many nobles had to change their ways of life to integrate with the common people. In earlier eras, nobles and people of high status in society traveled on the left side of the road, while common people, such as peasants, traveled on the right side. During the revolution, the nobility began to travel on the right side so as not to be distinguished and killed.

These new introductions and modifications are slowly becoming the usual way of life. In regions such as France, the entire traffic began to move on the right side after 1794, when the official right-wing rule was passed in France. After the French Revolution, the conquests of Napoleon (the French king who came to power at the end of the Revolution) spread this style throughout Europe to regions such as Germany, Poland, Switzerland and others. The countries that opposed Napoleon hung on the left side as a sign of outright opposition to his rule. For example, countries such as Britain and Portugal have been openly clinging to the other side.

Butts

Britain took its left system to all its colonies in the world. As a result, East Africa, South Pacific, and Southeast Asia practice this system to this day. In countries such as the United States, what began as an anti-British movement quickly shifted to the question of choosing industrialists. For example, right-hand driving in the United States is said to have been heavily influenced by Henry Ford. His company's Model-T had a steering wheel on the left side, so the car could only be driven on the right side of the road.

The side we are walking on is not as insignificant as one might think. Given a superpower like the United States embracing leadership on the right side, along with many other countries, choosing which side to lead on has become a statement that countries want to be included and counted into a larger bloc. For example, after World War II, Sweden was the only country in Europe to retain left-hand traffic.

Because of its trade agreements, and its desire to align with the rest of the continent, a lot of international pressure has been exerted on the country. In 1967, the country finally changed to right-direction traffic.

As mentioned earlier, in ancient times, driving was just a matter of comfort, so there weren't any specific rules. It was Britain in the mid-eighteenth century that decided to turn it into law. As the shift to leadership takes place on the right side, some places are still determined on the basis of convenience, while others have taken into account larger political and historical contexts.

So, the next time you drive and get stuck in a traffic jam, you can rest assured of the fact that somewhere else in the world, someone driving on the other side of the street is eagerly cursing traffic jam. We may not all drive on the same side of the road, but maybe we have more in common than we think!