Why the British Drive on the Left When Most of the World Drives on the Right
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Although the UK is not the only country in the world where people drive on the left, it is one of the few. India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, and Samoa are the only other countries to drive on the left. Why this difference with the rest of the world?
It turns out this practice even predates cars. It started in the Middle Ages and perhaps even in ancient Greece and Rome. During those tricky ages, traveling was dangerous as people could be attacked at any time. Since most people are right-handed, travelers always veered to the left to keep their right hand free to grab their sword or weapon should anyone attack them.
This seems like a perfectly good reason to travel to the left so how did the rest of the world switch to the right and why didn't the British follow suit? Well, that is a complicated story that features both Napoleon and Hitler and took many centuries to unravel.
We won't share the details with you here. You have to watch the video for that. We will tell you it's a complicated riveting tale with many twists and turns.