Why Brits Drive On The Left

Discussion in 'Education & Learning' started by Jeff Tracy, Oct 14, 2017.

  1. Jeff Tracy

    Jeff Tracy Veteran Member
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    It goes back to when men on horses wore swords. Imagine you are on a medieval trail and you see another rider approaching , your right hand goes to your sword hilt ready to defend yourself if the need arises.
    If needs be you can draw your sword and challenge yon vagabond with your sword in your right hand
    directly in front of him ... not with your horse between you and him which would be awkward and dangerous,
    especially for your horse. So everyone rode on the left.
    [​IMG]
    One of my ancestors trotting down to the village store ...
     
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  2. Ted Richards

    Ted Richards Veteran Member
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    In the late 1700s, however, teamsters in France and the United States began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver’s seat; instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since he was sitting on the left, he naturally wanted everybody to pass on the left so he could look down and make sure he kept clear of the oncoming wagon’s wheels. Therefore he kept to the right side of the road.
     
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  3. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    I will not make fun of the British.
    I will not make fun of the British.
    I will not make fun of the British.
    I will not make fun of the British.
    I will not make fun of the British.
    I will not make fun of the British.
    I will not make fun of the British.
     
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  4. Jeff Tracy

    Jeff Tracy Veteran Member
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    Gran'ma is pleased to hear that ...
    [​IMG]
     
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  5. Mike Dobra

    Mike Dobra Veteran Member
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    Our Japanese friends drive on the left as do Oz. Chinese drive ah so on the right. Swedes swapped over a few years ago.......
     
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  6. Terry Page

    Terry Page Supreme Member
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    Quite a few countries drive on the left:

    In Africa
     
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  7. Jeff Tracy

    Jeff Tracy Veteran Member
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    Terry Page entering from the right, jousting at Gloucestershire Airport ;

    [​IMG]
     
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  8. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Since we drive on the right, people tend to walk on the right side of the sidewalk and to enter buildings using the door on the right. Most buildings with separate entrance and exit doors are setup that way. For some reason, some of the Walmart stores are opposite, and people routinely use the wrong doors because it doesn't feel right.
     
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    Last edited: Oct 25, 2017
  9. Jeff Tracy

    Jeff Tracy Veteran Member
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    On a similar subject dressing left and dressing right are terms that most men, at least those who wear suits, know. It's a term used by tailors when fitting suit pants. To "dress left" means that one keeps one’s male appendage shifted in the general direction of the left trouser leg. Likewise for the right. According to medical researchers, most men should dress left. This is basic biology, The left testicle is lower than the right. It was made to swing to the left. Swinging right is uncomfortable. Perhaps this is why right dressers are often in bad moods.
     
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  10. Von Jones

    Von Jones Supreme Member
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    Okay I'm playing devil's advocate: What if you're left handed?:D
     
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  11. Tim Burr

    Tim Burr Veteran Member
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    Since I had read this somewhere before, when I arrived at Basic Training for the military, one of their favorite things
    is to yell, "Dress Right Dress" to get us to align while in formation.

    I laughed so hard the first time I heard this that it cost me 50 push-ups...:eek:

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. Jeff Tracy

    Jeff Tracy Veteran Member
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    Greetings from Aeioungland , you would be thrown in The Tower of London and then burnt for being a witch ...
    [​IMG]
     
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  13. Yvonne Smith

    Yvonne Smith Senior Staff
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    It makes so much sense that the knights would keep to the left because they hold their weapon in the right hand, and this would have probably been true with any other equestrian riders, whereas the drovers kept to the right because they were driving the wagon or carriage from the left hand side of the seat.
    One of the most interesting maneuvers that horsemen perform is called dressage, and this is kind of like “high school for horses” where they learn the sidestep, and other specialty gaits that might have been necessary back in the days when all gentlemen rode horseback.
    Obviously, the love of dressage has carried over into the modern day, and here is how a dressage competition might look nowdays.

     
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  14. Ted Richards

    Ted Richards Veteran Member
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    Mining haul trucks like this one also drive on the left. That places the driver next to the bank going uphill and toward the open pit going downhill. These mining haul trucks cost several million each and carry 250-300 ton payloads on extra wide roads at the mine. They are so big that access to the cab is by a ladder on the front and it's difficult to see vehicles up close, many blind spots. Some dummy parked this pickup too close to the haul truck.
    Ha-Another-ute-smashed1.jpg

    This type of accident happens with regularity. Those tires are 8' high and about 42" wide. Operators that have run over pickups swear that they hardly felt it.

    As an aside, women make the best operators, they are more careful and more focused.
     
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  15. Shirley Martin

    Shirley Martin Supreme Member
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    Some dummy parked this pickup too close to the haul truck.

    I bet he won't do that again. :D
     
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