Traffic can be quite complicated.
Some countries must keep to the right on the way other countries to the left
there are many theories, but none seems plausible to
why there is a difference.
In the very old days when traffic was by foot or on horseback
is the explanation that people stayed the left side of the road
to keep the hand with the sword free, facing the other traffic
if it should be necessary to pull the sword
but why then switch to driving on the right ..?
Some stories or myths
gives the french emperor Napoleon all the blame
because he was left-handed.
But it does not stand with the fact
that many countries introduced right-hand traffic
many years before Napoleon was born.
Is there any logical explanation at all
or is it just another example of politics ..?
…..
Le Drake Noir 
Interesting…
#.boomiebol
Yeah, we humans might wonder about large and small things
– I know this is one of the smaller one, but I still wonder why… 😉
No logical explanation, in India and some other Asian countries, you can drive where ever you want 🙂
So I noticed. 😀
Sounds like it’s learned the hard way… 🙂
#.jan masyn
I’m “afraid” you right, there’s no logical explanation… 😉
I really doubt about the cities Copenhagen, Paris and Turin
whether there’s right hand traffic, left hand traffic or free choice… 🙂 😉
It is all very confusing, especially as I live half the year driving on the left, and the other half, driving on the right. 🙂
#.adinparadise
Yeah, I know it… 🙂
I am staying periodically in the UK and rest of the year in other european countries, so you have to remember where you are… 😉
bye dear friend
Ciao… 🙂
In generale tutto deriva dai cavalieri che tenevano l’arma con la destra e tenendo le carrozze il senso di marcia a sinistra, matenevano comunque la mano destra libera per scambiarsi saluti o per usare la stessa arma. É interessante sapere perché noi guidiamo a destra. La tradizione deriva infatti da un decreto napoleonico. Fu Napoleone che volle cambiare il senso di marcia nel suo impero e quindi in pratica più o meno in tutta Europa.Gli inglesi,tradizionalisti per antonomasia, e non sottomessi da Napoleone,mantennero l’antica usanza.
Per ultimo,non é solo in Gran Bretagna che si guida a sinistra, in quasi tutte le ex colonie vige la stessa norma, vedi l’India, Tailandia, Australia….
#.giovanna
You are absolutely right, many say that it was Napoleon who introduced the right-hand traffic – partly to be different than the british – partly to be different than the pope and the catholic church – but actully a number of countries had introduced it even before Napoleon was born among other Denmark too – but why the danes introduced it – nobody knows… 😉
But it is sure that Napoleon introduced the rules of the road for the parisians – because the traffic was chaos in Paris in a tangle between horse carriages, riders, children, pedestrians, poultry, dogs and whatever else – and these rules including to keep to the right… 😉
Now that is an interesting though. But why then do the English drive on the wrong side of the road? I had heard that castles have their winding staircase in the direction so that your opponent cannot use their right arm.
#.emily
Exactly, there’s no doubt that the stairs are turned the right way around because it gives an advantage to them who defend – cellar stairs are often left turned because there is the opposite situation… 🙂
That’s it..I was about to say the right way, but then second guessed myself. Thanks Drake!
Yeah the cellar stairs are right turned seen from the top – if there’s no other ways out to give the defenders an advantage… 🙂
Fascinating, I didn’t know that. But we don’t drive on the wrong side – it’s everyone else. 🙂
#.richard guest
‘hahaha’ – the last you wrote – a friend of mine from Liverpool exactly used same words as you did, when I told him the story – so I guess it’s right when you are 2 now… ‘hahaha’
Agree I think it’s fascinating too… 🙂
Que interesante!, no sabía esto!!
#.manoli rizo
There are many funny things in the world and peculiarities things too
– some things are both… 😉
Estupenda historia. Siempre se aprende algo nuevo… Gracias!
#.barbara
You’re welcome – you’re right, we can all learn something
– that’s what makes it fun to get up in the morning… 🙂
It’s a good question and I’ve wondered too… It might just be a cultural quirk. 😉
#.elizabeth
I guess you’re right – a lots of things around us went the way it did without we really know “why”… 🙂
That is an interesting question to pose. I don’t have the answer but I would like to add…
I was a young man of 18 and out with a group of friends at a local pub. At the end of the evening we accepted an offer of a lift home by a woman in the group because none of us owned a car.
She was out celebrating her birthday, as she began to drive off she declared because it was her birthday she could drive down the middle of the road……
Thankfully we convinced her to get back onto the correct side of the road before we passed any traffic.
It is also the age where we (often) think we are immortal, why not young girls think so too.? 🙂