Left-hand traffic or right-hand traffic ... How to navigate, which is better, more convenient, which is more rational in operation, finally?
For the first time in England
In fact, there is not much difference between right and left. The left-hand movement first began to be carried out in England (in many European countries, on the contrary, the right-hand side was adopted). It just so happened that in the former English colonies it remained left-handed, since the change required reformatting the psychology of the inhabitants and was also quite expensive!
Also railway traffic. In Argentina - left-hand, and in many European countries, although cars obey the right-hand! It so happened, that’s the tradition.
Countries where car traffic is left-hand
Most of the inhabitants of the globe are right-handed. Therefore, there is no doubt the very expediency of most of the right-hand traffic. But it turns out that there are not so few countries in which left-hand traffic is legalized. 28% of all roads on the planet are left-handed. On the left side, 34% of the entire earthly population travel, and this is not so small. As already mentioned, the main reason for this was the colonial policy in England. Left-hand traffic has spread to former British colonies and territories once dependent on Britain.
Here are the countries of Europe where car traffic is left-hand: Great Britain, Malta, Ireland, Cyprus. In Asia, these are Japan, India, Indonesia, the Maldives, Macau, Pakistan, Thailand, Nepal, Hong Kong, Singapore and some others. As you can see, there are a lot of them! In Oceania: Australia, Fiji, New Guinea, New Zealand. In Africa: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Kenya, Mozambique. In Latin America: Jamaica, Bahamas, Barbados, Suriname. Still left-hand traffic in Japan. You can list and list!
A bit of history
There have even been precedents in history when entire states switched from left-side to right-side and vice versa. The country of Sweden within one day replaced the left-hand traffic on the right. This happened in 1967. America, trying to disown its "English dependence", has made it easier - not like in England. Namely, this country has made an indisputable contribution to the development of the global automotive industry. And many countries of the planet took an example from her!
We add that in modern cars, the driver's seat is closer to the oncoming traffic stream: on the right in left-hand places, on the left in countries with right-hand traffic, respectively. This creates additional comfort for the driver, expands the field of view and gives the ability to respond faster.
And from history: in Russia in the Middle Ages, the rules of movement (of the right-hand drive) developed by themselves and were observed as the most natural. And the Empress Elizabeth in the distant 1752 issues a decree on right-hand traffic on the streets of Russian cities for drivers and carriages.
And in the west, the first law that would regulate traffic on the streets was the English bill of 1756, in which traffic on the London Bridge was to be carried out on the left side.