It's a weird feeling. You step off a plane in London or Tokyo, grab your luggage, and walk toward the taxi stand only to realize everything feels... backwards. The driver is sitting where you usually sit. The flow of traffic looks like a mirrored reflection of home. For most of the world, driving on the right is the standard, but for about 30% of the global population, right wheel drive countries are just the way life works.
Wait. Let’s get the terminology straight first.
Most people say "right wheel drive," but what they actually mean is Right-Hand Drive (RHD) vehicles driving on the left side of the road. It’s a distinction that matters because you can technically drive a left-hand drive car in a left-side-of-the-road country, though it’s a nightmare at toll booths.
Ever wondered why we aren't all doing the same thing?
The Sword-Fighting History of Left-Hand Traffic
History is messy. It isn't a straight line.
Back in the day—we’re talking Roman Empire times—most people were right-handed. If you’re riding a horse down a dusty path and you’re worried about bandits, you want your sword hand (the right one) free to strike at anyone coming toward you. Therefore, you stay to the left. Archaeologists actually found evidence of this at a Roman quarry in Norfolk, UK; the track marks on the left side were deeper, suggesting heavily laden carts were leaving the quarry on that side.
🔗 Read more: The Backside of Mount Rushmore: What’s Actually Behind the Presidents?
It stayed that way for centuries.
Then came the French Revolution and Napoleon. Legend says Napoleon was left-handed and wanted his troops to march on the right so his sword arm would be closer to the enemy. More realistically, the aristocracy in France always forced the peasants to stay on the right while they took the left. After the Revolution, the elites decided it was safer to blend in with the commoners on the right. Napoleon then spread this "right-side" rule across Europe through his conquests.
The British, naturally, weren't conquered.
They kept their left-side driving. And as the British Empire expanded, they took that rule with them to India, Australia, Southern Africa, and Southeast Asia. This created the modern map of right wheel drive countries we see today.
The Global Map: Where Left is Right
You probably know the big hitters. The UK, Australia, Japan, and India are the heavyweights in this category. But the list is actually quite long and geographically scattered.
In Africa, you’ve got South Africa, Kenya, and Tanzania. In the Caribbean, places like Jamaica and Barbados stick to the left. Then there’s the anomaly of Japan. Japan was never part of the British Empire, yet they drive on the left. Why? It goes back to the 1800s when Japan was building its first railway system. They sought expert advice, and the British won the contract. Since British trains ran on the left, the entire Japanese infrastructure followed suit.
Does it actually matter for safety?
Some researchers argue that driving on the left is actually safer for the human brain. About 70% to 90% of the population is right-handed. In an RHD car, your dominant right hand stays on the steering wheel while your left hand handles the gear shift and secondary controls. Plus, your dominant right eye is better positioned to monitor oncoming traffic and the side-view mirror.
Is it a massive advantage? Probably not. But it’s a fun fact to bring up at a pub.
The Great Switch: Countries That Flipped
It’s rare, but countries do change sides.
Sweden is the most famous example. Up until 1967, Swedes drove on the left. The problem was that all their neighbors—Norway and Finland—drove on the right. People were constantly crossing borders and getting into head-on collisions.
On September 3, 1967, known as Dagen H (H-Day), Sweden switched.
🔗 Read more: QR 725 Flight Status: What Travelers to Chicago Need to Know
Imagine the chaos. At 4:50 AM, all traffic was ordered to stop. Drivers had to carefully move from the left side of the road to the right and wait ten minutes. At 5:00 AM, they were allowed to start driving again on the new side. Surprisingly, there was a dip in accidents immediately after because everyone was being incredibly cautious.
Samoa did the opposite in 2009. They switched from the right to the left. Why? To make it cheaper to import used cars from Australia and New Zealand. It was a purely economic move that drove the local population crazy for a few months, but they eventually settled in.
Why We Won't Have a Universal Standard Anytime Soon
Switching sides is insanely expensive.
It’s not just about painting new lines on the road. You have to reconfigure every highway off-ramp, swap the location of every traffic light, and move every bus stop. For a country like the United States or China, the cost would be in the trillions.
Even within right wheel drive countries, the sheer volume of existing RHD vehicles makes a transition almost impossible. Think about the UK. Millions of cars would suddenly have the driver sitting on the "wrong" side for the flow of traffic, making overtaking on two-lane roads a suicide mission.
The Technical Quirks of RHD Engineering
When engineers design a car for a left-hand drive market and then "flip" it for an RHD market, it’s not always a perfect mirror image.
Sometimes, things get cramped.
In some older European cars converted to RHD, the brake booster stays on the left side of the engine bay. This requires a complex linkage system to connect the brake pedal on the right to the booster on the left. This can lead to a "mushy" brake feel that LHD drivers never have to deal with.
Then there’s the wiper blade issue. Most wipers are designed to clear the driver's side first. In cheap conversions, the wipers still sweep for an LHD driver, leaving a massive unswept triangle right in the line of sight for the RHD driver.
Navigating the Challenges as a Traveler
If you’re planning a trip to one of the right wheel drive countries, don’t panic. The "follow the leader" rule works 99% of the time. If there are other cars on the road, you just follow them.
The danger zones are:
💡 You might also like: Hope Lake Lodge and Indoor Waterpark: Why This Finger Lakes Spot Still Hits Different
- Empty intersections at night.
- Pulling out of a gas station when no one else is around.
- Roundabouts (Clockwise! Not counter-clockwise!).
Honestly, the hardest part isn't the driving. It's the turn signals. In many Japanese and British cars, the indicator stalk is on the opposite side of the steering wheel. You will spend your first three days in Australia trying to signal a turn and accidentally turning on your windshield wipers. Every. Single. Time.
Actionable Insights for RHD Situations
If you find yourself needing to navigate or move to a country that drives on the left, here is the practical reality of what you need to do.
1. Master the "Driver to the Center" Rule The most important rule for staying on the correct side of the road is simple: the driver should always be closest to the center line of the road. If you find yourself next to the sidewalk or the curb, you are likely on the wrong side.
2. Check Import Laws Before Shipping If you’re moving from the US to an RHD country like Australia, don't assume you can just ship your car. Many countries have strict safety regulations or high taxes on LHD (Left-Hand Drive) vehicles. In some places, you actually have to convert the steering column, which often costs more than the car is worth.
3. Pedestrian Awareness This is what actually gets people hurt. If you grew up in a right-side traffic country, your brain is hardwired to look left then right before crossing the street. In London or Sydney, if you do that, you'll get hit by a bus coming from the right. Look right first. Then look right again.
4. Rental Insurance When renting a car in a left-side driving country for the first time, get the extra insurance. The most common "oopsie" is clipping the left-side curb or a parked car because you haven't yet calibrated where the left side of the vehicle ends. You're used to having a lot of car to your right; now, it’s all on your left.
The world is divided. It’s a relic of history, swords, and 19th-century railway contracts. While it might seem like a hassle, these differences are part of the texture of travel. Just remember: stay to the left, look to the right, and try not to wash your windshield every time you want to turn a corner.
Next Steps for Your Trip:
- Download an offline map specifically for the region to avoid navigation stress.
- Practice in a parking lot for 15 minutes before hitting the main highway in a new RHD vehicle.
- Study the local roundabout rules, as these are the most common spots for minor collisions among tourists.