Keep right – right?
Is it man’s natural inclination to drive on the right hand side of the road?
I have given this subject intensive thought for the last five minutes and have come to the conclusion that it is.
Let’s look at the facts.
First of all, it is a well known fact that when a bloke has a skinfull of drink on him, that he tends to revert to a baser version of himself. While I don’t believe that applies to me personally, I must confess that after eight or ten pints of stout, I do tend to drive on the right hand side of the road. Now, they don’t serve Guinness in France [well – actually they do, but I am not going to drink any of that export muck] so I have abstained from the Black Nectar and have been confining myself to wine. All I can say is that after a bottle of wine, I still drive on the right hand side so this counteracts any theory that I am just being bloody minded and driving on the opposite side for the hell of it. This would tend to lead me to the conclusion that the right side, is indeed the right side to drive on.
Then there is the historical context.
Where I am in France, there is evidence of the earliest attempts of Home Sapiens to crawl out of the swamp pit. Being Home Sapiens, the first thing he did was scrawl graffiti everywhere. Presumably there weren’t many motorway flyovers in those days, so he tended to confine his graffiti to caves, being [I presume] the next best thing. There are many caves in this area with examples of their vandalism, and one thing forcibly struck me – all the car parks there are laid out for right hand driving. Surely this would tend to support my theory that driving on the right dates back in the region of 20,000 years?
Of course most civilised countries drive on the right. And America. They are the exception that proves the rule.
There is only one answer.
I am going to have to lead by example.
When I drive off that ferry, I am going to continue driving on the right.
You’ll see that I am right.
Right?
Actually I think we drive on the right just to prove that we are not British.
Jim C – Or Irish?
Oh I wish I had a picture.
But you’re absolutely right about the right.
That’d be doing me a huge favour, I’d no idea strychnine was so expensive!!
Susan – I’m always right.
K8 – Woops! I just drank all the wine I bought you.
I liked yout idea, awhile ago, that changing to driving on the right should be taken slowly. Maybe one county at a time or just lorries for a week, to get people use to the idea.
Brianf – Heh! You mean this? That’s going back a bit. They never did take me up on it.
As I have commented in the past; Napoleon has a lot to answer for. He altered everything just to try and usurp the British.
I remember something at the American Museum at Bath about the custom in the US of driving on the right arising from the way the waggons were built.
Given that most people are right-handed and that the right hand is therefore stronger, it makes sense that the hand that remains on the steering wheel is the right one, which means having other controls operated with the left hand and driving on the left.
Eventually everyone will understand, as, in the end, everyone will speak English, even the Americans.
Is there not something about the right hand generally being the sword hand, and thus the Romans used to drive [chariot?] on the left so they could practice their road rage in freedom? The popes then declared that to be the legal side, and Napoleon [or someone] declared the right to be the legal side just to piss off the popes? Maybe I’m wrong?
The reason everyone drives on the right is because the old USAC found that driver preferred to drive in circles anti-clockwise rather than clockwise. However, since the drivers were too used to driving like that, they then drove on the right all the time, forcing the entire country to adjust to compensate.
Hence why most landmasses with an oval speedway forces people to drive on the right. (Notable exceptions: UK, Oz, Japan)
I suppose you’ve told Herself of your driving intentions once you arrive in your native land? Or are you leaving it as a nice surprise?
Perhaps we should all drive like they do in Boston, MA? They just drive on any side they want to–even the sidewalks. The pedestrians take just their chances.