Operating an automobile and learning the rules of the road can often be a difficult feat to accomplish, especially if doing so in a different country than the one you originally learned. Nevertheless, getting used to our automobiles is something that we all must do.
Whether you are driving an automatic transmission automobile, manual transmission, right hand drive car, or even left hand drive car, there is usually always something new to be learned when switching to a new car. Right and left hand drive cars can especially be difficult to get used to if you have learned to drive in a place where the steering wheel was only on the right or the left.
The History of Left Hand Drive Cars: There are plenty of countries in the world that have had long standing traditions of left and right hand drive cars as well as laws of the land that have been in place for centuries pertaining to the rules of the road and the flow of traffic. England has an especially interesting traffic history. In the late 1990s archaeologists in England found a well preserved ancient path and track where horses were used for travel.
From their discovery, they deduced that horseback riders would generally keep to the left while traveling as well as steer the horse with their left hands. Needless to say, that tradition has been kept throughout the centuries in England.
However, the tradition of left hand traffic in Britain was made secure through a law that was passed in the 1700s. This law, The Highway Act 1773, was essentially an order and law for all traffic to keep to the left while driving. On the other hand, the same time period had the United States changing its rules of the road from the left to the right hand traffic because of the setup of horse driven freight wagons. That tradition has been kept as well, and mainly right hand drive vehicles are now produced in the United States.
Countries with Left Hand Drive Cars: Many places throughout the world, and perhaps the majority of countries, have left hand drive cars with right hand lane traffic. However, some countries do primarily use left hand drive vehicles with left hand traffic as well. Left hand drive automobiles have the steering wheel on the left side of the car (the driver s side) and are primarily made for right hand traffic, though.
One example, as discussed above, which does primarily use vehicles with the steering wheel on the left side of the car as well as left lane traffic flow, is the United Kingdom. This is much different from the United States where left hand drive cars are used, but right hand lane traffic is the supreme law in almost all areas.
Even though a country may have mainly left hand drive cars, though, right handed vehicles are also sometimes allowed. For example, left hand drive cars are mainly used in the United Kingdom, but automobile consumers still exercise their right to purchase right hand drive vehicles from other various European importers. On the other hand, some countries ban the use of wrong side steering wheel automobiles so that no confusion exists within the country s traffic flow.
All in all, left hand drive cars are certainly popular by many individuals throughout the world today. With many of the major automobile manufacturers specializing in producing left hand drive vehicles, one can be almost certain that this trend will continue throughout time.
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