Why do people in Great Britain and Australia drive on the other side of the road?
Britain first engaged with the idea of having a ‘rule of the road’ back in the eighteenth century when congestion on London Bridge was such that something needed to be done to prevent accidents. The Highway Act, 1773, suggested that all vehicles should drive on the left. This idea was enshrined in law in the Highway Act,1835 which made driving on the left compulsory – throughout the British Empire. There are some really interesting ideas put forward about why the US chose to drive on the right that made their decision perfectly valid. With the progress of time, and the increase in cross border traffic, has meant that there is a real need to rationalise. Under the Geneva Convention each state is obliged to make this decision; in the case of those countries of the former British Empire they have reacted to their local needs. Australia has no land boundaries, so why change? Canada which has a more populous and influential neighbour to the south and west, so, quite reasonably, chose to cha
