It goes back to when men on horses wore swords. Imagine you are on a medieval trail and you see another rider approaching , your right hand goes to your sword hilt ready to defend yourself if the need arises. If needs be you can draw your sword and challenge yon vagabond with your sword in your right hand directly in front of him ... not with your horse between you and him which would be awkward and dangerous, especially for your horse. So everyone rode on the left. One of my ancestors trotting down to the village store ...
In the late 1700s, however, teamsters in France and the United States began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver’s seat; instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since he was sitting on the left, he naturally wanted everybody to pass on the left so he could look down and make sure he kept clear of the oncoming wagon’s wheels. Therefore he kept to the right side of the road.
I will not make fun of the British. I will not make fun of the British. I will not make fun of the British. I will not make fun of the British. I will not make fun of the British. I will not make fun of the British. I will not make fun of the British.
Our Japanese friends drive on the left as do Oz. Chinese drive ah so on the right. Swedes swapped over a few years ago.......
Quite a few countries drive on the left: Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei East Timor Hong Kong Indonesia India Japan Macau Malaysia Nepal Pakistan Singapore Sri Lanka Thailand In Africa Botswana Kenya Lesotho Malawi Mozambique Namibia South Africa Swaziland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe In Europe Cyprus Guernsey (Crown dependency of the United Kingdom) Ireland Isle of Man (Crown dependency of the United Kingdom) Jersey (Crown dependency of the United Kingdom) Malta United Kingdom Because I drive more in Europe than the UK these days, driving on the right has become my default, it feels more comfortable somehow ..............I don't have a sword anymore so that side of things is much less important
Since we drive on the right, people tend to walk on the right side of the sidewalk and to enter buildings using the door on the right. Most buildings with separate entrance and exit doors are setup that way. For some reason, some of the Walmart stores are opposite, and people routinely use the wrong doors because it doesn't feel right.
On a similar subject dressing left and dressing right are terms that most men, at least those who wear suits, know. It's a term used by tailors when fitting suit pants. To "dress left" means that one keeps one’s male appendage shifted in the general direction of the left trouser leg. Likewise for the right. According to medical researchers, most men should dress left. This is basic biology, The left testicle is lower than the right. It was made to swing to the left. Swinging right is uncomfortable. Perhaps this is why right dressers are often in bad moods.
Since I had read this somewhere before, when I arrived at Basic Training for the military, one of their favorite things is to yell, "Dress Right Dress" to get us to align while in formation. I laughed so hard the first time I heard this that it cost me 50 push-ups...
Greetings from Aeioungland , you would be thrown in The Tower of London and then burnt for being a witch ...
It makes so much sense that the knights would keep to the left because they hold their weapon in the right hand, and this would have probably been true with any other equestrian riders, whereas the drovers kept to the right because they were driving the wagon or carriage from the left hand side of the seat. One of the most interesting maneuvers that horsemen perform is called dressage, and this is kind of like “high school for horses” where they learn the sidestep, and other specialty gaits that might have been necessary back in the days when all gentlemen rode horseback. Obviously, the love of dressage has carried over into the modern day, and here is how a dressage competition might look nowdays.
Mining haul trucks like this one also drive on the left. That places the driver next to the bank going uphill and toward the open pit going downhill. These mining haul trucks cost several million each and carry 250-300 ton payloads on extra wide roads at the mine. They are so big that access to the cab is by a ladder on the front and it's difficult to see vehicles up close, many blind spots. Some dummy parked this pickup too close to the haul truck. This type of accident happens with regularity. Those tires are 8' high and about 42" wide. Operators that have run over pickups swear that they hardly felt it. As an aside, women make the best operators, they are more careful and more focused.