Driver’s ed 101: In America, we drive on the right side of the road. But some countries do the opposite, driving on the “wrong” side of the road. If you’ve ever been to the UK, Australia, Japan, or India (or watched TV shows and movies set in these countries), you’ve seen people driving on the left side.
And it’s not just a handful of countries that drive on the left… over 70 countries follow this rule!
Why Do Some Countries Drive on the Left Side and Some on the Right?
Most of the world drives on the right side of the road because Napolean Bonaparte was left-handed. This system goes back to horse-and-buggies. In the Middle Ages, horse riders and cart drivers rode left-handed because they wanted their right hands free to grab their swords in case of attack. So most of the world’s “traffic” stayed to the left back then.
But then, left-handed Napoleon was more comfortable driving on the right so he could keep his left hand free for sword-drawing. Napoleon was such a powerhouse that he convinced France and much of the European continent to stay to the right on the roadways.
But the Brits stuck to the left. And, colonizers that they were, they expanded left-handed driving to much of the Commonwealth. You’ll find that many of the countries that drive on the left today were once part of the British Empire.
Why Do Americans Drive on the Right Side of the Road?
Americans drive on the right for a couple of reasons. First, old freight wagons were pulled by teams of horses. Right-handed drivers rode on the left rear horse to use their right hand for maximum control over the whole team of horses. With this setup, driving on the right made more sense.
Secondly, the U.S. had no loyalty to Britain and felt no obligation to follow its left-side lead. The fact that Britain went left may have even incentivized patriotic Americans to go right. It’s also possible that influential Founding Fathers who spent time in France, like Thomas Jefferson and Ben Franklin, pushed for right-hand traffic rules based on their experience abroad.
Then, in 1913, Henry Ford created the assembly line to mass-produce early vehicles. This pretty much cemented the right-hand driving rule across continental North America.
Territories and Countries That Drive on the Left
Want to know if you need to be ready to drive on the left? Here’s a list of places where driving on the left is the norm.
Oceania
Australia
Christmas Island
Cocos (Keeling) Islands
Cook Islands
Fiji
Kiribati
Nauru
New Zealand
Niue
Norfolk Island
Papua New Guinea
Pitcairn Islands
Solomon Islands
Tokelau
Tonga
Tuvalu
Asia
Bangladesh
Bhutan
Brunei
East Timor
Hong Kong
Indonesia
India
Japan
Macao
Malaysia
Nepal
Pakistan
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Africa
Botswana
Kenya
Lesotho
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
South Africa
Swaziland
Tanzania
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Europe
Akrotiri and Dhekelia
Cyprus
Guernsey
Ireland
Isle of Man
Jersey
Malta
United Kingdom
South America
Guyana
Suriname
Caribbean
Anguilla
Antigua and Barbados
Bahamas
Barbados
British Virgin Islands
Cayman Islands
Dominica
Grenada
Jamaica
Montserrat
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Turks and Caicos Islands
US Virgin Islands
Other Islands
Bermuda
Falkland Islands
Maldives
Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan de Cunha
Seychelles
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Tips for Driving on the Left Side of the Road
Driving on the “wrong” side of the road is intimidating. But you might be surprised at how quickly you adjust to it when you’re in a country where they drive on the left.
Here are a few pointers to make the shift from driving on the right to driving on the left.
Follow the flow of traffic. When there are other cars on the road, simply follow the cars in front of you.
Concentrate when making turns on country roads. When there isn’t traffic to follow, it’s easy to turn into the wrong lane out of habit. Focus on turning into the left-most lane.
Avoid distractions. Save that playlist, podcast, or heart-to-heart with your passengers until you’ve had a few days to adjust to driving on the left.
Pass on the right. When you’re on a multi-lane highway, tollway, or motorway, stay in the left-most lane unless you need to pass a slower vehicle. In that case, you’ll use the lane to the right to pass.
Look right-left-right when crossing a road or pulling out onto a road. In the U.S., you would naturally look left first, knowing that traffic on that main road will be coming from the left. In left-hand driving, it’s the opposite because traffic on the main road will be coming from the other side.
Refresh your skills with a driver's ed class. No, it won't teach you how to drive on the left side of the road. But it will refresh your driving skills! You can then apply your new knowledge to improve your driving experiences abroad.
Updated 10/23/23