Why These Countries Drive on the Left Side of the Road?

Ever wonder why people in some countries drive on the left side while people in the U.S. and other countries drive on the right? We have some answers.

A bus in London.

You can master the art of packing lightly, you can learn the tricks to defeat jet lag, but there’s one thing that can throw even the most seasoned travelers for a loop: the direction of traffic. If you’ve visited the United Kingdom, or any countries that were formerly under the control of the British, you probably noticed that cars drive on the left side of the road, which is the opposite of what Americans are used to. Actually, about 25 percent of territories and countries drive on the left. Which is a substantial portion of the world.

Most of the countries that adopted left-hand traffic were formerly part of the British Empire, although some of them were not, such as East Timor (right-hand traffic from 1928-1976), Indonesia, Japan, Macau, Mozambique, Nepal, Samoa (formerly right-hand traffic until 2009), Suriname, Sweden (currently right-hand traffic since 1967) and Thailand. Similarly, many of the countries that were a part of the French colonial empire adopted RHT.

Which countries drive on the left? And how did that decision come about? Here we’ll take a look at some of the historical circumstances that led to the left vs. right divide. You can see a full list of the territories and countries that drive on the left here.

Britain’s Left-Driving Empire

We can’t pinpoint exactly when and where certain countries first collectively decided to drive (or, more accurately, ride) on the left side of the road. The main theory is that it started in Britain and spread with the British Empire.

Historian and author Sean Stewart, who founded Berlin Historical Walks, describes the prevailing explanation for left-hand driving.

“The old story goes that people should walk or ride on the left, as in the U.K., because that way the sword arm (the right arm) will pass by the sword arm of the person coming at you the other way,” Stewart says.

In other words, it was a strategic, defensive move to put horse traffic on the left. The British then colonized much of the world, bringing their language and their left-hand riding with them. The horses were eventually replaced by cars, but the traffic norms were already set. And the rest is history.

Today, India, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Kenya, Ireland, South Africa and most other countries that were British colonies still drive on the left.

The Other Lefties — Countries Drive on the Left Elsewhere, Too 

There are also a handful of countries and territories that were never part of Britain, and yet people still drive on the left. For some, there’s a logical explanation for why they have left-hand driving. In Japan, for instance, the country’s first railway line was built during the Edo period (March 24, 1603 to May 3, 1868) with assistance from the British, who designed it with their home country’s left-hand driving in mind. The rules of the road for cars were modeled after the flow of train traffic. But Japan didn't always drive on the left at all. Okinawa drove on the right from 24 June 1945 until its switch on 30 July 1978, the 730 also known as Nasa-San-Maru. 

Indonesia drives on the left because it was a Dutch colony and the Netherlands used to have left-hand driving. But when Napoleon invaded the Netherlands in the year 1906, the Dutch switched to driving on the right. Former Dutch colonies, like Indonesia and Guyana, didn’t follow suit.

Mozambique drives on the left because it was a Portuguese colony and Portugal used to have left-hand driving. Mozambique did not switch to the right because it borders with former British colony countries that still drive on the left. But in the year 1928, Portugal and most of its colonies, including East Timor, switched to driving on the right. Former Portuguese colonies, like Goa (state of India), Macau and Mozambique, didn’t follow suit, although East Timor drove on the left again in 1976 under the Indonesian occupation.

Then there’s Thailand, which drives on the left for no apparent reason. It wasn’t a British, Dutch or Portuguese colony, and there doesn’t seem to be any explanation out there as to why they drive on the left.

The “Right Side” of History

So that leaves nearly 75 percent of the world driving on the right side of the road, and there’s a theory for how that began as well. In the 18th century, the rise of freight wagons drawn by multiple horses meant drivers had to sit behind the horses on the left, in order to use the whip with their right hand. For safety reasons, it made more sense for them to be closer to the center of the road, and so right-hand driving was born.

Stewart says this explanation isn’t foolproof: “The problem, in my view, is that this situation also existed in the U.K.”

So why didn’t that have an effect on the British? The simple answer is, these theories for why certain countries drive on the right vs. the left don’t tell the whole story. According to Stewart, there’s more to it than that.

“It comes down to luck, chance, habit and custom,” Stewart says.

The United States, of course, drives on the right. Canada didn’t originally but switched to match U.S. traffic flow. Most of Europe now drives on the right as well. As the story goes, the aristocracy in France used to drive on the left side, forcing the peasants over to the right, but after the French Revolution, aristocrats moved to the right to blend in. Right-hand driving became the norm in France, and when Napoleon conquered a large portion of Europe, he brought these road rules with him. Today, former French colonies the world over still drive on the right side of the road though some of their surrounding countries drive on the left.

Making the Switch

What happens when you drive from a left-hand driving country to a right-hand one, or vice versa? In some cases, countries drive on the left and they’re islands, so that makes it easy. But for those with opposite-driving neighbors, different countries handle it in various ways. Some places, like Thailand, simply use a stoplight to switch the direction of traffic. Others, like Macau, built elaborate twisting ramps to facilitate side-switching. And in some places there is very little traffic, so just a sign does the trick.

List of Countries and Territories Currently Driving on the Left

75 countries and territories drive on the left side of the road. All traffic remains to the left and passing is from the right side. Oncoming traffic comes from the right. Right turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic. The traffic on round abouts move towards clockwise. Pedestrians crossing roads must see first the traffic coming from the left side.

In Africa: Botswana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Ugana, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In Asia: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cyprus, East Timor, Hong Kong, Indonesia, India, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.

In Europe: Cyprus, Guensey, Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta and the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland).

In North America: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Monsterrat, Saint Kitts and Navis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the United States Virgin Islands.

In Oceania: Australia, Christmas Island, the Cocos Islands, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kirbati, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Papua new Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga and Tuvalu.

In South America: the Falkland Islands, Guyana, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and Suriname.

List of Countries and Territories Currently Driving on the Right

165 countries and territories follow the right hand drive system. All traffic remains to the right and passing is from the left and oncoming traffic comes from the left. The left turning traffic must cross oncoming traffic. The traffic on roundabouts move anti clockwise. Pedestrians crossing roads must see first the traffic coming from the right side.

In Africa: Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cape Verde, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mayotte, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Togo and Tunisia.

In Asia: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, the British Indian Ocean Territory, Cambodia, China, Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Lebanon, Mongolia, Myanmar, North Korea, Oman, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Yemen.

In Europe: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, the Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and the Vatican City.

In North America: Aruba, Bonaire, Canada, Clipperton Island, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Greenland, Guatemala, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Navassa Island, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and the United States.

In Oceania: American Samoa, French Polynesia, Guam, New Caledonia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Vanuatu, Wake Island and Wallis and Futuna.

In South America: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela.