Living in London

We have started to think about driving in the UK but are a little daunted by the idea of sitting on the right hand side of the car and driving on the left. A lifetime of habits and instincts have been embedded while driving on the right hand side of the road.

Brian Lucas (he's Canadian, you know) has written a fabulous article answering the question "Which side of the road do they drive on?" Of the 240 countries listed in his report. 74 of them drive on the left. Who knew?

Interesting highlights from his article:

Did the United States ever drive on the left?

• Yes. The evidence we have been able to collect is mostly indirect, but it seems almost certain that in the early years of English colonization of North America, English driving customs were followed and the colonies drove on the left, gradually changing to right-hand driving after independence.

What about pedestrians?

• Keeping right is the normal practice in the USA and Canada.
• The United Kingdom seems not to have a preference as to which side of the path to use when walking . . . This doesn't mean that the British bump into each other. They don't tend to use single-file traffic, but they still manage to negotiate their way effectively using body language, eye contact, and other cues to signal their intentions and notice others' intentions.(ed. note: in other words, walking on a crowded street is complete mayhem! )

(Thanks to joe-ks for the sign photo!)