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Re: Out of gas
Posted By: wintermute, on host 80.45.179.211
Date: Thursday, December 4, 2003, at 03:02:39
In Reply To: Re: Out of gas posted by Grishny on Wednesday, December 3, 2003, at 19:54:11:

> > So why do those of us in the colonies drive on the right side?
> > Howard
>
> I've heard that only island nations still maintain the practice of driving on the left hand side of the road. Everywhere else, with few exceptions, does it right. But I don't know why.

Thailand, India and Singapore all drive on the left, and they have some of the highest car densities in the world. Thailand (for example) has one car per half-metre of road.

The reason America drives on the right is all down to Henry Ford: his automation system meant that he could make cars with left-hand drive or right-hand drive, but not both. He decided that Continental Europe (after Napolean decided that he would be different from Britain) was a bigger market, and built cars on that basis. Other manufacturors copied him, and when there were enough cars that one side of the road or the other had to be enshrined in law, it was obvious which side would be chosen.

winter"interesting subject"mute

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