You’re sitting in a rental car at the airport in London or maybe Tokyo. Your heart is thumping. You look at the steering wheel—it's on the "wrong" side. You look at the gear stick—it's to your left. Then you look at the road, and everything feels backwards. For most Americans or Europeans, the concept of drive on left side of road countries feels like a weird historical glitch. But it isn't a glitch. It’s actually the original way of doing things.
Most people assume driving on the right is the natural "default" setting for humans. That’s wrong. Historically, almost everyone stayed to the left. If you were a medieval knight on a horse, you wanted your right hand—your sword hand—free to deal with anyone coming at you from the opposite direction. Moving on the left was a survival tactic. It wasn't until Napoleon came along and started changing the rules in Europe that right-hand traffic became a thing. He was left-handed, or so the legend goes, and he wanted to mess with the traditional military formations of his enemies.
Today, about 75 countries and territories still stick to the left. It’s not just the UK and its former colonies. It’s a massive chunk of the global population, from the high-tech streets of Japan to the sprawling highways of Australia.
The Global Map of Left-Hand Traffic
When you look at a map of drive on left side of road countries, you see a very clear pattern of British influence, but there are some fascinating outliers. The United Kingdom is the obvious starting point. From there, the practice spread to Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands. If you head south, you hit a huge portion of Africa. We’re talking South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. These aren't just small regions; they are massive geographical areas where the infrastructure is entirely built around the left side.
🔗 Read more: Is Barceló Whale Lagoon Maldives Actually Worth the Trip to Ari Atoll?
Then there is the Indian subcontinent. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka all drive on the left. Think about the sheer scale of that. You have over 1.5 billion people in that region alone navigating left-side traffic every single day.
Southeast Asia is another hub. Thailand is a big one here. Interestingly, Thailand was never a British colony, but they chose the left side because of their early diplomatic ties and gifts of cars from the British monarchy. Then you have Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Down under, Australia and New Zealand are strictly left-side.
The Japanese Exception
Japan is the most famous example of a country that drives on the left despite never being part of the British Empire. Why? It goes back to the Edo period and the Samurai. Samurai wore their swords on the left side to draw them quickly with their right hand. If two Samurai passed each other on the right, their scabbards might clank together. That was a huge insult and often led to a duel to the death. To keep the peace, everyone stayed left.
💡 You might also like: How to Actually Book the Hangover Suite Caesars Las Vegas Without Getting Fooled
When Japan started building its first railway system in the late 1800s, they looked for international experts. They ended up hiring British engineers. Since the British built the tracks for left-hand running, the entire automotive infrastructure followed suit. By the time cars became common, the "left-side" rule was already baked into the culture.
Why Some Countries Flipped (and Others Refused)
You might wonder why countries don’t just switch to the right to make international trade easier. Some have. Sweden is the most famous example. On September 3, 1967—a day known as Dagen H—Sweden switched from the left to the right overnight. It was chaos, but it worked. They did it because all their neighbors (Norway and Finland) drove on the right, and people kept crashing when they crossed the border.
Samoa did the exact opposite in 2009. They moved from the right side to the left. Why? Because they wanted to import cheaper used cars from Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, all of which are drive on left side of road countries. It was a purely economic move. The Prime Minister at the time basically told the country that if they wanted affordable wheels, they had to learn to drive on the other side.
📖 Related: How Far Is Tennessee To California: What Most Travelers Get Wrong
The United States actually had a mix of left and right driving in the early days. It wasn’t standardized until the early 20th century. Henry Ford played a massive role in this. When he designed the Model T, he put the steering wheel on the left side, intended for right-side driving. Because he produced so many cars, he essentially forced the entire country—and much of the world—to follow his lead.
The Mental Shift: Tips for Surviving the Swap
Honestly, the hardest part isn't the steering. It’s the intersections. When you turn right in a left-hand traffic country, you’re crossing a lane of oncoming traffic. That’s the "scary" turn. In the US, that’s the easy turn.
- The "Hugging the Curb" Rule: If you’re the driver, you should always be positioned toward the center of the road, not the edge. If your shoulder is near the window by the sidewalk, you’re probably on the wrong side.
- The Roundabout Nightmare: In the UK or Australia, you enter a roundabout and move clockwise. This is the ultimate test of your brain’s plasticity. Just follow the car in front of you.
- The "Look Right" Habit: Pedestrians are actually at the most risk. If you grew up in a right-side country, you instinctively look left before stepping off a curb. In London or Sydney, that habit will get you hit by a bus. Many cities now paint "Look Right" on the pavement at crosswalks specifically to save tourists.
Driving on the left isn't some ancient, dying tradition. It’s a functional system for a huge portion of the planet. While the Americas and most of Europe and China stay on the right, the Commonwealth nations and key Asian hubs aren't changing anytime soon. The cost of ripping up the infrastructure in a place like India or the UK would be trillions of dollars.
Actionable Steps for International Drivers
If you are planning a trip to one of the drive on left side of road countries, don't just wing it.
- Request an Automatic: If you aren't used to shifting gears with your left hand, don't try to learn while also learning to drive on the "wrong" side of the road. Pay the extra $10 a day for an automatic transmission.
- Use a Lead Car: When you pull out of the rental lot, try to wait for another car to go first. Follow them. It takes the mental load off of you for the first few miles.
- Narrate Your Turns: It sounds silly, but say it out loud. "Left turn, stay tight. Right turn, cross over." Speaking the directions helps override your muscle memory.
- Practice in the Parking Lot: Spend twenty minutes in the rental car lot just doing loops. Get your eyes used to the different mirror angles.
- Check Your Insurance: Make sure your coverage specifically applies to international driving. Some credit card policies are finicky about "non-standard" driving environments.
Navigating a new country is hard enough without worrying about a head-on collision. Take it slow, stay left, and remember that half of history is on your side.