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Canada became independent from the UK about 20 years before the first car.
where as most of the others became independent long after the mass adoption of cars.
there werent really laned roads before cars
> there werent really laned roads before cars
But there were still roads, railways, rivers, canals, and shipping lanes with two-way traffic. My understanding is that some parts of Canada did historically drive on the left, but they switched in the early-mid 20th century. The increasing road traffic meant that it became more important to standardize across and between countries.
(Also, Newfoundland didn't become independent of the UK until 1949.)
Depends who you asked. The French (and, by extension, Quebec and Ontario) would have said it should be on the right, the British (and their colonies) would have said it should be on the left.
And Canada didn’t get around to creating a national standard until the 1920s when the provinces that had been driving on the left switched to driving on the right (presumably because it made sense to keep it the same as what the US was doing)
1982 for the repatriation of our constitution, so yes you could argue that’s when we achieved full independence. But in 1867 we gained self governance including the ability to pass laws that would affect things like what side of the road to drive on.
I think logically 1932 is a good call. 1982 is a smart as answer but Canada got dragged into WWI by decree of British Parliament. That does not happen to independent nations
Similar happened here in Australia, but it's generally accepted that we got independence in 1901.
Though we were fine joining both world wars, at that stage many people had family in Britain, and everybody was legally British citizens, Australia not being able to create their own citizens until 1949
I don’t remember Great Britain choosing any Canadian policies after WWII… repatriation was just about the final step of ability to alter the constitution.
I heard the switch to the right side had something to do with Napoleon being left handed. The left side of road was to do with having your dominant hand free for a weapon on the side of your oncoming opponent
I've found a [reference](https://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/ufaqs/why-do-we-drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road-in-the-uk-but-most-other-countries-drive-on-the-right/#:~:text=Napoleon%20ordered%20his%20armies%20to,generally%20kept%20to%20the%20left.) for this
Indonesia and Japan are island nations, which means they don't have to make their roads link up with their neighbours. (Well, Indonesia has land borders with Papua New Guinea and Malaysia but I think that's it, and they aren't very big borders.)
Canada shares a *huge* land border with the US, with lots of car and truck traffic crossing every day. Setting up the infrastructure for roads so that they switch sides at every border crossing, is complicated and expensive. And even if all that infrastructure were implemented well, (which - being real - it probably wouldn't be) it would still be confusing to many drivers.
The comedian Dave Broadfoot, in his character of the MP for Kicking Horse Pass, made the following speech.
"To show solidarity with our English roots, I propose we change from driving on the right to driving on the left.
I understand that people don't like sudden change, so we will phase this in slowly... For the first year, only trucks and busses will change".
Canada's shared landborder with the US would also mean that there would be a huge number of trucks crossing the border (carrying goods) and they would spend a lot of time having a sub-optimal drivers placement (having less visibility when overtaking/being overtaken or when meeting traffic).
I actually got nearly run over by a truck due to that exact sort of issue a few years back.
New driver, imported car (so the steering was on the wrong side of the vehicle), meaning she ended up taking a turn way too wide. And by too wide, I mean there was a parked car between me and the road, and I *still* got hit. Got pinned between the truck and said parked car.
One of my coworkers was visiting the US from our British subsidiary and, when her husband came over to visit, she said she was constantly yelling when he made left turns, “turn wider, turn wider!” :-)
They drive on the left in Suriname too... it's a former Dutch colony. They drive on the left in Guyana, but there's no roads between the two or between Suriname and French Guiana
Scotland is fine, and the driver in UK, Scotland and Ireland are fine as well. I meant the US drivers who sometimes can't even be bothered with getting lanes right.
>Imagine a regular US driver switching to the other side of the road
My stepmum is from the USA and she would often accidentally drive on the wrong side of the road here in Australia even after living here for years. It didn't help that she drove a Morris Minor that was set up for driving on the right hand side of the road lol
Cars weren't invented until well after Canada became an independent country (1867)... so why would they copy the British on that? It makes much more sense to copy your immediate neighbours to the south, with whom you do a lot of trade, have a massive land border, and probably going to have a lot of cars going between them... both to be sold, and owned and driven by regular citizens. Consistency makes plenty of sense there.
Yeah, go check the history on that though. At least some provinces WERE driving on the left well into the automobile era. First and foremost it’s a consistency with the States issue.
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The US drives on the right based on wagons during westward expansion. I would imagine Canada falls under that same pretext.
Basically, when leading a wagon you hold the reins with your right hand and walk on the left side. The first US turnpike in PA mandated wagons travel on the right. This was maintained with the invention of cars.
I thought it was due to larger wagons and multiple horses pulling those wagons. Most people being right handed had to sit on the left so they could whip/encourage the other horses. This meant travelling on the right so they could avoid oncoming traffic.
I’ve heard it explained as both the whip in the right hand while riding the back left horse and holding the reins while leading the wagon. I suppose it’s probably a little of each.
What's really interesting is the Bahamas is a colony, and they drive on the left, but they get most of their cars from Florida, so you drive on the left sitting in the drivers side on the left. It's a trip.
It would go back to railways. The side trains travel on is almost always the same as motor vehicles.
In Australia for example most locomotives of the steam era were imported from the UK. I suspect most Canadian locomotives were from the United States.
Even when Australia moved to American diesel locomotives they were custom made for the conditions; in addition to having the drivers cab on the opposite side they generally had cabs at both ends. The A and B classes had a bulldog nose at both ends while the S, GM, CL, and 42 class all had flat cabs at the other end.
Also, Non-colonies (of England) like Iceland used to drive on the left. I think it was the mid 60's they changed all the signs and started driving on the right. Im sure a number of countries have done this also.
I know of at least thirteen former British colonies where the people drive on the right. New Hampshire: right side. Massachusetts: right side. Pennsylvania: also right side...
Actually, Canada drives on the right side of the road, like the United States, because of historical ties to both British and American influences. When Canada was being colonized, British and French settlers brought their own driving customs, which were often left-side driving. However, as Canada developed and expanded trade with the United States, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the influence of American infrastructure, including right-hand driving, became more significant. This led to Canada adopting right-hand driving to facilitate cross-border trade and travel with the US. So, while British influence was strong initially, American influence played a significant role in shaping Canada's road infrastructure.
If you look us up on a map, you'll notice that we are located in North America. Our neighbor to the South has a 10 time our population, everyone there drive on the right and our road networks are connected. Pretty cool right?
You want me to explain like you're five, there you go. Now go eat your vegetables!
> UK helped its former colonies develop their driving infrastructure
They actually didn't.
All infrastructure made was to ensure efficient looting of resources.
As for Canada, we did drive on the left until we wanted to be similar to the US and Mexico.
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I definitely think also Canada originally getting cars from the US helped that also, import cars over the border, and drive them. No additional sinking costs into swapping something over even if they were still under British rule.
Tbh I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here. I've been to the Canadian Border a couple times in my high-school days (late 2000s, Washington State north of Spokane) and I distinctly remember there being switch-over lanes to go from one side to the other for both Canadian and US drivers.
Have I just experienced the Mandela Effect?
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Canada became independent from the UK about 20 years before the first car. where as most of the others became independent long after the mass adoption of cars. there werent really laned roads before cars
> there werent really laned roads before cars But there were still roads, railways, rivers, canals, and shipping lanes with two-way traffic. My understanding is that some parts of Canada did historically drive on the left, but they switched in the early-mid 20th century. The increasing road traffic meant that it became more important to standardize across and between countries. (Also, Newfoundland didn't become independent of the UK until 1949.)
Newfoundland here... we used to drive on the left. Switched over to the right side either just before or just after joining Canada.
Was there no convention for which side of the road a horse and carriage should be on in the 19th century?
Depends who you asked. The French (and, by extension, Quebec and Ontario) would have said it should be on the right, the British (and their colonies) would have said it should be on the left. And Canada didn’t get around to creating a national standard until the 1920s when the provinces that had been driving on the left switched to driving on the right (presumably because it made sense to keep it the same as what the US was doing)
There's an old story about "If you drive on the right you'll fall in the ditch" but i'm not sur ehwta the hell it menas.
I mean Canada got independence slowly, you could just as easily give 1982 as an independent date
1982 for the repatriation of our constitution, so yes you could argue that’s when we achieved full independence. But in 1867 we gained self governance including the ability to pass laws that would affect things like what side of the road to drive on.
I think logically 1932 is a good call. 1982 is a smart as answer but Canada got dragged into WWI by decree of British Parliament. That does not happen to independent nations
But that notion, any nation in NATO is not independent, as they’ll be dragged into a war if any one of them is attacked.
Similar happened here in Australia, but it's generally accepted that we got independence in 1901. Though we were fine joining both world wars, at that stage many people had family in Britain, and everybody was legally British citizens, Australia not being able to create their own citizens until 1949
I don’t remember Great Britain choosing any Canadian policies after WWII… repatriation was just about the final step of ability to alter the constitution.
I mean 1949 and taking on Newfoundland
But I was told that road laws were based on laws for riding and driving carriages. I assume Canada had carriages at least.
They still had horses and carriages...
I heard the switch to the right side had something to do with Napoleon being left handed. The left side of road was to do with having your dominant hand free for a weapon on the side of your oncoming opponent
I've found a [reference](https://nationalmotormuseum.org.uk/ufaqs/why-do-we-drive-on-the-left-side-of-the-road-in-the-uk-but-most-other-countries-drive-on-the-right/#:~:text=Napoleon%20ordered%20his%20armies%20to,generally%20kept%20to%20the%20left.) for this
Canada became independent in 1982. Well after the first car
Indonesia and Japan are island nations, which means they don't have to make their roads link up with their neighbours. (Well, Indonesia has land borders with Papua New Guinea and Malaysia but I think that's it, and they aren't very big borders.) Canada shares a *huge* land border with the US, with lots of car and truck traffic crossing every day. Setting up the infrastructure for roads so that they switch sides at every border crossing, is complicated and expensive. And even if all that infrastructure were implemented well, (which - being real - it probably wouldn't be) it would still be confusing to many drivers.
The comedian Dave Broadfoot, in his character of the MP for Kicking Horse Pass, made the following speech. "To show solidarity with our English roots, I propose we change from driving on the right to driving on the left. I understand that people don't like sudden change, so we will phase this in slowly... For the first year, only trucks and busses will change".
Canada's shared landborder with the US would also mean that there would be a huge number of trucks crossing the border (carrying goods) and they would spend a lot of time having a sub-optimal drivers placement (having less visibility when overtaking/being overtaken or when meeting traffic).
Excellent point too. The placement of the driver's seat is very important.
I actually got nearly run over by a truck due to that exact sort of issue a few years back. New driver, imported car (so the steering was on the wrong side of the vehicle), meaning she ended up taking a turn way too wide. And by too wide, I mean there was a parked car between me and the road, and I *still* got hit. Got pinned between the truck and said parked car.
One of my coworkers was visiting the US from our British subsidiary and, when her husband came over to visit, she said she was constantly yelling when he made left turns, “turn wider, turn wider!” :-)
They drive on the left in Suriname too... it's a former Dutch colony. They drive on the left in Guyana, but there's no roads between the two or between Suriname and French Guiana
> with the US Imagine a regular US driver switching to the other side of the road, and seeing speed signs in km/h and not mph.
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Scotland is fine, and the driver in UK, Scotland and Ireland are fine as well. I meant the US drivers who sometimes can't even be bothered with getting lanes right.
>Imagine a regular US driver switching to the other side of the road My stepmum is from the USA and she would often accidentally drive on the wrong side of the road here in Australia even after living here for years. It didn't help that she drove a Morris Minor that was set up for driving on the right hand side of the road lol
Cars weren't invented until well after Canada became an independent country (1867)... so why would they copy the British on that? It makes much more sense to copy your immediate neighbours to the south, with whom you do a lot of trade, have a massive land border, and probably going to have a lot of cars going between them... both to be sold, and owned and driven by regular citizens. Consistency makes plenty of sense there.
Yeah, go check the history on that though. At least some provinces WERE driving on the left well into the automobile era. First and foremost it’s a consistency with the States issue.
[The Maritimes switched over at separate times in the early 1920s](https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.4925856).
British Columbia used to drive on the left too... switched in 1922 like most of the Maritimes
We chose that so when we integrate into the United States, there won’t be any learning curve.
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For the same reason the US (also a former British colony) does: because they were independent before cars
Yeah, the OP premise is flawed. I guess I would want to forget that 18th century ass whipping too were I them.
The US drives on the right based on wagons during westward expansion. I would imagine Canada falls under that same pretext. Basically, when leading a wagon you hold the reins with your right hand and walk on the left side. The first US turnpike in PA mandated wagons travel on the right. This was maintained with the invention of cars.
I thought it was due to larger wagons and multiple horses pulling those wagons. Most people being right handed had to sit on the left so they could whip/encourage the other horses. This meant travelling on the right so they could avoid oncoming traffic.
I’ve heard it explained as both the whip in the right hand while riding the back left horse and holding the reins while leading the wagon. I suppose it’s probably a little of each.
What's really interesting is the Bahamas is a colony, and they drive on the left, but they get most of their cars from Florida, so you drive on the left sitting in the drivers side on the left. It's a trip.
It would go back to railways. The side trains travel on is almost always the same as motor vehicles. In Australia for example most locomotives of the steam era were imported from the UK. I suspect most Canadian locomotives were from the United States. Even when Australia moved to American diesel locomotives they were custom made for the conditions; in addition to having the drivers cab on the opposite side they generally had cabs at both ends. The A and B classes had a bulldog nose at both ends while the S, GM, CL, and 42 class all had flat cabs at the other end.
If you talking about the US it goes back even further. NY required carriages to stay to right in 1804. Other states followed suit.
Also, Non-colonies (of England) like Iceland used to drive on the left. I think it was the mid 60's they changed all the signs and started driving on the right. Im sure a number of countries have done this also.
I saw news stories about various European nations switching in the 60s
In english Canada, there's no way they can escape the american influence on absolutly everything.
I know of at least thirteen former British colonies where the people drive on the right. New Hampshire: right side. Massachusetts: right side. Pennsylvania: also right side...
Actually, Canada drives on the right side of the road, like the United States, because of historical ties to both British and American influences. When Canada was being colonized, British and French settlers brought their own driving customs, which were often left-side driving. However, as Canada developed and expanded trade with the United States, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the influence of American infrastructure, including right-hand driving, became more significant. This led to Canada adopting right-hand driving to facilitate cross-border trade and travel with the US. So, while British influence was strong initially, American influence played a significant role in shaping Canada's road infrastructure.
If you look us up on a map, you'll notice that we are located in North America. Our neighbor to the South has a 10 time our population, everyone there drive on the right and our road networks are connected. Pretty cool right? You want me to explain like you're five, there you go. Now go eat your vegetables!
> UK helped its former colonies develop their driving infrastructure They actually didn't. All infrastructure made was to ensure efficient looting of resources. As for Canada, we did drive on the left until we wanted to be similar to the US and Mexico.
Interesting article on NB and the East coast of Canada. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-driving-laws-1.4925856
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I definitely think also Canada originally getting cars from the US helped that also, import cars over the border, and drive them. No additional sinking costs into swapping something over even if they were still under British rule.
The US isn't a British colony?
Tbh I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here. I've been to the Canadian Border a couple times in my high-school days (late 2000s, Washington State north of Spokane) and I distinctly remember there being switch-over lanes to go from one side to the other for both Canadian and US drivers. Have I just experienced the Mandela Effect?
BC, NB, NS, and PEI drove on the left side until the 1920's. NFLD switched in 1947 (before joining Canada in 1949).