In addition to Great Britain, Japan and South Africa also drive on the left.Image: www.imago-images.de
In Germany you have to drive on the right lane. In Great Britain, however, people drive on the other side. Why is that so?
Mar 15, 2026, 2:41 p.mMar 15, 2026, 2:41 p.m
Lucas Drebenstedt / t-online
In many countries, traffic facing right is the norm. It seems all the more strange when everything suddenly goes the other way around. A well-known example of this is Great Britain. In fact, left-hand traffic is also common in some other countries. The reason for this can be found in history. We explain what’s behind it.
Where does left-hand traffic come from in Great Britain?
Today, right-hand traffic seems normal, but in reality left-hand traffic has a much longer tradition. This is already several centuries old and was widespread in many countries for a long time – including Germany. The reason is said to be that the majority of people were right-handed. Aligning traffic to the left made so many things easier.
Imagine, for example, that you live in the Middle Ages and want to get on your horse. Your sword hangs on the left side, so you have to climb from the left. Since there is left-hand traffic, you can stay on this side of the road. This orientation also makes it easier for you to defend yourself with the sword while riding.
Driving on the left is also said to have been more practical for carriage drivers. Because they sat on the right, they had a better overview. The coachmen could not sit on the left side, otherwise they would probably have injured their customers while whipping the horses.
Why do people drive on the right in Germany?
Left-hand traffic has been retained in Great Britain, while it was later abolished in many other countries. This happened as a result of the French Revolution. Right-hand traffic was only made legal in France at this time. Napoleon then brought this convention to other countries in Europe when he conquered them.
However, as is well known, Napoleon did not make it to Great Britain. For this reason, legal traffic has not arrived in the island state.
Other countries with left-hand traffic
In addition to Great Britain, there are a few more countries in which left-hand rather than right-hand traffic is common practice. For example this:
- India
- Japan
- Indonesia
- Thailand
- Australia
- New Zealand
In Africa, left-hand traffic is also common in several countries. This includes:
- South Africa
- Namibia
- Botswana
- Kenya
- Tanzania