Left Hand drive for Australia?

[Terror_Tree]

Just a thought, now we don't make our own, how many more vehicles would we have access to if we were able to drive LHD on Australian rods? Yes I know that there would be safety issues.

My Father told me that during WW2 there was a proposal to make Australians drive on the left as there were so many US military vehicles on our roads. Would have been a good time to change, as there weren't a lot of cars on the road then.

Could it be a possibility for the future? Interested to hear peoples thoughts.

[wackyv8]

its not a new concept . Sweden did it on 3 September 1967, look up Högertrafikomläggningen

Iceland also did the switch the following year, in 1968.

[Dr Terry]

Originally Posted by wackyv8

its not a new concept . Sweden did it on 3 September 1967, look up Högertrafikomläggningen

Iceland also did the switch the following year, in 1968.

It would've been relatively easy to convert 50+ years ago, as they did, but our population has more than doubled since then & our car fleet gone up more than 4 fold.

Could you imagine the chaos today with our freeway on & off ramps etc. These didn't exist in the 1960s.

Dr Terry

[aussiblue]

This topic has been done to death a number of time here e.g. https://fordforums.com.au/showthread.php?t=11430369

[Citroënbender]

I’m not 100% certain but think the question was about the side of control for vehicles, not whether we should change which side of the road they’re piloted on.

[Trevor 57]

plenty of countries are still left hand

[CyberWasp]

All of the LHD countries should be converting to RHD.
The precedent was set over 2000 years ago.
In ancient Greece and Rome their wagons drove on the RHD side of the road in towns and cities.

[Fordman1]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

All of the LHD countries should be converting to RHD.
The precedent was set over 2000 years ago.
In ancient Greece and Rome their wagons drove on the RHD side of the road in towns and cities.

So you mean the left hand side ?

[Ben73]

It would be nice if we drove on the right, but it will never happen. Imagine trying to reverse Sydney's ****fight of a road system. Sydney looks like someone dropped a bowl of spaghetti of teh floor then thought that was a good design for a road network.

I don't know why we can't drive LHD cars until they are 30 years old. Some how it's not safe in a new 5 star ANCAP car but it's safe in a 30 year old car where your knees are the crumple zone? Makes 100% sense.

Originally Posted by Fordman1

So you mean the left hand side ?

He is correct. I believe driving on the left of the road was the original side back when single horses were the norm. Most people are right handed and they liked oncoming strangers to their right so they could defend themselves with their dominate hand.

When people started connecting multiple horse to a carriage they started to drive on the right since most people would sit on the rear left horse so they could whip both horses with their right hand. Or so I've heard.

[Adamz Ghia]

People struggle enough with what we have now, let’s not confuse them anymore...

[CyberWasp]

Originally Posted by Fordman1

So you mean the left hand side ?

Yes..... well I knew what I meant.....

[Ben73]

Originally Posted by Adamz Ghia

People struggle enough with what we have now, let’s not confuse them anymore...

People who's brains are flat out while they drive their automatic small hatch on a nice sunny day in low traffic on flat road won't be the sort of people who choose LHD cars, so we will be all good.

[bathurst-racer]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

All of the LHD countries should be converting to RHD.
The precedent was set over 2000 years ago.
In ancient Greece and Rome their wagons drove on the RHD side of the road in towns and cities.

What did the Romans ever do for us ?

[GasoLane]

Originally Posted by bathurst-racer

What did the Romans ever do for us ?

Pizza !

[Citroënbender]

Sophia Loren?

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by wackyv8

its not a new concept . Sweden did it on 3 September 1967, look up Högertrafikomläggningen

Iceland also did the switch the following year, in 1968.

Most recent country to switch is one of the Pacific islands, Samoa perhaps??

They just chose a certain time of the day, rang a bell and people just swapped sides.

[kmav23]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Most recent country to switch is one of the Pacific islands, Samoa perhaps??

They just chose a certain time of the day, rang a bell and people just swapped sides.

same thing happened to Caitlyn Jenner

[outback_ute]

Terror Tree, I think your father was spot on about the opportunity to change however Australia was still too closely tied to the UK for it to happen and I don't think the future LHD dominance would have been apparent then.

[Blue Roo]

Originally Posted by bathurst-racer

What did the Romans ever do for us ?

The Birth of Politics and the Senate.
Hang on a tick! Politics doesn't work in Australia!

[Nikked]

No.

Go for a drive, check out the infrastructure that needs to change...

[94_ef]

If you know there would be safety issues (like trying to see to overtake) then why bother asking the question when you already know the answer?

[uniacidz]

Lol no way will ever happen ever ever


Sent from Samsung S7 Edge [Oreo]

[au2000]

For Sale
Going cheap, XY GTHO phase 3
Positives : real head turner, 1 owner former racer at some mountain in NSW
Negatives : fossil fuel RHD

[EFFalcon]

No Hand Drive will come first

[Burnout]

Originally Posted by Blue Roo

The Birth of Politics and the Senate.
Hang on a tick! Politics doesn't work in Australia!

That was the Greeks - Romans stole the idea.

[jpd80]

Originally Posted by Ben73

It would be nice if we drove on the right, but it will never happen. Imagine trying to reverse Sydney's ****fight of a road system. Sydney looks like someone dropped a bowl of spaghetti of teh floor then thought that was a good design for a road network.

Sydney City's biggest problem is its use of bi-directional roads, switching to
one way roads that alternate across blocks would go a long way to easing
that congestion.

I don't know why we can't drive LHD cars until they are 30 years old. Some how it's not safe in a new 5 star ANCAP car but it's safe in a 30 year old car where your knees are the crumple zone? Makes 100% sense.

While there is the argumet that it's dangerous, I suspect the realreason is to protect
local car sales from a flood of grey imports that basically offer people much cheaper vehicles.

He is correct. I believe driving on the left of the road was the original side back when single horses were the norm. Most people are right handed and they liked oncoming strangers to their right so they could defend themselves with their dominate hand.

When people started connecting multiple horse to a carriage they started to drive on the right since most people would sit on the rear left horse so they could whip both horses with their right hand. Or so I've heard.

But then you have the argument that most people have a dominant right eye, which makes a driver seated on the right side of the vehicle slightly safer but it's really a minor technical statistic.

The reason we won't be switching is because the Asian manufacturer are right on our doorstep and only too happy to keep feeding us affordable RHD product.

AREAS IN BLUE ARE RIGHT HAND DRIVE (DRIVE ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE ROAD)


Ford's CEO, Jim Hackett has affirmed Ford's continuing presence in Europe
but is that mostly Left hand Drive Europe with concession for the RHD British
or do they now just get what they're given?

Lately, it seems like Ford's vehicles are a mix of boring diesels and 3 cyl Ecoboosts that suck all the joy out of buying a Ford. Time for me to get back in the shed and finish rebuilding that 5.0 liter for the EB Fairmont..

[Citroënbender]

I don’t know the chapter and verse of regs, but for a long time the use, re-sale and registration of newish LHD vehicles in the UK has been permitted.

EG: http://www.londonlhdcentre.com/lhd-cars-for-sale

[CyberWasp]

Why is Antarctica LHD?

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

Why is Antarctica LHD?

At a guess, Because most (if not All) of the over snow/Ice vehicles used down there are from Seppo land.....BISTBC

[Crazy Dazz]

Originally Posted by Terror_Tree

My Father told me that during WW2 there was a proposal to make Australians drive on the left as there were so many US military vehicles on our roads.

I highly doubt there was ever such a proposal, just as doubt there were ever that many US military vehicles, other than as a staging ground for the Pacific reconquest.

Originally Posted by Terror_Tree

Just a thought, now we don't make our own, how many more vehicles would we have access to if we were able to drive LHD on Australian rods?

I think you are confusing several different issues.
There are plenty of RHD models that we don't get, and that's all down to the size of our market, and the costs involved in complying, marketing, and supporting a model. Even within models of the same specs, we often miss out on certain trim-levels, because its just too expensive to market & support them all for such a thin market.
Unfortunately, the world has passed us by. The days of Australia being an important market for anyone are long gone.

The Majority of European cars are also made in RHD for the UK market, yet we don't see a lot of them.
Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, and India are also RHD, so again there are plenty of RHD cars made in Asia.

Originally Posted by Terror_Tree

Could it be a possibility for the future

Not 100% sure what you're referring to, but the biggest issue is "Grey Imports", which IIRC the government recently tightened the laws even further.