Why do British cars have the steering wheel on the right?
When you open a world map and look at the position of driver's seats, you will discover a fascinating fact. About 70% of countries around the world—including ours—have the steering wheel on the left and drive on the right side of the road. However, the UK and approximately 30% of countries influenced by it position the steering wheel on the right and drive on the left. Why did this difference arise? The story begins with sword-wielding knights in medieval Britain. Because most knights were right-handed, they needed to draw their swords with their right hands immediately to defend themselves when encountering an enemy on the road. Naturally, a custom developed where people traveled on the left side of the path to keep potential adversaries on their right. As time passed into the era of horse-drawn carriages, coachmen also held their whips in their right hands. To prevent accidentally hitting passengers sitting next to them, they sat on the right side to drive the carriage. To accura...