Why cars in the UK don't drive on the right side of the road goes way back to the 17th century

If you’ve ever driven in England, you may wonder why UK cars don’t stick to the right side of the road like they do in Europe, the US, and most other corners of the world.

Instead, British drivers cruise along the left, steering from the right-hand side of the vehicle: a setup that can feel completely backward to outsiders.

But this isn’t just a charming British quirk; it’s a practice rooted in centuries of history.

In fact, the reason dates all the way back to the 17th century and has a surprising connection to swordplay, horse-drawn wagons, and Napoleon Bonaparte.

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Napoleon popularized traveling on the right side of the road

Long before cars existed, people traveled on horseback.

In feudal England, most riders kept to the left side of the road, since it allowed them to keep their sword hand (most were right-handed) free to defend against oncoming attackers.

This habit became so entrenched that it was eventually made official for UK cars under British law in 1835.

Meanwhile, across the Channel, a different kind of logic was taking shape, influenced not by duels, but by cargo-hauling and empire-building.

In 18th-century France and parts of the early United States, large teams of horses pulled wagons, and drivers rode on the rear-left horse so they could control the rest of the team with their dominant right hand.

To have the best view of the road and oncoming traffic, they kept to the right.

France made this practice law during the French Revolution in 1794.

When Napoleon rose to power shortly afterward, he spread this right-side system across much of Europe during his military campaigns.

While countries like Germany, Italy and Poland adopted the right-side system, the UK, which famously resisted Napoleon, stuck with its left-hand drive tradition.

UK cars not the only ones to adopt left-hand drive

Many ex-British colonies, like Australia, New Zealand, India and Singapore still follow British-style road rules today.

Australia, New Zealand, India, and much of southern Africa still follows British-style road rules today.

Luckily, car manufacturers continue to produce cars that are suitable for left-hand drive, with Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (FSD) even able to pass Australia’s weirdest driving test.

Japan also adopted left-hand drive, though its reasons are based more on historic domestic preferences than colonial influence.

By the 1960s, most of Europe were driving on the right side of the road, with Sweden making the switch as late as 1967.

But the UK never changed, relying instead on ferries and the Channel Tunnel to handle cross-border travel without the need to switch sides mid-journey.

In fact, many people from the UK remain really confused whenever they have to drive on the right side of the road.

While driving on the left may seem strange to outsiders, it’s a legacy of history, tradition, and resistance.

In any case, if you ever want to drive in the UK, you should probably expect a lot of rules that are different from the US.

Don’t be like this American driver who tried to take the UK driving test with no lessons, because it probably won’t end well for you.

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