Talk:Left- and right-hand traffic

_Which_ LHT country uses "RHD vehicles imported from Japan"??
This sentence is in the first paragraph under Asia. "Most cars are used RHD vehicles imported from Japan." There's no way to tell which country or countries this is referring to. WikiAlto (talk) 09:48, 9 December 2023 (UTC)


 * I'm sure the sentence "Most cars are used RHD vehicles imported from Japan." is referring to the countries India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar (formerly British India), as the sentence is written directly after the sentence about British India. Something strange is that despite RHD vehicles in Myanmar, the militar junta ruled in 1970 that Myanmar shall use right-hand traffic. I wonder if it will be possible to switch back to left-hand traffic in Myanmar, where right-hand drive cars are dominating, once the Myanmar civil war has reached an end, if it ever will end. Or, if Myanmar shall keep right-hand traffic, the country would have to abolish all vehicles with the driver's seat on the right side (in the driving direction) and import only left-hand drive cars, which may be imported from China. It has been suggested that Pakistan should switch to right-hand traffic, in order to allow import of Chinese cars, which are mostly left-hand drive, and which are cheaper than right-hand drive cars (built for left-hand traffic) which are imported mainly from Japan. 212.100.101.104 (talk) 22:20, 19 March 2024 (UTC)

Mail delivery: LHD cars in LHT countries, RHD cars in RHT?
Do postal services in various countries consistently use LHD platform vehicles in LHT countries for local delivery, and the other way where traffic moves on the right? Access to curb boxes and wanting to avoid stepping into traffic would seem to be a fairly universal workflow and safety interest. - knoodelhed (talk) 00:02, 20 March 2024 (UTC)
 * In Australia, where we drive on the left, the postal service uses standard RHD vans on the roads, but domestic deliveries today are mostly done using these electric trikes. HiLo48 (talk) 03:39, 20 March 2024 (UTC)
 * In Canada and the United States of America, postal service vehicles, parking enforcement cars and garbage trucks are mostly right-hand drive, in order to give the driver direct access to the curbside (and the mailboxes); it is possible to reach mailboxes even with a left-hand drive car, but then the driver has to drive on the wrong side of the road.
 * In Sweden, where I live, postal service mostly uses right-hand drive cars, just as in the USA, in order to give the driver access to the mailboxes on the curbside (to the right in the driving direction). If Sweden would have left-hand traffic, just as the U.K. and Ireland, postal service would most likely have used left-hand drive cars; something notable is that left-hand drive cars were dominating in Sweden even before Högertrafikomläggningen ("the Right-hand traffic switch") on 3 September 1967, when Sweden used left-hand traffic, as opposed to Britain and Ireland where right-hand drive cars are dominating in order to give the driver clear sight over the side for oncoming traffic, and cars with the driver's seat on the curbside rather than the side towards oncoming traffic in Sweden (during the time with left-hand traffic) was a problem, as it tended to cause head-on collisions at attempts to overtake, due to the place of the driver's seat on the curbside, rather than the side towards oncoming traffic which would give the driver more clear sight over the oncoming traffic. 212.100.101.104 (talk) 08:39, 20 March 2024 (UTC)
 * In the UK (which is LHD), postal service uses standard RHD vehicles (as in Australia). However, street-cleansing vehicles (those which clear gulleys) are often LHD, to give the driver a good view of the curb. Mike Marchmont (talk) 08:08, 24 April 2024 (UTC)

Inland waterways as a reason for RHT?
I once read in a book whose title I cannot remember that France due to – according to the book at least – having more inland boat traffic than Britain was used more to RHT, which the book then further argues was spread by Napoleon....

Now even if this is a myth – and I think the sheer amount of canals in England makes one inclined to think so – if we could get good sources, this might be worth mentioning.... 2001:A62:14D6:3902:B940:E02D:3ABE:E39A (talk) 02:03, 4 April 2024 (UTC)

The registration table is misleading
Whether cars can be registered with the steering wheel on the wrong side is not just a yes/no question. For example, in Australia, it depends on age. Specifically, Victoria requires "vehicles less than 30 years old to be right-hand drive in order to be eligible for full registration." I'm not sure what the best way is to set this out, but the current value of "yes" is misleading at best. Kremmen (talk) 04:55, 5 May 2024 (UTC)
 * Well, the obvious solution would be to add an explanatory footnote to the relevant entry. But, while you could easily do that yourself for Australia, Kremmen, it would be a daunting task to do it throughout the table. Still, it would be worth making a start. Mike Marchmont (talk) 07:47, 5 May 2024 (UTC)