Cultural Exchange

Why do Americans drive on the right side of the road when the British drive on the left?

As with most things, the answer to that question dates back to history.

In the Middle Ages, travelers would stay on the left of the road for protection. They wanted to keep their swords to the center of the road to face danger immediately.

Because most people are right-handed, their swords were on their right hip, so they walked on the left side of the road.

Later on, the British continued this tradition with wagon driving. Drivers had to sit on the right side of the wagon in order to keep the driving whip free from entanglement.

As for the United States - and France - road usage was determined by farm equipment.

These countries used big farm wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. There was no seat in the wagon, so the driver sat on the left front horse to steer the wagon.

In order to see how close they were to oncoming traffic, they drove on the right side of the road.

Most other countries have developed their left or right side laws based on these three countries.

This information was compiled from the Web site, Which side of the road to drive on?

Countries that drive on the left

Countries that drive on the right

Anguilla, Antigua, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Barbuda, Bermuda, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Macau, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Pakistan, Papau New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somaliland, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Kingdom, Virgin Islands (Britain), Virgin Islands (USA), Zambia, Zimbabwe

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, American Samoa, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego Garcia), Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, People’s Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands (Denmark), Finland, France, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Greenland, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Herzegovina, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Democratic People’s Republic of (North) Korea, Republic of (South) Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritania, Mayotte, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Midway Islands, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Norway, Oman, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome e Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sudan, Svalbard, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Wake Island, Wallis and Futuna Islands, West Bank, Western Sahara, Yemen

The United States remains the last industrialized country that hasn’t officially converted to the metric system.

Why hasn’t the U.S. converted to the metric system?

In short answer: laziness.

The U.S. has been attempting to implement the metric system since 1866, when congress first authorized its use.

In 1875, 17 countries, the U.S. included, created the Treaty of the Meter: a document, five years in the making, that provided a worldwide standard for measurement, based on the French metric system.

The U.S. adopted the metric standards in 1893 as the fundamentals of measurement, defining our customary measurements by the meter and kilogram.

Yet, 114 years later, this country as a whole still uses feet and inches predominantly.

While many believe conversion is in the best interest of the country, particularly in regard to foreign commerce, the government quit pushing conversion in 1982 because conversion efforts were deemed ineffective and to minimize costs.

Congress recognized the need to compete with other countries in the world market, and created the Omnibus Trade and Competitiveness Act of 1988. The legislation declares the metric system as the preferred system of measure for trade and commerce.

This legislation also required the federal government’s conversion, but not the nation’s conversion.

The information contained in this post was compiled from the National Institute of Standards and Technology .

Have you ever wondered what the role of a geisha is? Or, why Jews must fast on Yom Kippur? Or, why Southeastern Asians often avoid eye contact?

Understanding our cultural differences, and the reasons behind them, will help us avoid biases and be openminded.

If there is a custom you would like to understand and don’t see a page dedicated to it here, send your question to the site administrator at amanda.r.wilson@okstate.edu . We’ll do our best to find your answers and post them on our Web site. Thank you for seeking enlightenment!

The word geisha means “artist.” Geishas are professional entertainers. They study for years to become proficient at traditional Japanese skills including ancient dance, singing, playing instruments, wearing kimonos, tea ceremonies, serving alcohol and conversation. Geishas spend their lives perfecting their skills. And, they get to wear the most beautiful and intricate kimonos you’ll ever see.