Right or Left? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Left

Driving on the left can be traced back to the Middle Ages, when swordsmen on horseback - mostly right-handed - would want the ability to engage others approaching them on roadways. Much later (in the 1700s), a law was passed in London requiring traffic on London Bridge to stay to the left to avoid collisions. This would eventually be codified in the Highway Act of 1835, and was adopted across the British Empire.

The first 'horseless carriages' were brought to Jamaica in the late 1890s, and it did not take too long for more to appear. Jamaica came under the control of the English in 1655 after capturing the island from the Spanish. It wasn't until 1962 that Jamaica gained independence, becoming a constitutional monarchy and remaining part of the British Commonwealth.

With this British heritage, it was British landowners and businessmen who brought the first motorcars over from England, and as the roadways were being developed in England with driving on the left-hand side of the road, Jamaica followed suit.

Answer: Left

Located about 180 km southeast of Sicily, the island country of Malta has been inhabited a looong time (since around 5900 BCE). For a long time, the islands were fought over as a strategic location in the central Mediterranean, with the British gaining control of the island nation in 1813.

The very first registered automobile in Malta was a 1904 Siddeley, built by the British company of the same name. But most motor vehicles started coming to Malta during the First World War. As with most (if not all) British colonies, Malta developed a left-hand driving traffic system. It continued as such, even after gaining independence in 1964, and after it became a republic in in 1974.

According to Wikipedia, Malta, which has an area of just 316 km2, has 3,096 km of roadway, with about 90% of that paved.

Answer: Left

With the advent of motor cars, the government of New Zealand passed the McLean Motor Car Act of 1898, legalizing the use of motor cars. That same year, the first two cars were imported (Both by the same man, after whom the Act was named - William McLean).

Originally part of Australia's New South Wales (in 1788), New Zealand became a separate British Colony in 1840, which lasted until 1946, at which point it became a constitutional monarchy within the British Commonwealth.

Answer: Left

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has a very long history, but for the purposes of this quiz, I will just go back as far as the British Empire's occupation of India, which was completed by 1893. The Pakistan of today was part of the British Indian Empire until partition (and independence) in 1947. Pakistan was formed on August 14th, while India formally gained their independence a day later. On a related note, Bangladesh seceded from Pakistan in 1971.

As with the previous entries in this quiz, the influence of British rule when automobiles were introduced to the region resulted in roadways designed for driving on the left.

Answer: Left

In 1886, the British Empire and Germany came to an agreement on their claims to land in East Africa, and the British 'acquired' the region that included Kenya and Uganda. The Imperial British East Africa Company was established to oversee their interests in the region, which lasted until 1893, when Uganda became a British protectorate. Eventually, Uganda achieved self-government in 1961, independence in 1962, and became a republic in 1963.

But they kept the established practice of driving on the left side of the road left behind by the British. Sir Henry Hesketh Bell was Commissioner and Governor of the Uganda Protectorate from 1905 until 1908, and during his term, he imported the first car to Uganda - a 1906 Albion.

Answer: Right

In 1863, Cambodia became a French protectorate, and later was part of French Indochina. Nearly a century later in 1953, independence was achieved and the First Kingdom of Cambodia came into existence.

Historically, the French established traffic on the right side of the road because of class differences. Poor people were expected to stay to the right of the aristocracy when encountered. Later, a left-handed Napoleon decreed that all of the lands he conquered must stay to the right. And, as with the British, the French also projected their patterns to their colonial holdings.

Answer: Right

Nearly all of the mainland countries in North, Central and South America drive on the right hand side of the road, with only two exceptions - Suriname and Guyana.

Most of the Central and South America countries were colonized by the Spanish (and Portuguese), whose road use policies would have been established with Napoleonic conquest. Even Belize (once called British Honduras) eventually followed suit to align with its neighbours (in 1961).

Answer: Right

There are only four countries in Europe that drive on the left side of the road. They are the UK (with all members), the Republic of Ireland, Malta and Cyprus. All of mainland Europe drives on the right, including the Principality of Liechtenstein.

Answer: Right

In the Republic of the Philippines, driving on the right is traced back to the United States. While the Philippines were a Spanish colony for over 300 years (1565-1898), the country was ceded to the Americans at the conclusion of the Spanish-American War with the 1898 Treaty of Paris. The Philippines gained their independence in 1946, but during that nearly 50-year period, motor cars came into use.

As the history of road use explains, the British carried their ideas of passing on the left with them to the Americas, but the vast open spaces of the New World brought a new practice. In the late 1700s, teamsters in France and the US began hauling products in big wagons using teams of horses. Originally without a driver's seat in the wagons, the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. And since he was sitting on the left side, he would keep to the right to have a clear line of sight on the left.

In post-revolutionary America, the desire to throw off all things British, combined with the French influence, caused a shift in driving on the right, and the first law requiring drivers to keep right was passed in Pennsylvania in 1792. It went from there to spread across America, including (eventually) Canada.

Thus, the American influence propelled the Philippines to also drive on the right.

Answer: Right

As has been established, colonialism largely drove road-use patterns around the world (pun intended). This is also reflected in Africa, as the continent is basically divided between left-hand driving former British colonies, and the rest (with a couple of outliers).

Tunisia was a French protectorate from 1881 until independence in 1956, and still maintains close political ties with the European country. Part of that connection includes driving on the right.