Even though the overwhelming majority of the world has chosen to put the
steering wheel on the left, it is still a hotly debated issue between the right and left-handers. American cars are among the majority of cars that put their steering wheels on the left side of the car. But why is this something that varies across the world? It seems like it would be easier for companies like
Honda or
Ford not to make different steering wheel configurations. Alas.
Gear Patrol notes that the history in these instances, like England, in particular, is a bit murkier. GP says that one of the earliest written records about the British driving position dates back to 1753 and pertains to traversing London Bridge. However, some suggest that the left-side road rules might even date back to the Middle Ages.
Even on the other side, right-handedness is the cause of it all. The idea is travelers who carried swords would have them sheathed on the left-hand side of their bodies to draw the blades with their right hands. Walking on the right-hand side of the road would mean those sheathed swords would slap against each other and could potentially cause some obvious problems.
Interestingly, by the time the colonies that would eventually become the United States were being settled by Europeans, the pre-Americans had pistols making the sword calculus less important giving way to the proper driving position we would one day come to adopt. As is the explanation for so many other things here, American cars have their steering wheels on the left because of guns and horses.
American cars are for once with the majority in that they sport a steering wheel on the left side of the car. But, why is it that way?
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