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Posts: 1,789 | Thanked: 1,699 times | Joined on Mar 2010
#2712
Originally Posted by pichlo View Post
As a right-handed person born and grown up in central Europe and living in the UK, thus having ample experience driving on both sides of the road, all I can say to the above argument is... bo11ocks.

You may just as easily argue for steering with your left hand and operating the gear stick, the radio and whatnot with your right. After all, then you would use your dominant hand for things that require more manual dexterity.

In other words, I agree with Dave. If your dominant hand influences your preference for a given side of the road, then you need a bit more time on the driving simulator before you are allowed on the public road.

Some people have preferences based on what they are used to and then they try to justify it with made up arguments. My favourite is why mixer taps are so rare in the UK. (For those who don't know, they have separate taps for hot and cold water. Even my grandfather, in a country behind the iron curtain allegedly 20 years behind, had mixer taps in his house.) People come up with the most exotic excuses, but no one admits that the real reason is, "because it's always been like that".

The same with driving on the left. Left or right, the choice is completely random. Before WWII, the proportion of European countries driving on left or right was about 50:50. But with opening the borders, it makes sense to unify on one side. The right side won - not because it was in any way better, but because the biggest countries (mainly Germany) happened to use it. Island nations who drive on the left do not have the impetus to switch, so they don't. Dominant hands have nothng to do with it.

I get where you're coming from but both you and Dave are wrong.
Just because driving in a particular fashion increases my chances of driving faster and safer, does not in any way mean I can't drive with another orientation.

Again, a product that caters to the majority is a product that will be better for the majority and less so for the minority. So if driving on the left-side of the road (or the steering wheel on the right) is slightly more advantageous for the majority of people... then it is just that.

And another point you made with the shifter. Sure you need some control over it, but you need much more precision when handling the steering wheel over the shifter. On top of this, the steering wheel needs to be interacted with all the time (save for redlight intermissions)... whereas a shifter is used when necessary. You wouldn't expect to even touch the shifter when you go on those long trips. And to seal the deal, manual cars are the niche. Automatic transmission was perfected a long time ago, and are able to be mass produced without expanding the cars price too much. Auto Trans is even quicker on the track.

If you're thinking about the radio controls, well the same argument stands: you are not interacting with it as much as the steering wheel and its importance is far less. In fact, you can even get those controls mounted on the steering wheel if you like. Or use voice controls instead. Seems like an overkill just to NOT use your lefty, but I'm just looking at all perspectives here.

So if you are entering a car, the most likely case is that you are the driver, you are right-handed, and the car is an automatic. In order to give you a slight advantage in driving, the steering wheel on the right-side is a great idea. And safety is tremendously improved in the case of a side-passenger take-over (and I've experienced one of these things).

So should the whole world change to this?
Nah, its fine. We've got bigger problems to face.

Would the world change to this?
Not in the least. As you put it, its always been that way so no-one is going to want to change for limited improvements.

PS sorry to hear about your taps, that sucks tremendously
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Originally Posted by mscion View Post
I vote that Kangal replace Elop!
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