Tech & Auto
Here’s Why Americans Actually Drive On The Right Side Of The Road
By ELI SHAYOTOVICH
The European left-side-of-the-road driving model traces its origins to the Romans, as their method of driving chariots required passing on the right side to avoid collisions.
However, according to historian Albert C. Rose's research, people began traveling on the right side of the road during the early American Colonial Period that began in 1607.
Most people during that dangerous period traveled with handguns nestled in the hollows of their left arm, which allowed them to react quicker if attacked by highwaymen.
Rose also noted the idea that many of the colonists held a "smoldering opposition" to the customs of the Old World, which drove them to establish their own.
In 1750, a heavy-duty covered wagon appeared in the Conestoga River area of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. It was nicknamed the "inland ship of commerce" and "prairie schooner."
Due to the wagon’s layout, the driver typically led horses with the reins in their left hand while using their right to work the animals or operate the brake lever.
Drivers kept these big rigs on the right side of thoroughfares because it gave them a better view of the clearance between wagons as they passed each other.
The first "official" American rules of the road came in 1792 when Pennsylvania enacted legislation to build a turnpike. It ruled travel would occur on the right side of the road.
New York became the first state to make right-side travel an actual law on all its public highways in 1804. By the time the Civil War started, every state had codified it.