Japan Drives on the Other Side
I do like my current life, living in Japan yet getting to visit the U.S. frequently to attend fun anime conventions and stock up on American peanut butter and tortillas. But flitting between the two countries means being at peace with driving on the opposite side of the road, thanks to Japan's long tradition of modeling its institutions on the U.K., including driving on the left. While it's really not that difficult to switch from one system to the other -- just go the same way the other cars are going, and always make sure your body is closer to the center of the road than your passenger at all times -- I do occasionally forget and start driving on the wrong side late at night when there are no other cars around, to the horror of whoever's riding with me. While the driving pedals are of course in the same locations no matter which side of the road you're on, the steering wheel controls for the "winker" (as a turn signal is called in Japan) and the windshield wiper are reversed, which means it's quite easy to go to make a turn and find your windshield wipers are suddenly moving. Also, I am generally unable to get into a car on the correct side to drive it on the first try, to the general amusement of my wife, who snickers as I pretend I had decided to take a stroll around my car for no reason.
Like the U.K. and Australia, the Japanese drive on the left, which can pose challenges for drivers.
posted by Peter in Japan at 4:09 PM
3 Comments:
Did I read somewhere that they drive on the right in Okinawa (opposite of what they do on honshuu)?
12:55 AM
They used to drive on the right after the war when it was a US territory. However, once it was handed back over to Japan they switched. When I was a kid in the late 80's I lived there and could still see the old road markings from before the switch. It was both strange and interesting.
1:24 AM
Sweden also used to drive on the left, but they also had mainly left-hand drive cars (as the rest of mainland Europe was left-hand drive) - so for safety they switched to driving on the right, overnight in the 60s.
Apparently driving on the left (in a right-hand drive car) is marginally safer than driving on the right (in a left-hand drive car) as most people are right-eye dominant, and so driving on the left makes them more aware of oncoming traffic on the right?
(Of course if you live in the UK and take your right-hand drive car to Europe - to drive on the right - it is even more confusing...)
9:44 PM
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