Since the majority of the countries in the world drive on the right side of the road, many people often want to know why countries like Thailand still drive on the left side. Well, there are some reasons suggested for this issue. So, in this article, we will shed more light on why Thai people drive on the left side of the road.
According to Travelgreatness.com, and other trusted sources, Thai people drive on the left side of the road because of British influence. Many historians have pointed out that the first car was gifted to the King of Thailand from Britain; hence, Thai people built on the culture of driving on the left side of traffic. Besides, it is believed that Thailand copied Britain when creating its roads; thus, making the country more suitable for left-hand driving.
However, it is noteworthy that Thailand is not the only country driving on the left side of the road. But there are still more things you need to know about driving on the left side of the road. Given this, everything will be explained in detail below.
Reasons why Thai people drive on the left side of the road
- The first car in Thailand was made to be driven on the left side of traffic
According to history, the first car that was driven in Thailand had been designed for the left side of the road. This car was gifted to the King of Thailand by the Royal Family of Britain in the 1900s. Of course, Britain was/is driving on the left side of the road; hence, it is not surprising that the car was meant to be driven on the left side of the traffic.
Going forward, the Royal family of Thailand and other wealthy people in the country started copying the King of Thailand by buying left-hand driving cars. Over time, this became the case in the whole country.
- The roads in Thailand were made for left-hand driving
It is important to know that left or right-hand driving depends heavily on the roads available in a country. If the roads have been constructed for left-hand driving, it will be quite difficult for anyone to drive on the right side of the road in such a country.
Basically, the first roads in Thailand were modeled based on the infrastructure that the Thai people learned from the United Kingdom. Hence, the roads were constructed to suit left-hand driving. As a consequence of this, Thailand has to continue driving on the left side of the road as doing otherwise will require the roads to be re-designed and re-constructed.
- Other influences of Britain
Based on the comments of different individuals on Quora, the influence of the United Kingdom on left-hand driving in Thailand went beyond the first car. At the inception of car usage in most countries, the driving system was tailored to suit their topmost trading partners. For instance, most former colonies of Britain such as Australia and New Zealand copied the driving system of the UK.
At the time, the United Kingdom was the major trading partner of Thailand. Therefore, Thailand adopted the driving model of Britain so that Thai people could be buying automobiles from Britain.
Another way through which left-hand driving was influenced by Britain is that many of the rulers and their family members were schooled in England. While schooling in the UK, these people started learning how to drive on the left side of the road. As they were already accustomed to driving on the left side of traffic, they brought the culture of the UK back to Thailand. Therefore, the people of Thailand adopted driving on the left side of the road.
So, you now understand the reason why the people of Thailand drive on the left side of the road. Therefore, whenever you are in the country, you should be ready to drive on this side.
Other countries also started by driving on the left side of the road
According to World Atlas, almost 75% of all countries on this planet drive on the right side of the road. This tells you that only Thailand and a handful of other countries such as the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Africa, Zimbabwe, etc. drive on the left side of traffic. However, one thing you might know is that it was not so from the inception.
In the past, the majority of soldiers were right-handed. Before using cars, these soldiers would ride horses on the left side of the road. This enabled them to be able to control the horses with their left hands while still holding swords with their right hands. When automobiles were first introduced, all countries in the world were driving on the left side of the road. This was to suit the earlier system of riding horses on the left side of traffic.
However, from the 1920s onward, many countries started dropping the idea of driving on the left side of the road. As stated by Wikipedia.org, some of the countries that changed from driving on the left side of the road to the right include:
- Canada
- The United States of America
- Austria
- South Korea
- Hungary
- Czechoslovakia
- Sweden
- Argentina
- Nigeria
- Ghana
- The Philippines
- Iceland
Over time, the majority of the countries in various continents on earth switched from driving on the left side of the road to the right. However, you should note that switching from one side to another often involves lots of logistics; hence, it is not something that a country can do without proper planning.
Conclusion
In the end, we can conclude that the people of Thailand are driving on the left side of the road because of the influence of the United Kingdom. Although Thailand was never colonized by the Brits (or other groups of people), the country had a great trading partnership with Britain in the past. As a result of this, Thailand adopted the mode of driving of the United Kingdom and has stuck with it ever since.
