Duncan Bath wrote in USMA 18343: >With car ferries and, now, the Chunnel, it would seem to make good sense for >road signs, vehicle instrumentation, road maps etc. in the British Isles to >be harmonized with those on the continent. This would have safety and >economic benefits. Of course, on the safety front, there is that >[insurmountable?] issue of driving on the same side of the road. THAT is a >tough one!
Sweden used to keep left on the highways. In the 1950s if my memory is correct, the government asked the people in a referendum if they wished to change the rule of the road. The proposition was defeated. The government waited 10 years and then went ahead with the change without another referendum. All road traffic was haulted on the night of December 31. All directional signs such as in one-way streets and traffic circles were reversed during the night. A new fleet of buses with doors on the right side was ready to replace the old ones with doors on the left. On the morning of January 1 traffic resumed with a speed limit of 20 km/h (I believe). Each day the speed limit was raised by 10 km/h (I believe). The whole operation went on without a hitch. Joseph B.Reid 17 Glebe Road West Toronto M5P 1C8 TEL. 416-486-6071
