I read one article which suggested that driving on he left was safer in the Northern Hemisphere and on the right in the Southern Hemisphere as this counter-acted the Coriolis force and hence the risk of whirlwinds.
From: USMA [mailto:usma-boun...@colostate.edu] On Behalf Of Peter Goodyear Sent: 11 July 2016 22:50 To: Mark Henschel; John Dunlop; U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA 218] Re: From Queen Elizabeth In Australia we also drive on the wrong side of the road in cars with manual gearboxes and negotiate roundabouts clockwise in speeds measured in kilometres per hour. It’s a miracle we’re not all dead from traffic accidents. It’s going to be a cold 10ºC today in Melbourne Best wishes, Peter Goodyear On 12 Jul 2016, at 07:39, Mark Henschel <mwhensch...@gmail.com> wrote: Interesting thing about the British and their roundabouts, and driving on the left side of the road. I was in a car being driven around England a few years back. The driver sits on the right, but the gear shift is in the left, in the middle of the car. So since they travel on the opposite side of the road, their roundabouts turn clockwise, not counter clockwise as ours do. So here we are with the driver on the right, her left hand on the gear shift, right hand on the steering wheel, left foot on the clutch and right foot on the accelerator, and attempting to go counterclockwise into a roundabout. All the time looking right and turning left. At least in the USA we can use our best hand for most of us (right handers) on the gear shift and just hold the steering wheel with the left hand, look left and turn right, but I imagine it is a challenge to constantly use your left hand to shift gears if you are right handed. Few European cars have automatic transmissions. Even when I rented cars in Germany, they were usually stick shift but diesel engines. Hmmm. wonder if I got one of the cars VW cheated on the emissions with? Mark On Mon, Jul 11, 2016 at 4:15 PM, John Dunlop <jrdun...@igc.org> wrote: I just received a note from Queen Elizabeth. She has declared that we are flubbing democracy, and therefore, effectively immediately, our independence is revoked. Among the changes she will implement in the country formerly known as the USA: 6. All intersections will be replaced with roundabouts, and you will start driving on the left side with immediate effect. At the same time, you will go metric with immediate effect and without the benefit of conversion tables. Both roundabouts and metrication will help you understand the British sense of humour. John John Dunlop jrdun...@igc.org personal email 612-374-2181 home phone _______________________________________________ USMA mailing list USMA@colostate.edu https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma _______________________________________________ USMA mailing list USMA@colostate.edu https://lists.colostate.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/usma
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