Talk:Left- and right-hand traffic

Left-hand traffic in the British occupation zone in Allied-occupied Germany?

Topic moved to here from Talk:Allied-occupied Germany#Left-hand traffic in the British occupation zone?

I wonder why left-hand traffic wasn't introduced in northern and central West-Germany, despite the British occupation of those parts (and the fact that Britain uses left-hand traffic). If British-occupied Germany had introduced left-hand traffic, just like present-day Tanzania/Kenya after WW1, it would most likely not have been any plans for Sweden (then with left-hand traffic) to switch to right-hand traffic (which Sweden now did in early September 1967).

If British-occupied Germany would have left-hand traffic, just as Britain, it might have been connected to the U.K. (without any switch between the right- and left-hand side) via a left-hand traffic motorway through Belgium (and on a bridge across the English Channel). 212.100.101.104 (talk) 20:36, 9 June 2023 (UTC)

Perhaps the British occupation was only temporary and not any annexation, and despite occupation by a country with left-hand traffic, West Germany maybe preferred to keep right-hand traffic as all the rest of Mainland Europe (except Sweden before 3 September 1967) used right-hand traffic (as well as mostly cars with the driver's seat on the left side), and the other occupation power(s), mainly the U.S., preferred to drive on the right, and the British occupation zone then drove on the right as well, in order to allow traffic across the occupation zone border without switch between the right- and left-hand side.

However, Austria, or perhaps half of the country, used left-hand traffic before the Nazi German annexation, and did not switch back to left-hand traffic after its independence from Germany in the end of WW2. I guess the reason was that the occupation powers, mostly France and the U.S., preferred to drive on the right, and that all the rest of Mainland Europe drove on the right; this was the reason that Hungary switched to right-hand traffic in 1941. 90.231.234.93 (talk) 20:44, 29 June 2023 (UTC)

China

Macau is listed as British colony and that's incorrect, Macau was under Portuguese power, not British 2001:8A0:BA8C:7E00:ECC3:5524:1412:8042 (talk) 21:26, 11 June 2023 (UTC)

I cannot see where Macau is described as a British colony. Can you be more specific please? HiLo48 (talk) 01:41, 12 June 2023 (UTC)

I wonder: Exactly which areas in China used left-hand traffic, before 1946? It seems that at least the International Concession of Shanghai and Japanese-occupied northeast China (eventually including the current capital Beijing) used left-hand traffic in the 1930s. Some sources say that even Kunming (or whole of the Yunnan province) and Guangzhou (a.k.a. "Kanton") used left-hand traffic - before the year after the World War II end, when Jiang Jieshi (internationally known as Chiang Kai-shek) ruled that the whole China, including Taiwan (which used left-hand traffic during Japanese colonization 1895–1945), shall use right-hand traffic, just as in America. However, Hong Kong and Macau have so far never switched to right-hand traffic, despite being returned to China from the U.K./Portugal. 212.100.101.104 (talk) 22:58, 21 June 2023 (UTC)

Brazil and right-hand vehicles

Brazil, as a right-hand traffic country, does not allow registration of RHD vehicles as a rule. But it has one exception: if a RHD vehicle over 30 years is imported, its registration will be allowed under the collection category, as it will happen if the vehicle is LHD, as Brazil allows registration of imported cars only if new or over 30 years.

Resolution Contran (National Traffic Council) number, 528/2015, in Portuguese: https://www.gov.br/transportes/pt-br/assuntos/transito/conteudo-contran/resolucoes/resolucao5282015.pdf

Fasouzafreitas (talk) 18:22, 26 August 2023 (UTC)

Ban on Right Hand Drive vehicles in Turkey

https://www.mevzuat.gov.tr/mevzuat?MevzuatNo=8182&MevzuatTur=7&MevzuatTertip=5

Traffic Regulations, Main section 4, Subsection 1, Article 30, Paragaraph "J" states that; Vehicles with RHD may not be registered for traffic. Except vehicles that are "temporarily imported" (eg. diplomatic), or special use vehicles.

"... geçici ithal ... iş amacına göre ... hariç ... , direksiyonu sağda olan araçların tescili yapılmaz."

Please someone update the list. 92.192.190.201 (talk) 12:03, 9 October 2023 (UTC)

Switch to right-hand traffic in Pakistan

It has been some proposal that Pakistan, formerly part of British India, should end British-style left-hand traffic and switch to right-hand traffic. Is it really possible for a populous country like Pakistan to switch from left-hand to right-hand traffic?

The reasons for the proposal to switch to right-hand traffic in Pakistan are that cars built for left-hand traffic, with the driver's seat to the right, which are imported to Pakistan mainly from Japan, have become more expensive to import, in comparison to much cheaper China-made cars, which mainly have the driver's seat to the left, and thus are built for right-hand traffic. To allow import of cheaper China-made cars (which mainly have the driver's seat to the left), rather than expensive cars from Japan (with the driver's seat to the right), it is necessary for Pakistan to end driving on the left and switch to right-hand traffic. 212.100.101.104 (talk) 19:26, 9 November 2023 (UTC)