What side of the road did the Romans drive on?
left
Archaeological evidence suggests that the ancient Romans may have driven their carts and chariots on the left, and the practice seems to have carried over into parts of medieval Europe.
Who determined Romans drove on the left?
This keep-left rule was so common that, in 1300 AD, Pope Boniface VIII decreed that all pilgrims headed to Rome from wherever they were coming from should abide by the keep-left rule of the road along their journey. This then held across most of the Western World until the late 1700s.
Who started driving on the right side of the road?
In Italy the practice of driving on the right first began in the late 1890s. The first Italian Highway Code, issued on 30 June 1912, stated that all vehicles had to drive on the right.
How did Romans decide which side of the road to drive on?
In ancient Rome, Romans would drive their chariots with their more dominant hand (right) so the whip in their less dominant hand (usually the left hand) would not whip the other horses passing by. Throughout most of history, before the car, people travelled along the left side of the road.
Where did ancient Romans marched to the left or right?
Ancient Greek, Egyptian, and Roman troops kept to the left when marching. In 1998, archaeologists found a well-preserved double track leading to a Roman quarry near Swindon, in southern England. The grooves in the road were much deeper on the left side when facing away from the quarry than those on the right side.
How are countries decided which side of the road to drive on?
Japan, thanks to its railway creation with aid from the British had their trams built on the left hand side, which heavily influenced their driving laws to drive on the left hand side of the road. Click here to see a map of which countries drive on the left, and which drive on the right.
Where do people drive from left to right?
These include India, Indonesia, Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, Japan, New Zealand, Australia and most recently, Samoa in 2009. Most of these countries are islands but where land borders require a change from left to right, this is usually accomplished using traffic lights, cross-over bridges, one-way systems or similar.