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"Dagen H" or H Day, was a day that would go down in the history of Sweden. Against popular opinion, "Hogertrafik Day" sent Swedish drivers from the left to the right side of all their roadways.
Given the fact that it had already lost in a national referendum, the huge amount of vehicle-work required, and the massive number of problems that the change caused, leading to many accidents/injuries/deaths, I'm not sure the Swedish Parliament did the right thing in approving the change. It was one of the early examples, in Europe, of governments putting Political Correctness ahead of the voter's will...or maybe even common sense.
Given the fact that it had already lost in a national referendum, the huge amount of vehicle-work required, and the massive number of problems that the change caused, leading to many accidents/injuries/deaths, I'm not sure the Swedish Parliament did the right thing in approving the change. It was one of the early examples, in Europe, of governments putting Political Correctness ahead of the voter's will...or maybe even common sense.
I must disagree. Political or not, it is extremely difficult, especially in the present day, with increasingly open borders, to be the ONLY country among a number of neighbouring countries (Western Europe and Continental Europe) that drives on the OTHER side of the road.
And as a member of the European Union, the borders between Sweden and other EU member nations are open; road traffic does not stop at national borders between EU member nations.
In the present day, to force drivers visiting from other European countries to suddenly switch sides of the road at the border would be a logistical nightmare. By switching, there was a one-time spike in traffic accidents; but by not switching, the number of traffic accidents would continue to be unbearably high and would have political consequences.
In the present day, to force drivers visiting from other European countries to suddenly switch sides of the road at the border would be a logistical nightmare. By switching, there was a one-time spike in traffic accidents; but by not switching, the number of traffic accidents would continue to be unbearably high and would have political consequences.
I respect your point of view, but Britain and Ireland, also accepting visitors from other countries, seem to get along just fine with right-hand drive....and, with the Cross-Channel-Tunnel, one can drive directly into the country from France.
I respect your point of view, but Britain and Ireland, also accepting visitors from other countries, seem to get along just fine with right-hand drive....and, with the Cross-Channel-Tunnel, one can drive directly into the country from France.
The UK and the Irish Republic are on islands, separated from Continental Europe by significant bodies of water (English Channel and North Sea) that are not easily bridged; its borders are true geographical boundaries and not merely lines drawn on a map. Due to this geographical boundary, there is no direct vehicular traffic crossing from its nearest European neighbours France, Belgium or Netherlands. No one can drive directly to Britain from Continental Europe; the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France contains no vehicular highway, and cars making the crossing travel in the Eurotunnel Shuttle, a train that carries cars.
Due to this controlled access, similar in concept to an overwater ferry service, vehicular traffic crossing from France to Britain is carefully controlled and scheduled, stopping at terminals at either end of the crossing. Due to this control, despite the lack of true customs controls between France and Britain, this is not an open border, and making the switch from driving on the right-hand side of the road in Britain to left-hand side of the road in France can be done under very well controlled conditions.
Crossing from France to Britain is not similar to crossing from Finland or Denmark to Sweden.
I have driven from Western Germany, through Netherlands, into Belgium and then reversing my route to return to Germany. The borders were open, with no immigration and customs checkpoints to stop you, and other than road signs that welcome into the new country, the only way to know that you had crossed one of these international borders was if you noticed the subtle differences in road and roadside conditions (the Germans were very disciplined in maintaining road signs and roadside vegetation, the Dutch slightly less so, and the Belgians hardly seemed to care about cutting the grass and growth on the side of the roads).
What you are suggesting, that it is possible for a Continental European country to drive on the opposite side of the road from its neighbours, just would not be possible. Imagine if the Dutch drove on the left-hand side of the road, while the Germans and Belgians drove (as they do) on the right-hand side of the road. To do so properly and safely would require elaborate signs and lane crossings, perhaps even flyovers to switch sides. Where I crossed Netherlands, it is a narrow neck of territory between Germany and Belgium. It would be prohibitively expensive to build elaborate traffic crossovers in that narrow neck, just to switch German traffic to the left side of the road and then back to the right side of the road crossing over into Belgium.
The UK and the Irish Republic are on islands, separated from Continental Europe by significant bodies of water (English Channel and North Sea) that are not easily bridged; its borders are true geographical boundaries and not merely lines drawn on a map. Due to this geographical boundary, there is no direct vehicular traffic crossing from its nearest European neighbours France, Belgium or Netherlands. No one can drive directly to Britain from Continental Europe; the Channel Tunnel between Britain and France contains no vehicular highway, and cars making the crossing travel in the Eurotunnel Shuttle, a train that carries cars.
Due to this controlled access, similar in concept to an overwater ferry service, vehicular traffic crossing from France to Britain is carefully controlled and scheduled, stopping at terminals at either end of the crossing. Due to this control, despite the lack of true customs controls between France and Britain, this is not an open border, and making the switch from driving on the right-hand side of the road in Britain to left-hand side of the road in France can be done under very well controlled conditions.
Crossing from France to Britain is not similar to crossing from Finland or Denmark to Sweden.
I was under the impression that there was indeed a motor highway under the Channel. If not, I'll stand corrected.
09-14-17, 12:35 PM
50 Years Ago, Sweden Switched Sides
