Left is Right

The rule of the road is a paradox quite,
For if you keep to the left, you're sure to be right.

Wow, driving on the left side of the road is a completely new - and nervewracking - experience! After driving on the right side of the road since we were 14 and 16 respectively, it is pretty strange.

Around the world, there are 76 countries where drivers hug the left side of the road - most who have an historical connection to Great Britain (exceptions are Japan, Canada and the United States) - including the United Kingdom, Ireland, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, Malta, Cyrus, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa, Thailand, Indonesia, Bhutan, Nepal, East Timor, Japan . . . and Guyana, Suriname, Barbados and Trinidad/Tobago in the West Indies Mission!

The idea to travel on the left side of the road stemmed from the need for either friendly handshakes - or self-defense - when knights and warriors met on rural roads. Most used their right hand for fencing so when horse-mounted, traveling on the left side of the road was the only way to draw and be able to use a sword swiftly.

No matter when it was adopted or whose idea it was, driving on the left side of the road is still odd and a little bit scary! What makes us smile, is how odd it is going to feel when we go back to driving on the right side when we return home to southern Utah.