Why
must you drive on the right side of the
road in some countries and on the left side
of the road in other countries? Investigate
the question, and you find a lot of confusion
on right versus left. About a quarter of the
world drives on the left, and most of those
countries used to be British colonies. In
England, people drive on the left, but on
escalators, they stand on the right, so that
people who are in a hurry can go up on
the left. In Japan, they drive on the left,
too, but people usually stand on the left on
escalators.
There are different explanations for the use
of right versus left. Some people believe
that it is a natural tendency to walk or drive
on the right. This is because most people
are right-handed.
We can look back in history for reasons
people move on the right or left of the road.
Some people say that in Europe hundreds
of years ago, people rode their horses on
the left. This way, their sword was between
them and anyone who was coming toward
them in the opposite direction. They were
ready to PU" out their sword and fight'to