Right-hand traffic (RHT) and Left-hand traffic (LHT) are the practices, in bidirectional traffic, of keeping to the left side or to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow and are sometimes referred to as the rule of the road.
- In Right-hand traffic (RHT) jurisdictions, vehicles are configured with Left Hand Drive (LHD), with the steering wheel on the left side.
- In Left-hand traffic (LHT) jurisdictions, vehicles are configured with Right Hand Drive (RHD), with the steering wheel on the right side.
RHT is used in 165 countries and territories, with the remaining 75 countries and territories using LHT.
Many LHT countries were formerly part of the British Empire, although many were not, such as Sweden (which is now RHT), Japan, Thailand, Indonesia, Nepal and Suriname, among others. Conversely, many RHT countries were part of the French colonial empire.
In LHT traffic keeps left, and cars usually have the steering wheel on the right (RHD – right-hand drive), putting the driver on the side closest to the centre of the road. Roundabouts circulate clockwise.
RHT is the opposite of this: traffic keeps right, cars usually have the steering wheel on the left (LHD), and roundabouts circulate anticlockwise.
Right-hand traffic in Nigeria
Nigeria adopted the Right-hand traffic (RHT), and as such, vehicles in Nigeria have the steering wheel on the left.
On Sunday, April 2, 1972, the Federal Military Government of Nigeria abandoned the left-hand drive to the right-hand drive.
The change was due to the fact that Nigeria was surrounded by Francophone countries who had always been on the right-hand drive; the Republic of Benin, Cameroon, Niger, and Chad.
Then, their drivers used Nigeria’s ports and borders while Nigerian drivers delivered goods to those countries with much confusion. It made much sense to make that change.
For instance, if you wanted to drive from Lagos to Lome (Togo), you had to learn to drive on the opposite side of the road. Changing to the left simply made the journey easy. That was why Ghana had to change as well.
The entire West African region is dominated by the Francophone countries and the need for a seamless transportation and business flow triggered the change.
Second, most cheap and affordable cars in vogue then were made in France (Renault, Peugeot) and Germany (Volkswagen) which were designed for right-hand drive roads.
It would be an expensive process to convert them.
Traffic for Rail, Boats and Aircrafts
In most countries, rail traffic travels on the same side as road traffic. However, in many cases, railways were built using LHT British technology and, while road traffic switched to RHT, rail remained LHT.
Examples include Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Cambodia, Chile, Egypt, France, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Laos, Monaco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, Senegal, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tunisia, Venezuela, and Yemen.
Boats are traditionally piloted from starboard to facilitate priority to the right.
According to the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, water traffic is effectively Right-hand traffic (Left Hand Drive): a vessel proceeding along a narrow channel must keep to starboard (the right-hand side), and when two power-driven vessels are meeting head-on both must alter course to starboard also.
For aircraft, the US Federal Aviation Regulations suggest Right-hand traffic (Left Hand Drive) principles, both in the air and on water, and in aircraft with side-by-side cockpit seating, the pilot-in-command (or more senior flight officer) traditionally occupies the left seat.
Right-hand Traffic (Left-Hand Drive) Countries
- Albania
- Algeria
- American Samoa
- Andorra
- Angola
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Aruba
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Bahrain
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Belize
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- British Indian Ocean Territory (Diego García)
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Burundi
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cape Verde
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- Chile
- China, People’s Republic of (Mainland China)
- Colombia
- Comoros
- Congo
- Congo (former Republic of Zaire)
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cuba
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Djibouti
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- El Salvador
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Estonia
- Ethiopia
- Faroe Islands (Denmark)
- Finland
- France
- French Guiana
- French Polynesia
- Gabon
- Gambia, The
- Gaza Strip
- Georgia
- Germany
- Ghana
- Gibraltar
- Greece
- Greenland
- Guadeloupe (French West Indies)
- Guam
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Hungary
- Iceland
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Ivory Coast
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of (North Korea)
- Korea, Republic of (South Korea)
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Laos
- Latvia
- Lebanon
- Liberia
- Libya
- Liechtenstein
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Macedonia
- Madagascar
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Martinique (French West Indies)
- Mauritania
- Mayotte (France)
- Mexico
- Micronesia, Federated States of
- Midway Islands (USA)
- Moldova
- Monaco
- Mongolia
- Morocco
- Myanmar (formerly Burma)
- Netherlands
- Netherlands Antilles (Curaçao, St. Maarten, St. Eustatius, Saba)
- New Caledonia
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Nigeria
- Northern Mariana Islands
- Norway
- Oman
- Palau
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Puerto Rico
- Qatar
- Réunion
- Romania
- Russia
- Rwanda
- Saint Barthélemy (French West Indies)
- Saint Martin (French West Indies)
- Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Saudi Arabia
- Senegal
- Serbia and Montenegro
- Sierra Leone
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Somalia
- Spain
- Sudan
- Svalbard (Norway)
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Togo
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Turkmenistan
- Ukraine
- United Arab Emirates
- United States
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Vanuatu
- Venezuela
- Vietnam
- Wake Island (USA)
- Wallis and Futuna Islands (France)
- Western Sahara
- Yemen
Left-hand Traffic (Right-Hand Drive) Countries
- Anguilla
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Bermuda
- Bhutan
- Botswana
- Brunei
- Cayman Islands
- Christmas Island (Australia)
- Cook Islands
- Cyprus
- Dominica
- East Timor
- Falkland Islands
- Fiji
- Grenada
- Guernsey (Channel Islands)
- Guyana
- Hong Kong
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Isle of Man
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey (Channel Islands)
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Australia)
- Lesotho
- Macau
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Montserrat
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nepal
- New Zealand
- Niue
- Norfolk Island (Australia)
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Pitcairn Islands (Britain)
- Saint Helena
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Seychelles
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Swaziland
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Tokelau (New Zealand)
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turks and Caicos Islands
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Virgin Islands (British)
- Virgin Islands (US)
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
REFERENCES:
- https://www.thehistoryville.com/nigeria-left-hand-drive-right-hand-drive
- https://so.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and_left-hand_traffic
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