Quote:
Originally Posted by Synchro909
If we drive on the "wrong" side of the road, you guys sit on the "wrong" side of the car but we drive on the "correct" side of the road! 
BTW, I have won a few beers with this piece of trivia. If you look at any American car made before the Model T, you will notice that it is right hand drive. The Model T was the first with LHD as far as my info goes. Henry messed with you guys big time!  |
In the US, we've always driven on the right-hand side of the road. Pennsylvania passed the first law to that effect in 1792. Pre-auto drivers tended to sit on the right side of the vehicle to better see, and therefore avoid driving into, roadside ditches. So when cars came along, it was natural to put the steering wheel on the right-hand side. Henry put it on the left side supposedly to make it safer to enter/exit the car from the curbside away from oncoming traffic and to give the driver a better view of that traffic. I suspect it was as much marketing hype as anything.
Interesting history here:
https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/infrastructure/right.cfm