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f you thought road rage was a modern phenomenon, think
Page 53
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again. Centuries ago, mounted soldiers and riders on Britain's highways were prone to sudden and i.ous attacks by enemy horsen coming the other way. The igers were such that they had Be on their guard at all times, dy to defend their lives.
his priceless pearl of wisdom t seem about as relevant to ay's transport industry as the ur of Dick Turpin's boxer tts, but it does explain one damental fact about the way drive in this country. Being .stly right-handed, these .ant horsemen always kept to left so that they could defend mselves with their good hand. d that, as far as anyone knows, vhy we still drive on the left ay. Nothing to do with econic rationale, logistical plang or the difficulty of steering a se in the right direction. iply that if you wanted to stay 'e, you kept to the left.
'et the UK and the Republic of land are among a minority of le Go countries that still prethe left. Officially, the other r -plus all drive on the right; fficially, of course, some .on's roads are so bad the only ground is in the middle.
-old win*.
St of these left-hand-drive atries are far-flung parts of old empire—South Africa, ia, Australia and New Zealand took their lead from the ther country. In terms of ape, the UK and Eire are in a iority of two. Even the soed 'accession states', those • 'ling entry to the EU, drive on right. Travelling east as the w flies, you'd have to get as far yprus in the eastern Mediterean before you'd find another ntry still driving on the left.
or many years, switching -s was only a problem for se affluent enough to be able
to afford driving holidays overseas. But with the advent of cheap international travel and commerce, many more people—professional hauliers and holidaymakers alike—are now affected.
According to the Department of Transport, the government has no existing plans to consider falling into line with the rest of Europe on this issue. Neither, it adds, is it under any pressure to do so from the European Commission.
The UK government first seriously explored the question back in the late 196os, when a working party was set up to investigate the feasibility of such a switch. The DoT is still quoting its findings as proof that a move to the right is not practicable. The working party identified a series of problems: • Extensive and costly alterations
would be needed to road signs, road markings, traffic signals and level-crossing signals. Existing signs would have to be moved and the cost of altering illuminated signs "would be considerable".
• Tens of thousands of buses and coaches would have to be converted so that they could take passengers from the right, and all vehicles— from mopeds to top-weight artks—would need some adjustments to their lighting systems.
• Because it would not be practicable to convert the steering of most vehicles, there would be a mixture of left and right-hookers on the road "for a considerable period".
• A switch was expected to result in an increase in road accidents for at least two years—even though when Sweden changed over in the late fifties it managed to reduce the accident rate.
"This decrease was probably a direct result of the very extensive publicity and the rigid enforcement of low speed limits for six months afterwards," the DoT document suggests. "Both measures would be expensive and, in the case of lower speed limits, unpopular.
"In the long-term, European uniformity in the rule of the road might bring a saving in accidents to UK drivers abroad and foreign drivers in the UK, although at the moment there is no objective evidence that the majority of drivers find great difficulty in adapting themselves to a different system."
The cost, even back in the late 19605, was estimated at well over L264m, equating to almost bbn
at current values.
So much for the downside; but what, if anything, would UK hauliers gain from switching sides?
According to Don Armour, manager of international services at the Freight Transport Association, the industry might well cut its costs and improve safety. "There would be economies of scale for manufacturers," says Armour. "They wouldn't need to make both left-hand and righthand drives any more and parts supply might be simpler because there would not be quite as much duplication.
"It could also benefit road safety because it can be confusing for foreign drivers coming here when our drivers are on the 'wrong' side of the road."
This issue was highlighted recently by Kent Police, who raised concerns about the high accident rate among left-handdrive trucks from the Continent colliding with smaller vehicles on the county's motorways (CM11-17 July). The collisions are caused by cars being hemmed in by surrounding traffic and trapped in trucks' blind spots. The truck drivers, thinking the middle lane is clear, then pull out and crash.
Potential benefits
But Armour believes that these potential benefits would not be enough to make the government consider changing sides.
In theory, a transition from right to left-hand drive would give UK road hauliers access to a larger pool of new and used vehides at lower prices. This could cut overheads to some extent, but without a similar levelling in fuel and operating costs it's questionable how much benefit there would be.
Eddie Vogg, general manager of TransCare Europe, part of Tibbet Fe Britten, says Britain should stick to the left—and he's German: "I cannot see the slightest commercial benefit. I have driven on the Continent as well as here, in both left and right-handdrive vehicles, and it's a matter of getting used to it. If it could be done without any cost I would be the first one in favour, but the .„ costs would be so high... we're g talking billions of pounds.
"As for our vehicles, a lot of our drivers already drive left-handdrive trucks. But as long as it goes from A to B, whether it's a left or right-hand drive does not matter 88 to me."