Sail Right, Drive Left?

[Robert Tilbury]

What makes my bones rattle is the , Port starboard markers are the opposite way around in some countries ,,,,
I wish it was standardised

Region A: Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa, the Gulf and some Asian countries
Region B: North, Central & South America, Japan, North & South Korea and the Philippines

I lived in the UK from 82 to1990 , i drove a tow truck , my main work was going to france and picking up cars that forgot to change from left to right ,,,,, so many head ons ,,,,,

[thunderhoof]

I am under impression that port to port passing, red light to red light, recognizes that the vulnerable steering boards were on the starboard side and so the helmsman. More care was needed to clear the other vessel port to port so both boats were burdened, meaning required to take action to keep clear of the other.
Imagine the mayhem if the burdened side changed from area to area, say in the middle of the English Channel.

[El Pinguino]

I'm amazed slightly bemused by the number of sailors who seem to have crossed the Pacific without knowing that IALA A is different to IALA B.....

Re 'head ons' ... its a major problem in NZ with foreigners driving rentals....

And I recall reading somewhere... probably rollocks... that 50 or so tourists a year die in Australia doing the same thing ... bigger risk than salties...

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by El Pinguino

I'm amazed slightly bemused by the number of sailors who seem to have crossed the Pacific without knowing that IALA A is different to IALA B.....

Re 'head ons' ... its a major problem in NZ with foreigners driving rentals....

And I recall reading somewhere... probably rollocks... that 50 or so tourists a year die in Australia doing the same thing ... bigger risk than salties...

I was driving semi trailers out of port botany ,,, (2 roads from the international air port ) , I would see cars have head on`s and think how the heck did anyone take the exit backwards ,,,,
Not long after there were big signs

GO BACK YOUR GOING THE WRONG WAY

[GARRYOWEN]

Originally Posted by 44'cruisingcat

My understanding is that driving on the left goes back as far as Roman times. People possibly drove on the left so their sword hand was free to engage oncoming chariots. Studies of the depths of wheel ruts on old Roman roads backs up the belief they kept to the left.

Driving on the right apparently originated with Bonaparte. From what I gather he forced France and the countries he invaded to change the side of the road they drove on, just because he could.

Since Britain wasn't invaded by France, they never changed sides.

It goes back even farther than that...in caveman times when two cavemen passed each other they did it to the left so their dominant hand carrying their caveman club was closer to the other caveman.

[CaptTom]

Ahhh, but what side of the aisle do they push their shopping carts (or is that trolleys?) on?

Personally, I always end up blocked by that very large woman who parks her cart diagonally across half the aisle, and stands next to it in the other half.

Now that I've mentioned it, you're going to notice her next time you go shopping.

[chris mac]

It's simple human laziness.
Port to port is so much easier to say than starboard to starboard

[Uncle Bob]

Originally Posted by CaptTom

Ahhh, but what side of the aisle do they push their shopping carts (or is that trolleys?) on?

Personally, I always end up blocked by that very large woman who parks her cart diagonally across half the aisle, and stands next to it in the other half.

Now that I've mentioned it, you're going to notice her next time you go shopping.

Soo you get to go whale watching in the supermarket there as well!

(OK I know I've been bad, I will go to the naughty corner now)

[cyan]

The interesting folks that use phrases like "the correct side" regarding land ventures are more interesting to me than the actual history of left vs right.

"My way is the best way" is a hallmark of the less-traveled.

[markpierce]

Railroad locomotives are almost always driven with the engineer on the right side of the cab when moving forward. No doubt a legacy from the English that popularized railroad locomotives. Nevertheless, having the driver of an automobile on the left side and driving on the right lane seems more friendly since most sword-users are right-handed. In North America, most railroads, not all, ran on the right in double-track territory.

[callaghans1]

Here in Australia - we drive on the left side of the road because we were settled by the British, and they originally set up the roads and rules that endure to this day. On the water - we obey COLREGS and sail to the right in a channel. I suspect most former British colonies are similar, with the exception of the United States who even declared their own gallon instead of using the imperial measure. The things that happen when you had to fight a war of independence!

[Robert Tilbury]

Originally Posted by Uncle Bob

Soo you get to go whale watching in the supermarket there as well!

(OK I know I've been bad, I will go to the naughty corner now)

Far out BOB ,,, i just stop and look at people in the shopping isle ,,, i then ask if they drive ?

If the answer is yes i then ask if they can get the F#$k over as we are not in the USA !
Works 90% of the time ,,,The other 10% i get bashed by the fat lady with the trolly parked side ways <<<<<:bang head:

[Robert Tilbury]

But really getting back to the question ,,,
Why port to port ?


I always thought it was as the helm was mainly on the port side so passing P to P
Is a safety thing as to see the oncoming traffic ?

I maybe wrong but seems common sense to me ,,,

Any one have a better answer ????

[markpierce]

No. Starboard was where boats were once steered. Doesn't answer why the standard pass is port to port.

Still, to me it makes sense that a boat approaching from starboard is "stand on" as that side was traditionally where the helmsman had greatest visibility. My helm is to starboard!

In contrast to tradition, I prefer to dock on starboard (not port) side because the rudder is central and not off to starboard, I'm (the helmsman) physically closer to starboard, and propeller thrust is to starboard.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_and_starboard

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Hobiehobie

34% of the world's population drive on the sensible side, that's the left.

But what percentage of the drivers? I suspect the 34% is heavily influenced by India with it's 1.3 Billion population but comparatively low per captia car ownership. (Pakistan & Bangladesh also top 10 countries for population don't have high car ownership rates either).

The challenge is:
- For small less developed countries, you can do the transition relatively easily. A few months to do some basic conversion (pavement markings and signs). After a couple weeks of chaos during transition, then it's quickly the new normal. The road system wasn't quite right before so a few odd maneuvers is nothing to get excited about.
- For a large developed country, converting the system over would be a huge task that would take years if not decades and until it's done and the people expect it to be done correctly. I would create a lot of confusion for a long time.

I've done some 1 way to 2 way studies and a large percentage die when they look at the full impact of what they have to change. Freeway interchanges, no longer work, parking garages set up oneway traffic, etc... This would be the same only worse as it's not just a single roadway.

Self driving cars could make this a moot point. If the car is doing the driving, it doesn't matter where the passengers sit. A near term side effect of this is if we get a fly-by-wire system for steering, it could be drastically cheaper to produce English style cars because there doesn't need to be a mechanical link between the steering wheel and the tires. This would take the pressure off some of the former colonies to switch.