Barwelle

I have a question for someone from Britain, or Australia, or anyone who might know. It has been bugging me for awhile, and I want to figure this out. Here in Canada, (and in any other country that drives on the right side of the road, with the driver on the left side of the vehicle) The order of the pedals, from left to right, are "clutch - brake - throttle". Now, how is it for cars with the driver on the right? is it the opposite, as in, "throttle - brake - clutch," with throttle being on the inside? or is it in the same order, with throttle being on the outside?

Another question that doesn't bug me as much, but is interesting to know, is what is the gear shift pattern on most standard vehicles? For most 5-speeds here, it is...

1 3 5
|-|-|
2 4 R

with 1 & 2 being closest to the driver ( on the left )

So is it the same, with 1 & 2 being on the left, or opposite, with 1 & 2 being closest to the driver?

Thanks for you info!! I've always wondered this, and I couldn't think of a way to figure this out for sure until I thought of here.

David Cutler

All the controls, including pedals, gear pattern, indicator stalk position etc are the same for both handed drives.

The driving position has simply been moved from one side of the vehicle to the other.

Incidentally, there are almost as many people drive on the left as on the right. India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Zimbabwe etc etc all drive on the left.

The main reason some countries moved from driving on the left (at one time, almost all countries did) was because Napoleon didn't want to do anything the same as the British, so he decreed that all those countries under French control or influence should drive on the right. This, of course, included the States.

-David C.

ClemenTang

same for both.

Clement

Barwelle

I'm sorry but could you clarify what you mean by the same? i'm not sure if you mean the same as in, the throttle is on the inside for both, or, the same as in the throttle is on the right for both.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

Actually, it's more like 1/4 who drive on the left.
Hmmm, let's see if I understand this correctly. Napoleon, who died in 1821, "decreed" that everyone should drive their cars on the right side? I think there's a bit of a problem with the dates on that one. Besides, there was more to the change to the right than Napoleon's dislike of the British.

piper_chuck

My Feedback: (12)

As David said, "All the controls, including pedals, gear pattern, indicator stalk position etc are the same for both handed drives. The driving position has simply been moved from one side of the vehicle to the other. " If the throttle was "inside for both", that would not be the same, it would be mirrored or reversed. In all cases, the right foot will be used on the throttle and it'll be the same gear pattern.

David Cutler

Yep!

[8D]

http://www.2pass.co.uk/goodluck.htm

http://www.i18nguy.com/driver-side.html

http://users.pandora.be/worldstandar...the%20left.htm

http://www.reference.com/browse/wiki/Rules_of_the_road

etc etc

-David C.

David Cutler

>>Besides, there was more to the change to the right than Napoleon's dislike of the British.
<<

Interesting. What are the other reasons?

-David C.

P-51B

My Feedback: (5)

Maybe this will help:





US:

Driver . 1 3 5
Goes . |-|-|
Here . 2 4 R


UK:


1 3 5 . Driver
|-|-| . Goes
2 4 R . Here




Editted for formatting issues

NCBrit

Having driven both RHD and LHD versions of some Japanese cars, I can say that the stalk position is not necessarily the same. Pedal and gear patterns are the same no matter which side the steering wheel is on.

British motorcycles used to have the gear selector on the opposite side than Japanese motorcycles, but they are all laid out the same now.

David Cutler

It all depends on the Construction and Use legislation in each country. The Japanese are notorious for controlling imports, not by using trade barriers, but by enforcing trivial C and U regs to keep cars out. For instance, in the past, some Austins were not allowed in Japan because the engine plate was rivetted to the wrong side of the block!

Most of the legislation (and especially the important stuff that applies to things like the positioning of some of the controls) have been standardized by now, but you might have driven ones that pre-dated this standardization.

-David C.

ClemenTang

Be careful of this:

R 2 4
|-|-|
1 3 5

Big screw up!

Clement
PS No I didn't.

cheeseclip

excatly the same except the driver is on the other side

J_D

yup C B A

1 3 5 Driver

2 4 R



although some trucks have...

R 2 4

1 3 5 driver


because they go from Reverse to 1 alot when manuvering, so it makes it a bit easier on them.

snowbl!nd

My gearbox...

r/1 3 5

2 4

Reverse and 1'st gears are located in the same place, except that to select reverse you have to pull up the gearstick, and then put it in "first". Strange, but it works. The first time i drove the car i spent 10 minutes at the end of the road (cul-de-sac) trying to figure out how to put it into reverse so i could turn around!

All the other cars i have driven have had "regular" gearboxes.

mich308

The indicator position isn't always the same as LHD's. LHD's have the indicator stalk on the left, no matter what country you're in. RHD's generally have the indicator stalk on the right, except in the UK where it is on the left. Other differences between the two include headlight aim, RHD's generally dip left, and LHD's dip right, but that of course can be changed. Not all countries that drive on the right use only LHD's, for example east Russia and Burma are mainly RHD's, as well there are a fair amount of RHD's in Canada, North Korea, Mongolia, as well as some others. In many parts of the Carribean the opposite is true.

HJJFFFAA

Necro'd.

Dirty_Vinylpusher

I grew up in Sweden where cars are left hand drive, but have lived in right hand drive countries since 1996.
The first day was a bit weird and I kept slamming my right hand in to the drivers door to change gear, but I soon got used to it.

Even after all these years of left hand driving I still have to think every now and again when I pull out of a driveway which side of the road I'm supposed to be on.
Mainly if I reverse out of somewhere on to a street.



Sweden actually used to be right hand drive until the 60's or something and they changed it over night apparently.
I think a few other European countries also were left hand drive but they've all changed to right hand part from the UK.

Nik.

Dirty_Vinylpusher, you need to quit leaving a bunch of space under you posts, it makes the thread hard to read and gives off the vibe of selfishness.

Dirty_Vinylpusher

Really?

[]

Foxy

lol.

1 3 5

2 4 6 R

Since I went to another European country from the UK, I often get asked how I handled the switch. Tha answer is no problem, BUT... I still use the RIGHT hand on the wheel when cruising, whereas most people who gre up with the steering wheel on the left, use the left hand on top of the wheel.

Since I am right-handed, does that give me slightly better control? I dunno, there's arguments for both directions of travel, but even though I grew up with RHD, I think I prefer LHD.

Dirty_Vinylpusher

Does anyone ever use the left foot for the accelerator when on a long drive?

Doesn't apply when you have cruise control of course...

Foxy

Left foot on the accelerator pedal? I left foot brake, when I'm really going for it, and heel-n-toe occasionally, but left foot on the gas? My left foot is used to an extremely heavy clutch, I'd probably put the gas pedal straight through the floor if I hit it with the left!

ThunderbirdJunkie

My Feedback: (3)

Easy enough.

ThunderbirdJunkie's last few cars would have been the same regardless of driver position.

Two of them:

P   R   N   D   2   1

Two of them

P
R
N
D
2
1

Two pedal FTW

splcrazy

lol  the question is answerd in the second post . im in australia and  the idea of me driving a left hand car would be mind boggling lol its like sitting in the passenger side with a steering wheel , most definatley feel so strange when turning lol especially when going fast