When Sweden Switched To Driving On The Right
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- čas přidán 16. 11. 2020
- Dagen H or “H day”, was the day on 3 September 1967, in which the traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. Dagen means “Day” and the "H" stands for "Högertrafik", the Swedish word for "right traffic". It was by far the largest logistical event in Sweden's history.
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As a Swede, I am forever grateful that they undertook this enormous endeavour.
why ?
@@ruadhagainagaidheal9398 Because it really suck driving on the left side of the road with a left hand drive car - as we did in Sweden before this change. I am very happy I did not have to do that. Imagine trying to overtake someone, when you don't see if there is on-coming traffic or not - nightmare.
Håller me 👍
@@niklaswejedal463 That puzzled me I drove a 1961 Volvo which was right hand drive in the UK.VW and Saab both made right hand drive cars at this time and that covers most of the cars in this film.
@@kethughes8266 - yes they did make RHD-cars for the exportmarkets - but the Swedish domestic cars before 1967 were still LHD for some weird reason...
"With Sweden's neighbors Norway and Finland driving on the right..."
Proceeds to show a map where Finland no longer exists
Well, Finland did exist then. They just were in the union of Sovjet.
@@EliasSwedenborg Finland was never fully incorporated in the USSR, only the Karelian part. There were plans to do so but they were never carried out. This is a weird map.
The map also shows part of Poland incorporated into East Germany. Unbelievable.Looks like it's an older map with new names printed over it.
@@EliasSwedenborg Finland was NEVER a part of the Soviet union. It was, however, a part of Russia until 1917. So the map is outdated by at least 50 years (in relation to 1967, and more than 100yrs by now)
@@onesandzeroes Yeah, for some reason they gave East Germany 1937 borders (without East Prussia) plus the addition of Schleswig-Holstein which was part of West Germany.
Sheeeesh!!! I remember seeing the adverts here in the UK, prior to switch over. They thought it couldn't be done, but the efficient Swedes proved them wrong. Congratulations.
For a moment there I thought UK had switched and I missed it
@@new-lviv
They have a land border with Ireland, so it makes even less sense. The only exception might be Gibraltar, but that isn't considered an integral part of Britain.
@@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions there are still four European countries driving on the left, Great Britain, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, plus the territory of Gibraltar. Many more used to including Austria-Hungary.
@@charleslyster1681
I had no idea about Austro-Hungary, but the others are pretty much all islands and frankly I don't think there's much driving done in Gibraltar as it's so small! I mean their airport bisects the territory because there's no other place to put a runway.
@@OpinionesDeJACCsOpinions it does make a nice pub quiz question though, which four European countries...? People only think of the uk and Ireland.
My grandpa worked as a traffic police and said it was a mess, he had to give many tickets the upcoming days because people still hadn´t adapted.
Some tickets is a small price to pay for switching the side to drive on the road in the entire country
no shit lol imagine driving 20 30 40 years on one side and than just go to other.
@@jebise1126yeah, I bet many got tickets by driving on the left without even thinking about it
yeah, I bet they were coining it in ! 🙂
I can remember when this happened, At the time some comedians made jokes about Ireland doing the same thing, but in a gradual manner starting with lorries and busses, followed by cars a few weeks later.
Classic!
We Norwegians joked about the same when our „dear“ brothers on the other side of the border did the switch.
During a transport strike in Spain, I gave a lift to two Swedish doctors down to Matarro. On the way I told them the same joke. After a little smile the doctors wife suddenly said “gradually?” She sounded like the Oscar Wilde’s Lady ??? When she said Handbaag? That made me laugh more than my joke.
Now that the UK is out of the EU I prophesy that the EU will soon pay for Eire, Malta and Cyprus to switch on our expense and make driving on the right an EU-wide thing, meaning that if the UK ever wants to rejoin, they will first have to switch to driving on the right at their own cost.
@@ixlnxs , there’s no good reason for UK to switch. As an island nation, they’re not connected to the EU.
Lived in Sweden 20 years, and I’ve heard colleagues mention this. But this is the first video I’ve ever seen about it. Fabulous footage! Thank you :)
World: You should switch over to Metric, US.
US: "Naah, too expensive."
And still US is metric, they just don't use it 😃😂
@@YannR34 We use both metric and imperial, sometimes at the same time, depending on the context.
@@uncaboat2399 You are officially on metric since late 1800. You just haven't stopped with the conversion thingy that was supposed to be temporary.
Think of the millions of lathes across the country, old outdated and newer having to acquire new gears, for starters.
@@iamagi Hey, just because it hasn't finished _yet_ doesn't mean it's not temporary!
I just enjoyed watching all this Swedish retro videos
I was a five year old Norwegian living in Sweden at the time and I still remember us having to cross the street when driving across the border which was otherwise already open for passport free travel. I also remember the big H signs everywhere in Sweden.
0:54 interesting alt history map
I don’t know where he found it ; I’ve never seen it before...
At no time middle Europe has been divided like this...
Yeah, WTF is with that map??? I've looked at maps my whole life and I've never seen anything like it.
I’m unfamiliar; what’s wrong with it?
@HengistUndHorsa Why, did my American name give it away?
No lmao I’m a Swede I’m just bad at Finland’s history
@@paistinlasta1805 And Austria is missing a huge chunk as well
This happened here, in Newfoundland, when we joined Canada in 1949.
A nowegian colleague of mine used to tell a joke about this:
"This week all cars start driving on the right, and if by next week it goes well, the trucks too"
Fact: in border of Finland & Sweden btw Tornio (Fin) & Haparanda (Swe) was a crossing where the lanes changed right to left & vice versa. There was no bridge, lanes just crossed.
There is a Bridge over the river now that forms the border between my home country of Right Hand Drive Brazil,and left hand drive Guyana, changeover of sides is made by a flyover/underpass arrangement,however the area is over 2000km from my home in the South of the County.The whole area is sparsely populated so doesn't see a great deal of traffic. I believe it is only permissible to bring a RHD Guyanan vehicle as far as the Border town of Bom Fim in Brazil,and not beyond.Our other Left Hand Driving neighbouring country of Suriname doesn't have a single land border crossing with Brasil,the whole border area being generally remote jungle without any roads.
I walked across the border from Haparanda to Tornio in 1975
I am sure I remember a bridge there
I live in England and I tried driving on the right from Manchester to Southampton, and I can assure you that it's bloody dangerous!
HoHo, how far did you get? Levenshulme?
😂😂🤣👍
Lolz
😂😂😂😂
Which, the driving or Southampton?
My brother and I were in Sweden on holiday, in September 1967 when this happened.. We thought it all went very well. Never saw a single crash..
Me too - it went smoothly - and we were driving that day.
Where were you from?
@@kenlompart9905 New Zealand.
@@donr2176 Ah yes, New Zealand is on my bucket list, I plan to get there some day but right now is out of the question.
@HengistUndHorsa why?
That map... Finland a part of the Soviet Union? The shape of Poland? Where is this map from?
it no longer exists, but take her for a test drive, and you'll agree, zagrib zeg zid zolty dev.
Not to mention the borders of Germany.
Look at the bottom right: Balkan Federation! With at least Yugoslavia + Bulgaria. Maybe a Yugoslavia analogue but that has Bulgaria in it as well? Maybe even Albania? Greece? Probably not Greece. Still, with decent leadership it could have worked out fairly well.
@@BitchinSpectre This must be possibly the most random place to see that joke.
Salzburg and Innsbruck in Germany ! OMG !!!
I was a teacher in Sweden. Every school had to paint "roads" outside the school and practise H. One hour a week we had "traffic school" - We should continue with that........No big problem to change - but scary to drive on "the wrong side".
How old are you?! Jesus.
@@miniena7774 Age is only a couple of numbers. Now well over 80+ and still working. Translate this from Swedish: Går VARJE dag minst 8 km med stavar i grov terräng. Äter bara mat utan innehållsförteckning. Inga piller.........Välkommen i klubben!
@@miniena7774 Well - age is only a couple of numbers.... Well over 80 but still working.
@@larsmolin8788 Har du testat tramadol?
@@user-iz3nt9fd2t behövs inte........
It was kind a fun to go to Sweden from Norway back then. feels so strange sitting in a right hand car driving on the left :D
An oddball in Sweden at the time was the split window VW Kombi van. The opening side barn doors were on the left side for driving on the left. And the steering wheel was also on the left for the conversion to driving on the right. There are some videos of these unusual VWs being saved.
I actualy own one of these, left hand drive, left side cargo doors a 1962 kombi. Normally in vw nomenclature you don't refer to the cargo doors as "barn doors" because that term is asociated with the earliest buses from 49-55 when the engine lid was much bigger, hence "barn door".
Between the years 65-66 when the changeover was soon to come practically all swedish sold buses were equipped with doors on both sides a phenomenon considered exotic amogst vw people elsewere. From YM 67 all the buses were sold as left hand drive, right side cargo doors as default.
The early de luxes had the steering wheel on the right though. Not sure why this is, maybe because that feature didn't cost anything extra on the highest "trim level"?
Really enjoyed this. A fascinating subject and lovely spot-the-car period film. Good commentary too.
Nice clips! I'm old enough to have some memories from this time. My dad had to switch to a right-hand drive car, because he worked as a postman.
Wow, that was very interesting. Well put together. Thanks.
That is an excellent piece of reporting, very well narrated too, indeed. 👍👏Thanks
Wow! What a great story and well done again! Love it!
If I could go back in time I would definitely go to Sweden in the 60's. What a beautiful place
They were in a middle of their Summer of Love phase
Great vlog as always! Here is a story from one of the Swedish top gear journalists: me and a photograph was out driving the whole night. At 4:50 we changed lanes and waited until 5:00 A.M. We were expecting to see car accidents at once. Nothing happend for the next two hours. At 7:30 we saw a police car. They were returing to base. The station was across the street from our head office for the newspaper. We followed the car and as he made right hand turn into the next street old habits... The police crashed into a car head on! We took pics and talked to all involved. And there was our story! Lol!
How old are you? Has senility set in yet?
Thanks for sharing your story! Very cool to hear it from somebody who was there. Don't mind the other idiot who left a reply.
@@miniena7774 whats wrong with you. Behave!
Those are some excellent pronunciations! Thank you for taking the time to learn the words!
"Dagen" means *the* day. Definitiv articles are added as suffixes.
"Keep to the right, Svensson" A bit on the nose lmao.
You can listen to it here: czcams.com/video/TQtKHv6GRHA/video.html
i remember watching this on UK TV at the time. They also had to keep lights on during the day ...... which lead to day light running lights .... Volvos in the UK where always being flashed because other drivers thought they had left their lights on!
Volvo flashing was actually advocated as a “sport” by custom car magazine in the early 70s 😂🤣
Keeping lights on at all times is an excellent invention. So you can tell the difference between active and passive vehicles on a busy street. I think it has saved some pedestrian's lives over the years...
some lovely cars in these clips !
Awesome video! I never knew any countries switched from one to the other! Love these vids
I remember my parents car having "H"- stickers.
This kinda reminds me of late - 90's Russia. There were very many used japanese cars in Far East region (almost 95%), so the proposal was done to switch to LHD. But this never happened despite the popularity of this idea.
Is it in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy? I actually found out about this place while wondering around Google Maps because i was bored. Then i looked at the street view and was wondering why there are so many RHD Japanese cars but drives on the right side anyway.
@@amonrei yep, this city is one of the Far East region cities. But even in Moscow we had a lot of RHD cars, with some of them being ex UK-market Ladas which is pretty funny, you know.
@@runoflife87 Yes, I believe Russian sailors used to buy cheap Ladas from the UK and ship them back home!
Another brilliant video, you always find a way to surprise me with some new highly interesting content i never heard before!
I tend to videos on things I find interesting - usually stuff I hadn't found before.
@@LittleCar great choice and the video inserts are on point i feel like i am in that time period incredible how you find that old video material. May i ask you what is your profession? Just for context so i can have a better picture from where your knowledge comes
@@semirhuskic8028 Right now this is my job. But I come from a software engineering background. I do this because it's NOT software engineering!
@@LittleCarhmm interesting i wouldn't guess that, you're onto something with this new job, the talent is obvious, you deserve waay more subscribers. 😎
Fascinating video thanks for the upload
Glad you enjoyed it Dylan
Interesting and well presented. After living in the UK for a year I became an ambidextrous driver. I've always thought the driver should be in the center anyways.
😁
This makes a lot of sense hence why the McLaren F1 had the drivers seat and wheel in the center with passengers flanked either side.
We malaysians follow the uk. We drive on the left. Because malaysia was a former british colony years and years ago
You can just about map the former British Empire by looking at countries that drive on the left today, outliers being Canada and Japan.
Very sensible, easy for me to drive there when I holiday from Australia 👍
@@timothyhh And other outliers are Indonesia, and Mozambique, and Thailand, and Suriname, and East Timor, off the top of my head.
@@timothyhh Canada drives on the right, Japan is on the left, like the UK.
@@timothyhh Indonesia, Suriname, Thailand, Mozambique, Bhutan, Samoa, & East Timor were never British colonies
I remember how me and my sister sat in the kitchen window that morning, waiting for the first car driving on "the wrong side". There was a roundabout outside our house, so it was more exciting. as it happened, the first car was a red SAAB 92, owned and driven by a friend to our family.
Was in Gothenburg the weekend of change over vehicles with odd numbers allowed one day, even numbers the next to reduce traffic during changeover.
0:54 What the fuck is that map!?
-Finland is shown as part of the Soviet Union (which it was NOT, it was an independent western nation)
-East Germany extend too much in the east (pre-WW2 border)
-It also extends too much Northwest, taking West German and Danish territory (in reality it didn't even share a border with Denmark)
-To compensate, West Germany has invaded and taken over more than half of Austria. WTF?
The map is from 1809 when Russia ruled Finland.
@@ideadlift20kg83 Clearly it isn't, as it shows the USSR, East and West Germanies, and lacks an Austrian Empire. None of these things were in 1809. The map is some kind of fantasy Cold War map.
@@hannessahlsten9300 The grand dutchy of Finland which lasted til 1917. The year russia switched to communism. Finland was part of this switch from October til December.
@@hannessahlsten9300 It appears to be a alternate history map which the youtuber confused with a real one. This map appears to be a map of "what if" right after the 2nd world war. Sorry, I understand your frustration now.
Was wondering that too!
I just wish I could have seen this happen in person.
If you wish you could seen this in person, then you'll be an old man by 21st century.
If you wish you lived in Sweden during 1968, then just hope the Earth and years would reset, so you can be born in 1940's/1950's.
I was actually traveling in Sweden as a tourist the very day it happened
@@ajaxa9 Were you able to participate in/witness the dance on the road as a driver/passenger or were you otherwise engaged at the time the switch happened? I imagine even commuting in the run up to it was a strange experience driving against arrows and some road signs as the hours ticked down to the switch.
They had special TV programmes to help keep people at home while the changeover was eased in. 'Hylands hörna' a talk show was one of the most popular and this very day saw the TV debut of a young singer who had won a national talent contest earlier that day. She later became better known as Frida Lyngstad, one of the lead singers of ABBA.
I spent one year on the island of Okinawa in 1967. Shortly after I left the island they switched to driving on the left side. It went off with only a couple of fender benders.
In the nineties I met an old man that was cycling on the left hand. After almost crashing he yelled: It is left hand traffic!!!
About the speed restrictions. Before the switch to right-hand traffic, the basic rule was that there was no speed limit, except in towns and villages where there were signs telling you that this was a populated area. And that meant max speed 50 kph. And when you left the speed-limited zone, there was a yellow sign with a diagonal black stripe. And it meant "no speed limit from here". When they put up all the signs for right hand traffic in 1967, they put up speed limit signs everywhere. So even if that law about "the basic speed limit on open roads is no speed limit unless there is a sign saying otherwise" still applied, it was moot because there were signs everywhere. And two or three years later, they changed the law, so if there are no signs, the speed limit is 70 kph (about 45 mph for those of you who still watch this in black and white). But up until 1967, no speed limits on open Swedish roads.
@@KurtFrederiksen Yes, true. My dad said that most roads were so curvy and narrow back in the fifties, that 70 kph was the practical top speed anyway. But later on, the roads, and cars and motorbikes, improved so much that this "no speed limit" became dangerous.
"(F)or those of you who still watch this in black and white...!" Best comment here! Grow up America, even Myanmar is metricating faster!
Just love seeing all those old cars in nice condition. 😀
My first car in 1973 was a VW Beetle imported from Sweden. It was 15yrs old when I got it!
Another interesting video. Congratulations.
Portugal made the same change in 1928, in Europe and overseas territories except for those which bordered LHD countries (Mozambique, Portuguese India, Macau and East Timor).
East Timor switched back to left in 1976 because of the Indonesian occupation.
This switch from driving on the left over to the right has always mildly fascinated me since I first found out about it around a decade ago. This is the best account of it I’ve seen. Judging by what you’ve said though, many people were already driving left hand drive cars before it happened, something else I’d not considered. With the four year build up to the actual day back in 1967 (when I was 5) it’s almost as momentous as Brexit. Except far better organised.
Well, that's not a high standard though... I've seen drunken bar brawls better organised than brexit. ;-)
I am from Sweden. Sadly I was not born when the switch went down. Surely it must have been a spectacular scene and a heavy task to set in motion. I remember the stickers on older cars. Thank you for some superb content! @Little Car
Glad you liked it Anders!
I wish we had switched in the UK, would be soo much easier now to drive vintage American cars, plus much cheaper and easier to get cars from Europe.
If the world moves to autonomous cars in the future, eventually it won't matter.
thank god it didn't
Parts of Canada drove on the left until the 1920's when the switch was made to the right. Newfoundland didn't switch until 1947, two years before it joined the confederation.
Österreich have bevor the year 1938 left and right traffic-the different the Distrikt.
Wien have left driving.
That's interesting information. I never knew this. Thank you.
*+*
Saab 96, Volvo PV, VW beetle and Opel Kadett. That's it! Nothing more.
Ford Cortina Mk 1 and Ford Anglia seen also.
@@stephenholland5930 I think I spotted a Standard 8, Vauxhall Viva, Austin 1100. Obviously we're sad wrinklies :)
@@stephenholland5930 Yes, several Mark 1 Cortinas there.
Was hoping to see early Valiants, but no luck.
Never seen a video with so many beautiful cars (Volvo Amazon, PV444 & PV544).
Sweden used to be so safe and clean
........and so Swedish.
I was living in Sweden at the time. I remember it all being very well organized and orderly.
Of course it was, you Swedes are a logical and calm lot
The fact that alcohol was banned two weeks before the change over helped :-)
Fun fact: Whilst cars switched sides, trains still drive on the left in Sweden. When crossing the border to any of Sweden's neighbors (Denmark, Norway, Finland) trains still have to switch to the right side.
While Denmark has a double railway track connection with Sweden, Norways connections are all single track. And Finland has a broader gauge, trains cannot continue without altering gauge on wagons or reloading anyway
@@classic1981 yes, and the swap to right hand towards Denmark take place already in Arlöv.
More complex than that! It’s true that large parts of Europe do use right hand running for double track, but many do not. E.g. Switzerland, much of France, and maybe others. There are actually both in France, with the previous DB (formerly part of Germany) area in Alsace using right, with kind of ‘flyover’ junctions to achieve it operationally. Not only that, many lines actually have bi-directional capability to cope with other issues, such as maintenance etc. Of course, it’s all controlled by signalling kit etc.
Trains in Belgium have been driving on the left for as long as the country has existed, so also before there were cars. Streetcars go on the right.
Trains in Italy run on the left
I spent a several combined holiday/business motoring trips with my parents in Sweden in the late 60s, sharing the driving with my father. And the 67 trip (the first one I was able drive) we were there in late August. It was pretty hairy driving in Stockholm and Gothenburg as not all the new road markings had been covered up. The Swedes were very tight and lane discipline and when you found yourself driving along a lane and suddenly drove over an arrow on the road pointing in the opposite direction you had to do some pretty quick thinking. Incidentally at the crossover points of the borders in my memory everything went very smoothly. The majority were on country roads where there probably wasn't another car in sight when you crossed and on the two main borders the Norwegians and Swedes were very civilised, queued up and crossed in turn.
However it was a headache in 66 and 67 because on each trip we visited Norway Sweden and Denmark and every day we had to remember whether to give way to the right or to the left.
Other treasured memory of 67 was that until the changeover Sweden's few stretches of motorway were totally unrestricted and pretty empty = and we were driving a Jaguar 3.4.
I followed the changeover live on Dutch tv, and learned my first Swedish word: HÖGER.
0:56 The Soviets took Finnland, Germany still owns most of Prussia+ a part of Austria, a part of France is independent and Austria owns Trieste.
Nice video! What a logistical nightmare to plan. Would love to see more video about countries making the switch over?
Oh , yes , you beat me to it 👍
It’s almost impossible to do anymore. Back then there wasn’t so many multilevel interchanges designed with certain traffic flows in mind, which would be astronomically expensive to convert nowadays.
There aren't many countries still driving on the correct side of the road. Japan, Australia, New Zealand... Hey, wait a minute, these are also the countries who have COVID under control!. Causation or correlation?
I'd love this to happen in the UK! - just 'cos I love left hand drive cars!
@@koolstup Really, why ?!
Thanks for mentioning H-dagurinn in Iceland. It was May 26th 1968.
Far more work than I ever considered
Interesting, always amazed me how this could be organized with relatively high amount of vehicles on the roads already. I’m from Hungary, apparently we’ve changed from driving on the left to the right in 1941, it was probably easier with less traffic:)
You probably changed sides when the Germans invaded in their tanks. That's what happened in Czechoslovakia. The Germans simply drove on the right, and nobody was arguing with them. The Germans changed when Napoleon made them move to the right.
@@dandare1001 The French were ordered to change their time zone to that of Berlin after the Germans invaded France. Franco changed the time zone in Spain in order to curry favour with Hitler. Result, Cadiz on the Atlantic coast in the far south of Spain is on the same time band as places on the German border with Poland. The usual ludicrous European quest for uniformity, now embodied by the EU in Brussels.
@@girlgirl4548 Portugal kept the same time zone as the UK.
Nothing wrong with some uniformity. For the timezones it's not that important, really. It's simple to get up earlier or later if you are dealing with a country that is far away. It's what we all have to do, sometimes.
@@dandare1001 It wasn't just that the Germans drove on the right and everyone followed them in the conquered countries; they changed the laws and did all the other necessary stuff as well, including publicity to remind people that the rules had changed.
@@hebneh I suppose that it's alright to invade a country then, as long as you change the laws. 🤔
Bloody hell mate , where did you get that map from? That's not how Poland looked like after the war
Finland is part of the Soviet Union there as well, and in place of Yugoslavia there is a strange country called "Balkan" :-)
And Katowice are called "Stalinogrod", which was actually the case, but only briefly in early 1950's.
I noticed the karelo-finnish ssr, and the lack of Liechtenstein and a fair bit of Austria. Strange map indeed
Alt-history map - I've seen it before.
There were dragons in the Indian and Pacific oceans :-)
Amazing. Had no idea. Always learning new things from you. Thank you. Are your kids aware you're a successful CZcamsr now? :)
It's the only thing I've done that they think is cool!
@@LittleCar other than marry their mom...
@@LittleCar It's very, very cool. Keep up the good job.
Thanks for that most interesting video.
There probably aren’t that many countries that do drive on the left now, Australia, Japan and South Africa come to mind
I'm so grateful the UK is and will always be driving on the left.
Except, if memory serves, at the Savoy in London, which used to be Britain's only official "road" which was driven on the right.
0:54 Was Finland Sovjet in the 60s ? That’s only a decade before I was born. Strange that my parents not have talked about it, or that we not learned that in schools here in Finland 🤔
No, Finland was never under communist rule but was forced to be neutral and if they did anything the Soviet Union didn’t like they would intervene and because of Finland in ww2 they must allow communist parties and the Finnish soldiers in ww2 were war criminals.
Trump to this day still thinks that Finland is part of Russia :-)
Oh wow this is cool video. thank you
90% of the world population are predominantly right hand users and the right hand is considered strong when compared to the left. So driving on the left with steering wheel on the right hand side of the driver is always good.
I would hope steering wheel would be in front of the driver!
What kind of map was that at 0:57, with Finland in the USSR, East Germany including part of Poland and half of Austria in West Germany?
ftw ! That map is simply impossible indeed! It is a mash up of a interbellum eastern Europe (but without Finland as a country) and a post war Western Europe.
(or something ...😵🥴).
edit: haha I only now see the Austria situation. This situation has never existed as far as I know ! But maybe Viennese will agree more or less, as Tirolers 'were always a different type of folk' 😉!
Also take note when the Dannish border is.
Very interesting, particularly during these strange times.
See that red HB Viva? I bet fewer British cars were sold in Sweden after the change, though of course the FE Victor and Ventora was sold in huge numbers abroad. Not sure if those were right or left hookers though.
I have had imported so many vehicles from Sweden 🇸🇪 in to Africa and didn’t know this! Nor did I come across any RH Steering old Trucks 🛻
I have seen the photograph that was in a Swedish newspaper. The photographer was on a balcony or on the roof, early in the morning when all cars had to cross the street, instead of just driving off. Chaos.
Unfortunately for Australia being a minority RHD market (driving on the left) means that we generally pay more for our imported cars and have less choice in available models. Sure we get the full range of smaller Japanese cars but not all the Korean, EU and particularly US models. For a big country with long travel distances and cheap fuel (similar to Canada/US), this has also limited our access to large sedans, wagons, SUVs and V8 sporting models. Now it’s proving problematic for EVs (other than Tesla) and FCEVs. Should have done a Sweden and swapped in the 1960s. Too late now with almost one RHD vehicle per person on road.
Do you get any models from the Japanese companies that they don't bother to do LHD versions of to sell in the United States, Europe and elsewhere? It seems like they keep their most interesting models on the domestic market only (Crown, Century, Skyline, President, etc.) but maybe a few have trickled through into the Australian market?
@@timothyhh Very few, particularly not this century (got the WRX from the first model). Basically if a car is worth exporting from Japan, them it’s worth exporting to majority LHD markets. We often don’t even get the RHD UK manufactured cars from Japanese brands like Nissan.
What we can do though is directly import near new, secondhand Japanese market cars that were not sold here new. This sees enthusiasts importing high performance cars as well as EVs, people movers, disability vehicles etc. Not like NewZealand though where, half the new vehicle registrations each year are secondhand imports from Japan. Go to NZ and you’ll see just about every Japanese car ever made.
I don't know if its true but I have heard that the Australian government had considered the switch after the end of WW2. But then they realised they'd just paid for the new Holden factory to tool up for building right hand drive cars and decided to stick with left hand traffic. I imagine our car industry would have looked a lot different over the following 50-60 years if we had switched. Local manufacturing probably would have folded much sooner and we'd have a lot more yank tanks on our roads.
@@user-fs3dg1po2z That story used to go around quite a bit. Can't find out is it is based in fact, or whether it dates from that time at all. Seems like the sort of thing the Whitlam government might have claimedl though the dating is unclear.
wouldn't have made any sense for Australia to change sides & vehicles like the Chevrolet Silverado & Ram truck are all available in Australia in RHD other big US trucks are all available with RHD conversions & all relevant European vehicles are available in RHD b/c of the UK, Ireland, Cyprus, & Malta.
I remember that day well. I was very drunk the night before and I had totally forgotten about the switch. Took me a week and lots of angry fellow road users to find out.
I didn't know Swedes drank :-)
LOL
As a Dane I got my Licence in 1966, but I had two uncles who often drove in Sweden, also in the left side. And even Gibraltar drives right.
my grandparents saw this from their apartment 1967 in stockholm :D
Wow ! THat was really really intresting!
What a massive logistical challange. Is their railway system still inverted?
As far as I know, yes.
@@LittleCar As they're harder to "train"
@@JTA1961 !
@@JTA1961 that's remarkable actually since trains already have doors on either side, signage exists in both directions to allow for overtaking on blocked railroad sections, and platforms generally have signs in either direction as well.
I'd argue that trains are easier to switch over, but it might be less of a hassle with border crossings and that's probably why they didn't do it.
French railways operate left hand running
So, they were driving on the correct side of the road and they decided to switch to the right side.
Now they’re on the correct side
@@monkeydui7241 Unless you're in the UK where it's not right to be on the right...unless you're talking politics.
Damn! You are pretty good at swedish not gonna lie.
Swedes do it two stages for safety reasons: first only small cars take right lane. After one week when they see that is safe, they allow trucks and lorrys drive in right lane.
Great Swedish pronounciation! You're by far the best at pronouncing our words compared to other CZcamsrs. I recall my grandfather and -mother being very frustrated when driving their Opel by people out of pure habit keeping on the left side on forest roads
Cheers! / Skål!
Thanks - I get them from listening to Bing Translate.
Yes I noticed when he said *Högertrafik*
Mehr deutsche als svenska
@@eXTreemator Maybe but German pronunciation is close enough
Not so good at pronouncing the letter H! It is aich, not haich.
0:57 what is that map
It's bollocks, that's what it is.
Finland being communist, croatia being apart from the rest of the balkans, looks like some alt history map
I think it's the same alt history map which ended up in a Danish history school book a couple of years ago.
@@tra605 Yeah it shows Denmark bordering East Germany.
LOL WUT?
Austria is also shown being nearly swallowed up by Germany. This must be something drawn up on 7 May 1945.
Oh dear. I thought I remembered this. Every second year on holidays we crossed with the ferry from Denmark to Sweden and went north to cross the border to Norway at Svinesund. I have a vivid memory how we akwardley had to change sides crossing the border. But now I see that can't be! I was born a month AFTER the change. .... I guess my parents just told us vividly about it in my early childhood and it became a false memory :)
I drove from Germany up to Sweden to surprise an exchange student from there to here n a small town in california. Coming off the ferry, there were HUGE SIGNS saying KEEP LEFT, but as i had no idea about this opposite side driving like in the U.K., i moved to the right side where, fortunately, nobody was coming. I had a wonderful little late 50's bug and all of a sudden, there were horns honking and headlamps flashing behind me in the LEFT LANE, Still had no idea why but since "they" were all lined up on the LEFT, i changed over! It wasn't until i got to the gate leading from the docks that i encountered my first left hand entry round about stating in ENGLISH that one drove on the left side of the road there!.,driving through the forests of gigantic trees at night in the pitch black was a bit daunting and was I happy on those gentle uphill slopes to be able to lean into the passenger side to look around the big trucks I was slowly passing! Gas was getting low and i spotted a truck platz turn off and found a nice little raised blacktop area just big enough to park on under a street lamp! In the morning, I awakened to an empty truck parking lot and an amazing crystal clear lake with a village miles across the water! After that left hand driving shock, i did fine and had other great experiences driving all over Europe in my faithful little blue bug with my USA military plates on my car which allowed me to whisk across borders without stopping! That was a long time ago but i never forgot that experience!
2:23 So you show a map, and talk about a street between to cities, but the map neither shows the cities nor the road. Why???
Worth a view for the giggle at 1:56 alone!
My father was a graduate-engineer working there back then. He has told me that someone suggested that the switch should happen gradually for it not to be an instant shock at once. So my father made two plans. First was that in first week they switch northbound traffic and the next week the southbound. Another plan was to first switch trucks and busses, and then the next week passenger cars.
Perfect solution! 😃
Haha, you beat me to it. In project management jargon, a phased cutover versus a big-bang cutover.
This is a great idea - if you use a road overlay system, and you can swap over each side at a time
How the heck would that have worked?!
@@stephenholland5930 "first change northbound and a week later southbound" it would not have worked, its a joke. Everybody would have been driving on the same road
Lots of British cars on the road.
I was only five when they made the switch, but I remember all the hexagonal H signs, and the switch. I had been instructed by my parents to ride my little bike on the left hand side of the road up until then, and now I was supposed to switch. I was confused. How often does the switch happen? Every year, perhaps? And why? And yes, back then it was normal for parents to let their five-year-olds out on bikes on country lanes.
It is still normal in most civilized countries. ;)
I am sure Sweden is still as civilized as it was back then, if not more.
Driving on the right your steering wheel is on the left! Driving on the left your car is right hand drive steering!
You enlarged the GDR in your map!
Very interesting video, I remember seeing this on the TV in England in 1968 when I was 8 years old. One criticism though.
The letter "H" is pronounced "Aitch" and definitely NOT "Haitch"! Yes I'm being a pedantic old fart but it does wind me up.
Muddy Dean correct grates every time l hear h, mispronounced.👍👍👍
Yes, I'm with you there. He pronounced it correctly initially but then quickly switched to 'haitch'.
Lets keep it Swedish. "H" is pronounced "Hå".
@@michaelheimbrand5424 I was waiting for that. The mix sounded funny.
Brilliant! You have to admire Sweden, imagine trying to get the Brits to do this Haha
@@toffybillbabba had my left seat car for ten years in London and it was not such a big problem. The only obstacle was getting a ticket at the car parks from the right side ;)
They have to change to metric first,fcuk that miles,Yards and stone crap,at least the Republic of lreland is in km
@@KurtFrederiksen as a kid growing up in 1970ties lreland we where though in metric unlike kids in the UK,even crossing the border into Northern Ireland today is a joke having to try and think in miles
@@KurtFrederiksen what l cant understand is thats the US still use the imperial system,but the US military uses metric
@@martingrefen3867 Military use metric to link in with the rest of NATO, makes joint operations easier.
I heard that it is a nightmare training all the new recruits on how long a click is (1 km) etc.
That’s it! Norway claimed the title of biggest trolls in history. No one’s going to overtake that switcheroo any time soon.
A joke says, the change from left to right was made in two stages: first heavy traffic and all others two days later.
The original plan was to have a phased changeover with only cars driving on the right for the first week and trucks and heavy vehicles continuing to drive on the left until the authorities had seen how it worked out for the drivers of cars.
An old joke, but a good one...