You may see,in English literature,the LHS of the car referred to as the
'nearside',whereas the RHS of the car is referred to as the 'offside'
nearside is of course nautically referred to as Port and offside as
Starboard.
>From which comes the word 'Posh' (no connection whatever with the Spice
girls!)
Posh is apparently an English word originating on cruise ships of the 1930's,
The story goes that on cruise liners sailing eastwards from England around
the Cape of Good Hope,(South Africa),to,say India & Australia...On the way
out,the best cabins were on the Port side of the liner,whereas on the way
back,they were on the Starboard side,hence P.O.S.H. or Port Out Starboard Home
.
(No,in fact,that is just another one of those 'stories' which I don't think
it is true,as the dictionary definition states it an early word meaning
'money' or 'dandy' which of course is a North American word!
anyhow,I'm straying from the point here:sorry!
Contrary to an earlier listers' contention,there are in fact,quite a few
countries that continue to drive on the left-hand side of the road without
any great difficulty,and indeed at considerable speed! (see the RH lane of
the M1 Motorway (freeway) heading north from
London-Birmingham,England),average speed is usually IRO 90mph and Britain has
the best road safety record in Europe,a situation which would no doubt
deteriorate if we were to change to the other side! We have 30 million
vehicles crowded onto this tiny island right now,with all the associated
Road-furniture that goes with it,so it would be a very big waste of money as
well...
So,if you drive in The British Isles,The island of Ireland,Australia,New
Zealand,South Africa,Zimbabwe,Japan,Malta,Cyprus,(I think) & no doubt plenty
of other ex-British colonies,(Hong Kong?)...
You will join in with them and drive on the left,hopefully...
nb.While we are about it,and with due respect,How many American drivers know
what to do at a roundabout/rotary?
I once came upon one to the north of the Hawaiian island of Oahu,and
marvelled at the behaviour of drivers when they arrived at this obstacle
placed before them! It was a sight to behold,I wish I had my Video Camera
then!
Leon.
(still not quite undrstanding the American rule of being able to turn right
against a red-light)
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