Left is right, right is wrong and roundabouts spin backwards (hypothetical oh no :))

[flappist]

After reading about the recent switch from Right Hand Drive to Left Hand Drive in Samoa and other countries e.g Sweden in 1967 I was wondering what effect doing this would have is Australia. So on the 1st of April 2010 Comrade Kev has decreed that we will swap sides of the road and all new cars will be left hand drive including Falcons and Commodores.

There will be a transitional period of 20 years where LHD and RHD will be allowed but after that RHD cars will only be allowed under special circumstances much like LHD is now. No new or imported second hand RHD cars will be allowed.

Before the usual suspects arc up about heritage and muscle cars remember this will be 2030, XY falcons will be 60 years old and about as rare as pre WW2 cars are now and anyone can drive a LHD now that is the appropriate age.

Apart from the chaos created while the lower percentile of our driving congregation come to terms with having to remember which is their left hand (no the other left) could this be a good thing?

All of a sudden we have a HUGE export market as most of the world is LHD.
Prices will drop due to economies of scale with American, European and future Chinese imports becoming available (Shelby or ZR9 anyone?).

The japanese grey market will die instantly as they are all RHD and it will cost heaps to convert them much like the incumbent Mustang/Corvette situation.

Exports to NZ will probably not be affected as like with everything else they will copy us a couple of years later

So will this be a good, bad or indifferent thing for Australia?

[Jack91]

Good thing. Thread wants a poll.
edit: there it is.

Very good thing. I cant see any real downsides to it. Sure there would be a few annoyed people with classic cars and stuff like that but even so, those are registerable when theyre a certain age anyway. As for it being "painful", I think being on the right side would be natural if the car is left hand drive.

[Danny]

Killing the Jap import market is the only good thing to come of it I reckon. We are Australia, we are fashioned from the British social models including what side of the road we drive on and I like it that way. We do not need to be American.

Anyway, is this hypothetical or for real??

[burnz]

well i'd be too old to drive if this happens.
i've driven L/H truck's before and they feel wrong, not from inexpereance just that the truck is not a true mirror image.

[Road_Warrior]

Hell no, Western Australian motorists are stupid enough as it is, how do you think they'll handle a change as fundamental as that?

[burnz]

keep in mind flappist the australian car market will die too.
holden and ford will import "ikea" cars from uncle sam as they did in the early years.

ps: whats the death rate over in samoa??

[Jason[98.EL]]

i voted yes

but it would open a world of opportunity as to what cars we could get here butmmm the stang would be nice

Jason

[chevypower]

I can see Australians being too stubborn to change. "We shouldn't copy America" blah blah blah. I can just hear people saying that when calling up 3AW to make their voices heard. But, let's face it... Most of the world drives on the right.
There is no point following England... heck, even England might change one day. There isn't really an auto industry there anymore, so why would anyone want to base their auto industry on a country that doesn't have one?

Especially these days, auto manufacturers have to bear in mind the biggest markets, and they (the biggest markets) are all LHD. (Including China). So by keeping yourself aloof from that, you really miss out, because manufacturers will say "it's not worth selling this product in Australia" - sound familiar? I guess India would be the only superpower (to be) that drives on the left - and those Mahindra's are made in LHD.
And bottom line to the stubborn people: America isn't going to think any less of you for making a change! LOL

[XR6_661]

Yo dawg, I just made a hypothetical thread about hypothetical situations so I can hyphothesize while I hypothesize.

[ThePistonHead]

Now Imma let you finish, but the 2011 FPV hypothetical was one of the best EVER!

[block58]

Wayyy too hard.

Imagine all the roads that would have to be re-painted. Every single one.
+ traffic light configurations.
+ the whole of a state or at least the whole of a region would have to be done at once to aviod driving into different suburbs finding you are driving on the wrong side of the road. Imagine all the roadworks+downtime.
+Highways, exit lanes

Would be pretty cool to have more cars though.

[Charliewool]

The bit that worries me is.. "There will be a transitional period of 20 years where LHD and RHD will be allowed"
I think driving in the same direction on both sides of the road will be VERY dangerous?
What if LHD and RHD are coming the other way, also on both sides?
Suppose it'd be great for parking though!.. Being able to simply stick your head out the drivers window to see how close you are to the curb.

[ea90gl]

Imagine the chaos that would ensue after the switch was to happen, many of us would probably cope but lets face it there are way too many people out there that struggle to comprehend no left turn signs etc etc which will probably fail trying to adjust to LHD habits. Don't think insurance companies would be too happy lol

[chevypower]

Hey just think.... they might not catch on to turning the speed cameras around! LOL

[Charliewool]

Also... Imagine what a dill you'd look continually getting in the wrong side of the car?

This could be good for business just the same.. As we are in the final stages of our LHD to RHD and vice-versa conversions here at work!!... See attached pic.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by charliewool

The bit that worries me is.. "There will be a transitional period of 20 years where LHD and RHD will be allowed"
I think driving in the same direction on both sides of the road will be VERY dangerous?
What if LHD and RHD are coming the other way, also on both sides?
Suppose it'd be great for parking though!.. Being able to simply stick your head out the drivers window to see how close you are to the curb.

Can't pull the wool over your eyes Charlie....

LHD & RHD cars will drive in the RIGHT side of the road just like LHD & RHD cars do in China (from Macau and HK) and on the LEFT side of the road in UK (from Europe) and Alice Springs (from Pine Gap).

The change ove is 1/4/2010 with the final phase out 1/4/2030 and all the signs/exits/whatever are sorted by little green pixies.

As far as conversions, I was in Macau not long ago and saw cars with 2 steering wheels....

[chevypower]

Originally Posted by charliewool

Also... Imagine what a dill you'd look continually getting in the wrong side of the car?

Oh, I don't need to imagine that one! Nearly done that many times! Also had a fun little experience in Ballarat a few months ago, pulling out of a fuel station. Signaled right, came up to the roundabout thinking nothing was wrong.... my dad was like "what are you doing?" then we all just laughed, as I then drove his Caprice over the median, and on to the left side.
I still think the costs, pain and funny moments would be worth the long-term benefits though.

I think to add to that top quality of RHD conversion... there would be a small TV screen gaffer taped to the dash, with a video camera looking at the gauges.... Just to add some class, you know?

[geckoGT]

I don't believe this, Flappist has actually come up with a good idea from a theoretical point of view.

In practice could be different, I know I would schedule long service leave during the change over and not drive for as long as possible because it would be carnage out there on the roads. Hell, we have been driving on the same side of the road for how long and people still can't stop smacking into each other. Not a good time to be a paramedic!

[Rev28K]

Well at least the horrible Euro insistence of not swapping indicator switches on their RHD would be justified.

Maybe an excuse to get in to a McLaren F1, Rocket, T.25 city car or that English 1+1 V12 coupe so that I could get a central driving position.

If drive by wire becomes a reality conversion costs from LHD to RHD and vice versa will shrink.

[MITCHAY]

Cog swapping with my right hand would feel too weird :

[flappist]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

I don't believe this, Flappist has actually come up with a good idea from a theoretical point of view.

In practice could be different, I know I would schedule long service leave during the change over and not drive for as long as possible because it would be carnage out there on the roads. Hell, we have been driving on the same side of the road for how long and people still can't stop smacking into each other. Not a good time to be a paramedic!

Just doing my bit to help you through the global financial crisis. Think of all the overtime..... :P

[GT69]

Out of curiousity. Are there more % or left handed yanks than right? I dunno, Im sure i'd get use to the change, would be alittle off though.

[Alanbxr8]

Originally Posted by flappist

The japanese grey market will die instantly as they are all RHD and it will cost heaps to convert them much like the incumbent Mustang/Corvette situation.

Japanese already export new cars to the USA (LHD) so I can't see how they would die

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by flappist

Just doing my bit to help you through the global financial crisis. Think of all the overtime..... :P

You make it sound like I profit off others suffering. Guess I do in a way, evil me.

Originally Posted by Alanbxr8

Japanese already export new cars to the USA (LHD) so I can't see how they would die

By grey export, he means second hand cars that are no longer allowed to be registered in Japan due to age. They then get exported here by companies at a tidy profit. Japan is RHD, if we were LHD, market gone in the grey exports. Thats how.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Alanbxr8

Japanese already export new cars to the USA (LHD) so I can't see how they would die

Yes new ones, not second hand local ones that have to sold after 3 years which are all RHD. That is the grey market, the soarers and silvias etc

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by flappist

Yes new ones, not second hand local ones that have to sold after 3 years which are all RHD. That is the grey market, the soarers and silvias etc

Beat you to it :

[Unco]

Originally Posted by flappist

After reading about the recent switch from Right Hand Drive to Left Hand Drive in Samoa and other countries

i think you'll find that Samoa has switched from LHD to RHD.

they have switched from driving on the right side of the road to driving on the left side of the road, like we do at the moment.

one of the main incentives for that decision is to open up an Australian vehicle import market into Samoa.

[EgoFG]

I have this theory

The chaotic weather and the like is caused by the fact that so many cars are driven from the wrong-hand side of the car.

Everyone knows that here in Aust it is easier to do a laft hand blockie. The trouble is that an increasing majority of countries (and therefor cars) are driven from the left, and so therefor most drivers prefer a rightways blockie.

The resultant effect on the rotation of the earth is upsetting the weather patterns.

My cure was to even out the occurrence of left hand and right hand blockies.

The best solution must be if cars with an even number plate drive on get driven on the left side of the road (left ways blockies, whereas odd number plated cars drive on the right (right ways blockies).

This would solve the issue of climate change, and even the production of cars to 50/50 right hand drive vss wrong hand drive.

There are no holes in this theory are there ?

[torbirdie]

Originally Posted by flappist

After reading about the recent switch from Right Hand Drive to Left Hand Drive in Samoa and other countries e.g Sweden in 1967 I was wondering what effect doing this would have is Australia. So on the 1st of April 2010 Comrade Kev has decreed that we will swap sides of the road and all new cars will be left hand drive including Falcons and Commodores.

There will be a transitional period of 20 years where LHD and RHD will be allowed but after that RHD cars will only be allowed under special circumstances much like LHD is now. No new or imported second hand RHD cars will be allowed.

Before the usual suspects arc up about heritage and muscle cars remember this will be 2030, XY falcons will be 60 years old and about as rare as pre WW2 cars are now and anyone can drive a LHD now that is the appropriate age.

Apart from the chaos created while the lower percentile of our driving congregation come to terms with having to remember which is their left hand (no the other left) could this be a good thing?

All of a sudden we have a HUGE export market as most of the world is LHD.
Prices will drop due to economies of scale with American, European and future Chinese imports becoming available (Shelby or ZR9 anyone?).

The japanese grey market will die instantly as they are all RHD and it will cost heaps to convert them much like the incumbent Mustang/Corvette situation.

Exports to NZ will probably not be affected as like with everything else they will copy us a couple of years later

So will this be a good, bad or indifferent thing for Australia?

Oh dear, you've obviously inverted the situation in your mind. The idea was that Somoa would open itself up to the same market as the New Zealanders and get all those nice small right hand drive 'grey" cars from a closer neighbour like japan

People driving 1960's cars around etc? It will still be happening(providing its not outlawed), if people can look after them this long they will continue to do so. It wont matter that they are 60 years old.

Situations have changed, when I got my licence in the mid 70s, there were no cars driving around that were 40 years old or even 30 years old(perhaps some cars from the mid 50s), they were just so poorly made back in the 1930's(and perhaps so few of them) or would be totally "difficult and dangerous" to be driving around in. There is nothing really that difficult or unsafe about driving around a 60s vehicle in today's traffic.

[flappist]

Originally Posted by torbirdie

There is nothing really that difficult or unsafe about driving around a 60s vehicle in today's traffic.

Until it rains or you have to stop in a hurry or on an uneven surface or on a corner or you hit something solid (the car will survive so it can be sold to pay for your funeral or intensive care).........

I too got my license in the mid 70s and drove the best part of 1,000,000 kilometres in the subsequent 10 or so years in 60s, 70s and early 80s cars.

They belong in museums and collections to be loved and caringly driven on special occasions or weekends in good weather NOT mixed up in day to day traffic that is traveling faster, more nimbly and closer together than ever even dreamed possible 40 years ago.

Of course I am sure I have just upset many of the muscle car enthusiasts but in real terms, is there anyone here who would drive a 1965 falcon with their family on board from Sydney to Melbourne in the rain?