A documented chronology of 61 dated national traffic-side changes from 1724 to 2009, covering 57 present-day country labels (Canada appears several times because it converted province by province). Counting Canada's records as left-to-right, 57 changes moved traffic to the right and just four moved it to the left: Nauru (1918), Namibia (1920), Timor-Leste (1976) and Samoa (2009).
Read with care. Historical borders shift under these dates: several entries reflect colonies, occupations, or states that no longer exist. Some switches were phased or regional before becoming nationwide — Canada went province by province, Austria's change was phased through 1921–38, Spain's 1924 date chiefly marks Madrid's unification, and Czechoslovakia's successor states appear separately. Dates are historical text, not precise machine dates, and sources sometimes disagree. Terminology: LHT means traffic keeps left, RHT means traffic keeps right; “Left → right” refers to the side of the road driven on, not the steering-wheel position.
Why: Safer continuity with Brazil and Uruguay at border crossings, plus rising imports of left-hand-drive cars from the United States.
Switch day: At 6 a.m. an army of police blew whistles and directed motorists to slowly cross to the right lane. New speed limits took effect the same day — some still valid.
Why: Alignment with continental Europe and vehicle design.
Switch day: The change came at midnight outside Lisbon and at 5 a.m. in the capital. Taxis displayed arrow strips; period press reported carts committing many violations, and some trams derailed or saw falls.
Why: The 1926 Paris agreement had long committed the country to change; German occupation forced the date, despite cost concerns and rural opposition.
Switch day: The change rolled out in phases in March 1939 and went off with mostly minor accidents; Prague reporting includes 26 accidents and one death, depending on the exact local phase and date cited.
Why: A phased conversion begun in the 1920s was completed abruptly after annexation by Nazi Germany.
Switch day: Motorists were thrown into confusion — road signs were initially hard to see from the new side. Vienna's trams took weeks longer to convert.
Why: Standardization with right-driving neighbours under wartime pressure; the country changed in phases, with Budapest later than much of the country.
Switch day: On changeover day buses and taxis paused, trams slowed, and police with loudspeakers supervised the streets. Accidents included a pedestrian struck by a tram.
Why: Alignment with Nordic and continental neighbours — and most Swedish cars were already left-hand drive.
Switch day: Dagen H: vehicles stopped at 4:50 a.m., crossed carefully to the right, and restarted at 5:00 under heavy staffing and temporary speed limits. One source counts 157 accidents and 32 injuries that day, yet the day was widely judged smoother than feared.
Why: Alignment with Nordic and visitor traffic, and modernization ahead of road expansion.
Switch day: H-dagurinn: roads were unusually empty as anxious drivers stayed home. The only reported injury was a boy on a bicycle who broke his leg.
Why: Disputed: international alignment by some accounts, an astrologer's warning that the country had 'turned too far left' by others. The astrological story is not settled fact.
Switch day: Ne Win ordered the switch abruptly, overnight. Mismatched right-hand-drive buses afterwards discharged passengers into moving traffic.
Why: Regional trade and alignment with right-driving West African neighbours.
Switch day: The 'Nifa, Nifa Enan' campaign primed the public; police and wardens held key intersections, crowds gathered to watch, and a 6 a.m. inaugural convoy led the way. The day was largely smooth.
Why: Alignment with right-driving neighbours.
Switch day: Traffic was briefly halted and redirected under police supervision in the early hours; the available narrative calls the transition relatively smooth — a detail that comes from a secondary social-media history source.
Why: Cheaper right-hand-drive imports and ties with Australia, New Zealand and Japan — the most recent national switch, and one of only four to the left.
Switch day: Traffic stopped after a 5:50 a.m. radio announcement and moved left at 6:00 to bells and sirens. A two-day holiday thinned traffic, and the day passed without major incident.
Why: Regional continuity with Argentina and Brazil.
Switch day: A 30 km/h safety limit remained in force through September while drivers adjusted.
Why: Alignment with already right-driving North Yemen.
Switch day: Commemorative postage stamps were issued to mark the changeover. No fuller contemporary account was located in the reviewed sources.
| Country / historical label | Date | Direction | Why | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andorra | 1724 | Left → right | Landlocked between France and Spain. | en.wikipedia.org |
| France | 1792 | Left → right | Includes French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna, French Guiana, Réunion, Saint Barthélemy, the Collectivity of Saint Martin, Guadeloupe, and Mayotte. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Denmark | 1793 | Left → right | Includes the Faroe Islands and Greenland. Danish West Indies were LHT, and continue to be LHT as United States Virgin Islands after US purchase in 1917. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Finland | 8 June 1858 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Belgium | 1899 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Algeria | 1900 | Left → right | Part of France until 1962. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Netherlands | 1 January 1906 | Left → right | Includes Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 1918 | Left → right | Post–Austria-Hungary or wartime standardization with surrounding right-driving Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Nauru | 1918 | Right → left | This island nation was administered by Australia until 1968. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Romania | 1919 | Left → right | Post–Austria-Hungary or wartime standardization with surrounding right-driving Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Canada — British Columbia | 1920–1922 | Left → right | Phased province by province to align with the United States and the rest of continental traffic. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Namibia | 1920 | Right → left | South African administration replaced German practice after World War I. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Austria | 1921–38 | Left → right | Conversion completed under Nazi German pressure or occupation. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Canada — New Brunswick | 1 December 1922 | Left → right | Phased province by province to align with the United States and the rest of continental traffic. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Armenia | 1923 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Canada — Nova Scotia | 15 April 1923 | Left → right | Phased province by province to align with the United States and the rest of continental traffic. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Canada — Prince Edward Island | 1 May 1924 | Left → right | Phased province by province to align with the United States and the rest of continental traffic. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Italy | 1924–26 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Spain | 1924 | Left → right | Up to the 1920s Barcelona was RHT, and Madrid was LHT until 1924. The Madrid Metro still uses LHT. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Albania | 1926 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Croatia | 1926 | Left → right | Post–Austria-Hungary or wartime standardization with surrounding right-driving Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Greece | 1926 | Left → right | Originally LHT (albeit unofficially) since independence. The establishment of the traffic code switched traffic officially to RHT traffic in 1926. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Serbia | 1926 | Left → right | Post–Austria-Hungary or wartime standardization with surrounding right-driving Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Slovenia | 1926 | Left → right | Post–Austria-Hungary or wartime standardization with surrounding right-driving Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Angola | 1928 | Left → right | Portugal and most of its road-connected/closely administered territories standardized with continental Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Brazil | 1928 | Left → right | Portugal and most of its road-connected/closely administered territories standardized with continental Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Cape Verde | 1928 | Left → right | Portugal and most of its road-connected/closely administered territories standardized with continental Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Guinea-Bissau | 1928 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring countries and easier cross-border traffic/trade. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Portugal | 1928 | Left → right | Portugal and most of its road-connected/closely administered territories standardized with continental Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | 1928 | Left → right | Portugal and most of its road-connected/closely administered territories standardized with continental Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Czechia (then Czechoslovakia) | 1939 | Left → right | Conversion completed under Nazi German pressure or occupation. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia) | 1939–41 | Left → right | Conversion completed under Nazi German pressure or occupation. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Hungary | 1941 | Left → right | Post–Austria-Hungary or wartime standardization with surrounding right-driving Europe. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Saudi Arabia | 1942 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Panama | 1943 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Argentina | 10 June 1945 | Left → right | The anniversary on 10 June is still observed each year as Día de la Seguridad Vial (road safety day). | en.wikipedia.org |
| Paraguay | 25 January 1945 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Uruguay | 2 September 1945 | Left → right | Became LHT in 1918, but as in some other countries in South America, changed to RHT in 1945. A speed limit of 30 km/h (19 mph) was observed until 30 September for safety. | en.wikipedia.org |
| China | 1946 | Left → right | Postwar replacement of Japanese/colonial left-driving rules and alignment with the new governing power. | en.wikipedia.org |
| North Korea | 1946 | Left → right | Postwar replacement of Japanese/colonial left-driving rules and alignment with the new governing power. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Philippines | 1946 | Left → right | Postwar replacement of Japanese/colonial left-driving rules and alignment with the new governing power. | en.wikipedia.org |
| South Korea | 1946 | Left → right | Postwar replacement of Japanese/colonial left-driving rules and alignment with the new governing power. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Taiwan | 1946 | Left → right | Postwar replacement of Japanese/colonial left-driving rules and alignment with the new governing power. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Canada | 2 January 1947 | Left → right | Phased province by province to align with the United States and the rest of continental traffic. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Belize | 1961 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring countries and easier cross-border traffic/trade. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Cameroon | 1961 | Left → right | No reliable specific rationale located in the reviewed sources; generally part of legal or regional standardization. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Eritrea | 8 June 1964 | Left → right | Italian colony before 1942. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Gambia | 1 October 1965 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring countries and easier cross-border traffic/trade. | en.wikipedia.org |
| United Arab Emirates | 1 September 1966 | Left → right | Former British protectorate. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Bahrain | November 1967 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring countries and easier cross-border traffic/trade. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Sweden | 3 September 1967 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring Nordic/European traffic; most cars already had left-hand steering. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Iceland | 26 May 1968 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring Nordic/European traffic; most cars already had left-hand steering. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Myanmar | 6 December 1970 | Left → right | Ordered by Ne Win; contemporary explanations are disputed, ranging from regional/international alignment to astrological advice. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Sierra Leone | 1 March 1971 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring countries and easier cross-border traffic/trade. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Nigeria | 2 April 1972 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring countries and easier cross-border traffic/trade. | en.wikipedia.org |
| South Sudan | 1973 | Left → right | Part of Sudan until 2011. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Sudan | 1973 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring Arab/right-driving countries. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Ghana | 4 August 1974 | Left → right | Alignment with neighboring countries and easier cross-border traffic/trade. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Timor-Leste | 19 July 1976 | Right → left | Indonesia imposed left-driving after annexation. | en.wikipedia.org |
| South Yemen (now Yemen) | 1977 | Left → right | Unified road practice with already right-driving North Yemen and neighboring Arab states. | en.wikipedia.org |
| Samoa | 7 September 2009 | Right → left | Economic access to cheaper right-hand-drive cars from Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. | en.wikipedia.org |
Method: broad documented chronology of 61 dated traffic-side change records for sovereign states or territories represented by present-day countries, 1724–2009, drawn chiefly from the Wikipedia traffic-direction chronology and enriched with 82 corroborating narrative records for motives and switch-day detail. Four Canadian province records carry no explicit direction and are interpreted as left-to-right. Places where sources identified only a city-level adoption (for example Kabul) or explicitly said no switch occurred are excluded. Dates are historical text; phased conversions carry ranges. Where no reliable switch-day account was located, the report says so rather than inventing one.