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Because it's the law and that's just how it is.
But I was wondering how that was ever established? I would have expected that since these VI have been US VI for quite a while, the same road rules would have been adopted as on the mainland. I imagine that cars were slow coming to the islands, so the road rules would have been well in place before the VI had to start to codify their driving rules.
The story that I was told by my father was that in the past, almost everybody travelled on the left side of the road because most people are right-handed and swordsmen preferred to keep to the left in order to have their right arm nearer to an opponent and their scabbard further from him. Moreover, it reduced the chance of the scabbard (worn on the left) hitting other people. Did you know that a right-handed person finds it easier to mount a horse from the left side of the horse, and it would be very difficult to do otherwise if wearing a sword (which would be worn on the left). It is safer to mount and dismount towards the side of the road, rather than in the middle of traffic, so if one mounts on the left, then the horse was ridden on the left side of the road.
During English colonisation of North America, English driving customs were followed and the colonies drove on the left. After gaining independence from England, however, they were anxious to cast off all remaining links with their British colonial past and gradually changed to right-hand driving. The first law requiring drivers to keep right was passed in Pennsylvania in 1792, and similar laws were passed in New York in 1804 and New Jersey in 1813.
Years ago I worked in Ghana, a former British colony in West Africa. A few years before I got there, the government decided to switch from left-hand drive (put in place during the British colonial period) to right-hand drive, which was the rule in the neighboring countries (they were former French colonies). Apparently it went fairly smoothly. There was a year long educational/informational campaign----then on a designated day, everyone switched. Now that's an example of FUNDAMENTAL change.
Actually, the thing about the swords makes a lot of sense. In fact, that's the same story I was told in the UK about 15 years ago, as to why they drive on the other side...
CShell,
You father's story sound's very much like the free encyclopedia wikipedia version ( of why we drive on the left).
Frankly my dad was long gone before wikipedia (or what ever/however it is spelled) and even computers. Given the reputation of that site I don't know that that is such a good source! But then he was in the business of building motor vehicles and shipping 'em all around the world for the gov't.
The donkeys are probably going to unite and protest all these
other projections as to how left hand driving was decided ! You can't blame them.
I myself am humbled by their contributions to the human race.
Therefore, I propose a toast. "May donkeys be forever famous for their left-handed, wacky wisdom, and
from here on in, be exempt from taking a driving test at the DMV!!"
DreamConch,
Exempting the donkeys from taking the driving test at the DMV, is going a little over the top, don't you think?
