Why do Americans drive on the other side of the road to us? :D

we dont you do lol

This is a question that has actually piqued my interest for quite some time. I live in the U.S. and there have been many cars that manufactured in Australia that I would love to own. Unfortunately, the cost of having it converted to a Right-side drive far outweighs the cost of the vehicle. My point is, that only 34% of the world drives on the left. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_hand_drive) Nonetheless, I would love the opportunity to try driving on the left, because from an analytical point of view, it would seem to me that it would be extremely difficult to put into action. It would be mirror image. I hate to answer a question with a question, but what do you all think? I don't know if I would be comfortable without having first attempted it in a controlled area, with traffic signals and all. For instance, when us Americans are making a left, we must yield to the oncoming traffic. As with Australia, UK, and others, they must yield to the oncoming traffic when they are making a right turn. I would think that I would actually forget this tidbit, and would make the right turn on red (legal in the U.S. of course) but would then get creamed because I had a brainfart. Thoughts? Has anyone ever driven opposite what you were used to, and was it difficult?

We drive on the proper side of the road in the UK (it feels proper to me). I think it may have had something to do with jousting but I don't know how that would have worked with another country who now drive on the opposite side of the road.

Actually, people who are not driving on the right side of the road must therefore be driving on the wrong side of the road, since the right side is obviously the right side.

This seems to be the standard answer online. I dont know if it's true or not. "In the past, almost everybody travelled on the left side of the road because that was the most sensible option for feudal, violent societies. Since most people are right-handed, 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." "Most countries which were British colonies still drive on the left hand side of the road including huge land masses such as India, Australia and Southern Africa as well as the Caribbean. Europe generally drives on the right hand side apart from the United Kingdom, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus. Aug 16, 2009" "Although Japan was never part of the British Empire, its traffic also keeps to the left. This practice goes back all the way to the Edo period (1603-1867) when Samurai ruled the country (same sword and scabbard deal as before), but it wasn't until 1872 that this unwritten rule became official. Feb 22, 2013"

In the US Virgin Islands, they drive on the left, despite the fact that there are no land bridges to their British neighbors.