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The Ultimate Crossover: Samoa's plan to switch to left-hand traffic sparks motorist unrest

Samoa's prime minister has decided to do something for his constituents who want to buy cheap cars: swap driving from the right-hand side to the left-hand side. The reasoning behind the move is that Australia and New Zealand are Samoa's biggest trading partners, and driving in the same manner they do -- like the English -- will let Samoans buy cheaper cars from the antipodes. Intriguingly, the prime minister also said the switch will help Samoans avoid tsunamis.

http://www.autoblog.com/2009/08/25/the- ... hand-traf/

Well all the surrounding countries do drive on the left, so it does make sense. Why be the odd ones out?

Well odd one out with the rest of the world. UK along with few of its ex-colonies plus a hand full of other countries. Rest of the world drives on the right side of the road

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right-_and ... nd_traffic

I wouldn't be so categoric because the second economy in the World, but in terms of technology the best, drives on the left side.

Of course it's not UK, but Japan.

Japan does allow both RHD and LHD vehicles on their roads. In some cases the same vehicle is available in both LHD and RHD configurations.

desertdudeshj wrote:Japan does allow both RHD and LHD vehicles on their roads. In some cases the same vehicle is available in both LHD and RHD configurations.

I understood your point. Yes, it would be really easier to allow LHD vehicle instead of changing direction of driving.

Rather weird decision was made, probably helpful against Tsunami.

Yes because Tsunamis drive on the left !

desertdudeshj wrote:Yes because Tsunamis drive on the left !

Coriolis effect man. You know how when you flush your toilet in Dubai the water always moves anticlockwise. In the Southern hemisphere, it flows clockwise. Clockwise is right to left (you start at the right side of the clock and end up on the left side of the clock) so basically you can say that water in the Southern hemisphere should move towards the left. He probably thinks that if you are driving on the right hand side of the road then you have a greater chance of avoiding tsunamis since they always favor the left side. I don't know if this would practically work though because how much do tsunamis actually spin?

Dee7o your a sad man to watch toilets flush !

dee7o wrote:

desertdudeshj wrote:Yes because Tsunamis drive on the left !

Coriolis effect man. You know how when you flush your toilet in Dubai the water always moves anticlockwise. In the Southern hemisphere, it flows clockwise. Clockwise is right to left (you start at the right side of the clock and end up on the left side of the clock) so basically you can say that water in the Southern hemisphere should move towards the left. He probably thinks that if you are driving on the right hand side of the road then you have a greater chance of avoiding tsunamis since they always favor the left side. I don't know if this would practically work though because how much do tsunamis actually spin?

er no, clockwise is left to right!

Chocoholic wrote:

dee7o wrote:

desertdudeshj wrote:Yes because Tsunamis drive on the left !

Coriolis effect man. You know how when you flush your toilet in Dubai the water always moves anticlockwise. In the Southern hemisphere, it flows clockwise. Clockwise is right to left (you start at the right side of the clock and end up on the left side of the clock) so basically you can say that water in the Southern hemisphere should move towards the left. He probably thinks that if you are driving on the right hand side of the road then you have a greater chance of avoiding tsunamis since they always favor the left side. I don't know if this would practically work though because how much do tsunamis actually spin?

er no, clockwise is left to right!

Ok, think of it this way, if someone punches you with her right arm she would be swinging her arm from left to right in your perspective. Similarly, if you consider the clock's perspective, then clockwise is left to right. If you consider the perspective of the person looking at the clock it is right to left. When you are going to be hit by a tsunami or cyclone, noone cares about the tsunamis perspective. It is the perspective of the soon to be annhilated observer that is important. If the tsunami is moving clockwise, it will be approaching your right. If it approaching you anticlockwise like in Samoa, it will be approaching your left. That is why if you are driving on the right hand side you swerve right. If you considered the tsunami's/clock's perspective, then you would end up driving right into it. The thing is, I know this applies to cyclones and hurricanes but do tsunamis actually even spin?

desertdudeshj wrote:Dee7o your a sad man to watch toilets flush !

It was just an example