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Re: What is LEFT OFF SIDE

To: british-cars@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: What is LEFT OFF SIDE
From: rush@mnementh.Metaphor.COM (Ed Rush)
Date: Mon, 14 Sep 92 18:00:33 PDT
> ...LEFT NEAR SIDE (LNS), ... RIGHT OFF SIDE (ROS) ...

I guess the knock-off heads have been beaten to death by now,
Ne'ertheless, I find it curious that they used such redundant
labelling redundancy.  As was noted, the near side IS the left
side (from the driving perspective) and the off side IS the
right side.  I believe these terms stem from horsemanship; one
ALWAYS mounts the horse from the left side, so it is the near
side.

Now for the question: does anyone here know how it came to be 
that the Brits and others drive on the left side of the road and
the Americans and others drive on the right?  I must assume that
16th-Century (or earlier) carriages had a similar protocol when
passing on the road.

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