On Mon, 2 Oct 1995, Jerome Keller wrote:
> Ray, I agree that the near side is the side that you mount from, which
> is the left side of horses everywhere...
Not everywhere. That's the English way, and for the most part the
European way, but in many parts of the world it is customary to mount from
the right hand side. In other places it is customary to mount from one
side, dismount from the other. In my case it is customary to mount from
which ever side the horse is willing to let me get close enough to, and to
dismount in which ever direction he propels me when he gets fed up with my
lack of riding skills...
> ...but the right side of cars in
> England. This appeared reasonable to me, particularly since home model
> manuals (RHD) seem to indicate the near side is the driver's, or right
> side.
>
> Thus the question remains: If the near side is the side you mount
> from, wouldn't that be the left side for left-hand-drive cars and the
> right side for right-hand-drive cars?
>
> Once this is settled by some Recognized Authority (Hi, Chip!!) I
> suppose I will then have to learn my right from my left...
Don't drag me into this. I avoid religious wars at all cost, and besides
I'm not feeling particularly authoritative tonight. Sigh! Oh, all
right, since you twisted my arm...
After exhaustive research (ha!) in various musty old M.G. manuals (TC
Handbook, Blower, TD/TF Workshop Manual, etc) all the references to "near
side" I could find clearly refer to the left side of the car regardless of
whether the car in question is LHD or RHD. That jibes with my
recollection that the equestrian terms "near side" and "far side" were
carried over to the quaint automotive lingo of Great Britain as synonymous
with "left" and "right" respectively.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chip Old 1948 M.G. TC TC6710 NEMGTR #2271
Cub Hill, Maryland 1962 Triumph TR4 CT3154LO (daily driver)
fold@mail.bcpl.lib.md.us
If cars had evolved as fast as computers have, by now they'd cost a
quarter, run for a year on a half-gallon of gas, and explode once a day.
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