Sweden, this country that went from the left of the road to the right in one day
In just over a day, Sweden managed the feat of completely changing its organization on the road. The Swedes will no longer drive on the left, like the English, but on the right. Many say that...
20/03/2022
In just over a day, Sweden managed the feat of completely changing its organization on the road. The Swedes will no longer drive on the left, like the English, but on the right.
Many say that order and respect for others are almost innate qualities among Scandinavians. Even if we must always be wary of generalities that are a little easy, the fact remains that this day of September 3, 1967 in Sweden demonstrates all the collective spirit and cohesion that the Swedes could have had. If you go to Sweden today, you will drive on the right side of the road, like in France. But this has not always been the case. Before September 1967, Swedes drove on the left. This posed many problems: private vehicles, first of all, were mainly sold in a classic configuration (left-hand drive). In addition, the Norwegian and Finnish neighbors were already driving on the right. In short, it was time to put an end to this ineptitude for the Swedish government, which had to mobilize its entire population to adapt in just 24 hours.
Sweden, this country that went from the left of the road to the right in one day
For two days, hundreds of thousands of workers change road signs and markings to redesign all the roads. In Stockholm, it's effervescence in order to keep a somewhat crazy schedule.
On the morning of September 3, 1967, at 4:50 a.m., all vehicles authorized to circulate were stopped simultaneously. Ten minutes later, at the time of the signal emitted by the radios, everyone turns to starboard! A shambles that could have raised fears of conflicts, clashes and non-compliance with the rules in a whole host of countries, but not in Sweden. In a few minutes, the case was folded, and the passage to the right even made it possible to reduce the number of accidents on that Monday.
Source: INA Archives.