A chara, – Mairtin O’Fallamhain makes a valid argument for changing the side of the road we drive on (Letters, December 27th). However, while cheaper second-cars from other EU countries are an advantage to changing over to driving on the right-hand side of the road, there are also some big disadvantages that need to be considered.
A US Department of Transport study estimated the cost of the changeover to the right-hand side of the road in Sweden in 1967 as $120 million. The study found that “slightly more than half went for the conversion of buses, street cars and other vehicles; about 40 per cent was for physical changes in streets and roads, and for new traffic controls; about 5 per cent for information and training; and the remaining amount for administration.”
I shudder to think what it would cost in 2024, while also adding in our ability to mismanage large-scale infrastructural projects in terms of both cost and delivery.
It is also necessary to consider the impact on the existing right-hand drive cars. The cost of the changeover in Sweden was covered by the government which introduced a special vehicle tax for three years for existing car owners. Additionally existing car owners are likely to have to make adjustments to their own vehicles, such as outsize mirrors and adjustments to electronic sensors and driving aids. Finally if a flood of second-hand right-hand drive cars causes prices to fall, then that will have a negative impact on the current left-hand drive cars.
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There is also a safety issue to consider. Pedestrians are currently programmed to look left. It will take time and education for us all to adjust. A revamped Safe Cross Code would be needed, with the big question of whether Judge from Wanderly Wagon would come out of retirement to front a new campaign. Interestingly, though, the number of accidents following the changeover actually fell as drivers were very cautious but rose back to normal after about six weeks.
An additional factor to be considered is the Border with the North and the dangers of left-hand vehicles entering a right-hand road system. The “Drive on the Left” signs, also in French and German, outside Rosslare highlights this issue. In this case the drivers from right-hand driving countries are beginning their journey on the existing road system and are not transitioning while driving over a border which will be the case of drivers coming from the North and also drivers going North.
It is currently possible to source cheaper second-hand left-hand drive cars from abroad, particularly the UK and Japan. Car prices are significantly lower in theses jurisdictions.
The Government, however, levies VAT and vehicle registration tax on these imports, which significantly alters the economics of importers. As the Government is unlikely to want to reduce any tax channel, this issue would also apply to imported right-hand drive cars.
The move to electric vehicles will also impact the potential availability of second-hand cars, as demand will rise with very little supply. I think that some things may be best left unchanged. – Is mise,
DERMOT HARDY,
Dublin 18.
Sir, – A letter writer claims that we are the only EU country that uses the left side of the road and to keep the cost of used imports down we should move to the right. Have Malta and Cyprus moved without telling us? A slightly bigger problem would be the journey from Lifford to Strabane or, even worse, Cavan to Clones, where the road passes in and out of Fermanagh several times in a few kilometres. – Yours, etc,
JOHN K ROGERS,
Rathowen,
Co Westmeath.