British Car Dilemma

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31333, 1 April 1967, Page 13

British Car Dilemma

(N.Z. Press Assn—Copyright) LONDON, March 31. Britain’s car industry and traffic experts will soon have another look at the country’s “keep-to-the-left” traffic rules, and their decision could affect car exports. Britain is already using metric measure in some industries and after she adopts decimal currency in the early 1970’5, the traffic rules will remain an outstanding difference between Britain and the rest of Europe. At present, Sweden, Iceland, Malta, Cyprus and Eire are the only countries in Europe who share the keepleft rules with Britain. Sweden, the most important of these, will change to the right this year and Iceland is due to change next year. Dramatic Switch Sweden faces up to the enormous problems of educating a whole nation to change their way of using the roads, in one dramatic switch. Millions of road signs, roundabouts, one-way street patterns, traffic lights and other details have to be altered. All the vehicles will change over a period. Channel Tunnel If Britain is determined to proceed with plans for closer links with Europe, she must soon consider whether she can remain on the “opposite side of the road”.

The completion of the I Channel tunnel between England and France, probably in the next decade, will bring the message home clearly. Cars streaming through the tunnel from France will enter one end on the right hand side of the road and emerge at the other on the left. Probably the biggest argument for a change, however costly, is that Britain will not be able to afford always to have two car industries—one manufacturing for export and one for the home market. Strike Problem At present, cars going to the United States and Europe cannot be driven on British roads. Last year’s shipping strike left thousands of export cars piled up in crowded parks, while the home market languished because of a shortage of supplies.

The cost of producing cars with steering wheels in different places will continue to rise and the balance will move against right-hand drive cars. These are the cars that Britain exports to Australia and New Zealand, either as complete units, parts or as knock-ed-down kits.