Is the driver's seat on the left or right in the United States?
2 Answers
The driver's seat in American cars is on the left. Here is some related information about car driver's positions: Classification of driver's positions: Globally, there are two categories. One is island countries, known as the island faction (UK, Japan), where the driver's seat is on the right. The other is continental countries, referred to as the continental faction (China, the United States), where the driver's seat is on the left. Setting of the driver's position: Mercedes-Benz is the world's earliest car company, which initially designed the driver's seat in the middle, with the steering wheel and gear shift both located in the center of the car. However, according to human mechanics, people are accustomed to using their right hand, and car gear shifting and braking rely on pushing the operating lever, so the driver's seat was set on the right.
In the United States, the driver's seat is on the left because our country's tradition of right-hand driving dates back to the horse-drawn carriage era, when drivers preferred sitting on the left to easily handle the whip and avoid hitting other vehicles. Later, when automobiles became widespread, this design was retained and became the U.S. standard. Today, when driving, you'll notice the steering wheel is on the left, and various controls are optimized for this position, such as the dashboard and gear lever layout being more accessible. If you travel to countries like the UK or Australia, where right-hand drive vehicles operate on the left side of the road, you'll need to adjust your habits. I always remind friends to check the vehicle setup when renting a car to avoid confusion at the start. Road safety also heavily relies on this system, with U.S. traffic data showing that left-hand drive configurations help reduce head-on collisions.
