Right hand to left hand drive change date

47COE

47COE

Senior Member
With a 36 pickup, a 41 and 42 COE, I normally hang out on the early V8 forum.

But I also volunteer in the photo archives of my county museum.

What I'd like to know is the date range when the U.S. changed over exclusively to left hand steering.

I figure the people here would have a better idea of the time frame of the changeover. I think it was in the teens, but I don't know if it was gradual or all happened in a one or two year period.

That would help in dating old photos that have early cars.


Thanks,

Tom
 
From old photos, it appears that most US auto companies had gone to LHD from about 1910. A few carried on RHD, Pierce Arrow was one, probably to be 'exclusive' from cheaper cars. A couple of Canadian provinces stayed RHD until the '40's. I would be interested to know whether some US States legistated the change to driving on the right side of the road or if the auto companies decided to standardise assembly for LHD.
 

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I believe it was 1922 that Stutz changed over from right hand drive to left. Locomobile did so about the same time. They were the last holdouts. Most manufacturers had changed by 1915, but most cars were already left hand drive as Henry Ford had started production of the Model T Ford in 1909 as a LHD car. Ford was producing about half the cars made in the USA at the time.
 
Ah, with Henry flooding the market with left hand drive Model T cars that would have set the standard. Just a matter of time after that for the right hand drive models to follow that lead.

Thanks,

Tom
 
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