I think they're talking about what side of the car the driver is on ? Because in America we drive on the right side but our drivers are on the left side.
I may have this opinion from living in Australia, but I think that the blue countries have it right. Think about it this way - you may use your left hand to change gears, but that means that the majority of the population still has their dominant hand on the wheel, meaning that they can react faster to attempt to avoid a crash.
Understandable, I struggled a bit when learning to drive a manual. But I still think that, overall, a clutch or three is worth less than a better response to a potential crash. That said, it's entirely possible that the left-handed shifting could be the cause of some...
It goes back further than that. In the days of knights on horseback they would pass each other on the left so that if they found an enemy they could hold their swords in the right hand ready to do battle (most people bing right handed), if on the other had it was a friend then aproaching on the left mae it easier to shake hands.
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