View Poll Results: Should HK start driving on the right?

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  • Yes

    5 17.86%
  • No

    23 82.14%
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Should HK start driving on the right?

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  1. #21

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    Given the fact that the Roads department cannot even maintain roads efficiently (we still see potholes from a year ago!) - can you imagine the scale of work that would be required to reverse all the road markings, traffic signals and signs in HK?!?!?
    while not on the same scale, okinawa changed from left to right during the 2nd world war and back to right to left in the 70s, there were many issues and accidents as result of this changeover

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/730_(transport)

  2. #22

    Join Date
    Dec 2005
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    Well I think China should switch to the left

    Paxbritannia likes this.

  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by ren32:
    Well I think China should switch to the left
    Yes, I support that! Would definitely employ more people and since most drivers are trained to drive in the center ... no big diff anyways.

  4. #24

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    A change would be dumb, unproductive, and utterly bereft of benefit to anyone.

    East_coast likes this.

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Paxbritannia:
    A change would be dumb, unproductive, and utterly bereft of benefit to anyone.
    As I said earlier, with practically all the vehicles, driver training and habits, infrastructure and workarounds designed around the British system any sudden change in the near future would be a (pointless) nightmare.

    What will happen is that eventually the vast majority of vehicles on local roads will be capable of self-driving, and they will do that more safely, efficiently and intelligently (e.g. with realtime routing and traffic information) than human drivers. Automated vehicle clusters are very likely quicker too.

    When the entire vehicle base is automated the passengers really couldn't care less whether they move on the left, right, middle or at an altitude. Local infrastructure arrangements might still result in left-hand driving being the standard. If the Party still holds absolute power in the PRC they will be the ones to rule on these issues. They are known to enforce uniformity for their own reasons.


    BBC: Why there will be so many jobs in the autonomous vehicles industry.


    Between 40% and 95% of car journeys will be done in autonomous vehicles by 2030, according to different analyses. Ford says it plans to have fully autonomous vehicles with no steering wheel or accelerator on the roads as early as 2021.
    I can see Hong Kong being at the very end of the trailing edge of developed economies in adopting these new technologies while in South-East Asia Singapore (with a far more suitable infrastructure to begin with) could choose to do the opposite. There will be increasing pressure on developed countries to move away from fossil fuels or at minimum phase out older vehicles with higher emissions and that combined with the advances in autonomous driving technologies the 2020s should be quite interesting.

  6. #26

    Join Date
    Apr 2009
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    I would personally love to see this being implemented. As with everything in HK, we can do it in stages: Start with cars driving on the right first, and see if that works


  7. #27

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    I did hear one person suggest that the Northern Economic 'Belt' of Hong Kong will be gifted to Shenzhen before the end of 50 years as Shenzhen needs a southern by-pass and room for housing in a 'soft' border zone. Obviously that would require huge concrete pouring schemes changing the border location.


  8. #28

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    Why are Shum Chun's housing needs more important than those of Hong Kong?

    East_coast likes this.

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by tparker:
    Well, Sweden has set precedent by ignoring a public referendum on the matter and switching anyways
    Also some provinces in Canada switched sides

    - British Columbia changed on 1 January 1922
    - New Brunswick on 1 December 1922
    - Nova Scotia on 15 April 1923
    - Prince Edward Island on 1 May 1924

    As well as the dominion of Newfoundland that drove on the left until 1947