© Trivector PEDELECS IN SWEDEN Target groups Traffic safety considerations.
Switch to Right Hand Traffic in Sweden
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Kungsgatan, Stockholm, on Dagen H Dagen H logo Dagen H From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Dagen H (H day), today mostly called "Högertrafikomläggningen" ("The right-hand traffic diversion"), was the day, 3 September 1967, on which traffic in Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of the road to the right. The "H" stands for "Högertrafik", the Swedish word for "right-hand traffic". Contents 1 Background 2 The switch 3 Results 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Background There were various major arguments for the change: All Sweden's immediate neighbours drove on the right (including Norway, with which Sweden has a long land border). Most Swedes drove left-hand drive (LHD) vehicles. This led to many head-on collisions when passing on two-lane highways, which were common in Sweden because of its low population density and traffic levels. Nonetheless, the change was widely unpopular, and had repeatedly been voted down over the previous forty years. In a 1955 referendum, 83 percent voted to keep driving on the left. In 1963, the Riksdag approved the change and established the Statens Högertrafikkommission (HTK) ("state right-hand traffic commission") to oversee it. It also began implementing a four-year education program, with the advice of psychologists. [1] The campaign included displaying the Dagen H logo on various commemorative items, including milk cartons, men's shorts [1] and women's underwear. [2] Swedish television held a contest for songs about the change; the winning entry was Håll dig till höger, Svensson ('Keep to the right, Svensson') by Rock-Boris. As Dagen H neared, every intersection was equipped with an extra set of poles and traffic signals 1 of 3 10/08/13 6:58 PM
description
The right hand traffic was once not so common in Europe. Here is one of the examples.
Transcript of Switch to Right Hand Traffic in Sweden
Kungsgatan, Stockholm, on Dagen H
Dagen H logo
Dagen HFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Dagen H (H day), today mostly called"Högertrafikomläggningen" ("The right-hand trafficdiversion"), was the day, 3 September 1967, on which trafficin Sweden switched from driving on the left-hand side of theroad to the right. The "H" stands for "Högertrafik", theSwedish word for "right-hand traffic".
Contents1 Background2 The switch3 Results4 See also5 References6 External links
BackgroundThere were various major arguments for the change:
All Sweden's immediate neighbours drove on the right(including Norway, with which Sweden has a long landborder).Most Swedes drove left-hand drive (LHD) vehicles.This led to many head-on collisions when passing ontwo-lane highways, which were common in Swedenbecause of its low population density and traffic levels.
Nonetheless, the change was widely unpopular, and hadrepeatedly been voted down over the previous forty years. Ina 1955 referendum, 83 percent voted to keep driving on theleft. In 1963, the Riksdag approved the change andestablished the Statens Högertrafikkommission (HTK) ("stateright-hand traffic commission") to oversee it. It also began implementing a four-year educationprogram, with the advice of psychologists.[1]
The campaign included displaying the Dagen H logo on various commemorative items, includingmilk cartons, men's shorts[1] and women's underwear.[2] Swedish television held a contest for songsabout the change; the winning entry was Håll dig till höger, Svensson ('Keep to the right, Svensson')by Rock-Boris.
As Dagen H neared, every intersection was equipped with an extra set of poles and traffic signals
Dagen H - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H
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Headlamp sold in Sweden not longbefore Dagen H. Opaque decal blocksthe lens portion that would providelow beam upkick to the right, andbears warning "Not to be removedbefore 3 September 1967".
wrapped in black plastic. Workers roamed the streets early in the morning on Dagen H to remove theplastic. Similarly, a parallel set of lines were painted on the roads with white paint, then covered withblack tape. Before Dagen H, Swedish roads had used yellow lines.
The switchOn Dagen H, Sunday, 3 September, all non-essential traffic was banned from the roads from 01:00 to06:00. Any vehicles on the roads during that time had to follow special rules. All vehicles had tocome to a complete stop at 04:50, then carefully change to the right-hand side of the road and stopagain before being allowed to proceed at 05:00. In Stockholm and Malmö, however, the ban waslonger—from 10:00 on Saturday until 15:00 on Sunday—to allow work crews to reconfigureintersections. Certain other towns also saw an extended ban, from 15:00 on Saturday until 15:00 onSunday.
One-way streets presented unique problems. Bus stops had to be constructed on the other side of thestreet. Intersections had to be reshaped to allow traffic to merge.
Trams in central Stockholm, in Helsingborg and most lines in Malmö were withdrawn and replacedby buses, and over one thousand new buses were purchased with doors on the right-hand side. Some8,000 older buses were retrofitted to provide doors on both sides, while Gothenburg exported itsRHD buses to Pakistan and Kenya. The modification of buses, paid by the state, was the largest costof the change. In Gothenburg and Norrköping, and in two Stockholm suburbs, tram networkscontinued to operate.
In order to avoid blinding the oncoming drivers, all Swedishvehicles had to have their original left-hand-traffic headlampsreplaced with right-hand units. One of the reasons theRiksdag pushed ahead with Dagen H despite publicunpopularity was that most vehicles in Sweden at the timeused inexpensive, standardized round headlamps, but thetrend towards more expensive model-specific headlamps hadbegun in Continental Europe and was expected to spreadthrough most other parts of the world. Further delay inchanging over from left- to right-hand traffic would havegreatly increased the cost burden to vehicle owners.
ResultsOn the Monday following Dagen H, there were 125 reportedtraffic accidents, compared to a range of 130 to 198 forprevious Mondays. No fatal traffic accidents were attributedto the switch. Experts suggested that changing to driving on the right would reduce accidents aspeople already drove left-hand drive vehicles, thereby having a better view of the road ahead. Indeed,fatal car-to-car and car-to-pedestrian accidents dropped sharply as a result. Some of the decrease wasattributed to a reduction in speed limits by 10 km/h for some time after the switch.
See also
Dagen H - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H
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H-dagurinn730 (transport)Right and left hand trafficSwitch to right hand traffic in CzechoslovakiaTransport in Sweden
References
^ a b Switch to the Right (http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,941144,00.html), TIME, 15Sep. 1967
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^ Dagen H (http://translate.google.co.uk/translate?u=http://hem.bredband.net/b132258/hogertrafik/Dagen_H.htm&sl=sv&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8)
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External linksTelevision coverage of changeover (http://www.svtplay.se/klipp/273078/h-vaka-04-45-05-15)September 3 1967 – 40 years of driving on the right side in Sweden(http://www.volvocars.com/intl/top/corporate/Pages/default.aspx?itemid=74)
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dagen_H&oldid=562197407"Categories: Traffic law Transport in Sweden 1967 in Sweden 1967 in transport
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Dagen H - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagen_H
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