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Friday, September 11, 2009

BBC News reports that Samoa, for logical, economic reasons induced by its geographic location, made a traffic switch to left-hand drive at 06:00am on the 7th of September 2009. Samoa's valiant attempt at this amazing feat was only made possible because Samoa has just 20 000 cars on its roads and 20% of these were already right-hand drive standardized. The Samoan government believes that vehicle prices will subside as it opens the door to used cars from New Zealand, Australia and Japan. And so, at dawn on Monday morn, a cacophony of blaring sirens and clanging church bells signaled the traffic redirection and mercifully, the drivers soberly complied and no chaos ensued. The latter perhaps a direct boon of the special two-day holiday declared by the government to ease traffic combined with a three-day ban on alcohol sales.

Not a popular move:
In April 2008 about 18,000 people - approximately 10% of Samoa's population - demonstrated against the change in the capital, Apia. Critics claim that the government failed to heed the wishes of the people or conduct any proper feasibility studies. Not all road signs have been modified to ensure safe driving conditions. Samoa's Chamber of Commerce estimated that the change cost at least $300m (£185m) in direct and indirect costs to the Samoan economy.
The change does not bode well with the local bus owners who are forced to either buy new vehicles or modify the existing ones.

Some Switcheroo did-you-knows:
One-third of the world drives on the left. All recent changes have been to the right. Sweden went right in 1967. Sierra Leone, Nigeria and Ghana went right in the 1970s.

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