Street in Sweden, the day after left-hand traffic was changed to right-hand traffic.

In Sweden, driving on the right. But this has always been the case. Only in 1967 did Sweden switch from left-hand traffic (as in England) to right-hand traffic (as in Russia).

By this time Sweden was the last country in mainland Europe to use left-hand traffic. Yes, left-hand traffic was and still remains in England, for example, or in Japan, but these are island states! And all the countries neighboring on land Sweden (Denmark, Finland, Norway) used right-hand traffic, which created a lot of inconvenience when crossing the Swedish border. Imagine: you cross the border in a car and find yourself in the oncoming lane! By the way, most of the Swedish cars were equipped with left-hand drive.

A huge amount of work was done: it was necessary to install new road signs and traffic lights on the other side of the road, to reconfigure many intersections, to move bus stops to the other side on one-way streets; all vehicles were required to adjust the headlights accordingly. Another cost item was the need to replace headlights and pedals for cars. Left-hand drive cars had a left headlight illuminating the curb. After the transition, she began to blind oncoming cars, and the roadside remained without additional beams of light.

At the same time, new white road markings were prepared instead of the previously used yellow ones.

Public transport was a separate problem: Swedish buses had a right-hand drive and doors on the left. In preparation for the changeover, Swedish car companies produced 8,000 "transitional" bus models that had doors on both sides.

4 (!) Years before the H-Day, the Swedish parliament formed the State Commission for the transition to right-hand traffic (Statens Högertrafikkomission). Note - it was not a commission that hired controlled firms and firms to launder the money of the national project. People wanted to reduce the discomfort of their citizens when communicating with their neighbors: Norwegians, Finns and Danes have long been driving on the right side. And they did just that.

It was necessary to hang new signs, traffic lights, re-equip intersections (the Swedes began to use white markings instead of the yellow ones used earlier). Separately, it is worth noting public transport, it was necessary to transfer stops only on one-way roads, but the buses needed to be redone. And factories for the production of buses (attention!) Have developed and produced about 8 thousand transitional models of buses with doors on both sides (this became the most costly part of the entire transition project for the state).

On September 3, Stockholm lost its trams - they have long wanted to abandon them because of the narrow streets. Other tram systems in Gothenburg and Norkoping became right-handed. The clutch-gas-brake pedal combination on older cars had to be changed to clutch-brake-gas. In Sweden, accustomed to doing everything specifically, they simply did not allow the operation of machines that had not been modernized.

On the night of the day of the crossing and until 6 am, personal transport was prohibited. In Stockholm and Malmö, they blocked traffic on Saturday and almost until Sunday evening - they carried out the last work on dismantling signs and organizing traffic. Some cities have also extended the duration of the restrictions.

Much attention was also paid to information for the population. "Change Day" was set for 5:00 am on Sunday 3 September 1967.

On Change Day, at 4:50 am, all vehicles had to stop and change sides of the road; it was allowed to continue driving at 5:00. For the first time after the transition, a special speed limit mode was set.

In general, the transition to right-hand traffic went smoothly. No road traffic accidents were registered directly related to the crossing. In the first months after the "Day of Change" there was a significant decrease in the accident rate, because everyone drove very carefully and strictly followed the signs and the road.

Despite the fact that most of the world states have long adopted right-hand traffic, such large countries as Australia, India, Japan, South Africa, Great Britain still use the left side of the road. Sweden also rolled on the left for a long time, until the fateful Dagen H came, which can be translated as “the day of crossing to the right side of the road”.

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Neighbors Scandinavians have already switched to right-hand traffic, most of Europe also drove on the right, the steering wheel of local and foreign cars was on the left, but Sweden continued to occupy the left lane, following the result of the popular referendum of 1955, when 83% of the population was in favor of maintaining left-hand traffic ... Twelve years later and countless accidents, the government's patience ran out and a strong-willed decision was made to act against the will of the people. For a long time, Swedish carriages, carriages, and from the end of the nineteenth century, cars moved according to the original left-hand rules. But after two and a half centuries, archaism became not only inconvenient, but also very dangerous, which was perfectly shown by comparisons of the number of accidents in Sweden with neighboring Scandinavian countries. Therefore, on Sunday, September 3, 1967, at 4.50 am, the cars slowly and carefully moved to the opposite side and stopped to start moving in a new way at five in the morning - on the right side of the road.

The Swedish government decided to make the transition on a day off in order to avoid massive congestion, traffic jams and emergency situations, but it was not possible to escape the chaos. This can be easily seen thanks to a series of photographs of how Sweden switched to right-hand traffic or Dagen H on September 3, 1967. In the future, the situation will improve, the percentage of accidents will fall and the Swedes will recognize the righteousness of their politicians who forced them to move to the opposite lane and introduced them to progressive humanity ...

Day H or Dagen H (from Swedish. Högertrafik - right-hand traffic) - the date of the transition of Sweden from left-hand to right-hand traffic on September 3, 1967.

By this time Sweden was the last country in continental Europe to use left-hand traffic. All neighboring Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway) used right-hand traffic, which created a lot of inconvenience when crossing the border, especially on the long border with Norway, which is not always marked in rural areas. Moreover, most Swedish cars were equipped with left-hand drive.

Advocates of the switch to right-hand traffic, supported by a number of experts, believed that this would lead to a decrease in accidents on the roads. In particular, using the left-hand drive when driving on the right gives the driver a better view of the oncoming lane and should help to reduce frontal collisions.

However, in the 1955 referendum on the issue of changing the side of the movement, 85% of the participants were against.

However, in 1963, the Swedish parliament formed the State Commission for the Transition to Right-Hand Traffic (Statens Högertrafikkomission), which was to develop and implement a set of measures to ensure such a transition.

A huge amount of work was done: it was necessary to install new road signs and traffic lights on the other side of the road, to reconfigure many intersections, to move bus stops to the other side on one-way streets; all vehicles were required to adjust their headlights accordingly. At the same time, new white road markings were prepared instead of the previously used yellow ones.

Public transport was a separate problem: Swedish buses had a right-hand drive and doors on the left. In preparation for the changeover, Swedish car companies produced 8,000 "transitional" bus models that had doors on both sides.

Much attention was also paid to information for the population. A special 30-page informational booklet was issued, and a special logo was developed and widely disseminated (up to drawings on women's underwear). An information song “Håll dig till höger, Svensson” was broadcast on the radio.

Stockholm on the day of switching to right-hand traffic.

Day H was set for 5:00 am on Sunday, September 3, 1967. On this day, from 1 am to 6 am, the movement of private vehicles was prohibited (except in emergencies). In Stockholm, the ban lasted from 10 am Saturday to 3 pm on Sunday. On Day H at 4:50 am, all vehicles were to stop and change sides of the road; it was allowed to continue driving at 5:00. For the first time after the transition, a special speed limit mode was set.

In general, the transition to right-hand traffic went smoothly. No road traffic accidents were registered directly related to the crossing. In the first months after Day H, there was a significant decrease in the accident rate. However, it is difficult to assess the impact of the transition on the number of accidents on the road: having got used to the new traffic rules, drivers have become less attentive, and the number of accidents has started to rise again.

Few traffic jams are as organized and coordinated as those that took place on the streets throughout Sweden on the morning of September 3, 1967. On that day, at exactly five o'clock in the morning, traffic on the roads was stopped. Then, slowly and carefully, motorists, motorcyclists and cyclists steered their cars, motorcycles and bicycles across the road to the other side. Sweden has decided that it will no longer drive on the left.

Chaos reigned across the country as millions of motorists, who had driven on the wrong side of the road all their lives, tried to adjust to the new rules. The daily commute to and from work has become completely new. The hardest part was rebuilding the muscle memory that powers most of the driving.

Unsurprisingly, the Swedes began to protest when a proposal to switch to right-hand traffic was put forward in the early 1950s. In 1955, a referendum was held, and 83% of voters opposed the idea. Despite this, the government has pushed for change so that Sweden can keep up with its European neighbors.

Most of the world drives on the right side of the road, although in the past the Romans and Greeks, and therefore most of Europe, walked or drove on the left. This allowed riders to hold the reins with their left hand and swords with their right when faced with outlaws. The change from left-hand to right-hand traffic in the United States occurred when the drivers began using huge cargo carts loaded with several pairs of horses. There was no room on the cart for the driver, so he sat on the left hind horse and held the whip in his right hand, which allowed him to control all the horses. The driver on the left naturally wanted the other carriages to pass by to his left, so that he would not fall under the wheels of the approaching carts. For this reason, he was driving on the right side of the road. The British adhered to left-hand traffic, since their carts were not so huge, therefore, they did not have any difficulty in maintaining the tradition. Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted left-hand traffic. Some states, such as Canada, eventually changed their rules to make it easier to cross the US border.

Sweden had similar reasons - all of its neighbors, including Norway and Finland, with which Sweden shared a land border, drove on the right side. However, the most pressing issue was security. 90 percent of the cars on the road had a steering wheel on the left, as most of them were imported from the United States. Curiously, many Swedish carmakers, such as Volvo, produced cars that were meant to be driven on the right side of the road, even for the domestic market. The result was too many road accidents.

In 1963, the Swedish government decreed that the country would switch to right-hand traffic. September 3, 1967 was designated as the transition day. This event went down in history as the Day "H" (short for Högertrafikomläggningen - "right-hand traffic").

Preparing the country and its nearly 8 million inhabitants for the massive transition was costly and challenging. The changes affected traffic lights, road signs, intersections, markings, buses and bus stops. Many of these modifications were started several months in advance and completed just before H-Day. The new traffic lights remained wrapped in black plastic until the last moment. Likewise, new lines drawn on the roads were covered with black tape. About 360 thousand signs across the country were replaced in almost one day.

A massive PR campaign was launched to reconcile the public with these changes and familiarize them with how they will be implemented. The logo was designed in the form of a large letter "H" with an arrow indicating the change in movement. It began to appear on everything from milk bags to underwear. The government has released special products such as colored gloves and new headlights to remind drivers to drive on the right. A Swedish TV station even ran a song contest to help people remember the change ahead. The winning tune, Håll dig till höger, Svensson, was selected through a national vote and came in at No. 5 on the Swedish chart. Celebrities have appeared on popular TV shows to talk about N-Day. Citizens were also informed through radio, newspapers and billboards.

In the hours preceding the transition, an almost festive atmosphere reigned. Crowds began to gather in the morning light. There were fireworks and singing. Most of the cars were removed from the road to facilitate the work of the workers. At 4:50 am, a dial tone sounded and a loudspeaker announced, "It's time for the transition!" New signs appeared on the road, and cars were changed to the other side.

Thanks to careful planning, the large-scale transition went well, aside from the inevitable traffic jams and a few minor accidents that cost no casualties. Dozens of journalists gathered in the streets in anticipation of bloodshed were disappointed.

In the months following the transition, the number of road accidents dropped dramatically due to the particular care in which people drove vehicles. Of course, once people got used to the new rules, about three years later, the accident and death rate returned to their previous levels.

In total, the project cost Swedish taxpayers 628 million kronor, which is equivalent to about 2.6 billion kronor ($ 216 million) in modern money. But when compared with the scale of the project, this figure was relatively small, according to the historian and economist Lars Magnusson.

According to Peter Kronborg, author of the H-Day book Håll dig till höger Svensson, he says such a project is practically impracticable in today's environment. The Swedish public would be highly outraged if politicians continued to insist on their own despite the results of the referendum. In addition, the media at the time were less critical and reported only what the experts told them.

At the time of N Day, there was only one TV channel and one radio station, and “everyone watched and listened to only them”. But with today's diversity of media channels, including social media, reaching the entire population would be much more difficult.

The Swedish road network is also more developed than it was fifty years ago, and there are many times more cars on the roads, which would increase the financial costs tenfold. Sweden's current transport strategists argue that the equivalent of H-Day is unlikely to go as smoothly today as it did in 1967.

In 1997, Sweden launched another road traffic initiative called Vision Zero. The project aimed at eliminating all fatal and serious road traffic accidents, especially on highways. Since then, the country has shifted its focus from speed and convenience to road safety. Low speed limits within the city, pedestrian zones and barriers separating cars from cyclists and oncoming traffic have reduced road fatalities. Sweden is also a pioneer in the 2 + 1 road system, in which a two-way lane becomes three-lane every few hundred meters so that fast moving cars can safely overtake slow drivers. Currently, such roads are laid in most of Europe, as well as in some places in Canada and Australia. Sweden today has one of the lowest road fatalities in the world, with 270 deaths in 2016, up from 1,313 in 1966, the year before H-Day.

Many people know that in England, unlike other European countries, they still use left-hand traffic. For a long time, left-hand traffic persisted in some mainland countries. Over time, they all switched to the more familiar right-sided one, but there were exceptions. Sweden held out the longest.

By the late 1960s, Sweden was the last country in continental Europe to use left-hand traffic. It was very inconvenient for everyone. All the neighboring Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark and Finland) have been using the “European” version of car traffic for many years, which created a lot of inconveniences when crossing the border both for the Swedes themselves and for tourists from neighboring countries. It didn't add to the convenience that a very large part of cars, including those made in Sweden, were equipped with left-hand drive: automakers simply did not want to produce right-hand drive cars for the small Swedish market.

It took a very long time to prepare Sweden's transition to right-hand traffic. Back in 1955, the authorities held a referendum on changing the side of the movement, where 85 percent of the participants flatly refused to change anything. But the problem did not go away, and in 1963 the Swedish parliament decided to create a State Commission for the transition to right-hand traffic.

The commission did a great job: new road signs were installed, intersections were reconfigured, all traffic lights were moved to the other side of the road, and bus stops on one-way streets were also moved there. All over the country, roads were marked with new white road markings instead of the previously used yellow ones.

Public transport turned out to be a very complex tangle of problems. The fact is that the doors in Swedish buses were located on the left. And these buses could no longer be used - it turned out that the driver would have to drop passengers onto the roadway. Therefore, in thousands of buses, doors had to be installed on the other side.

Much attention was also paid to information for the population. A special information booklet and a special logo were issued, which were applied to almost all available surfaces. The drivers were given two-color driving gloves: the left red, the right green, which directly warned against shifting to the left side of the road. There was even a radio hit called "Hold Right Svensson."

And so, September 3, 1967 came the so-called Day "H" - the date of the transition of Sweden from left-hand to right-hand traffic.

Sunday morning began with the fact that from 1 am to 6 am only emergency services, road services, and cyclists could use the roads. All road service workers and army units entered the roads to install signs, traffic lights and other equipment.

At 04:50 in the morning, all vehicles had to carefully stop and move to the other side of the road, after 10 minutes it was possible to continue driving at a limited speed.

And yet, despite the huge number of advertisements, signs, publications in newspapers, TV shows and the “Keep to the right, Svensson” playing from any radio, some of the Swedes were not aware of what was happening. Therefore, residents of large cities had to face such pictures on their streets.

The transition to right-hand traffic went quite smoothly for Sweden. In the early days, not a single fatal accident was registered, everything turned out to be crumpled fenders, broken headlights and hurt drivers' conceit. It is curious that in the first months after Day "H" the accident rate significantly decreased - drivers became more attentive and better control themselves on the roads.

So another country with left-hand traffic disappeared from the map of Europe. And about a year later, inspired by the successful example of Sweden, another country carried out a similar operation. This country was Iceland.