LHD cars in UK, why?

**squala** · September 6th, 2005 08:22 PM

The issue now is only on LHD cars being sold in the UK. I know most countries in Europe are LHD, but for better visibility, won't it do well to keep the RHD percentage as high as possible?

**StraightSix** · September 6th, 2005 10:22 PM

You got me stumped there ... exactly what percentage are we talking about? When you asked why Brits accept LHD cars, surely you're not implying the majority of car-buying Brits ... we have to have a figure on that. The way I see it, it's a minority of Brits exercising their right to buy the car they want - and I don't see anything wrong with it.

Or from another angle ...

People can use LHD cars here. If they can use it, why can't they buy it? Why shouldn't they? If it's only available in LHD, so be it - if people want it that bad. Or maybe I misunderstood your question ... is it Why do Brits still buy LHD cars if it's unsafe?

**scarab** · September 7th, 2005 12:22 AM

...i'm also wondering why japan uses LHD mercs (based on the jap benz tuner mag a friend bought home), when merc does make RHD cars (nagkalat benz sa HK ah).

...ano tong mga hapon, benz purists?

**2ylytwrld** · September 7th, 2005 06:21 PM

LHD cars are allowed in Japan but at the expense of a much higher registration fee.

**jUs-** · September 7th, 2005 08:06 PM

Originally Posted by scarab

...ano tong mga hapon, benz purists?

yeah. exactly.

**squala** · September 7th, 2005 08:17 PM

Originally Posted by Straight6

You got me stumped there ... exactly what percentage are we talking about? When you asked why Brits accept LHD cars, surely you're not implying the majority of car-buying Brits ... we have to have a figure on that. The way I see it, it's a minority of Brits exercising their right to buy the car they want - and I don't see anything wrong with it.

Or from another angle ...

People can use LHD cars here. If they can use it, why can't they buy it? Why shouldn't they? If it's only available in LHD, so be it - if people want it that bad. Or maybe I misunderstood your question ... is it Why do Brits still buy LHD cars if it's unsafe?

Actually, I'm just questioning why UK doesn't really discourage locally-sold LHD cars. Yes, there's a higher registration premium, but it doesn't address any safety concerns.

Wait a minute, is any licensed driver allowed to use LHD there, or is it limited to advanced motorists only?

Originally Posted by 2ylytwrld

LHD cars are allowed in Japan but at the expense of a much higher registration fee.

Yes, it's ridiculous that there are LHD Benzes in Japan while they make RHD anyway.

**OTEP** · September 7th, 2005 10:07 PM

The LHD Benzos in Japans are variants that don't have an RHD equivalent (e.g. some V8's, AMG's, etc.). So if someone really wanted the particular model, he'd have to get it in LHD.

LHD vehicles are not sold brand-new in the U.K. Most of them are cars intended for other parts of Europe but are now owned by a UK resident.

**StraightSix** · September 8th, 2005 07:28 AM

Originally Posted by squala

Actually, I'm just questioning why UK doesn't really discourage locally-sold LHD cars. Yes, there's a higher registration premium, but it doesn't address any safety concerns.

It's probably because of the fact that there are no statistics on accidents involving LHD cars. The data listed on the National Statistics regarding road accidents don't hold details if the car is LHD or RHD, as far as I can dig into. So I can only surmise that without the statistics there wouldn't be a policy regarding its safety.

Originally Posted by squala

Wait a minute, is any licensed driver allowed to use LHD there, or is it limited to advanced motorists only?

There are only 2 types of licenses for private cars here, Provisional (Student's Permit) and Full. The "advanced" refers to the optional training (no exam) that results in lower insurance premiums. For the Full UK license, it only states if you're restricted to auto transmission or not. No mention for RHD nor LHD cars, as you can drive any registered car that is Road Taxed, has passed its yearly safety test called MOT (if it's 3yrs and older) and you have at least a TPL insurance to drive it. You can even drive a car with only 3 wheels

. Foreign cars (temporarily in the UK) has to be proven that it has paid its tax and the driver properly licensed and insured.

Originally Posted by OTEP

LHD vehicles are not sold brand-new in the U.K. Most of them are cars intended for other parts of Europe but are now owned by a UK resident.

Sorry to disagree with you on this. For those who watch Top Gear ... J.C. and Ford GT40 comes to mind. That was a LHD, and 28 brand new GT40's were allocated for the UK market. They may not be UK-built, nor do many dealers offer them, but they do sell brand new LHD cars here ... even Japanese ones

. Some dealers are online if you want to look at the models.

Cheers.