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132-734: Note: The descriptions of interchanges apply to countries where vehicles drive on the right side of the road. For left-side driving, the layout of junctions is mirrored. Both North American (NA) and British (UK) terminology is included. The concept of the controlled-access highway developed in the 1920s and 1930s in Italy, Germany, the United States, and Canada. Initially, these roads featured at-grade intersections along their length. Interchanges were developed to provide access between these new highways and heavily-travelled surface streets. The Bronx River Parkway and Long Island Motor Parkway were

264-732: A four-leaf clover . A cloverleaf is the minimum interchange required for a four-legged system interchange. Although they were commonplace until the 1970s, most highway departments and ministries have sought to rebuild them into more efficient and safer designs. The cloverleaf interchange was invented by Maryland engineer Arthur Hale, who filed a patent for its design on May   24, 1915. The first one in North America opened on December   15, 1929, in Woodbridge, New Jersey, connecting New Jersey Route   25 and Route   4 (now U.S. Route   1/9 and New Jersey Route   35). It

396-406: A teardrop shape, with the points facing towards the center of the interchange. Longer ramps are often required due to line-of-sight requirements at roundabouts. A partial cloverleaf interchange (often shortened to the portmanteau, parclo ) is an interchange with loops ramps in one to three quadrants, and diamond interchange ramps in any number of quadrants. The various configurations are generally

528-522: A change to RHT, but, a few years later, the government ordered it and it occurred on Sunday, 3 September 1967 at 5 am. The accident rate then dropped sharply, but soon rose to near its original level. The day was known as Högertrafikomläggningen, or Dagen H for short. When Iceland switched to RHT the following year, it was known as Hægri dagurinn or H-dagurinn ("The H-Day"). Most passenger cars in Iceland were already LHD. The United Kingdom

660-638: A city, the solo driving rate is 82%. Some underused HOV lanes in several states have been converted to high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT), which offer solo drivers access to HOV lanes after paying a toll. HOV lanes are also an effective way to manage traffic after natural disasters, as seen in New York City after Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. At the time Mayor Bloomberg banned passenger cars with fewer than three occupants from entering Manhattan. The restriction affected all bridges and tunnels entering

792-626: A clear view of other vehicles. The first keep-right law for driving in the United States was passed in 1792 and applied to the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike . Massachusetts formalized RHT in 1821. However, the National Road was LHT until 1850, "long after the rest of the country had settled on the keep-right convention". Today the United States is RHT except the United States Virgin Islands , which

924-399: A complex appearance and are often colloquially described as Mixing Bowls , Mixmasters (for a Sunbeam Products brand of electric kitchen mixers ), or as Spaghetti Bowls or Spaghetti Junctions (being compared to boiled spaghetti ). However, they consume a significantly smaller area of land compared to a cloverleaf interchange. A combination interchange (sometimes referred to by

1056-475: A directional T interchange) is typically used when a three-way interchange is required for two or three highways interchanging in semi-parallel/perpendicular directions, but it can also be used in right-angle case as well. Their connecting ramps can spur from either the right or left side of the highway, depending on the direction of travel and the angle. Directional T interchanges use flyover/underpass ramps for both connecting and mainline segments, and they require

1188-412: A dumbbell interchange or a dogbone interchange, is similar to the diamond interchange, but uses a pair of roundabouts in place of intersections to join the highway ramps with the crossroad. This typically increases the efficiency of the interchange when compared to a diamond, but is only ideal in light traffic conditions. In the dogbone variation, the roundabouts do not form a complete circle, instead having

1320-666: A moderate amount of land and moderate costs since only two levels of roadway are typically used. Their name derives from their resemblance to the capital letter T, depending upon the angle from which the interchange is seen and the alignment of the roads that are interchanging. It is sometimes known as the "New England Y", as this design is often seen in the northeastern United States, particularly in Connecticut. This type of interchange features directional ramps (no loops, or weaving right to turn left) and can use multilane ramps in comparatively little space. Some designs have two ramps and

1452-415: A newspaper said, "The cart was near to the right hand kerb. According to the rules of the road, it should have been on the left side. In turning sharp round a right-hand corner, a driver should keep away to the opposite side." That rule was codified when the first Highway Code was written in 1936. Samoa , a former German colony, had been RHT for more than a century, but switched to LHT in 2009, making it

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1584-453: A parclo AB features a loop ramp approaching the crossroad in one direction, and beyond the crossroad in the opposing direction, as in the example image. A diverging diamond interchange (DDI) or double crossover diamond interchange (DCD) is similar to a traditional diamond interchange, except the opposing lanes on the crossroad cross each other twice, once on each side of the highway. This allows all highway entrances and exits to avoid crossing

1716-527: A passenger in order to use the HOV lane in New York State. A police officer on a routine HOV patrol became suspicious when he noticed that the so-called passenger was wearing sunglasses and using the visor on a cloudy morning. When the officer approached the vehicle, he discovered that the "passenger" was, in fact, a mannequin wearing lipstick, designer shades, a full-length wig, and a blue sweater. The driver

1848-508: A person as "natural persons and corporations". This argument was rejected in traffic court, where the presiding judge commented, "Common sense says carrying a sheaf of papers in the front seat does not relieve traffic congestion." In March 2015, a motorist tried to use a cardboard cutout of actor Jonathan Goldsmith to access an HOV lane in Fife, Washington . The officer noted that other drivers had used sleeping bags in earlier attempts to access

1980-438: A safer modification of the cloverleaf design, due to a partial or complete reduction in weaving, but may require traffic lights on the lesser-travelled crossroad. Depending on the number of ramps used, they take up a moderate to large amount of land, and have varying capacity and efficiency. Parclo configurations are given names based on the location of and number of quadrants with ramps. The letter A denotes that, for traffic on

2112-409: A simple traffic light to do the switch, but there are also interchanges that enable the switch while keeping up a continuous flow of traffic. There are six road border crossing points between Hong Kong and mainland China. In 2006, the daily average number of vehicle trips recorded at Lok Ma Chau was 31,100. The next largest is Man Kam To , where there is no changeover system and the border roads on

2244-644: A sixth of the world's land area, a quarter of its roads, and about a third of its population. In 1919, 104 of the world's territories were LHT and an equal number were RHT. Between 1919 and 1986, 34 of the LHT territories switched to RHT. While many of the countries using LHT were part of the British Empire , others such as Indonesia , Japan , Nepal , Bhutan , Macao , Thailand , Mozambique , Suriname , Sweden and Iceland (which use RHT since September 1967 and late May 1968 respectively) were not. Most of

2376-543: A small angle and meet the non-freeway at almost right angles. These ramps at the non-freeway can be controlled through stop signs , traffic signals , or turn ramps. Diamond interchanges are much more economical in use of materials and land than other interchange designs, as the junction does not normally require more than one bridge to be constructed. However, their capacity is lower than other interchanges and when traffic volumes are high they can easily become congested. A double roundabout diamond interchange, also known as

2508-740: A successful trial. Odd plate numbers can enter former "3-in-1" areas on odd days and even plate numbers on even ones. In Shenzhen , HOV 2+ has been implemented on Binhai Avenue since 25 April 2016. The policy was then extended to 7:30 am – 9:30 am and 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm. In Chengdu , from January 23, 2017, HOV 2+ has been implemented on Kehua Road South, Kehua Road Middle, and Tianfu Avenue Section 1 and 2, during 7:00 am-9: 00 am and 5:00 pm-7: 00 pm. In Dalian , an expressway (Northeast Expressway, or Dongbei Expressway) linking old town and new town had one lane in both outbound and inbound directions set to HOV 2+. Starting from September 20, 2017, commuters can opt to drive in HOV lane on Northeast Expressway during

2640-470: A ten- shilling fine to anyone not driving or riding on the left side of the road within the county of the city of Dublin , and required the local road overseers to erect written or printed notices informing road users of the law. The Road in Down and Antrim Act 1798 (38 Geo. 3. c. 28 (I)) required drivers on the road from Dublin to Donadea to keep to the left. This time, the punishment was ten shillings if

2772-400: A three-level semi-directional T at Highway 407 and a two-level semi-directional T at Highway 401 . Service interchanges are used between a controlled-access route and a crossroad that is not controlled-access. A full cloverleaf may be used as a system or a service interchange. A diamond interchange is an interchange involving four ramps where they enter and leave the freeway at

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2904-509: A three-way interchange. However, in a semi-directional T, some of the splits and merges are switched to avoid ramps to and from the passing lane , eliminating the major disadvantage of the directional T. Semi-directional T interchanges are generally safe and efficient, though they do require more land and are costlier than trumpet interchanges. Semi-directional T interchanges are built as two- or three-level junctions, with three-level interchanges typically used in urban or suburban areas where land

3036-440: A toll road meets another toll road or a free highway. They are also useful when most traffic on the terminating highway is going in the same direction. The turn that is used less often would contain the slower loop ramp. Trumpet interchanges are often used instead of directional or semi-directional T or Y interchanges because they require less bridge construction but still eliminate weaving. A full Y-interchange (also known as

3168-650: A total of 224.0 mi (360.5 km) of HOV lanes. On October 24, 2023, Michigan opened its first-ever HOV lanes on a portion of I-75 in Oakland County from South Boulevard in Bloomfield Township to 12 Mile Road in Madison Heights as part of a freeway modernization project. One lane in both directions is restricted to HOV use from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, while all other drivers regardless of

3300-420: A traditional stack interchange. A three-level roundabout interchange features a grade-separated roundabout which handles traffic exchanging between highways. The ramps of the interchanging highways meet at a roundabout , or rotary, on a separated level above, below, or in the middle of the two highways. These interchanges can also be used to make a "linking road" to the destination for a service interchange, or

3432-474: A vehicle, and an unborn child does not count towards this requirement. In 2009 and 2010 it was found that non-compliance rates on HOV lanes in Brisbane, Australia, were approaching 90%. Enhanced enforcement led to increased compliance, average bus journey times dropped by about 19%, and total person throughput increased by 12%. In February 2010, a 61-year-old woman tried to pass off a life-sized mannequin as

3564-665: Is Europe's oldest HOV facility that is still in operation. The first HOV facility in the United Kingdom opened in Leeds in 1998. The facility was implemented on A647 road near Leeds as an experimental scheme, but it became permanent. The HOV facility is 1.5 km (0.93 mi) long and operates as a HOV 2+ facility. A 2.8 km (1.7 mi) HOV 3+ facility opened in Linz , Austria , in 1999. The first HOV lane in Norway

3696-606: Is LHT like many neighbouring islands. Some special-purpose vehicles in the United States, like certain postal service trucks, garbage trucks, and parking-enforcement vehicles, are built with the driver's seat on the right for safer and easier access to the curb. A common example is the Grumman LLV , which is used nationwide by the US Postal Service and by Canada Post . In Canada, the provinces of Quebec and Ontario were always RHT because they were created out of

3828-693: Is LHT, but two of its overseas territories , Gibraltar and the British Indian Ocean Territory , are RHT. In the late 1960s, the British Department for Transport considered switching to RHT, but declared it unsafe and too costly for such a built-up nation. Road building standards, for motorways in particular, allow asymmetrically designed road junctions, where merge and diverge lanes differ in length. Today, four countries in Europe continue to use LHT, all island nations:

3960-446: Is a 3-level stack, since the semi-directional ramps are spaced out far enough, so they do not need to cross each other at a single point as in a conventional 4-level stack. Stacks are significantly more expensive than other four-way interchanges are due to the design of the four levels; additionally, they may suffer from objections of local residents because of their height and high visual impact. Large stacks with multiple levels may have

4092-416: Is a type of HOV lane that allows for all traffic to enter the lane for a short distance in order to access other streets and business entrances. Because some HOV lanes were not utilized to their full capacity, users of low- or single-occupancy vehicles may be permitted to use an HOV lane if they pay a toll. This scheme is known as high-occupancy toll lane (or HOT lanes), and it has been introduced mainly in

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4224-428: Is an alternative four-way directional interchange. The turbine interchange requires fewer levels (usually two or three) while retaining directional ramps throughout. It features right-exit, left-turning ramps that sweep around the center of the interchange in a clockwise spiral . A full turbine interchange features a minimum of 18 overpasses, and requires more land to construct than a four-level stack interchange; however,

4356-475: Is braided when at least one of the roadways reverses sides. It seeks to make left and right turns equally easy. In a pure braided interchange, each roadway has one right exit, one left exit, one right on-ramp, and one left on-ramp, and both roadways are flipped. The first pure braided interchange was built in Baltimore at Interstate 95 at Interstate 695 ; however, the interchange was reconfigured in 2008 to

4488-470: Is more expensive. In a three-level semi-directional T, the two semi-directional ramps from the terminating highway cross the surviving highway at or near a single point, which requires both an overpass and underpass. In a two-level semi-directional T, the two semi-directional ramps from the terminating highway cross each other at a different point than the surviving highway, necessitating longer ramps and often one ramp having two overpasses. Highway 412 has

4620-434: Is still geared to LHT as its neighbours India, Bangladesh and Thailand use LHT. Most cars are used RHD vehicles imported from Japan. Afghanistan was LHT until the 1950s, in line with Pakistan (former part of British India). Although Portuguese Timor (present-day East Timor ), which shares the island of Timor with Indonesia , who is LHT, switched to RHT with Portugal in 1928, it switched back to LHT in 1976 during

4752-426: Is the opposite: traffic keeps right, the driver usually sits on the left side of the car (LHD: left-hand drive), and roundabouts circulate anticlockwise. In most countries, rail traffic follows the handedness of the roads; but many of the countries that switched road traffic from LHT to RHT did not switch their trains. Boat traffic on bodies of water is RHT, regardless of location. Boats are traditionally piloted from

4884-437: Is two or three occupants. Many jurisdictions exempt other vehicles, including motorcycles, charter buses, emergency and law enforcement vehicles, low-emission and other green vehicles , and/or single-occupancy vehicles paying a toll . HOV lanes are normally introduced to increase average vehicle occupancy and persons traveling with the goal of reducing traffic congestion and air pollution . The introduction of HOV lanes in

5016-624: The A1 near Amsterdam . The facility did not attract enough users to overcome public criticism and was converted to a reversible lane open to general traffic after the judge in a legal test case ruled that Dutch traffic law lacked the concept of a car pool and thus that the principle of equality was violated. Spain was the next European country to introduce HOV lanes ( Spanish : Vehículos de Alta Ocupación, VAO ), when median reversible Bus-VAO lanes were opened in Madrid 's A-6 in 1995. This facility

5148-566: The American Motorcyclist Association , but have since been revised to comply with the federal regulations listed above. In some jurisdictions such as Ontario , Canada , taxicabs and airport limousines are allowed to use HOV lanes even when no passenger is present because that vehicle "will be able return to duty faster after dropping off a fare or arrive sooner to pick up a fare, thereby moving more people to their destinations in fewer vehicles". In Virginia,

5280-634: The British Virgin Islands , and the United States Virgin Islands are LHD due to their being imported from the United States. Brazil , a Portuguese colony until the early 19th century, had in the 19th and the early 20th century mixed rules, with some regions still on LHT, switching these remaining regions to RHT in 1928, the same year Portugal switched sides. Other Central and South American countries that later switched from LHT to RHT include Argentina, Chile, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Suriname , along with neighbouring Guyana , are

5412-592: The Cape Colony (present-day South Africa and Lesotho ), as well as in British West Africa (present-day Ghana, Gambia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria); former British West Africa, however, has now switched to RHT, as all its neighbours, which are former French colonies, use RHT. South Africa, formerly the Cape Colony, introduced LHT in former German South West Africa , present-day Namibia , after

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5544-561: The French Revolution . Scholars who have looked for documentary evidence of this story have found none, and contemporary sources have not surfaced, as of 1999. In 1827, long after Napoleon's reign, Edward Planta wrote that, in Paris , "The coachmen have no established rule by which they drive on the right or left of the road, but they cross and jostle one another without ceremony." Rotterdam had no fixed rules until 1917, although

5676-871: The Indonesian occupation of East Timor . In the 1930s, parts of China such as the Shanghai International Settlement , Canton and Japanese-occupied northeast China used LHT. However, in 1946 the Republic of China made RHT mandatory in China (including Taiwan ). Taiwan was LHT under Japanese colonization from 1895–1945. Portuguese Macau (present-day Macau ) remained LHT, along with British Hong Kong , despite being transferred to China in 1999 and 1997 respectively. Both North Korea and South Korea use RHT since 1946, after liberation from Japanese colonialization . The Philippines

5808-532: The Interstate 66 in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. , are treated as an HOV during the rush hour in the primary direction of flow. The traffic speed differential between HOV and general-purpose lanes creates a potentially dangerous situation if the HOV lanes are not separated by a barrier. A Texas Transportation Institute study found that HOV lanes lacking barrier separations caused a 50% increase in injury crashes. A business access and transit (BAT) lane

5940-560: The Maghreb , where it is still used. Countries in these areas include Mali , Mauritania , Ivory Coast , Burkina Faso , Benin , Niger , Morocco , Algeria , and Tunisia . Other French former colonies that are RHT include Cameroon , Central African Republic , Chad , Djibouti , Gabon , and the Republic of the Congo . Rwanda and Burundi are RHT but are considering switching to LHT (see "Potential future shifts" section below). In

6072-741: The National Ambient Air Quality Standards and gave the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) substantial authority to regulate air quality attainment. A final control plan for the Los Angeles Basin was issued in 1973, and one of its main provisions was a two-phase conversion of 184 mi (296 km) of freeway and arterial roadway lanes to bus/carpool lanes and the development of a regional computerized carpool matching system. However, it took until 1985 before any HOV project

6204-400: The controlled-access highway , the loop ramps are located in advance of (or approaching ) the crossroad, and thus provide an onramp to the highway. The letter B indicated that the loop ramps are beyond the crossroad, and thus provide an offramp from the highway. These letters can be used together when opposite directions of travel on the controlled-access highway are not symmetrical, thus

6336-531: The ramp meter signal. Priority lanes can also be used by trucks, buses, and motorcycles, and the priority lanes can be used by carpoolers at any time. Eleven lanes were opened to electric vehicles in a one-year trial from September 2017. There are also several short T2 and T3 facilities in North Shore City operating during rush hours. In Jakarta, HOV 3+ is known as "Three in One" ( Tiga dalam satu ) and

6468-419: The starboard side (and not the port side like RHT road traffic vehicles) to facilitate priority to the right . Historically, many places kept left, while many others kept right, often within the same country. There are many myths that attempt to explain why one or the other is preferred. About 90 percent of people are right-handed , and many explanations reference this. Horses are traditionally mounted from

6600-403: The "inside" through road (on the same side as the freeway that ends) crossing each other at a three-level bridge. The directional T interchange is preferred to a trumpet interchange because a trumpet requires a loop ramp by which speeds can be reduced, but flyover ramps can handle much faster speeds. The disadvantage of the directional T is that traffic from the terminating road enters and leaves on

6732-511: The HOV designation holds only at peak travel times or in the peak direction. ISTEA also provided that under the Interstate Maintenance Program, only HOV projects would receive the 90% federal matching ratio formerly available for the addition of general purpose lanes. ISTEA, in addition, permitted state authorities to define a high occupancy vehicle as having a minimum of two occupants (HOV 2+). As of 2009, California

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6864-430: The HOV facilities on Highways 403 and 404 were saving 14–17 minutes per trip compared to their travel time before the HOV lanes opened. The MTO also estimated that almost 40% of commuters were carpooling on Highway 403 eastbound in the morning peak hour, compared to 14% in 2003, and 37% of commuters were carpooling on Highway 403 westbound in the afternoon peak hour, compared to 22% in 2003. The average rush hour speed on

6996-455: The HOV facility was 29 minutes, and 64 minutes in the general traffic lanes. As of 2012, the I-95 /I-395 HOV facility is 30 mi (48 km) long, extends from Washington, D.C. , to Dumfries, Virginia , and has two reversible lanes separated from the regular lanes by barriers, with access through elevated on- and off-ramps. Three or more people in a vehicle (HOV 3+) are required to travel on

7128-542: The HOV lane because the unborn child she was carrying in her womb justified her use of the lane, while noting that Arizona traffic laws do not define what constitutes a person. However, a judge subsequently ruled that to qualify as an "individual" under Arizona traffic laws, the individual must occupy a "separate and distinct" space in a vehicle. Likewise, in California, in order to use HOV lanes, there must be two (or, if posted, three) separate individuals occupying seats in

7260-503: The HOV lane. In July 2022, a pregnant woman in Texas argued that her fetus counted as a passenger for the purpose of using the HOV lane following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision and Texas law subsequently considering fetuses people. According to 2009 data from the U.S. census, 76% drive to work alone and only 10% rideshare. For suburban commuters working in

7392-591: The HOV lanes is 100 km/h (62 mph), compared to 60 km/h (37 mph) in general-traffic lanes on Highway 403. Temporary HOV lanes were added to selections of 400-series highways in the Greater Toronto Area for the 2015 Pan American Games and 2015 Parapan American Games . As of 2012, there are a few HOV lanes in operation in Europe. The main reason for this is that, in general, European cities have better public transport services and fewer high-capacity multi-lane urban motorways than do

7524-539: The San Francisco Bay Area, Houston, and other HOV lane locations, commuters form sluglines where drivers pick up one or more passengers from a designated "casual carpool" or "slug lines" to drive on HOV lanes; the driver pulls over near the sluglines and shouts out their destination, and people in the line going to that destination enter the car on a first-come, first-served basis. Fines are usually imposed on drivers of non-qualifying vehicles who use

7656-465: The U.S. and Canada. However, at around 1.3 persons per vehicle, average car occupancy is relatively low in most European cities. The emphasis in Europe has been on providing bus lanes and on-street bus priority measures. The first HOV lane in Europe was opened in the Netherlands in October 1993 and operated until August 1994. Its facility was a 7 km (4.3 mi) barrier-separated HOV 3+ on

7788-545: The United Kingdom, Ireland (formerly part of the UK), Cyprus and Malta (both former British colonies). Many former British colonies in the region have always been LHT, including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji , Kiribati , Solomon Islands , Tonga , and Tuvalu ; and nations that were previously administered by Australia: Nauru and Papua New Guinea . Initially traffic was slow and very sparse, but, as early as 1856,

7920-483: The United States opened on July   7, 2009, in Springfield, Missouri , at the junction of Interstate 44 and Missouri Route 13 . A single-point urban interchange (SPUI) or single-point diamond interchange (SPDI) is a modification of a diamond interchange in which all four ramps to and from a controlled-access highway converge at a single, three-phase traffic light in the middle of an overpass or underpass. While

8052-689: The United States progressed slowly during the 1970s and early 1980s. Major growth occurred from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. The first freeway HOV lane in the United States was implemented in the Henry G. Shirley Memorial Highway in Northern Virginia , between Washington, DC, and the Capital Beltway , and was opened in 1969 as a bus-only lane . The busway was opened in December 1973 to carpools with four or more occupants, becoming

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8184-445: The United States. Solo drivers are permitted to use the HOV lanes upon payment of a fee that varies based on demand. Tolls change throughout the day according to real-time traffic conditions, which is intended to manage the number of cars in the lanes to maintain good journey times. Proponents claim that all motorists benefit from HOT lanes, even those who choose not to use them. This argument applies only to projects that increase

8316-520: The United States. The first practical implementation was California 's formerly private toll 91 Express Lanes , in Orange County, California , in 1995, followed in 1996 by Interstate 15 north of San Diego . According to the Texas A&;M Transportation Institute, by 2012 there were 294 corridor-miles of HOT/Express lanes and 163 corridor-miles of HOT/Express lanes under construction in

8448-531: The advantages of exclusive bus lanes and encouraged their funding. In the 1970s the FHWA began to allow state highway agencies to spend federal funds on HOV lanes. As a result of the 1973 Arab Oil Embargo , interest in ridesharing picked up, and states began experimenting with HOV lanes. In order to reduce crude oil consumption, the 1974 Emergency Highway Energy Conservation Act mandated maximum speed limits of 55 mph (89 km/h) on public highways and became

8580-400: The bridges are generally short in length. Coupled with reduced maintenance costs, a turbine interchange is a less costly alternative to a stack. A windmill interchange is similar to a turbine interchange, but it has much sharper turns, reducing its size and capacity. The interchange is named for its similar overhead appearance to the blades of a windmill . A variation of the windmill, called

8712-609: The bus lane for three months in 1974 due to a strike by bus operators, and then permanently at a 3+ HOV from 1976. It is one of the most efficient HOV facilities in North America and was converted into a high-occupancy toll lane operation in 2013 to allow low-occupancy vehicles to bid for excess capacity on the lane in the Metro ExpressLanes project. Beginning in the 1970s, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration recognized

8844-593: The cities Milan , Turin , and Florence . In 1915, allied forces of World War I imposed LHT in areas of military operation, but this was revoked in 1918. Rome was reported by Goethe as LHT in the 1780s. Naples was also LHT although surrounding areas were often RHT. In cities, LHT was considered safer since pedestrians, accustomed to keeping right, could better see oncoming vehicular traffic. Finally, in 1923 Benito Mussolini decreed that all LHT areas would gradually transition to RHT. In spite of this, some Italian heavy commercial vehicles were right-hand drive until

8976-505: The compact design is safer, more efficient, and offers increased capacity—with three light phases as opposed to four in a traditional diamond, and two left turn queues on the arterial road instead of four—the significantly wider overpass or underpass structure makes them more costly than most service interchanges. Since single-point urban interchanges can exist in rural areas, such as the interchange of U.S. Route 23 with M-59 in Michigan ;

9108-517: The countries that were part of the French colonial empire adopted RHT. Historical switches of traffic handedness have often been motivated by factors such as changes in political administration, a desire for uniformity within a country or with neighboring states, or availability and affordability of vehicles. In LHT, traffic keeps left and cars usually have the steering wheel on the right (RHD: right-hand drive) and roundabouts circulate clockwise. RHT

9240-419: The country. In a study of the ancient traffic system of Pompeii , Eric Poehler was able to show that drivers of carts drove in the middle of the road whenever possible. This was the case even on roads wide enough for two lanes. The wear marks on the kerbstones, however, prove that when there were two lanes of traffic, and the volume of traffic made it necessary to divide the lanes, the drivers always drove on

9372-536: The creation of a new basic road as a service interchange. Trumpet interchanges may be used where one highway terminates at another highway, and are named as such for to their resemblance to trumpets . They are sometimes called jug handles . These interchanges are very common on toll roads , as they concentrate all entering and exiting traffic into a single stretch of roadway, where toll plazas can be installed once to handle all traffic, especially on ticket-based tollways . A double-trumpet interchange can be found where

9504-447: The diverging windmill, increases capacity by altering the direction of traffic flow of the interchanging highways, making the connecting ramps much more direct. There also is a hybrid interchange somewhat like the diverging windmill in which left turn exits merge on the left, but it differs in that the left turn exits use left directional ramps. A braided or diverging interchange is a two-level, four-way interchange. An interchange

9636-458: The early 1990s, two laws reinforced the U.S. commitment to HOV lane construction. The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 included HOV lanes as one of the transportation control measures that could be included in state implementation plans to attain federal air quality standards. The 1990 amendments also deny the administrator of the EPA the authority to block FHWA from funding 24-hour HOV lanes as part of

9768-629: The end of World War I . Sudan, formerly part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan , switched to RHT in 1973. Most of its neighbours were RHT countries, with the exception of Uganda and Kenya, but since the independence of South Sudan in 2011, all of its neighbours drive on the right (including South Sudan, despite its land borders with two LHT countries). Although Portugal switched to RHT in 1928, its colony of Mozambique remained LHT because it has land borders with former British colonies (with LHT). France introduced RHT in French West Africa and

9900-455: The exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and at least one passenger, including carpools , vanpools , and transit buses. These restrictions may be only imposed during peak travel times or may apply at all times. There are different types of lanes: temporary or permanent lanes with concrete barriers, two-directional or reversible lanes, and exclusive, concurrent, or contraflow lanes working in peak periods. The normal minimum occupancy level

10032-734: The facility during rush hours on weekdays. The second freeway HOV facility, which opened in 1970, was the contraflow bus lane on the Lincoln Tunnel Approach and Helix in Hudson County, New Jersey . According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Lincoln Tunnel XBL is the country's HOV facility with the highest number of peak hour persons among HOV facilities with utilization data available, with 23,500 persons in

10164-405: The first instance in which buses and carpools officially shared a HOV lane over a considerable distance. In 2005, the two lanes of this HOV 3+ facility carried during the morning peak hour (6:30 am to 9:30 am) a total of 31,700 people in 8,600 vehicles (3.7 persons/veh), while the three or four general-purpose lanes carried 23,500 people in 21,300 vehicles (1.1 persons/veh). Average travel time in

10296-442: The first instance when the U.S. federal government provided funding for ridesharing and states were allowed to spend their highway funds on rideshare demonstration projects. The 1978 Surface Transportation Assistance Act made funding for rideshare initiatives permanent. Also during the early 1970s, ridesharing was recommended for the first time as a tool to mitigate air quality problems. The 1970 Clean Air Act Amendments established

10428-469: The first roads to feature grade-separations. Maryland engineer Arthur Hale filed a patent for the design of a cloverleaf interchange on May   24, 1915, though the conceptual roadwork was not realised until a cloverleaf opened on December   15, 1929, in Woodbridge, New Jersey , connecting New Jersey Route 25 and Route 4 (now U.S. Route 1/9 and New Jersey Route 35 ). It

10560-558: The first territory in almost 30 years to change sides. The move was legislated in 2008 to allow Samoans to use cheaper vehicles imported from Australia, New Zealand, or Japan, and to harmonise with other South Pacific nations. A political party, The People's Party , was formed by the group People Against Switching Sides (PASS) to protest against the change, with PASS launching a legal challenge; in April 2008 an estimated 18,000 people attended demonstrations against switching. The motor industry

10692-570: The following were declared public holidays, to reduce traffic. The change included a three-day ban on alcohol sales, while police mounted dozens of checkpoints, warning drivers to drive slowly. Rwanda and Burundi , former Belgian colonies in Central Africa , are RHT but are considering switching to LHT like neighbouring members of the East African Community (EAC). A survey in 2009 found that 54% of Rwandans favoured

10824-577: The former Austrian Partition changed in the 1920s. Croatia-Slavonia switched on joining the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918, although Istria and Dalmatia were already RHT. The switch in Czechoslovakia from LHT to RHT had been planned for 1939, but was accelerated by the start of the German occupation of Czechoslovakia that year. Similarly, Hungary switched in 1941. West Ukraine was LHT, but

10956-551: The former French colony of New France . The province of British Columbia changed to RHT in stages from 1920 to 1923, New Brunswick , Nova Scotia , and Prince Edward Island in 1922, 1923, and 1924 respectively, and the British colony of Newfoundland (part of Canada since 1949) in 1947, in order to allow traffic (without side switch) to or from the United States. In the West Indies , colonies and territories drive on

11088-418: The general lanes. For example, Interstate 110 in California has four HOV lanes on an upper deck. HOV bypass lanes are intended to allow carpool traffic, busses and police to bypass areas of regular congestion in many places. An HOV lane may operate as a reversible lane , working in the direction of the dominant traffic flow in both the morning and the afternoon. All lanes of a 10 miles (16 km) section of

11220-436: The introduction of Jakarta's bus rapid transit in December 2003, the policy was extended to 7:00 am – 10:00 am and 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm. In September 2004, the evening time was changed to 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm. Car jockeys are paid by drivers to ride on vehicles, so that those vehicles would bypass the three in one restriction. On August 30, 2016, an odd–even rationing ( ganjil-genap ) system began to replace "3-in-1" rule, after

11352-497: The lane and charge drivers depending on demand. Typically, tolls increase as traffic density and congestion within the tolled lanes increase, a policy known as congestion pricing . The goal of this pricing scheme is to minimize traffic congestion within the lanes. Qualification for HOV status varies by scheme, but the following vehicles may be included: New York City HOV lane codes prior to 2008 did not allow motorcycles leading to ticketing of motorcycle drivers and complaints from

11484-590: The lanes. Following the introduction of HOVs, some drivers placed inflatable dolls in the passenger seat, a practice that persists today, even though it is now illegal. Cameras that can distinguish between humans and mannequins or dolls were tested in the United Kingdom in 2005. In the United States , law enforcement officials have documented a variety of methods used by drivers in attempts to circumvent HOV occupancy rules: In early 2006, an Arizona woman asserted that she had been improperly ticketed for using

11616-400: The late 18th century, right-hand traffic started to be introduced in the United States of America based on teamsters ' use of large freight wagons pulled by several pairs of horses and without a driver's seat; the (typically right-handed) postilion held his whip in his right hand and thus sat on the left rear horse, and therefore preferred other wagons passing on the left so that he would have

11748-526: The left, and led from the left, with the reins in the right hand. So people walking horses might use RHT, to keep the animals separated. Also referenced is the need for pedestrians to keep their swords in the right hand and pass on the left as in LHT, for self-defence. It has been suggested that wagon-drivers whipped their horses with their right hand, and thus sat on the left-hand side of the wagon, as in RHT. Academic Chris McManus notes that writers have stated that in

11880-681: The longest continuous HOV facility in the U.S. is on I-15 in Utah , extending approximately 72.0 mi (115.9 km) from Layton to Spanish Fork with a single HOV lane in each direction for a total of 144.0 mi (231.7 km) of HOV lanes. While the Utah facility is the longest, the I-495 Capital Beltway in the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area extends 56.0 mi (90.1 km) but has two HOV lanes in each direction for

12012-492: The mainland side Wenjindu intersect as one-way streets with a main road. The Takutu River Bridge (which links LHT Guyana and RHT Brazil ) is the only border in the Americas where traffic changes sides. High-occupancy vehicle lane A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane , carpool lane , diamond lane , 2+ lane , and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes ) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for

12144-424: The morning peak hours of 06:30-08:30, and evening peak hours of 16:30-19:00. A fine of CNY100 (about USD15) will be enforced for first violators. For a second violation, the fine will double. HOV lanes may be either a single traffic lane within the main roadway with distinctive markings or a separate roadway with one or more traffic lanes either parallel to the general lanes or grade-separated , above or below

12276-607: The morning peak, and 62,000 passengers during the four-hour morning peak. The first permanent HOV facility in California was the bypass lane at the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza, opened to the public in April 1970. The El Monte Busway ( I-10 / San Bernardino Freeway ) in Los Angeles was initially only available for buses when it opened in 1973. Three-person carpools were allowed to use

12408-1017: The number of occupants in their vehicle can freely use the lanes outside of those hours. The first HOV facilities in Canada were opened in Greater Vancouver and Toronto in the early 1990s, followed shortly by facilities in Ottawa , Gatineau , Montreal , and later Calgary . As of 2010 there were about 150 km (93 mi) of highway HOV lanes in 11 locations in British Columbia , Ontario , and Quebec , and over 130 km (81 mi) of arterial HOV lanes in 24 locations in Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, and Gatineau. The Ontario Ministry of Transportation (MTO) in 2006 estimated that commuters in Toronto using

12540-474: The offender was not the owner of the vehicle, or one Irish pound (twenty shillings) if he/she was. The Grand Juries (Ireland) Act 1836 ( 6 & 7 Will. 4 c. 116) mandated LHT for the whole country, violators to be fined up to five shillings and imprisoned in default for up to one month. An oft-repeated story is that Napoleon changed the custom from LHT to RHT in France and the countries he conquered after

12672-573: The only two remaining LHT countries in South America . LHT was introduced by the U.K. in British India (now India , Pakistan , Myanmar , and Bangladesh ), British Malaya and British Borneo (now Malaysia , Brunei and Singapore), as well as British Hong Kong . These countries, except Myanmar, are still LHT, as well as neighbouring countries Bhutan and Nepal . Myanmar switched to RHT in 1970, although much of its infrastructure

12804-539: The opposite direction of travel and saves one signal phase of traffic lights each. The first DDIs were constructed in the French communities of Versailles ( A13 at D182), Le Perreux-sur-Marne ( A4 at N486) and Seclin ( A1 at D549), in the 1970s. Despite the fact that such interchanges already existed, the idea for the DDI was "reinvented" around 2000, inspired by the freeway-to-freeway interchange between Interstate 95 and I-695 north of Baltimore . The first DDI in

12936-502: The other side". It was later legislated as the London Bridge Act 1756 ( 29 Geo. 2 c. 40), which required that "all carriages passing over the said bridge from London shall go on the east side thereof" – those going south to remain on the east, i.e. the left-hand side by direction of travel. This may represent the first statutory requirement for LHT. In the Kingdom of Ireland , a law of 1793 (33 Geo. 3. c. 56 (I)) provided

13068-513: The passing lane, so the semi-directional T interchange (see below) is preferred. The interchange of Highway 416 and Highway 417 in Ontario, constructed in the early 1990s, is one of the few directional T interchanges, as most transportation departments had switched to the semi-directional T design. As with a directional T interchange, a semi-directional T interchange uses flyover (overpass) or underpass ramps in all directions at

13200-538: The portmanteau, cloverstack ) is a hybrid of other interchange designs. It uses loop ramps to serve slower or less-occupied traffic flow , and flyover ramps to serve faster and heavier traffic flows. If local and express ways serving the same directions and each roadway is connected righthand to the interchange, extra ramps are installed. The combination interchange design is commonly used to upgrade cloverleaf interchanges to increase their capacity and eliminate weaving. Some turbine-stack hybrids: The turbine interchange

13332-440: The practices, in bidirectional traffic , of keeping to the left side and to the right side of the road, respectively. They are fundamental to traffic flow , and are sometimes called the rule of the road . The terms right- and left-hand drive refer to the position of the driver and the steering wheel in the vehicle and are, in automobiles, the reverse of the terms right- and left-hand traffic . The rule also includes where on

13464-467: The problem of weaving, and due to the semi-directional flyover ramps and directional ramps, they are generally safe and efficient at handling high traffic volumes in all directions. A standard stack interchange includes roads on four levels, also known as a 4-level stack, including the two perpendicular highways, and one more additional level for each pair of left-turn ramps. These ramps can be stacked (cross) in various configurations above, below, or between

13596-470: The region, commonly known as T2 and T3 lanes. There is a T2 transit lane in Tamaki Drive, in a short stretch between Okahu Bay Reserve and downtown Auckland. There are also T2 priority lanes on Auckland's Northern , Southern , Northwestern , and Southwestern Motorways . These priority lanes are left-side on-ramp lanes heading towards the motorway, where vehicles with two or more people can bypass

13728-592: The rest of Ukraine, having been part of the Russian Empire, was RHT. In Italy, it had been decreed in 1901 that each province define its own traffic code , including the handedness of traffic, and the 1903 Baedeker guide reported that the rule of the road varied by region. For example, in Northern Italy , the provinces of Brescia , Como , Vicenza , and Ravenna were RHT while nearby provinces of Lecco , Verona , and Varese were LHT, as were

13860-774: The rest of the Netherlands was RHT. In May 1917 the police in Rotterdam ended traffic chaos by enforcing right hand traffic. In Russia, in 1709, the Danish envoy under Tsar Peter the Great noted the widespread custom for traffic in Russia to pass on the right, but it was only in 1752 that Empress Elizabeth officially issued an edict for traffic to keep to the right. After the Austro-Hungarian Empire broke up,

13992-596: The resulting countries gradually changed to RHT. In Austria , Vorarlberg switched in 1921, North Tyrol in 1930, Carinthia and East Tyrol in 1935, and the rest of the country in 1938. In Romania , Transylvania , the Banat and Bukovina were LHT until 1919, while Wallachia and Moldavia were already RHT. Partitions of Poland belonging to the German Empire and the Russian Empire were RHT, while

14124-582: The right-hand side. These considerations can also be demonstrated in the archaeological findings of other cities in the Roman Empire . One of the first references in England to requiring traffic direction was an order by the London Court of Aldermen in 1669, requiring a man to be posted on London Bridge to ensure that "all cartes going to keep on the one side and all cartes coming to keep on

14256-455: The rightmost lane. After demerging from right-turning traffic, they complete their left turn by crossing both highways on a flyover ramp or underpass. The penultimate step is a merge with the right-turn on-ramp traffic from the opposite quadrant of the interchange. Finally, an on-ramp merges both streams of incoming traffic into the left-bound highway. As there is only one off-ramp and one on-ramp (in that respective order), stacks do not suffer from

14388-552: The road a vehicle is to be driven, if there is room for more than one vehicle in the one direction, and the side on which the vehicle in the rear overtakes the one in the front. For example, a driver in an LHT country would typically overtake on the right of the vehicle being overtaken. RHT is used in 165 countries and territories, mainly in the Americas , Continental Europe , most of Africa and mainland Asia (except South Asia ), while 75 countries use LHT, which account for about

14520-421: The road is extended. US 70 and US 17 west of New Bern, North Carolina is an example. A stack interchange is a four-way interchange whereby a semi-directional left turn and a directional right turn are both available. Usually, access to both turns is provided simultaneously by a single off-ramp. Assuming right-handed driving, to cross over incoming traffic and go left, vehicles first exit onto an off-ramp from

14652-577: The same side as their parent countries, except for the United States Virgin Islands . Many of the island nations are former British colonies and drive on the left, including Jamaica , Antigua and Barbuda , Barbados , Dominica , Grenada , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , Trinidad and Tobago , and The Bahamas . However, most vehicles in The Bahamas, Cayman Islands , Turks and Caicos Islands and both

14784-642: The sanctions for a state's failure to comply with the Clean Air Act, if the secretary of transportation wishes to approve the FHWA funds. On the other hand, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 encouraged the construction of HOV lanes, which were made eligible for Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funds in regions not attaining federal air quality standards. CMAQ funds may be spent on new HOV lane construction, even if

14916-464: The switch. Reasons cited were the perceived lower costs of RHD vehicles, easier maintenance and the political benefit of harmonising traffic regulations with other EAC countries. The survey indicated that RHD cars were 16% to 49% cheaper than their LHD counterparts. In 2014, an internal report by consultants to the Ministry of Infrastructure recommended a switch to LHT. In 2015, the ban on RHD vehicles

15048-648: The term single-point diamond interchange is considered the correct phrasing. Single-point interchanges were first built in the early 1970s along U.S. Route 19 in the Tampa Bay area of Florida , including the SR 694 interchange in St. Petersburg and SR 60 in Clearwater . Left- and right-hand traffic This is an accepted version of this page Left-hand traffic ( LHT ) and right-hand traffic ( RHT ) are

15180-479: The total number of lanes. Proponents also claim that HOT lanes provide an incentive to use transit and ridesharing. There has been controversy over this concept, and HOT schemes have been called " Lexus " lanes, as critics see this new pricing scheme as a perk for the rich. HOT tolls are collected by staffed toll booths , automatic number plate recognition , or electronic toll collection systems. Some systems use RFID transmitters to monitor entry and exiting of

15312-769: The traffic code was changed in 1959. Portugal switched to RHT in 1928. Finland , formerly part of LHT Sweden, switched to RHT in 1858 as the Grand Duchy of Finland by Russian decree. Spain switched to RHT in 1918, but not in the entire country. In Madrid people continued to drive on the left until 1924 when a national law forced drivers in Madrid switch to RHT. Madrid Metro still uses LHT. Sweden switched to RHT in 1967, having been LHT from about 1734 despite having land borders with RHT countries Norway and Finland, and approximately 90% of cars being left-hand drive (LHD). A referendum in 1955 overwhelmingly rejected

15444-443: The two interchanging highways. This makes them distinct from turbine interchanges, where pairs of left-turn ramps are separated but at the same level. There are some stacks that could be considered 5-level; however, these remain four-way interchanges, since the fifth level actually consists of dedicated ramps for HOV /bus lanes or frontage roads running through the interchange. The stack interchange between I-10 and I-405 in Los Angeles

15576-580: The year 1300, Pope Boniface VIII directed pilgrims to keep left; however, others suggest that he directed them to keep to the right, and there is no documented evidence to back either claim. The UK introduced LHT in the East Africa Protectorate (present-day Kenya ), the Protectorate of Uganda , Tanganyika (formerly part of German East Africa ; present-day Tanzania ), Rhodesia (present-day Zambia / Zimbabwe ), Eswatini and

15708-399: The year Japan's first railway was introduced, built with technical aid from the British – that this unwritten rule received official acknowledgment. Gradually, a massive network of railways and tram tracks was built, with all railway vehicles driven on the left-hand side. However, it took another half-century, until 1924, until left-hand traffic was legally mandated. Post- World War II Okinawa

15840-523: Was also opposed, as 14,000 of Samoa's 18,000 vehicles were designed for RHT and the government refused to meet the cost of conversion. After months of preparation, the switch from right to left happened in an atmosphere of national celebration. There were no reported incidents. At 05:50 local time, Monday 7 September, a radio announcement halted traffic, and an announcement at 6:00 ordered traffic to switch to LHT. The change coincided with more restrictive enforcement of speeding and seat-belt laws. That day and

15972-538: Was considered a revolutionary design at the time of its construction. A cloverleaf offers uninterrupted connections between two roads but suffers from weaving issues. Along the mainline, a loop ramp introduces traffic prior to a second loop ramp providing access to the crossroad, between which ingress and egress traffic mixes. For this reason, the cloverleaf interchange has fallen out of favour in place of combination interchanges . Some may be half cloverleaf containing ghost ramps which can be upgraded to full cloverleafs if

16104-522: Was constructed in Los Angeles County , and by 1993 there were only 58 mi (93 km) of HOV lanes countywide. A significant policy shift took place in October 1990, when a memorandum from the FHWA administrator stated that " FHWA strongly supports the objective of HOV preferential facilities and encourages the proper application of HOV technology. " Regional administrators were directed to promote HOV lanes and related facilities. Also in

16236-431: Was designed by Philadelphia engineering firm Rudolph and Delano, based on a design seen in an Argentinian magazine. A system interchange connects multiple controlled-access highways, involving no at-grade signalised intersections. A cloverleaf interchange is a four-legged junction where left turns across opposing traffic are handled by non-directional loop ramps. It is named for its appearance from above, which resembles

16368-540: Was designed by Philadelphia engineering firm Rudolph and Delano based on a design seen in an Argentinian magazine. The first cloverleaf in Canada opened in 1938 at the junction of Highway 10 and what would become the Queen Elizabeth Way . The first cloverleaf outside of North America opened in Stockholm on October   15, 1935. Nicknamed Slussen , it was referred to as a "traffic carousel" and

16500-404: Was first implemented by governor Sutiyoso . HOV 3+ is implemented on weekdays in existing roads of Sisingamangaraja Road (fast and slow lane), Jalan Jenderal Sudirman (fast and slow lane), Jalan M.H. Thamrin (fast and slow lane), Medan Merdeka Barat Road, Majapahit Road, and sections of Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto . The policy was originally implemented only between 7:00 am and 10:00 am. Since

16632-579: Was formalized, RHD vehicles such as public buses were still imported into the Philippines until a law passed banning the importation of RHD vehicles except in special cases. These RHD vehicles are required to be converted to LHD. Japan was never part of the British Empire, but its traffic also drives on the left. Although this practice goes back to the Edo period (1603–1868), it was not until 1872 –

16764-1105: Was implemented in May 2001 as an HOV 3+ on Elgeseter Street, an undivided four-lane arterial road in Trondheim . This facility was followed by HOV lanes in Oslo and Kristiansand . The first HOV lane (known as a Transit Lane T2 or T3 ) in Australia opened in February 1992, located on the Eastern Freeway in Melbourne travelling inbound. In May 2005, T2 Transit lanes were opened on Hoddle Street in Melbourne. As of 2012, there were also T2 and T3 facilities in Canberra , Sydney and Brisbane . In Auckland , New Zealand , there are several short HOV 2+ and 3+ lanes throughout

16896-485: Was issued a traffic ticket for using the HOV lane without a human passenger, which carries a fine of $ 135 in 2010 and two points on a driver's license. In January 2013, a motorist tried to claim that the Articles of Incorporation of his business, which had been placed unbuckled on the passenger’s seat, constituted a person, citing the principle of corporate personhood and California's state Vehicle Code, which defines

17028-584: Was lifted; RHD trucks from neighbouring countries cost $ 1,000 less than LHD models imported from Europe. Although many LHT jurisdictions are on islands, there are cases where vehicles may be driven from LHT across a border into a RHT area. Such borders are mostly located in Africa and southern Asia. The Vienna Convention on Road Traffic regulates the use of foreign registered vehicles in the 78 countries that have ratified it. LHT Thailand has three RHT neighbours: Cambodia, Laos, and Myanmar. Most of its borders use

17160-661: Was mostly LHT during its Spanish and American colonial periods, as well as during the Commonwealth era . During the Japanese occupation , the Philippines remained LHT, as was required by the Japanese; but during the Battle of Manila , the liberating American forces drove their tanks to the right for easier facilitation of movement. RHT was formalized in 1945 through a decree by president Sergio Osmeña . Even though RHT

17292-949: Was ruled by the United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands until 1972, and was RHT until 6 a.m. the morning of 30 July 1978, when it switched back to LHT . The conversion operation was known as 730 ( Nana-San-Maru , which refers to the date of the changeover). Okinawa is one of only a few places to have changed from RHT to LHT in the late 20th century. While Japan drives on the left and most Japanese vehicles are RHD, imported vehicles (e.g. BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche) are generally bought as LHD since LHD cars are considered to be status symbols. Vietnam became RHT as part of French Indochina , as did Laos and Cambodia . In Cambodia, RHD cars, many of which were smuggled from Thailand, were banned in 2001, even though they accounted for 80% of vehicles in

17424-431: Was the state with the most HOV facilities in the country, with 88, followed by Minnesota with 83 facilities, Washington with 41, Texas with 35, and Virginia with 21. By 2006, HOV lanes in California were operating at two-thirds of their capacity, and these HOV facilities carried on average 2,518 persons per hour during peak hours, substantially more people than the congested general-traffic lanes. As of October 2016,

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