Last Sunday, 3 september 2017, Sweden celebrated the 50th jubilee of the âdrive-on-the right-hand-side-of-the-road-diversionâ. Since all Swedens neighbouring countries drove on the right hand side of the road, and since most cars was had the steering wheel to the left it made no sense staying to the left. The latter caused many fatal accidents. Car usage was booming and in a few years a switch would be impossible due to increased traffic. The diversion worked surprisingly smooth and the only sign of Swedens left-hand history is that the trains still run on the left hand side. This is noticeable on the Ăresunds bridge where trains switch from left to right when they are leaving Sweden for Denmark.
Since my comic, âSpies in No Disguiseâ, is set in a car workshop in 1969, only two years after the diversion, I thought it could be funny to include a joke on the subject. The word ballons goes something like this:
- Gosh! You are aware that we drive on the right hand side now?
- Pshaw! I've got no idea. Iâve always been driving in the middle of the road anyway!Â
That was just a quick glimpse. Iâm not sure it is right to include this panel in the final comic or if it should be left out.