Dagen H - September 3, 1967

This day in 1967 is known in Sweden as Dagen H, or H Day, the day that left-hand traffic in the country switched to right-hand traffic. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This Day in History Class is a production of I
Heart Radio. Greetings everyone, Welcome to This Day in History Class,
where we learn a smidgen of history every day. Today
is September three. The day was September three, nineteen Traffic

(00:28):
in Sweden switched from being on the left side of
the road to the right side of the road. The
day is officially known as haggar traffic cam Lagen, or
the right hand traffic diversion. It's also called doggin Hoa
or h day for short. The change caused some disruption,
but not much, since Sweden had been preparing for the

(00:51):
switch for a while. Most countries in the region drove
on the right side of the road, though some European
countries like Ireland, written and Iceland stuck to driving on
the left side. Many of Britain's former territories still drive
on the left as well. Left side driving can be
traced back to ancient Rome. It's not clear why ancient

(01:15):
Romans traveled on the left, but it could have been
so they could use their weapons with their right hand
when someone approached the practice of staying on the left
side of the road continued into medieval Europe, but by
the nineteenth century, the United States, Canada, France, and Germany
had adopted the key right rule. More European countries standardized

(01:39):
driving on the right side throughout the twentieth century. That
became an issue for Swedish drivers. Since important and Swedish
mate cars had steering on the left side, and places
that have right hand side regulations, drivers sit on the
left hand side. That way, drivers can see past the
vehicle in front of them, but passing a car and

(02:00):
Sweden was difficult and dangerous since drivers sat and drove
on the left side. This awkward setup led to many
head on collisions on two lane highways as drivers ventured
into oncoming traffic to pass a vehicle. Also, people from
nearby countries like Denmark, Norway and Finland were used to

(02:20):
driving on the right side, so they often got an
accidents when they visited Sweden because of the confusion. So
the Swedish government decided to take the issue of whether
Sweden should switch to right hand side driving to a
vote in the nineteen referendum of people opposed the switch,

(02:41):
but by nineteen sixty seven there were a lot more
vehicles on the road and safety was a concern. The
government decided to go forth with the change anyway. They
started a whole campaign to make the transition smooth. They
created signs and stickers with the logo for the transition.
The logo was an H with an arrow going from

(03:02):
the left side to the right side of the letter.
Beneath the H was the planned date for the switch,
September three, nineteen. The government put out pamphlets, p s,
a s and products that marketed the switch. A song
about H Day hit number five on Swedish music charts.
In addition to the public relations campaign, Sweden had to

(03:25):
go through major infrastructure changes. Signs had to be reversed,
intersections in one way, streets had to be dealt with,
and bus stops had to be moved. In the days
leading up to H Day, the new system was explained
on TV, on the radio and in newspapers. On the
morning of the change, all non essential traffic was ordered

(03:48):
to stay off the roads. At four fifty in the morning,
the phrase now is the time to change over was
announced over loud speakers. The entire project cost about six
hundred and twenty eight million kronor or two point six
billion kronor, the equivalent of three D and sixteen million
US dollars. On the Monday after H Day, slightly fewer

(04:13):
traffic accidents than average were reported. The number of motor
insurance claims went down, but this improvement was likely due
to safer than normal driving. By nineteen sixty nine, accident
and fatality rates had gone back up since H Day.
Other nations have changed what side of the road they

(04:33):
drive on to I'm Eve Jeffco and hopefully you know
a little more about history today than you did yesterday.
If you feel like correcting my pronunciation or my accent
on anything that I've said in the show, feel free
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At T D I h C podcast, thanks for showing up.

(04:58):
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