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Comment by concerto | Hacker News Reader

"In the late 1700s, however, teamsters in France and the United States began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses."

I am interested about this statement and why it didn't happen in the UK which was also majorly agricultural in the same period.

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Perhaps the UK's extensive canal network? Hmm, what was/is the convention for passing narrowboats? I presume it follows the road rule in all countries?

It doesn't in the UK. Canal and River Trust instructs to keep to the right:

"On all waterways, the rule of the road is to drive on the right. ... When you do meet an approaching boat, keep to the right and pass ‘port-to-port’ (the left side of your boat passes the left side of the approaching boat)."

https://canalrivertrust.org.uk/boating/navigating-the-waterw...

No, in the UK you keep right when passing another craft unless there are good reasons for doing otherwise depending on the size and manoeuvrability of each craft, local conditions (bends, bridges, etc.), degree of experience of the helmsman. The motor controls are typically on the left side of the boat, and a seat for the helmsman if there is one would usually be on the left.

I would guess, on the US side, that it was because there was not a centuries-old existing road system. There weren't much in the way of roads in America prior to 1800 - transport by ship or river was the overwhelming norm.

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