Sweden switched to driving on the right overnight
On this day · 3 September 1967
In a single carefully rehearsed morning, an entire nation moved from the left side of the road to the right.
Just before dawn on Sunday, 3 September 1967, Sweden carried out one of the largest logistical operations in its history. The day was nicknamed Dagen H, for Hogertrafik, Swedish for right-hand traffic.
Non-essential traffic was cleared from the roads overnight. At 4:50 a.m., the few vehicles still moving came to a full stop, carefully crossed to the right side, and waited. At 5:00 a.m. they set off again, and a country that had driven on the left for generations was suddenly driving on the right.
A whole nation changed lanes at once and lived to tell it.
The switch had been deeply unpopular, with a 1955 referendum showing some 83 percent against it, yet the changeover went remarkably smoothly. Only minor accidents were reported that day, and, helped by cautious driving, the feared surge in crashes never came. Neighboring countries already drove on the right.
Sources & references
2 referencesWell-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.
