And yet it is an error of technological determinism to suggest that the way we walk is influenced entirely by the way we drive. This discussion begs the question, “Why was motor vehicle traffic organized this way in the first instance? Many historians suggest vehicle traffic followed the precedent of foot or mounted (horse) traffic, and that precedent was established in many places in view of which hand tended to be dominant. In adversarial cultures people kept left so that they would have a weapon to their dominant (right) hand if the person coming the other way proved an enemy.The late navel historian, Cyril Northcote Parkinson, writes, “This custom was given official sanction in 1300 AD, when Pope Boniface VIII invented the modern science of traffic control by declaring that pilgrims headed to Rome should keep left.”
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/634/why-do-the-british-drive-on-the-leftIn most cultures people also shake with the right hand, presumably because shaking with that hand means the weapon must be set aside — a sign of peace. So passing right shoulder to right shoulder also enables one to extend a hand for the purpose of greeting a friend. So it is thought that in England and other countries where traffic keeps left these ancient traditions of foot traffic are being carried on.

Apparently France led the shift to right-side traffic in Europe, requiring each country they conquered to change over as well. Here are possible explanations for that change:

“In the late 1700s . . . teamsters in France and the United States began hauling farm products in big wagons pulled by several pairs of horses. These wagons had no driver’s seat; instead the driver sat on the left rear horse, so he could keep his right arm free to lash the team. Since he was sitting on the left, he naturally wanted everybody to pass on the left so he could look down and make sure he kept clear of the oncoming wagon’s wheels. Therefore he kept to the right side of the road.

In addition, the French Revolution of 1789 gave a huge impetus to right-hand travel in Europe. The fact is, before the Revolution, the aristocracy travelled on the left of the road, forcing the peasantry over to the right, but after the storming of the Bastille and the subsequent events, aristocrats preferred to keep a low profile and joined the peasants on the right. An official keep-right rule was introduced in Paris in 1794, more or less parallel to Denmark, where driving on the right had been made compulsory in 1793.”
<http://users.telenet.be/worldstandards/driving%20on%20the%20left.htm#history>

Whether we agree or not with these theories, it is clear the nature and use of technology is influenced by existing cultural practices and in turn those practices are influenced by technology. Technology doesn’t entirely control us, and nor do we entirely control technology.

Best,

Teresa

I appreciate you going deeper with this example and showing me the history behind the direction of traffic. It definitely seems like there’s a reciprocal agreement between culture and technology.

This is the exact quote from Petrina (in press):

“A prime example of determinism and conditioning is the flow of vehicular and pedestrian traffic. In North America, we learn early on to pass people as we walk in hallways, shopping malls and on sidewalks left shoulder to left shoulder, or on the right hand side of the
pathway. The custom issues from vehicular traffic. Our material culture of roads and traffic determines our behavior in malls, offices and schools.”

Petrina, S. (in press). Agency, Embodiment, Technology and Determinism. Excerpted from Curriculum and instruction for technology teachers. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

There’s some truth in Petrina’s statement. But I would argue that to understand, as you aptly put it, the reciprocal agreement between culture and technology, one needs to examine a larger segment of the timeline and consider the conditions that give rise to technological innovations and the practices around them in the first instance. People set traffic laws, after all, not vehicles. (This is not to say technology can’t have unexpected and powerful effects.)

On another note, now I find myself wanting to find out more about why the right hand is generally dominant . . .

Best,

Teresa