Westerns and stagecoaches

Sir, As Edward O'Keeffe states (Letters, October 10th), stagecoach and wagon drivers all sat on the right side. The brake for these vehicles was also on the right, so designed because there are more right-handed people than left-handed.

When automobiles came along in the US, with internal hand brakes and gear shift levers, the design was again to accommodate the vast majority of drivers being right-handed.

This required moving the driving seat to the left side, with the internal handbrakes and gear-shift levers on the driver’s right side. – Yours, etc,

DAN DONOVAN,

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Dungarvan,

Co Waterford.