They are filming a movie in Cape Town at present, and I was on the set today, interviewing none other than Vinnie "Nutcracker" Jones. [when I don't scribble here, I'm a football writer]
Anyways, they had a whole street scene laid out on a disused site, with plenty of LHD American cars*, police vehicles, burnt out vans, SWAT team vehicles, etc. All the vehicles were RHD, except for the Greyhound-type bus, which was filmed as being 'held' by Vinnie, and his tribe of bankrobbers.
Now, as the part we saw was filmed at the bus door (Man with gun holding fat bearded bus driver hostage), it will really mess their continuity if the bus is a RHD... or will it?
Are US busses LHD or RHD? And if they are RHD, why?
*US cars? Looked at some of them on set, and they are UGLY! Even the Volvos and Mercs look almost like Muppets compared to the EU or SA versions...
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They are left hand drive.
They could reverse the tape, but I would have thought this would make continuity even more of a nightmare...
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Mmmm ... I even checked in case they had the numberpaltes 'mirrored' but no...
But given the shoot, kick and thump nature of the film, maybe continuity ain't such a big concern for them.
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Well I can tell you that the US Postal Service mail delivery vans are RHD so the driver can stuff the mail in the mailbox at each house he passes. I know this because an old school chum of mine retired and married a mid-western girl in a remote part of Minnesota. Looking for something to do, he was able to get a job as a mail carrier because he was used to driving RHD.
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The one in the movie Speed was LHD and also (judging by its leap over a 100 foot gap) fitted with a rocket motor.
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Ian,
From memory of stuffing my kids on to Yellow buses in the US - the SCHOOL Yellow buses are RHD for two reasons - for one reason and one consequent good law
First - the driver is sitting Nearside, and has a better view of the kids boarding.
Second - Maybe because the driver is on the 'wrong' side of the bus and does not have a good view of his 'Offside' - all traffic must stop (by a quite severe law) when a school bus is stopped to pick up kids.
Matt35.
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Google search for "american school buses"
Results included
site still being built
www.schoolbusenthusiast.com
Many links from here
hostingprod.com/@schoolbusenthusiast.com/links.html
www.asahi-net.or.jp/~rb6k-iid/links.html
busexplorer.com/Sindex.html
And amusing
www.mrsharkey.com
www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/busbarn.htm
and the definitive answer? LHD
www.mrsharkey.com/busbarn/jonathan/jonathan.htm
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Yes all busses here in the USA are LHD. All cars are too. The only RHD vehicles here are the postal trucks. As for our Volvos and Mercedes being uglier than yours... When I was in London they looked the same to me except the steering wheel was on the right. Other than that they were identical. I even got to ride in 3 Mercedes and 1 Jag convertible while I was there. I don't know why you thought the NA versions looked different.
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I read that Pierce-Arrow cars were RHD so that the chaufeur could nip out quickly to open the passenger door next to the kerb.
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Is it still also the case that Italian buses and lorries are RHD?
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Remember that traffic laws vary from state to state. There is no longer a law that says traffic must stop for a school bus in California, for example. IIRC, changed in 2000.
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