Man blames right-hand driving for crash

Published: 14th February 2007 12:37 CETOnline:

A 79-year-old man has blamed his bad driving on Sweden's 1967 switch from left-hand to right-hand driving.

The man was driving his car to a vehicle inspection in Karlskrona, southern Sweden, when he realised he had got lost. He then reversed the car into oncoming traffic. His erratic driving forced cars on both sides of the road to brake to avoid a crash.

The man then backed his car into a set of traffic lights, knocking them down, according to the local Sydöstran newspaper. Despite a police car approaching him with blue lights flashing and sirens sounding, the man fled the scene. Police later forced the man to pull over.

The man, from the nearby village of Holmsjö, pleaded not guilty to careless driving charges. He said his poor driving was caused by the fact that he had not driven in central Karlskrona since Sweden started driving on the right in 1967.