The Day An Entire Country Switched Sides

Swedish voters rejected this idea outright, 83% against. Twelve years later, the government did it anyway, in a single morning.

On September 3, 1967, Sweden executed Dagen H, switching the entire country from driving on the left side of the road to the right, after years of planning by a dedicated government commission and a public information campaign reaching every household. The change addressed a dangerous mismatch, since roughly 90% of Swedish cars were already built for right-hand traffic, and aligned the country with its only two land neighbors, Norway and Finland. Accident rates dropped sharply in the immediate aftermath before gradually returning close to pre-switch levels within two years, a genuinely mixed but historically significant outcome.

This is bsnsHistory, the daily podcast about the moments when business quietly reshaped the world.

Written and hosted by Ron Trucks. Research and editing by Rodney Russ. Sound design by Angela Cahoy. Music by Cody Martin and Soundstripe.

For more daily business stories, visit www.bsnsDAILYpodcasts.com