Why do Americans drive on the right side of the road? Because it's convention.
Why did it become convention? Because the American highway system is based on, and originated from, the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the 1700s and 1800s.
Why did people on the Pennsylvania Turnpike drive on the right side of the road in the 1700s? Because they were predominantly the Pennsylvania Dutch driving Conestoga wagons - Conestoga wagons were invented by Mennonites and get their name from the Conestoga River).
Why would using Conestoga wagons cause driving on the right side? Conestoga wagons were designed to have a large lever, a brake, on their left side. "Teamsters" would walk along the left side next to the handle or stand on a pullout board with the handle in close reach. Naturally, being on the left side of the wagon, the convention was to drive on the right side.
Why was the lever on the left side of the wagon? I don't know that we can know that. It seems there are two likely possibilities here: it's either because controlling a team of horses/oxen from the left side was already convention (because most people are right-handed and it's easier that way) or it's because most people are right-handed and it's easier to operate the brake lever that way.
So there you have it: Americans drive on the right side of the road because the brake on the Conestoga wagon was on the left side in the 1700s and 1800s.
It is interesting to note that after 200 years of history, after all the technological innovation of the Industrial Age, we are still operating a large brake lever with our right hand, now known as the emergency brake.
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