Irish Examiner view: As car prices spiral, should we consider changing lanes?

Controversial move would require the re-education our driving population

Driving on the right would be a controversial move.

The price of a secondhand car in Ireland is on the rise and is fast becoming a thorn in the side of motorists.

Last year, we imported 63,317 used cars, down 44.2% on the 113,926 car imports in 2019.

Is it time for the Government to consider a radical idea to ensure we aren’t left behind, such as switching the side of the road we drive on?

Only three members of the EU currently drive on the left side of the road — Ireland, Cyprus, and Malta.

Changing the side of the road upon which we drive would bring us more into line with the rest of our European counterparts and help solve the crisis in this country with regard to the availability of secondhand cars — many of which were traditionally sourced from the UK.

The move would be controversial, costly, and involve the re-education of our driving population, but is nonetheless worthy of debate.