Dagen H

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Dagen H, or Högertrafikomläggningen, was Sweden’s big switch from left-hand to right-hand traffic. It happened on September 3, 1967. The change was the largest logistical effort in Swedish history.

Why switch? In 1955 most people wanted to keep driving on the left, but with more cars on the road, the government decided to switch in 1967. A special commission prepared the change and a four-year public education program taught people what to do. The campaign used a lot of advertising, new road markings, and even gloves and stickers to remind drivers. A TV contest produced the song “Keep to the right, Svensson.”

Before the change, poles, signals, and road lines were prepared. About 350,000 signs were replaced, and all cars had to switch their headlights from left to right.

On Dagen H itself, non-essential traffic was banned from 01:00 to 06:00. Vehicles on the road at 04:50 had to stop, switch to the right, and stop again before continuing at 05:00. In Stockholm and Malmö the ban lasted longer to reconfigure intersections. One-way streets and tram lines required extra changes, and many bus stops had to be moved.

The immediate effect was a temporary drop in accidents. On the day, 157 minor accidents occurred, with a small number of injuries. The day after, accidents were lower than typical Mondays. Experts say the switch helped overall safety because drivers were more cautious and overtaking was less risky right after the change.

But the benefits did not last. Within six weeks, insurance claims returned to normal, and by 1969 accident rates were back to pre-change levels.

Transport changes were dramatic: trams in several cities were replaced by buses, and thousands of new or retrofitted buses with doors on the right were introduced. The rail network and Stockholm’s metro mostly stayed on the left, and many tram lines were abandoned or replaced. Some cities, like Gothenburg, faced high costs reconfiguring trams; Stockholm focused on buses and later the metro.

Iceland also switched to right-hand driving in 1968 on H-dagurinn.