London FAQ’s: Why is the Savoy Driveway Reversed?

This week Judy Hutchinson asks: Why, when one drives up to the Savoy, is it altered so that you drive on the right side of the street?

This is a very good question and it makes this the only street in the UK where you drive on the right like in America.

This is said to date from the days of the hackney carriage when a cab driver would reach his arm out of the driver’s door window to open the passenger’s door (which opened backwards and had the handle at the front), without having to get out of the cab himself. Additionally, the hotel entrance’s small roundabout meant that vehicles needed a turning circle of 25 ft (8 m) to navigate it. This is still the legally required turning circle for all London cabs.

Fascinating!