Left day (Seratof)

Left day (Seratofian: Vjätës den, IPA: /'vʲæːtəs dɛn/), more formally known as Day of left side traffic (Seratofian: Vjäta Trafiks den, IPA: /'vʲæːta traˈfɪks dɛn/), was a historic day in Seratof that occurred on Friday, 1 May 1970, in which traffic in Seratof The change occurred at 6:00 sharp, as all motorists were instructed to switch over to the left hand side of the road.

Background
Being a part of the Samot-Seratof Empire between 1799 and 1925, Seratof formalized into law the must to keep right in all roads within the kingdom as early as 1838, following Samotkhe. The invention of the automobile in the late 19th century meant that vehicles and motorists were also, by default, required to keep right and allow traffic from the opposite direction to pass on the left. By 1901, parliament passed a law mandating that drivers stick to the right hand side of the road as a formalization of the previous laws which did not specifically mentioned automobiles and other motored vehicles.

After the collapse of the Samot-Seratof Empire in 1925 and the formation of the Republic of Seratof in 1929, Seratofian car imports from nearby left-side driving countries tripled in volume, and during the same period, Kajášku Automobiles was set up and started making vehicles that mimic the left-hand steering of the imports. By 1950, almost 80% of vehicles in Seratof had right hand drive, boosted by Modrovian and Merandic imports and Kajášku Automobiles. In the 1950s, calls were made by several politicians to switch driving sides, and in 1961, a referendum was held in Seratof, asking voters to determine the future of right hand traffic in Seratof. 89% of the votes casted wished to remain right hand traffic, and proved to be a failure.

In 1965, however, parliament passed a law that would change right hand traffic into left hand traffic on or before 1970, as the number of vehicles suited for left hand traffic kept increasing and the total amount of vehicles was nearing exponential growth, further endangering motorists and drivers. Also taken into consideration was the fact that a majority of Seratof's neighboring countries drive on the left.

Between 1965 and 1970, massive socialization efforts were undertaken, including public message boards, songs, skits, and even a movie sponsored by the government. In total, 450,000 road signs were replaced, 13,591 km of roads were repainted and over 6,000 buses were modified to accomodate left hand traffic.

The change
On the night 30th of April 1970, police and military personnel were instructed to stand by all across the nation in an effort to ease the change and to guide motorists on the first day of the switch. They were also trained to deal with everyday traffic situations in left-side traffic. At 6:00 sharp, all motorists were instructed to stop their vehicles and were asked to switch over to the left hand side of the road, done in turns as to not create collisions. Seratofians poured to the streets to view the immense change.

The sale of alcohol was banned for a week, and the 1st of May 1970 was declared a national holiday in order to make motorists feel more comfortable with the new rules of the road. The speed limit for three days was lowered to 35 km/h to reduce accidents during the day of the switch.

Aftermath
The number of accidents that happened on the day of the switch fell by 80%, but this was attributed to the safer driving habits of the motorists adapting to change. By 1975, the accident rate had returned to near pre-change levels.