That day, at exactly five in the morning, all traffic came to a standstill.
Sweden had decided that they are no longer going to drive on the left side of the road.
Daily commutes became profoundly unfamiliar.
No wonder, the Swedish protested when a suggestion was put forward in the early 1950s.
When a referendum was held in 1955, 83 percent voters voted against the idea.
He did that by driving on the right side of the road.
The British kept to the left because they had smaller wagons and had no difficulties continuing with the tradition.
Countries that became part of the British Empire adopted the left-hand rule.
The most pressing issue, however, was rode safety.
The result was too many road accidents.
In 1963, the Swedish government ruled that the country would switch to right hand traffic.
September 3, 1967, was set as the day the changeover would take place.
Preparing the country and its nearly 8 million residents for the massive changeover was a costly and complicated endeavor.
Many of these modifications were started months in advance and completed just before H-Day.
New traffic signals were kept wrapped in black plastic until the final hours.
Similarly, new lines painted on the roads were covered with black tape.
Around 360,000 street signs across the country were switched largely on a single day.
In the hours leading up to the changeover, there was almost afestive atmosphere.
Crowds started gathering in the early morning light.
There were fireworks and singing.
Most cars were kept off the road to allow the construction workers to work.
At 4:50 AM, a horn blared and a loudspeaker announced, Now is the time to changeover!.
The new road signs were revealed, and the cars re-routed to the opposite side.
Thanks to the careful planning, the mammoth changeover went beautifully.
Aside from the inevitable traffic jams and a few minor accidents, nobody died.
The scores of journalists who had gathered on the streets expecting a bloodbath were almost disappointed.
The media was also less critical at that time, and only reported what the experts told them.
Since then the country has changed its focus from speed and convenience to safety when building roads.
These roads are now implemented in much of Europe and also in some places in Canada and Australia.
