Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left” and “right?”

Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by jodrellblank on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:09AM (#35626017)

Then you have cars, where left/right would make perfect sense in all cars from the driver’s perspective but instead people use “nearside” and “offside” which are relative to the kerb while driving[1]. That means it’s relative to which side of the road the country drives on so if you drive a right-hand-drive UK car into mainland Europe, do nearside and offside swap on that car and you need to buy differently named replacement parts?

Always annoying that it could be clearer and more stable and shorter to use the driver’s perspective with “Driver left/right” to be specific and then would be the same sides on all cars moving or parked in any orientation in all countries.

[1] not valid if you turn around and park backwards!

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Re:Why do ships use “port” and “starboard” instead of “left”... by closewith on Wednesday April 19, 2023 @05:22AM (#35626105)

There's also the convention of inside and outside lanes on multilane roads.

In each the UK, Ireland, and the United States, the inside lane is the leftmost lane. However, due to driving on the opposite sides of the road, this means that while the inside lane in the US is closest to the central median, in the UK & Ireland, the inside lane is closet to the curb.

Source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/inside-l...

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