The mismatch makes sense. Traffic in the U.S. Virgin Islands keeps left because an inherited road convention survived American acquisition, while most cars have left-hand steering wheels because they come through the mainland American vehicle market. History picked the lane. Commerce supplied the cars, leaving you with a combination that looks backward only if you expect road rules and vehicle specifications to match.
Blame habit, not Britain. Although left-side driving often suggests a British colonial connection, these islands passed to the United States from Denmark, and their established traffic practice remained in place. The distinction matters here. Denmark itself drives on the right, so calling the islands' arrangement simply the Danish system would confuse a colonial practice with the rules of the former governing country. Origins deserve some caution. The survival of left-side traffic is clearer than popular stories claiming to explain exactly why the custom first took hold.
Shopping beats mechanical symmetry. Since mainland American vehicles generally have left-hand drive, buying through that supply network means accepting a driver's seat beside the road edge rather than near the centerline. That changes your view. In particular, the seating position can restrict sightlines around a vehicle ahead, even though steering-wheel placement does not determine which side traffic must use. Familiarity does the rest. Residents live with the combination, while visitors must separate the familiar controls from the unfamiliar lane position: would your hands or your habits need more convincing?
