My front brake lever is on the side that my dominate hand is on. Being righthanded this means that my brakes are not CPSC acceptable. The reasoning I decided on way back in high school is that the hand that has better fine muscle control is the one I want to use to save my life with (should I have to stop suddenly, which I have "tested" too many times since). The BS reason was when riding two bike at the same time (I believe ghost riding is the current term) I would not want to stop too quickly as with only one hand on the bars of the bike I was pedaling the chance of steering abruptly when that weight shift happened. Having a less effective initial braking force reduced this chance. That my bike was then set up different from almost all others helped me to think I was unique, so important when young
Andy