B E N
FRF Addict
That depends, most sites and service manuals take into consideration that you make the determination looking at the front of the engine.
Manufacturers identified the engine sides differently. Some manufacturers may assign the left side of the engine as Bank 1 and the right as Bank 2. The best way to determine which side is Bank 1 or Bank 2 is to check the vehicle's service manual. On most vehicles, Bank 1 is referring to the side of the engine where the #1 cylinder is located.
https://autocodes.com/articles/8/what-is-bank-1-and-bank-2.html
The side of the vehicle is always determined from the driving position. You pretty much restated what I said.
Calling a side of the vehicle driver or passenger doesn't really work in the industry, since there are both left hand and right hand drive vehicles.