Originally Posted by
Polaris OBark
If I recall correctly, TREK had a recall for incorrectly (see what I did there?) closed quick-release levers that would allegedly snag the disc brake rotors. The simplest solution would have been to put the levers on the right hand side, but TREK are fashion slaves, so they took a different approach.
Respect to Trek. They know their customers. The vast majority are the actual fashion slaves who would rather risk a sudden crash than be seen with the QR lever on the right side of the bike.