[ArmchairPhilosopher]

I made my drivers license in Germany and I've spent a good part of my time in Europe on narrow and twisty Italian (South Tyrollean, to be exact) roads. Maybe that's why I always felt well-prepared for the weirdness that driving on US roads can be… Not much can shock me at this point. ;p
(Although I hear that India plays in a league of its own.)

That said, there are two things that I think the rest of the world (specifically Europe) should learn from the US: four-way stops, and turning right on red.
Priceless!
If you've ever spent 5+ minutes sitting at an intersection because of Germany's brain-dead god-damned f#@%ing right-has-right-of-way rule, you'll understand what I mean.

(Fighting words: I'll take a four-way stop over a roundabout any day of the week, please and thank you. )

 

[ScottFree]

I made my drivers license in Germany

Sounds illegal. Isn't it the government that is meant to issue one?

 

[ScOgLiO]

b) in Belgium

Care to elaborate? I'm curious about this one.
I drive through Belgium at times (mostly on the highway, which is typically busy with road works every 20km or so...), but I consider Belgians decent drivers. They don't seem to bother with speed limits, that's for sure, but apart from that they seem pretty ok to me.

If anything, I'd argue driving on the Dutch highway is way worse, as Dutch drivers are possibly the most self-centric you can find: you can come nice and quick on the left lane and they'll conveniently jump in front of you at the very last moment. It's like they don't teach the concept of "safety distance" (or "mirrors", for that matter) in their driving schools...

I know that an Italian complaining about how other people drive sounds hilarious, but I really (really!) try to stick to the book and be sensible.
Also, come on, you guys...we're not so terrible after all. Have you ever driven a car in Greece?

 

[GearMe]

I've done a lot of business in Italy, all technical Italians know a lot of English. The Italians criticized the strange English rules of pronunciation and grammar! I patiently explained that Italians, Poles, Germans, Spaniards, etc., usually with no formal education, had come to the US and been allowed to talk as they wished. Before that the British nobles spoke French, and allowed the uneducated masses to speak "English" as they wished. So English is a language of the peasantry. This did not move my Italian friends, they still told me our language was basically useless. Finally I told them, "The English rules for speaking are like Italian rules for driving." Then they nodded and understood.

 

[ImagesbyMurray]

I'm sorry. But, I was forced!

Nooooooooo...............

Some years ago, doing some IT consulting for a regional pediatric clinic, I found myself in the billing back office. In the center of the room was a huge stuffed Barney hanging from the ceiling via a remarkably clean, well crafted noose.

 

[StimpyWan]

Nooooooooo...............

Some years ago, doing some IT consulting for a regional pediatric clinic, I found myself in the billing back office. In the center of the room was a huge stuffed Barney hanging from the ceiling via a remarkably clean, well crafted noose.

That sounds reasonable...!

 

[tafens]

I tried listening to audio books in the car. And failed. Hard. Really difficult to rewind back to where you went mentally off the rails when something in the story triggered a mental tangent. And I get so involved in a good story that I get distracted from the road. Double Not Good. I already have a problem with getting lost in thought on the commute only to realize 20 minutes later that I'm where I'm supposed to be but have no freakin' clue how I got there.

I wouldn’t dare listen to audio books while driving, for the same reason. I’d get distracted either from the book (ok but annoying) or the road (very bad)..

Interestingly, my car (a VW Sharan from 2013) has a function that tries to detect if the driver is tired and should stop and rest. It always goes of when my mind happens to wander off in a tangent of some sort (even without audiobooks) regardless if I’m actually tired or not. Perhaps they should call it a “please mind the road and other traffic”-alert?

 

[EricDH]

turning right on red.

I lived in Saudi Arabia from 2017 until about half a year ago, and there it is also turning right on red. Well there are cameras, so the rule is: stop first, check if it is safe to turn, then turn. No flash (i.e. no fine) if you stop first.

Apart from that, Saudis have a loose relationship with traffic rules (they see it more as recommendations). As I adapted quite well, it is maybe not so bad that I left.

 

[Hofy]

the second rule of Italian driving, What's in front of me is not important!
I have driven all over Europe while stationed there in the 1980's. Italy is by far the worst for bad drivers.

 

[tafens]

happy New Year's day to all fellow head-fiers.



may this still be in your heads on New Year's day, compounding that hang-over

Geez, I didn’t even have time to listen to the clip before the song was in my head again just from all the times I heard it on the radio years ago…

 

[ScottFree]

the second rule of Italian driving, What's in front of me is not important!
I have driven all over Europe while stationed there in the 1980's. Italy is by far the worst for bad drivers.

Rule 3: Anyone crossing the road is fair game except for women and children.

 

[ArmchairPhilosopher]

Sounds illegal. Isn't it the government that is meant to issue one?

Well… In other nations around the world, especially here in the States, you pass a little test and then the government issues you your driver's license.
Not so in Germany. Oh no, dear sir! In Germany, you have to go through tons of theory lessons, hours upon hours at the wheel with a licensed instructor on your side, and pay fees of somewhere around 2,000 USD to EARN your privilege to drive anything larger than a lawn mower.

So, yes, while your license is government-issued in the rest of the world, once you're allowed to drive a car in Germany, you truly MADE it. ;p

(Come to think of it, and I could be wrong, but I think you might even need a license to drive a lawn mower in Germany, actually.)

Update:
Yyyyyep! If you can sit on your lawn mower, and if that lawn mower can go in excess of 6 kph (= 3.73 MPH), you do, in fact, need a (class L) license to operate it.

 

[tafens]

Yeah. Sell-out seems appropriate. Loved them as Airplane. Their last good album was 'Red Octopus', IMHO, and that was as Starship. Pales in comparison to their work as Airplane.

I really like the album “Freedom at Point Zero” (1979) too, and especially the song “Things to Come” (there is something about a song that starts with the lyrics “Washin’ my brains in the public fountain” ), but then with “Modern Times” the transition to what would become Starship musically had really taken off.

Edit: “Transition to Starhip” as in without the “Jefferson” part.

 

[GumbyDammit223]

I lived in Saudi Arabia from 2017 until about half a year ago, and there it is also turning right on red. Well there are cameras, so the rule is: stop first, check if it is safe to turn, then turn. No flash (i.e. no fine) if you stop first.

Apart from that, Saudis have a loose relationship with traffic rules (they see it more as recommendations). As I adapted quite well, it is maybe not so bad that I left.

I spent about a week in and around Cairo back in the mid 90's for work. Prior to that I was at a trade show in Boston where I deemed Bostonians the worst/craziest drivers I had ever seen. Then Cairo. Being in a taxi going who knows how fast (the car didn't have a working speedometer, or any other gauges for that matter) and roaring by people on bikes, donkeys, and in other cars led me to appreciate how drivers in the US paid attention to the Rules of the Road, even in Boston.

 

[tafens]

FLAC seems like a widely used format and the codec is free and open. I know that Bandcamp uses it for downloads. And since it's lossless you can transcode FLAC files to whichever format you prefer.

Exactly. I can transcode it to whatever I want from there, even to AAC (mp4) and load it into iTunes..

FLAC is also compressed (losslessly and non-destructive of course), usually saving about 30% space compared to uncompressed.

I like Bandcamp a lot, it is a great place for music, you can find fantastic music there from all kinds of bands and artists that would never have been published by the big labels, all available in lossless.