American highways

[ian.thomas]

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

Those are generally not too difficult to figure out, but most Americans probably don't know how to manage a reversible lane on a three lane or four lane road with travel in both directions. A reversible lane is one that at times the flow of traffic on that lane travels in one direction and at other times it flows in the opposite direction.

And here we don't have police all over the highways hiding behind bushes and bridge overpasses, we have hidden camera boxes. God forbid you're driving around thinking, "geez, there's no cops and people are driving however fast they want, this is great!" Well, if you don't know where those cameras are along the highway (while the citizens definitely do and know when to slow down to speed limit and resume flooring it), don't worry, the police will send the fine with your license plate picture and the speed indicated on the photo over to the rental car company who will gladly inform them who the renter of that car was at that time, and you will get a letter in the mail from the national government with your fine. Good hefty fines, too. Each and every time. Highways are generally a bit slower here in Spain than in the States and have many more speed variations. Also, the camera robots are equal opportunity ticket pushers, and you can't talk your way out of 'em.

Here's a little quiz for anyone in North America who has never been to Europe. What do you think sign #1 and sign #2 mean?

Sign #1


Sign #2



Europeans/UK, don't give it away, yea?

We do have reversible lanes here, but only in large cities. For the most part, Americans would fail. I know them from living in NYC and driving in NJ. We also had some in Dallas, but I think they expanded that road, so no need now.

First sign - No speed limit? If this is correct I learned it from UK Top Gear.
Second sign - Is that a reversible lane sign? (pure guess)

[SpeakWithMichael]

Originally Posted by ian.thomas

First sign - No speed limit? If this is correct I learned it from UK Top Gear.
Second sign - Is that a reversible lane sign? (pure guess)

Sorry, mate. Wrong on both. Thanks for playing.

[ian.thomas]

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

Sorry, mate. Wrong on both. Thanks for playing.

Yeah, I just did some research and I failed big time!

I still don't know what the first sign means ... 'end of motor way' ??

[037]

We absolutely need better driving instruction over here. For as many accidents as we have, it's surprising that training isn't named as the root cause. It's only getting worse with drivers distracting themselves with phones.

Of course, our solution is to improve cars with tire pressure sensors, lane steering assistance, parking cameras and parking sensors rather than fixing the loose nuts behind the steering wheels.

[SpeakWithMichael]

Originally Posted by ian.thomas

Yeah, I just did some research and I failed big time!

I still don't know what the first sign means ... 'end of motor way' ??

Haha, I'll PM you.

[timedate]

i enjoyed driving in spain, the roads were in superb condition, people seemed to know what they were doing,

uk is very stop start, so many people are on the phone aswell, you will often approach a roundabout and the car in front will just stop when there is nothing to give way to,

the motorways are ok, i think standards are pretty good overrall, but there is always a clown who hits someone up the arse and spoils everybody's day with the amount of time it takes just to shove the debris out of the way.

[Dr. Robert]

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

Those are generally not too difficult to figure out, but most Americans probably don't know how to manage a reversible lane on a three lane or four lane road with travel in both directions. A reversible lane is one that at times the flow of traffic on that lane travels in one direction and at other times it flows in the opposite direction.

And here we don't have police all over the highways hiding behind bushes and bridge overpasses, we have hidden camera boxes. God forbid you're driving around thinking, "geez, there's no cops and people are driving however fast they want, this is great!" Well, if you don't know where those cameras are along the highway (while the citizens definitely do and know when to slow down to speed limit and resume flooring it), don't worry, the police will send the fine with your license plate picture and the speed indicated on the photo over to the rental car company who will gladly inform them who the renter of that car was at that time, and you will get a letter in the mail from the national government with your fine. Good hefty fines, too. Each and every time. Highways are generally a bit slower here in Spain than in the States and have many more speed variations. Also, the camera robots are equal opportunity ticket pushers, and you can't talk your way out of 'em.

Here's a little quiz for anyone in North America who has never been to Europe. What do you think sign #1 and sign #2 mean?

Sign #1


Sign #2





Europeans/UK, don't give it away, yea?

I haven’t driven in Europe/UK in a few years......anyways #1 has something to do with parking.
#2 give way to oncoming traffic?

[PeqFB]

In New Jersey, it's kill or get killed on the highway.

[The Libertine]

Been watching too much Miami Vice, Bas?!

[SpeakWithMichael]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

I haven’t driven in Europe/UK in a few years......anyways #1 has something to do with parking.
#2 give way to oncoming traffic?

#1 has something to do with parking, yes. But there's something very specific that will make it okay or not okay to park there. Would you know what the two lines in the middle mean?

#2 is correct!

[TK-710]

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

#1 has something to do with parking, yes. But there's something very specific that will make it okay or not okay to park there. Would you know what the two lines in the middle mean?

#2 is correct!

No parking on even days of the month.

[SpeakWithMichael]

Originally Posted by TK-710

No parking on even days of the month.

You are correct, Sir.

Who'd have thought, right? Another good reason to have the date function on your watch.

[Black_5]

We have the same problem in Australia, although we drive on the other side of the road.

In my state the law requires drivers to keep left unless overtaking on roads marked with a speed limit of 80kmh or above.

There is almost always one nong who will sit on, or just below, the speed limit in the right lane though - typically next to someone in the left doing the same speed.

I also notice a strange phenomenon on our highways which have changeable speed limits.

They also are heavily monitored by cameras so speeding is a risk I don't want to take and generally set the cruise control.

If the speed limit is 80kmh, I invariably stay left and find I am continually passed, but when the speed limit increases to 100, I always have to move right and often find I am the fastest car on the road passing almost everyone who previously passed me in the 80 zone!

It seems everyone else just travels at about 90 regardless for some strange reason?

Originally Posted by Gunnar_917

^^ tells the truth on Internet forums

So many watches, So little time...

[THC]

You think driving in USA is crazy, I would love to see the car insurance premiums in other countries.

[123Blueface]

This thread reminds me of George Carlson and his driving skit.

[M45]

Originally Posted by SearChart

Whenever I see videos of people driving on highways in the US I always see people just all over the place on the lanes.
Overtaking in the middle or on the right, not going back to the right lane, wtf? Is this normal?

If I overtake someone on the right or stay too long in the wrong lane I risk getting a very hefty bill. If I do it 5km from here on the autobahn I risk getting rear ended by a golf GTi going 250kp/h.

Come to CA. We have lane splitting.

Anyway, I have my fill of shitty EU drivers in HI.

[returntorolex]

Originally Posted by ian.thomas

At least in Austin we have this. Of course this really means 70 to everyone in the left lane and 100 to everyone passing on the right.

Haha nice.....that’s a good start!

[Runner1975]

Why is it the same people who'll smile and hold a door for you turn into selfish (even aggressive) drivers? Courtesy, caution, and patience go a long way toward safety on U.S. roads . . . whether a driver's moving too slowly or too fast in the left lane or weaving in and out of traffic or tailgating or creating other situations with zero reaction time for drivers near him/her. We used to check the news to see if there was a crash during the rush hour commute and now it's "where're the crashes, how bad are they, how long is the delay?" It's really easy to get frustrated these days on U.S. interstates (Florida!), but still . . .

[locutus49]

There was an article on this in the Washington Post. Some drivers are so moralistic they drive below the speed limit to slow traffic down. Self-righteous nitwits.

Originally Posted by Syed117

If I ever have a violent road rage incident it will be caused by someone in the left lane going slower than the speed limit and refusing to move.

Or possibly by those who decide to bypass an entire line of cars to merge into an exit over the lines near the very end.

[Oyster1982]

Driving In New Jersey can be interesting, we have so many accidents that I have become completely desensitized to flipped over cars on the roadways. I usually expect a major accident on my way to the office. Recently we had a dump truck smash into police cars, an ambulance and a firetruck that were on the scene of another accident on I-280. Also to top it all off the roads are so poorly maintained that I usually have to replace at least one wheel on my car after every winter. Welcome to the Garden State!!!

[JasoninDenver]

My personal peeve is people who drive like a jackass in the right lanes. Here people will actually punch it to close the gap between the car in front of them and block someone attempting to merge onto the highway with their turn signal on.

[ruffa]

Americans are the worst drivers ever. Here in South Carolina I always use google maps and Waze because there’s daily accidents on every single road except one or two so I need to see which road that is I need to take.

Europe was such a blast to drive. Especially Switzerland and Germany. They pay attention to the road like professional racers and they drive the speed limit (except autobahn)

[superstarmar]

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

Bas, the European way we're taught here is not at all what they're taught over in the U.S. First and foremost, they're not really officially taught. They don't go through expensive driving schools like in Europe where if they don't follow instructions, they don't get their license. In the U.S., people don't have to go through driving schools. Their driving exam lasts about 5-10 minutes in an empty parking lot. So who is teaching people how to drive there? Parents or friends, when the person is 15, 16, 17 years old. And who taught them? Same, their parents or friends. So there's been no standard being taught for generations. And as such they overtake vehicles however they want. And since they do what they want, you see incredibly stupid things being done such as reversing on the highway to go back and catch an offramp. People can't be inconvenienced to drive a mile and change direction and do it properly, so I'm going to inconvenience everyone else and possibly cause an accident or worse, swerve at the last second ignoring anyone else around them.

In Spain, the theory portion currently consists of studying 2700 questions, from which 30 questions will be randomly chosen. You can only get 3 questions wrong. And that's the easy part. The driving exam portion puts you in a real city and on a real highway with a not very affable driving examiner in the backseat jotting down the mistakes you made over the course of a 30-40 minute driving test. Make a certain number of mistakes, and you fail. Some mistakes are an instant fail. All of this in a manual car, obviously. The failure rate is very much higher in Europe than it is in the U.S.

This is exactly what’s going on 100 %. !!!
I’m a professional driver and have my CDL ,
I can tell you horror stories I’ve seen all over
the US over the years . . Certain states have worst
drivers than other states but there are crazy people all over.

Best advice I can give you is to drive defensively.
Try and read the drivers in front , on the sides and
behind you for what ever stupid move they might
make within your circumference that could affect you Bas.

[SearChart]

I didn't expect so many replies

Originally Posted by The Libertine

Been watching too much Miami Vice, Bas?!

yes

[pickettt]

Originally Posted by ruffa

Americans are the worst drivers ever. Here in South Carolina I always use google maps and Waze because there’s daily accidents on every single road except one or two so I need to see which road that is I need to take.

Oh yeah?
2F1C226E-CD07-4B62-B326-7476976E4652.jpeg

[77T]

Originally Posted by SearChart

I didn't expect so many replies

Maybe those drivers started learning the behavior early...





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Knappo 1307]

Originally Posted by CamSLC

It's funny whenever this comes up there are resounding North Americans who fully comprehend how ridiculous these left lane campers are, but for some reason it's ALWAYS an issue.

On the open road in the US we have a massive amount of Semi trucks/18 wheelers. You can drive some places for hours and that all you will pass. I think it pushes other drivers to stay left to pass them, but then when someone comes up behind them at a passing speed they need to GTFOver.

I've driven in a good number of European and Western countries, Panama or Costa Rica are really bad, they have more of a right lane passing plan, but at the merge point the passing lane is expected to yield.

This is a huge part of the problem, semis clogging the left lane going under the speed limit and not taking off their cruise control backing up traffic for miles. Oh and they always claim it's a little cars fault when they are involved in a accident, which is about 75% of the accidents. At least in the Chicago land area....

[Burlington]

Originally Posted by timedate

you will often approach a roundabout and the car in front will just stop when there is nothing to give way to

Sounds likes it may be crash 4 cash

Always keep vigilant against this if someone ahead is driving strangely.

[kulak]

Come drive in Orlando and you'll find may folks from UK, AUS, etc forgetting and going the wrong way. Orlando is one of the most awful places to drive in the touristy areas.

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

I'm honestly baffled at how they let tourists from North America or other continents who don't know the European rules of the road or what 95% of the hundreds of different signs on the road mean, just pick up a rental car and get on the road here, having never driven here or spent time here to have some idea of what to do. Scares the crap out of me, for them and for others.

I might be above average but I got by ok. I had for example a car in Paris. Don't judge - work was out in the suburbs. Driving in Paris was a bit chaotic as in any big city. I never figured out the roundabout rules during grid lock. It seemed all the rules went out the window with buses and cars driving straight to their exit aggressively inching perpendicular to each other. I rather enjoyed the driving as I could be aggressive and not induce road rage in others.

On the highways it was very orderly. Even the VIPs in the left lane keep their left blinker on letting you know they have very important places to be. :)

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

Those are generally not too difficult to figure out, but most Americans probably don't know how to manage a reversible lane on a three lane or four lane road with travel in both directions. A reversible lane is one that at times the flow of traffic on that lane travels in one direction and at other times it flows in the opposite direction.

America has these too...

Originally Posted by SpeakWithMichael

And here we don't have police all over the highways hiding behind bushes and bridge overpasses, we have hidden camera boxes.

Average speed cameras are the worst. In the U.S. many jurisdictions are removing red light cameras.

[Johny]

Originally Posted by Jocke

Bas it's just Johny that drive right hand traffic.

Every body goes faster than me.