Thread: Cars and safety

Originally Posted by SeymourDumore

Geez Gordon! Turns out life on both sides of the pond ain't that dissimilar after all!
I bet your roadsigns are either part of a government stimulus or they're put up by American ex-pats.
Similarly, cyclists here DO own the road, and they remind you of it at every crossing with lights or stopsigns, as they become an ostrich and haul ass right through them, or comfortably chat away
4 wide on a 2 lane road.

And you're right, the most careful and observant people on eastern European roads are the pedestrians.

True story. We've been to some countries were crossing the road was a nightmare but Hanoi takes the cake. my wife clung onto y hand as if her life depended on it every time we crossed a road there. I'm a city guy and she's a farmer's daughter. The secret of getting over in one piece (most of the time) is to never hesitate and keep going at the same pace so everybody driving on the road can judge how much they need to swerve to avoid you.

Traffic intersection in Hanoi near the lake - YouTube

Hanoi Vietnam Traffic Intersection - YouTube

Hanoi Traffic - View from above - Worst intersection in Vietnam. Traffic in Vietnam - YouTube

Been there, done it and lived to tell. The part that amazes me most is that no one seems to get angry and road rage doesn't seem to exist.

Gordon

Originally Posted by Gordon B. Clarke

The part that amazes me most is that no oe seems to get angry and road rage doesn't seem to exist.

Gordon

Damm! That's funny right there!
Have you noticed that none, not one of those folks, pedestrian, cyclist, motorcycle or car driver, not a single one has ever looked sideways or backwards.
Straight forward and keep you eyes on the next obstacle!
The hell with roadrage. You stop to rage, you get run over!

Mike I think any sane person would go with Veyron it is the Concord of motoring

Some might think a old Volvo is a safe place to be in, in a accident..
(see them in a lot of US films.. )
I think not.
Fifth Gear - Renault Modus v Volvo 940 Crash Test - YouTube

Best regards
Søren

Originally Posted by doug8cat

Mike I think any sane person would go with Veyron it is the Concord of motoring

Nah, it's really not. It's an overpriced pile if you ask me, and it won't be much longer before something faster comes along.

I do think it's quite amusing that you mock American cars for not being able to handle corners yet you have some odd fascination with a car that is purely designed for straight line speed and nothing more. To each their own I guess...

I see no reason why a small car would be less safe, except if it was in a collision with a larger car, then it would definitely be less safe. One of the reasons I drive a Volvo is because it built like a tank.

The main arguments against small cars are that they are uncomfortable; cannot carry lumber, pipe and other large/long objects; and look ridiculous.

They can't be good for your career either. Imagine your boss needs a ride. "Here sir, please fit your 300-pound ass into my Daimler Smart." He is going to love that.

Sometimes even your Mercedes SUV won't save you:

5, including 2 kids, killed in NYC crash that sent 3 to hospital; SUV hit pillar, caught afire - The Washington Post

Maybe DWS involved. (driving while stupid)

Paul

Originally Posted by SeymourDumore

Similarly, cyclists here DO own the road, and they remind you of it at every crossing with lights or stopsigns, as they become an ostrich and haul ass right through them, or comfortably chat away
4 wide on a 2 lane road.

Here in Asheville, NC we have had two bicyclists killed because they ran a red light at night, no reflectors or lights on the bike.

There are also swarms of 50cc unlicensed scooters, some paying no attention to traffic laws, driving up on sidewalk to be first in line when the light changes, etc.

Stupid behavior on a bike or scooter mixed with cars and trucks will usually get you removed from the gene pool.

Paul

Originally Posted by paul39

There are also swarms of 50cc unlicensed scooters, some paying no attention to traffic laws, driving up on sidewalk to be first in line when the light changes, etc.
Paul

I know those guys all too well. Hippie central Lawrence, KS is filled with them. You apparently don't have to have insurance with one of those things either, and it's not like the douche riding the thing has any money to fix the bumper he just creamed....

Originally Posted by Mike_

I know those guys all too well. Hippie central Lawrence, KS is filled with them. You apparently don't have to have insurance with one of those things either, and it's not like the douche riding the thing has any money to fix the bumper he just creamed....

Most are nutters too in Europe and yet in Asia they manage to "live" reasonably well alongside cars and trucks. Pedestrians are low on the totem pole. On the other hand just think if they all had cars.

Moped traffic in Hanoi - YouTube

Ho Chi Minh's Motorbike Traffic - YouTube

Believe it or not but I've tried sitting on one of these things often in Asia. I enjoy it but my wife, sitting on the back, hates it and I'm sure most of the time she has her eyes closed. It definately is an easy and inexpensive way to get around. Insurance? Of course

Gordon

Originally Posted by Mike_

I know those guys all too well. Hippie central Lawrence, KS is filled with them. You apparently don't have to have insurance with one of those things either, and it's not like the douche riding the thing has any money to fix the bumper he just creamed....

Lots of people around here refer to them as liquor-cycles since the riders fall into 2 categories, with one being the drunks who have lost their license, many of them permanently for multiple DWI convictions. That those things are allowed on the road in so many places with no license or insurance requirements is proof positive that moron legislators who can be bought for a few lobbying bucks are a universal plague and not just confined to red or blue states.

I remember a news article several years ago where the police chief of Myrtle Beach went before the city council there and told them they could either ban unlicensed scooters or double the size of the police force, since all of his current force was spending all day every day responding to scooter involved crashes. They banned them, and more towns should do the same.

Gordon, the town I grew up in, Seattle, had a very large immigrant population from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and, yes, Denmark. They mostly came over from the 1890's thru the teens, and worked originally as loggers and fishermen, but became quite urban by the time I was growing up there in the 50's and 60's.
They were all lumped together (I know you Danes would hate this) as "Scanda-hoovians", and spoke a unique slang that was vaguely english, with various scandanavian pronunciations and mistranslations, and they mostly lived in one part of town, Ballard.
And Scanda-hoovians were (and still are) notorious for being incredibly bad drivers.
Since I am part Finn, I can proudly claim the right to have an "UffDa" sticker on my car, too. Although, during the punk rock days of the 70's, the new norm was a sticker that said "Uff-F*cking-Da".

Anyway, there is a great 2 minute video about this phenomenon, called Ballard Driving Academy.
And anyone who lives in Seattle, or did, will recognize it as being only a very slight exaggeration.

Ballard Driving Academy - YouTube

Originally Posted by Ries

Gordon, the town I grew up in, Seattle, had a very large immigrant population from Norway, Sweden, Finland, and, yes, Denmark. They mostly came over from the 1890's thru the teens, and worked originally as loggers and fishermen, but became quite urban by the time I was growing up there in the 50's and 60's.
They were all lumped together (I know you Danes would hate this) as "Scanda-hoovians", and spoke a unique slang that was vaguely english, with various scandanavian pronunciations and mistranslations, and they mostly lived in one part of town, Ballard.
And Scanda-hoovians were (and still are) notorious for being incredibly bad drivers.
Since I am part Finn, I can proudly claim the right to have an "UffDa" sticker on my car, too. Although, during the punk rock days of the 70's, the new norm was a sticker that said "Uff-F*cking-Da".

Anyway, there is a great 2 minute video about this phenomenon, called Ballard Driving Academy.
And anyone who lives in Seattle, or did, will recognize it as being only a very slight exaggeration.

Ballard Driving Academy - YouTube

LMAO.

Probably nothing to do with it but Norway, Sweden and Finland are much larger (area) than most people realize and with low population and trafic density. Denmark is tiny compared to them and with a much higher population and trafic density. That doesn't make for considerate drivers on the Danish roads. It's even worse in the Netherlands that's 2/3 the size of Denmark yet have 3 times the population.

Probably the most considerate drivers in Europe are Germans but given the fact that they have free speed on much of the autobahn it's either that or die a violent death.

Me? Those that overtake me are driving too fast and those I'm close behind are driving too slow. I of course am the only one driving at the correct speed

Gordon