Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2006/04/30
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]And here I always thought our rules were: Green means go; Yellow means go faster; Red means go really fast and wave to oncoming drivers with the third finger of your left hand. And finally, when turning left always begin your turn from the far right hand lane. Master those four simple rules and you can drive anywhere - even Rome. :-) ___ Sent with SnapperMail www.snappermail.com ...... Original Message ....... On Sun, 30 Apr 2006 07:45:25 -0400 Jim Hemenway <Jim@hemenway.com> wrote: "< Having said that, I must say that because drivers are better and "society less litigious here, insurance is considerably less here than I "paid in New Jersey> " "The world's best drivers are here in Boston because we have unwritten "rules which lead to a certain personal efficiency. ;-) " "A yellow light really means speed up... one has at least another second "before the light turns red, " "When stuck in slow traffic, don't use your turn signals to change lanes, "the other drivers consider it a sign of weakness and force you to remain "in slow mode unless you're proficient in the art of the "sidesqueeze" or "the "cutoff", " "When attempting a left turn in heavy slow traffic, edge halfway across "the intersection until it clears. Don't worry about the oncoming cars "that you are blocking, they can wait! Be sure to keep your car on the "center line so that no one behind you is tempted to pass, " "Don't leave a full car length between you and the car in front of you as "it will be immediately filled by someone else executing the "sidesqueeze", " "and, always remember, Thou shalt not yield. " "Larger cars are more intimidating! " "Jim, "Oldsmobile" Hemenway " " " " "Nathan Wajsman wrote: "> Don Dory wrote: "> ">> As a sidelight, people wonder why Americans drive such large cars with ">> relatively huge engines, costs are much, much less here. If you live ">> in a ">> normal city and work for a largish company then your costs would be ">> Porche 911: 62000 to 85000 ">> Insurance: 1800/yr ">> Gasoline/93 Octane 0.82/litre ">> Parking: generally free at work and home ">> Parking: events might vary from $5 to $10 ">> Tolls: in Atlanta 0.50 each way on the only toll road for several hundred ">> miles ">> ">> With costs so low compared to a lot of the world, no wonder we drive ">> so far, ">> so fast(Nathan, the normal speed on Interstates in Georgia is ">> 130-140Km/hr), ">> in such large vehicles. "> "> I was not going to comment on this thread, but since my name got "> mentioned (or is there another Nathan in the bar?), I will just briefly "> make a few points as someone who has lived both in the US and Europe for "> many years. "> "> - Don is right that Americans drive big cars because they are cheap, "> fuel is cheap and there is lots of space. In Europe gasoline has been "> expensive since the early 1970s, and it is by design. Most of the EUR "> 1.40/litre I pay here in the Netherlands is tax. And it is a sound "> principle to tax activities that are harmful, such as driving cars that "> consume lots of fuel. The result is not, as some Americans think, that "> everyone drives tiny cars. I have a station wagon and my wife has a "> Toyota Previa minivan, identical to the ones sold in the US except that "> it has a smaller engine (2.4 l) and manual transmission, both of which "> contribute to better fuel economy. As I look around in my suburban "> subdivision, I do not see many VW Polos; the prevalent cars are various "> shades of Audis, BMWs etc. that would be perfectly at home in American "> suburbs. In Amsterdam and other cities there are of course smaller cars, "> because incomes are lower and the places are more crowded, but that is