【瑞士】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼节
It’seasytomakearealmessofdrivingupanddownmountainsinSwitzerland.First,givewaytoanythinggoingup.Second,alwaysgivewaytoaPostBus-whetherit’sgoingupordown.Third,ifyoumeetatrainontheroad,followit(ifit’sgoingthesamewayasyou)orgoroundit(ifit’scomingtowardsyouonyoursideoftheroad).Speedingfinesnecessitatetakingoutasecondmortgagesobegood.
【西班牙】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼节
Weardarkglassesandifyou’regoingtobeindecisive,bedeterminedlysoanddoitwithstyle-withSpanishdriving,thescentofuncooltouristislikethescentoffearanddecaytoravenoushyenas.Barcelonaisactuallynottoobadatalloutofrushhourwithitsstraight,wideboulevards.Everywhereelseis.
【葡萄牙】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼节
Beafraid,beveryafraid.Andparanoid.It’stheonlywaytodriveandsurviveinPortugal.Theumpteenthtimeyouareunceremoniouslydumpedontothehardshoulderbyanoncomingarticulatedlorryinyourlaneyouwillprobablythinkthatthey’reouttogetyou.You’reprobablyright.Itseemsthatthewholecountryareengagedinsomehugedementedgameofchickenwhichunsuspectingtouristshavethemisfortuneofbeingperiodicallycaughtupin.Theonlywaytoretainanysanityistostandyourground...andhopeforthebest.
【挪威】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼节
TheNorwegiandriverlikestothinktheyareaskilleddriver.Thisisfarfromthetruth.Broadly,thereareonlytwokindsofNorwegiandrivers:thosewhoaremakingamobilephonecallandthosewhoarewaitingforone.
WhiledrivinginNorway,you’llseealotofroadworks.Nothingisbeingrepaired,morethanlikelytheNorwegiansareconstructingtwooftheirfavouritethings-holesandtunnels.InmoredenselypopulatedareaslikeOslo,theroadworksneverstop.Thisisofcoursecommoninallcities,butOsloisuniqueinthefacttheholesinthegroundarepassedonfromgenrationtogeneration.ThisspoilsmostoftheinnercityofOsloandit’sadvisabletoupgradeyoursuspensionbeforeattemptingtodrivethroughthecity.
NotallofNorway’smotormayhemisman-made.MotherNaturehasplacedafewspannersintheworks.Forexample,donotattempttodriveonthedayofthefirstsnow,it’scarnage.
Sheepandreindeerareomnipresent.Youcanalwaysfindthemwherethehotairexitsfromthemouthofthe,largelyunfinished,tunnels.They’reintheshadows,waitingforususpectingforeigndrivers.Trynottorunthemover,theycostanawfullotofmoneyandyou’llbescrapingwoolfromyourbumperforweeks.Whileyou’reatit,trynottodriveintoanyelks,they’reawfullybigandthey’llcostyouyourlife.
【意大利】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼仪
Italiansarethemostskilfuldriversintheworld,butinaccordancewithclassictheoriesaboutrisk-assessment,theybecomeoverconfidentasaresult.ThisiswhyallItalians,eventhosewithlargefamilies,driveverysmallFiats.Italsoexplainswhytheyareallcoveredindents(thecars,thatis,ratherthantheItalians).Italyhastwobasicdrivingstyles:oneforthetownsandoneforthemountains.
Intowns,whenyoucometoajunctionyoupointyourcarattheexityouwant.Foursecondsbeforethelightsgogreen,youpresstheacceleratortothefloor,thenweavebetweenanycarswhichgetinyourwayuntilyouemerge.
Inthemountains,usethemiddleoftheroadatalltimes(evenwhensomeone’scomingtheotherway),withoneimportantexception:whenyouhearadeephornfromroundahairpinbend,brake.Itisprobablyamarblelorrycoming,andtheyjustdon’tgetoutoftheway.Theydon’thaveto.
【爱尔兰】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼节
Itwouldappearthatovertakingisamanoeuvretobeattemptedateveryopportunity:onabend,onahill,whenthecaryou’reovertakingisovertakinganothercar,intooncomingtraffic,andalongnarrowone-waystreets.Itwouldalsoappearthatitiscompulsorytodriveasfastaspossiblewhilstattemptingthese,oranyothermanoeuvres.Unfortunately,manyoftheroadsarenotonlynarrowbutbadlysurfaced,andfullofdriversthatnevertookatest.Thiswasduetoamassivewaitinglistinthelate1970scausingthegovernmenttoissueafulllicencetoanyonethataskedforone.
ItseemstheonlyreallyimportantthingtorememberwhendrivingaroundIrelandisthesubtleformofgreetingthatisalsocommoninruralareasoftheUK(particularlyintheMidlands).Whenonecomesacrossafarmertravellingintheotherdirectiononfoottheywill,outofpoliteness,raisetheirindexfingerbywayofgreeting.Thedrivershouldrespondbyraisingtheindexfingeroftheirrighthandwhilstkeepingtheentirehandonthesteeringwheel.
Itiscommonforregulardriverswhoknowmanypeopleincertainlocalareastosavetime,anddrivewiththeirindexfingerpermanentlypressedtothewindscreeninacontinuousgreetingmode.
【德国】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼节
OnGermanmotorwaysthereisnogeneralspeedlimitforcars.Forlorriesandanyothervehiclesexceedingaweightof3.5tons,thereis.Thiscreatesaprobleminthatit’forces’everydrivertoleavetherightlanefortheuseoftrucksonly-disregardingthesimplefactthatthelawrequiresyoutodriveontherightlanewhenyou’renotovertaking.
Theleftlane,ontheotherhand,isstrictlyreservedfortwokindsofpeople:
DriversofMercedes,BMWs(preferablydarkcoloured).Whenyou’redrivingareallyfastcarwhichhappenstobeanotherbrandyoucanjustaboutgetawaywithusingthislaneifit’sdarkblue.Ifit’swhite,forgetit.
Nice,balanced,wellmeaningdriverswhowanttointroduceaspeedlimit(ofabout100-120km/h)orsimplydetestspeeding.Theyusuallyindicaterightwhentheyseesomebodyapproachingfastintherearviewmirror-andswitchtheindicatoroffwhentheothercarisnearlyontheirtrunk(withoutchanginglanes,naturally).Ofcourse,thisisdonepurelyasaneducationalmeasure.Incidentally,theyneverdare’educating’whentheapproachingcarisadarkMercedesorBMW.
Therealtroublestartswhenthereareonlytwolanes,whichusuallyleadstofrenetichonking,repeatedheadlight-flashingandindicatingontheleftlane,whiletherightlaneliesdesertedapartfromtheoddlonelylorryeverynowandthen.
Whenyoutrytoovertakesomebodyontherightlane,becarefulnottoexceedtheirspeedbymorethan5mph.Wheninatrafficjam,alwayschangetothelanewhichgoesfastest.Everyinchcounts,andit’snotyourfaultthateverybodytriestodothesame.Whenthere’snomovementonanylane,usethehardshoulder,that’swhatit’stherefor(apartfromundertaking).
【法国】DrivingEtiquette驾驶礼节
’Frenchdrivingetiquette’issomethingofanoxymoron.Onthesurface,theFrenchhavesomegoodideas.Forinstance,youcangothrougharedlightifthewayisclear,whichstopsalotoffrustrationfromsittingatanemptyjunctionfornoreason.However,mostFrenchdriverstendtoamendthislawintheirheadsto’youcangothroughredlightswheneveryoulike,includingwhenpedestriansarecrossingtheroadhavingbeenbeckonedbyalittlegreenman’.
Also,ontheAutoroutesthespeedlimitsaresensiblysetattwodifferentspeedsforwetanddryconditions.Topspeedis130km/h(about85mph).Again,driversrefusetoacceptthatitiseverraining,evenwhenitis,andsticktothemaximumlimitatalltimes.Driversrarely(read:never)indicateastheyswaplanes,andaggressivelycutbackinwhentheyhaveovertaken.
Thank-yous,viaflashingheadlightsorwaving,arerare.Savethemforvisuallyalertingotherdrivershowannoyedyouarewiththem.Addvigour.
