I’ve been on vacation in the U.S. for the past few weeks.
Man, these Americans sure get annoyed on the roads.
You drive the speed limit in the right or center lane, and you get a honk and the finger.
You don’t let them into your lane right immediately, they roll down the window and use the word “fuck” quite a bit as they give you the finger.
You don’t see them on a scooter as they zip up behind you and you are changing lanes, they follow you shouting “asshole” and “fuck” while your wife and kids sit in the car shocked and you have to explain that daddy isn’t allowed to get out and beat the shit out of the cantankerous old lowlife who is shouting at us without possibly spending the night in jail.
You decide to turn right and edge into the right turn lane as they rush up behind you, and they honk continuously and pound the steering wheel in frustration.
I have always been a pretty good driver. I don’t remember people here being so prickly on the road.
Makes me miss Taiwan, where nobody bats an eyelash at anything you do behind the wheel.
Dunno of course, but it COULD be you’ve acquired some bad habits here. I bet I have, (I wasn’t that good to start with) but I THINK I’d have to slip a good bit further to match the local norms.
In the UK its easy. You just wear a flat hat/cap/bonnet and people will think you’re just an old fart who doesn’t know any better. You also, though, wear a black leather biker jacket and engineer boots, so that if you DO have to get out of your car, you take off the hat and people think you might be a mad psycho.
Yeah, I have to agree. Americans do lose their temper on the road, but usually it is over stupid moves on the road akin to what you see in Taiwan. You may have picked up bad habits without even realizing it. Americans won’t have much tolerance for that, unfortunately.
And did you maybe forget that it’s ok to signal before you turn, not right when you turn? No, it won’t confuse people if you do that…
Just jokin’ with you, I just can’t help but have these hilarious visuals in my head of a fellow American using those Taiwanese ‘driving rules’ in the US of A and getting a bit of slack for it…
Hang in there, you’ll be back in the land of no road rules before you know it!
FFS, He’s in a town where shooting at others in traffic is a past time and yes you can go into the bank with a holstered weapon openly worn and no you don’t have to leave because you have rights according to the state laws and the 2nd Amendment to do just that.
Personally I think he should let his wife drive like she normally does and he’s just too damn polite. Give the boy in the back a air-rifle to stroke and watch the politeness and happiness shine.
Personally I think he was driving like crap too and probably in rush hour no less. That town’s traffic is hell between 7-10am and 4-7pm and when I was there I tended to stay off the roads at those times.
This seems more like a jab at Americans than an actual complaint. If a bunch of people are honking and flipping you off, maybe there’s something you’re doing wrong.
Thats what happens everytime you step off a plane from Taiwan and drive in different place. Whereas people from other places are scared shitless when driving in Taiwan. Takes time to get the feel of a new place.
Some of em even shoot at you with real guns. :loco:
You cant drive at the speed limit, you have to be 5mph over on city roads and 10mph over on freeways as thats how the Mericans drive. But you shouldnt do this if a cop is following you.
They expect you to let them in, but try it when YOU want in.
Scooter? Not a lot of those in the USA is there? If you mean motorcycle? They expect you to freeze when they come up on you and let them pass, not making any moves to either side. Especially if they are Hells Angels.
Yah, cant edge into a right turn lane, you are expected to have headed there in the first place or go past and do a U-ey. Note: its ok when any asshole does the same and they expect you to let them in, but if you…
[quote]I have always been a pretty good driver. I don’t remember people here being so prickly on the road.
Makes me miss Taiwan, where nobody bats an eyelash at anything you do behind the wheel.[/quote]
Yup yOu can do what cha want in the Wan. Cuz we are ALL chinese drivers in the Wan.
Thanks Tommy. You get it. I usually drive a few mph over the limit, but I was in a rental car and had my family with me the whole time. Wasn’t in a position to take any risk on most of the roads we drove.
To the peanut gallery–I am an American, have driven on American roads for 25 years with two speeding tickets and one fender bender when I swerved to avoid hitting a jaywalker. I’ve driven in Taiwan for several years, and I’m pretty clear about the differences in the two driving cultures. Thanks for the laugh anyway–Forumosa is always good for some speculative comments that completely miss the mark.
There lies the problem, you drive way too slow!! And if you were driving the speed limit and not situated to the far right honking and fingers are the least of your worries.
I’m American and while I don’t curse at people and flip them off except in defense, if provoked, first, I must admit that while in Taiwan, I’ve picked up some bad driving habits such as blowing through red lights if no one is around and temporarily driving in the wrong lane to get to a certain point. If road rage happens to you in the USA, just maintain your cool, because to flip them back or respond in-kind only makes them follow you and do a beat-down on you when you eventually park or else they produce a weapon (which everyone owns in the USA) and blow you away. Road-rage deaths are common, I’m sorry to say. And my relatives wonder why I don’t want to live in my own country anymore except to visit. One final note: back when I was much younger and tad bit stupider than now, I used to carry a bag of ball bearings in my car. If someone got really stupid with me, I’de toss a few at their car. No matter whether it hit the body or the window, it always caused damage. Anyway, now that I’ve fully thought about that, I realize I must be part of the problem in the USA…oh my!
Though annoying, I think that is probably a sign of a healthy traffic society. If doing a mistake so minor is so out of the ordinary as to cause such a fuss, then the regular level of traffic safety and rule-abiding must be pretty damn good.
Good to know it was faked, because in real life most likely the guy with the gun wouldve shot the other people. Its actually rough out there. We have road rage shootings here a few times a year. Real bullets and real people died. And the bad guys got away too.
And if you were driving the speed limit and not situated to the far right honking and fingers are the least of your worries.