Driving in America - a view from an Englishman.

[Bagwan]

Not uncommon here in Ontario , Canada , is having folks passing you when travelling 140 in a hundred kilometer zone on any of the 400 series highways .
But , generally , and police officers have told me this , they won't bother paying much attention to you unless you're 15km over , in most places .
Maybe not school zones , but most others .

I remember a time when down in Kentucky , I learned quickly that the slower speed zones was where you needed to follow the letter , or , rather , number on the sign .
Just about tipped over the camper van , entering a 30mph signed bend , at about 37mph , flinging dishes and luggage in an adrenaline soaked 1974 Ford Econoline 200 tank slapper .

[Bagwan]

My brother had a similar problem with a barman who was convinced that he had a fake ID because "there's no 14th month".

I was ID checked at the local bar I had been drinking at for two years , two weeks before my birthday I was to become legal , because one of my buddies joked about me finally being of legal age .

Of course , that two weeks got me back for giving him such a hard time when he and three of us had gone out to see a band , and he was the only one to be checked , and also the only one of age , luckily for us .
The girl at the door assumed we were laughing because he got checked , arguing that he hadn't been 18 for long , but it wasn't really the case .



And , finally , my wife came skipping out to the car one day , just giggling with glee , at having been ID checked at the liquor store .
She was somewhere in her forties at the time .

[MrJan]

And , finally , my wife came skipping out to the car one day , just giggling with glee , at having been ID checked at the liquor store .
She was somewhere in her forties at the time .

That's impressive. I love it when I still get asked for ID and I'm 29. The last time it happened the woman apologised for it, which strikes me as crazy because I was delighted that she thought I was younger (although over he most places have a 'check 25' policy, even though you can drink from 18.

[Bagwan]

That's impressive. I love it when I still get asked for ID and I'm 29. The last time it happened the woman apologised for it, which strikes me as crazy because I was delighted that she thought I was younger (although over he most places have a 'check 25' policy, even though you can drink from 18.

Yeah , she's somehow stuck in time , as I found a picture of her the other day , and , but for the '82 Toyota , you wouldn't know it wasn't yesterday .

I admit I am a lucky man .

[Mark]

Yet I've heard of some places which have an ask everyone policy. So 60 year old blokes are being asked to prove their are over 18 years old which is just daft.

[Gregor-y]

Just about tipped over the camper van , entering a 30mph signed bend , at about 37mph , flinging dishes and luggage in an adrenaline soaked 1974 Ford Econoline 200 tank slapper .

Probably true for a van but I remember driver training in the early 90s stating a speed marked in Yellow was a suggestion based on the maximum save speed for the turn being about 20 mph faster (although the overall speed limit on signs with a white background still applies and yellow is only a suggestion/warning). I've found in the car it's generally true for anything down to about 15, then the turns start getting too tight for twenty over.

[inimitablestoo]

And of course we're overlooking the big thing that people in the US drive on the right (by which we mean wrong ) side of the road. Eventually I gave up trying to convert them and started driving on the right as well. It stopped them blaring their horns at me anyway.

[Gregor-y]

Driving on the non-right (ie wrong) side of the road is counter intuitive to every other situation for any kind of international standard for passing.

Two ships headed at one another? Both turn to their right.
Two planes on a collision course? Both turn to their right.
Coming upon someone walking the other way? Both turn to the right.
Driving in most of the world? Keep right.
Meeting a loaded lumber truck on a one-lane road somewhere east of Thurso? Go left because for some reason it's different from every other norm of meeting in the world.

It's not just a quaint quirk when you are in danger of being run over by an angry fat mat in a big truck with nationalist flags painted on it.

[Brown, Jon Brow]

Driving on the non-right (ie wrong) side of the road is counter intuitive to every other situation for any kind of international standard for passing.

Two ships headed at one another? Both turn to their right.
Two planes on a collision course? Both turn to their right.
Coming upon someone walking the other way? Both turn to the right.
Driving in most of the world? Keep right.
Meeting a loaded lumber truck on a one-lane road somewhere east of Thurso? Go left because for some reason it's different from every other norm of meeting in the world.

It's not just a quaint quirk when you are in danger of being run over by an angry fat mat in a big truck with nationalist flags painted on it.

Roman Soldiers marched on the left so their swords were exposed rather than their body (most were right handed).

Napoleon was left handed so he changed it around to suit him. So all of Europe followed too, but the British Empire stayed the opposite way.

[airshifter]

Roman Soldiers marched on the left so their swords were exposed rather than their body (most were right handed).

Napoleon was left handed so he changed it around to suit him. So all of Europe followed too, but the British Empire stayed the opposite way.

Think of it as your countries version of the metric system. Why change it if nobody can make you change it?