Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Driving with like-minded people
I recently spent 5 days back in my childhood country of Holland, driving all over the place in a rented Hyundai. It was a joy to be on roads with like-minded drivers. For the most part, they all obeyed the road signs, almost always used their indicators, waved people in to gaps, acknowledged such gestures, and drove like pros. Especially compared to the UK and my current home drivers in Utah. It was just so pleasurable to be surrounded by drivers who weren't texting, weren't talking on cellphones and who were so in tune with actually driving a vehicle on the road, that the whole traffic stream just works like a finely choreographed ballet.
Now that's not to say they're perfect - I saw the odd idiot move - but it was 90/10 between good drivers and bad, as opposed to 5/95 which is the split back in Utah.
And the less said about the UK drivers, the better.
The odd thing is, and not being a trained expert, bribed official or trained consultant I could be wrong on this - the driving in Holland is commensurate with their driver education which is long, comprehensive and strict. The driving in Utah is similarly commensurate, with their driver training being essentially that you know what a car is. Could it be, and perish the thoughts, that better driver training results in better drivers?
Now that's not to say they're perfect - I saw the odd idiot move - but it was 90/10 between good drivers and bad, as opposed to 5/95 which is the split back in Utah.
And the less said about the UK drivers, the better.
The odd thing is, and not being a trained expert, bribed official or trained consultant I could be wrong on this - the driving in Holland is commensurate with their driver education which is long, comprehensive and strict. The driving in Utah is similarly commensurate, with their driver training being essentially that you know what a car is. Could it be, and perish the thoughts, that better driver training results in better drivers?
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]