I just returned home to the US from a 3 week business trip in Eastern Europe where we did a lot of driving in a rental car and I was amazed at a few things I would like to share.
Car size is much smaller in general and efficient. We rented a Peugeot 308 which is a small 4 door sedan with a diesel engine. Overall the car was good although missing some creature comforts but pretty good. It had a small engine 1.8L I believe which had plenty of power for cruising down the highway at speeds of 85-95mph (150kph). I was amazed when I read up on the car after returning and seeing that it gets 75+mpg according to one article. I can confirm that we filled out car very little over the approximate 1200 miles driven, maybe 2.5 times.
Many of the cars over there are diesel and seem to do very well. Why is it that the US can’t adopt some of this technology is beyond me. Diesel is more expensive here but it really makes one think.
The other thing that I noticed after returning and driving to work this morning on the interstate. Nobody there camps in the left hand lane. It’s only for passing, and we even increased speed to get around vehicles when you saw another car coming up in the left hand lane. If you stayed in the left hand lane too long someone would come along and flash their headlights to let you know they were coming but more than willing to step on the brakes if you were over taking another vehicle. Drivers in the towns were very courteous when trying to change lanes due to being in the wrong lane or just changing lanes. Very little if any horn honking, etc.
Thought I would share some of my observations with the community,
In most European countries (except the UK for obvious reasons), you are not allowed to pass on the right, period. It’s dangerous, since most folks already don’t use their rear view mirrors, let alone check their blind spots. Thus, thou shall not pass on the right. I respect this rule here, as much as possible (i.e. unless there is an 85yo dude on the left lane of I-10, going 45mph).
Re. honking, visit France, Italy or Spain to get a different perspective
Yup , I did 1300 miles in 16 days two years ago in southern Germany / swiss . I enjoyed the " lets stay on the ball " mentality . No pickups full of mattresses smoking along at 55 .
The fast lane was always clear to pass the slower traffic to the right . I especially like the drag light stop lights - yellow to red stop , yellow to green GO .
I like the round abouts , two lane roads . While only a few areas are up over 85-90 mph , 115 mph with sane folks driving around you was a joy . That 3500 lbs car got 28 mpg at over 80 , full of bags & 6’ tall PASSENGERS. You cant buy that car here.
Aaah, the right turn on red. Clarkson calls it the only contribution of the US to the Modern World. I’m not sure about the “only” part but I agree it is a brilliant idea. The Eruopean equivalent (flashing orange arrow at some intersections) just doesn’t compare.
I liked the small round abouts , so giving up the right turns on red was fair . The nav system GPS gave 15 min detailed traffic jam re-routes ( I guess we have that here too ). Small diesel engines are a here now solution for a low fuel burn , there seems to be an anti-diesel faction here in the US. We need to find them and push them into the sea.
How a country like Germany dodged the urban sprawl , burger joints / fast food on every corner and walmarts every 2 miles , amazes me .
Germany , they give men what most like , speeding , topless women in ads - billboards - magazines - the beach , and beer . You rarely see an angry European man , he is happy ( generally ) .They spend more time enjoying trips , holidays ,(speeding - boobs - beer )… less time thinking the government is screwing me .
When I lived in Italy for a couple of years, I owned a beater Porsche 911 Targa that I drove like a madman. Just like all the Italians I ever saw on the autostrada or even their little side streets. But I agree that there’s no such thing as a “left-lane bandit” over in Europe, especially on their highways (bahns, stradas, etc.). You get over in that lane, it better be for passing only. And you better be HAULING ASS when you do it.
Yup , I did 1300 miles in 16 days two years ago in southern Germany / swiss . I enjoyed the " lets stay on the ball " mentality . No pickups full of mattresses smoking along at 55 .
The fast lane was always clear to pass the slower traffic to the right …
Too bad you didn’t drive a little longer. My experience was the opposite. Big trucks deciding to pass one another at the last minute in these huge tunnels when you are going 100+.
My favorite time was when I was going 130 and two Porsches GT3s passed me going about 200mph each.
"Many of the cars over there are diesel and seem to do very well. Why is it that the US can’t adopt some of this technology is beyond me. Diesel is more expensive here but it really makes one think. "
US diesel has a high sulpher content which high performance diesels can’t cope with.
What I don’t understand at all is why Ford don’t market their euro petrol models in the US.
Cars like the C-Max or S-Max seem to be perfect for the US (and US triathletes in particular…) but you can’t get them.
Wierd.
I had a C-Max for 2 years and it was a well designed practical car.
3 people with luggage and bikes all fitted inside, it was economical, safe, comfortable and had enough power for it’s size (133ps).
Agreed but the Americans have never really figured out that you could replace lights with roundabouts and keep traffic flowing…that said in town its a cracking idea.
Heli wrote
Yup , I did 1300 miles in 16 days two years ago in southern Germany / swiss . I enjoyed the " lets stay on the ball " mentality . No pickups full of mattresses smoking along at 55 .
The fast lane was always clear to pass the slower traffic to the right …
Raptor wrote
Too bad you didn’t drive a little longer. My experience was the opposite. Big trucks deciding to pass one another at the last minute in these huge tunnels when you are going 100+.
My favorite time was when I was going 130 and two Porsches GT3s passed me going about 200mph each.
Heli wrote
Once you get over that the lanes are a foot narrower on each side ( an inch is as good as a mile ). Never saw much traffic over 150 mph , 80-90 was the average , Switzerland was slower . No mega double trailers semis to deal with , just medium 30 -40 ft euro trucks . Arizona and Texas have much worse " trucks from hell traffic" .
The mountain traffic was tricky for me , switch backs where you always felt for the edge of the road with your right tire . 60 mph in the rain , when some road racer motorcycle’s tire would pass just under your door handle coming the opposite way .
In my uncle’s words < accent > Ve lose 5-6 motorcycles a year on dis road ,Mit da crazy driving . Stay more right Ven you hear za engines coming .
Of course we weren’t much better with our Sunday quest for cake and coffee . Not uncommon to drive 30 miles in 10 minutes to find schwartswalderkerish torta ( sp) … fuel was $6.45 ( US dollars ) a gallon then. Good times
Its funny but that was exactly what I was thinking about when I posted, I mean exactly…
My other personal eureopan favorite driving technique, most often found in mountainous areas of souther europe, most recently croatia, italy and the Alps is the single mountain road / pass blind corner no seat belt wearing cell phone talking over taking manouvere (sp?)…
Not anywhere near as dangerous as the turning left in intersection while on the phone and putting make up on looking in the rear view mirror, while turning the wheel with knees and a chihuahua on your lap looking outside to tell you if you can go manoeuvre (french spelling…)
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The US equivalent of the roundabout is the four-way stop. Cheaper to implement, I guess, but it probably results in higher gas consumption because the complete stop (assuming people do stop completely). Anybody has done the math to see after how long the roundabout starts to be cheaper?
A lot about driving is counter intuitive. The outsider who is inexperienenced with round-about driving looks at it, and thinks that it is bedlam and absolute chaos on wheels, when in fact round-abouts are better than stop-light intersections and a couple of different levels.
On the safty front they are safer than four-way lighted intersections because when you are in a round-about you are, or must be fully engaged in the driving processs. You need to know what’s going on around your car all the time and know what you are doing and the other cars around you are doing - you can’t auto-pilot it through a busy round about. At a lighted intersection there is a tendadncy to dis-engage from what is going on and wait for the light to tell you what to do, and then just follow the light and go with no thought to anything else. You may not be looking for the late turning left-hand turner, or the person running the red light completely or the late crossing pedestrian and so on . . There are way more catastrophic incidents at lighted intersections than at round-abouts.
I would also assume that round-abouts are more fuel efficient because cars usually don’t need to come to a full stop - another advantage.
The single best thing about them is flow. Not that I would ever wish this on anyone here but were one to visit Milton Keynes in the UK they have effectively eliminated all other types of junctions in favor of roundabouts, the upside being flow, the downside being it all pretty much looks the same…
