In the NY Metro area it's "I can drive the slowest speed possible in the left lane and not yield to the right" custom....

I would love to have German Autobahn customs in America where even if you are doing 160 km/h in the left lane you get the frick out of the way by moving right for guy doing 200 km/h.

heaven.

- HF

Nomination for strangest, and most dangerous, use of turn signals: The Mexican states of Puebla and Oaxaca. A slow moving car will signal that the road ahead is clear for passing by using the left turn signal. Obvious complication: The same sign is also used to say, "keep off, I'll make a left turn."

The California "Creep": When making a left hand turn on a two way street with no left hand turn arrow, you are supposed to pull up and move almost into oncoming traffic so that when the light turns red you are halfway into your turn. When the light turns red, you and the car behind you are allowed to make your left turn.

I moved here from the East Coast. We creeped back east, but apparently not enough for the people in L.A. I got yelled at daily when the light turned green and I did not creep into oncoming traffic.

I also learned not to "block the box" when driving in NYC. In L.A., I got yelled at for not blocking the box. :confused:

Ok, here's a question about where you live (or drive)-

At the intersection of two two-way streets, if you and the a person in the oncoming lane both want to turn left (respectively), do you pass in front of each other or around each other?

In NY we seem to go around each other. Maybe because streets are relatively narrow compared to larger newer cities or suburban roads.

Actually, with the exception of roundabouts, "priority to the right" seems to be alive and well in rural France. At least, I assume that is why people on major roads stop and allow me to enter from the side road when I'm on their right.

And I really appreciate those French drivers entering roundabouts who use their left-turn indicators to signal that they're not taking the first exit, and, of course the right-turn indicators to signal that they are taking the next exit.

You still turn in front of each other.

I've seen that in many other countries, and "sometimes" I find it very effective.
Especially on busy single lane highways.

Signals Easy To Misunderstand
 

All over Mexico, ancient custom required that after twilight, cars would flash their lights when (a) coming up on curves, of which Mexico has a Switzerland-sized allowance, and (b) as a signal to cars behind that no cars were approaching and it was semi-safe to pass.

The canyons and deep valleys of Mexico are strewn with battered and burnt metal of the vehicles of drivers who thought they were receiving signal (b) when the driver ahead was signalling (a).

Imagine speeding up to pass, and finding that you're accelerating off of the edge of a precipice into the vast and dark unknown below (as Mexico may not have gotten around the guard rails, and the occasional white-washed boulder along the verge provides little protection....

On dark nights, if one listens closely, one can hear the ghostly panicked cries of mistaken drivers.

Many people when renting a car overseas don't realise that although the traffic rules may be 99% the same, it's the 1% difference that will catch you out.

For those heading for the US from Britain these include :

1. Right turn on red. Unknown in Europe (would be left turn in the UK).

2. Give way to pedestrians when turning at junctions. Again, not known in Britain, rules are different.

3. Stopping for School Bus. I always am impressed by the way all the trucks stop without anyone standing in the road to control them so one small child can walk across the road. But I'm sure those holidaying from Europe don't always know the rule.

4. Flashing red/yellow traffic signals at quiet times and what this means on each road.

5. Four-way stop.

6. Railway crossings without any gates or signals where trains pass at full speed and it's up to you to check along the railway.

7. Freeway exits out of the fast lane.

In Italy, the horn is used much more than here in the USA. In Rome, I was driving in heavy traffic with a truck that would honk his horn at every traffic signal, when the light turned green. On the outside chance, I think, that the first car just might not see the light change.

It's a nice thing to do, but it's not efficient....

You're not supposed to creep into oncoming traffic... you're supposed to creep into the intersection so the car behind you is also in the interseciton and can also make the turn when the light turns red. It's a good idea to keep your wheels straight until you start turning, so that if the guy behinds you rear-ends you, you don't get side-swiped by oncoming traffic.

In michigan, sometimes we (at least used to) have lanes that could have traffic coming from either direction, depending on the arrow over head. Kind of like the changable lanes on bridges, except on surface streets (near the Pontiac Silverdome, down Opdyke).

:) You described it better than I did. I should have said "almost" into oncoming traffic. It's finding that delicate balance between moving up enough for the guy behind me *and* me not gettingt hit by oncoming traffic. I come from a city with left turn arrows, this "pull into the intersection" thing is so foreign.

But, having just come back from Cabo...I'll take L.A. driving. I'd rather pull into an intersection with a stoplight than cross three lanes of two way traffic with nary a stop sign in sight. Whoa.

In China it is common to cross over the double yellow to pass. Also, when turning left, instead of cars turning in series, they will turn in parallel when there is an openin. It's not uncommon for three cars to be turning left at the same time.

Oh, and that stupid horn thing. :mad: