Narrow Escape

[Michael Riebs]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Fringe Ryder" <fringe at fringeweb.com>
To: <ccohen5 at compuserve.com>; <quattro at audifans.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 17, 2002 12:27 PM
Subject: RE: Narrow Escape


> Warning: Gross generalizations follow.  (Although not nearly as gross as
> the source poster's)

Gross - and (debateably) incorrect!

> Yes, things are a LOT safer in the U.S.

Is this a statistical analysis, or, what basis do you use for this
statement?

> U.S. roads are a LOT wider, a LOT straighter

Yes, they need to be, due to the fact that the cars are allot wider and
longer, and the drivers are allot less skilled in driving these weapons of
mass destruction. If a Fiat 126 ran into me at high speed, I think perhaps
IT would sustain the most damage. Seriousely, though - you could fit a Fiat
126 in the trunk of an Explorer

> We also have the benefit of a recent start, while most
> European buildings I saw/stayed in were much older than the automobile

And this is rellevant in which way, specifically?

> even if Europeans could do it over, they wouldn't do it much differently
> because the concept of "independence" is subjugated to the concept of
> "society", whereas here it's the opposite.  (This applies to guns, taxes,
> medical care, and much more, not just cars and freeways.)

Yes. Of course this means that medical care is only available in the US if
you are extremely poor, and on welfare, or lucky enough to have a job
providing medical insurance - or wealthy enough to pay for it yourself.

NOTE TO EUROPEANS: The statement above DOES NOT mean that hospitals and
doctors turn people away if they can not afford treatment for accute
problems, like broken bones, trauma, or life threatening illnesses. It just
means that they will later hunt you down for as long as it takes you to pay
for it...

> And yes, things are a LOT safer in the U.S., because inside the cities,
you
> can't get up enough speed to do any damage at all.

I don't know where you live, but I've lived in NYC, Jersey City, Long
Island, Atlanta GA, South Bend IN, Grand Rapids MI, and have visited and
driven in a lengthy list of additional cities, including Miami, Chicago, SFO
and LA, and I have not yet found a city where I "can not get up enough speed
to do any damage". ESPECIALLY since interstate highways run *directly*
through the hearts of most cities, but even on surface streets people often
drive like maniacs!

> And yes, U.S. drivers are often selfish and dumb... but so are Italian
> drivers, French drivers, and British drivers.

True. Everyone is equally stupid at times, but European drivers have the
benefit of longer (and better?) driver's education requirements.

> U.S. drivers come a lot closer to paying attention to the laws,

You must not be living in the same United States as me...
When was the last time you saw someone trying to enter a highway from an
on-ramp by stopping at the end of the ramp, and sitting there with the
flasher until a hole appears in traffic...

> minor things like stop lights, stop signs, lane markers, yield
requirements, etc.

That's why I nearly get broadsided once a week by someone "drifting" into my
lane? We even have a law that essentially allows ut to ignore the red light:
"Right turn on red after stop". Nobody said anything about seeing if it's
safe! And many people just go!

People are horrible at the yield requirements too! How often does it happen
to you that the guy (or girl) sitting across from you, turning LEFT just
goes without waiting for you going straight - or vice versa - waves you to
turn left in front of them going straight!?!

> French and Italian drivers may not even bother looking
> towards the road, if they're in an interesting conversation with a
> passenger.  In London even more than in the States, you can't get enough
> speed to do any damage, but people park for "just a few" right in the
> middle of the street!  (Also not much fear of carjackings here, a big
> problem in London currently.)

What part of the States are you in? Why do you think "The Club" is such a
big seller? Or the "Lo-Jack" system? And the highway carjackings have been
highly publicised in recent years, including the technique used for this!

¢2

Michael Riebs
Grand Rapids, MI
'90 V8Q
'98 A6QA

www.1stchoicegranite.com