Dangerous Parking

[Fran]

Drove through Watten to-night at 7.30, while the auction was on. Cars were parked allalong the road, both sides, and a white van ???HHO was double parked - very dangerous. It was like an obstacle park driving there tonight......did anyone else notice?Surely most of these cars could be parked on the side streets to make the main road safer.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Well, they will write their own rules.

[©Amethyst]

Ah... White van man strikes again!

Some folks just don't care about the safety of others on the roads these days.

[Riffman]

What really annoys me is the people we park near to corners, they block off vision and are a hazard. Anyone who has read the highway code knows that it is illegal to park within 10m of a corner. It is obvious why this is a good idea.

[The Pepsi Challenge]

I have to agree. The last two times I was in Caithness, I was in fear of my life every time I went out onto the country roads. I'm now totally convinced: a lot of people in Caithness don't know how to drive. Or are at least not experienced enough to drive safely.

[brandy]

but yet the driving test is very hard and they pass it

[The Pepsi Challenge]

Amazingly, yes.

I had to endure duel carriageways, roundabouts, spaghetti junctions, and city centre traffic - usually at rush hour - during my lessons. In Caithness, you can see 10 miles in front of you, there are no roundabouts, traffic isn't hectic.

In fact I usually tell people, who are thinking about taking their test, to move to Caithness for a few weeks. They'll pass in no-time.

[~~Tides~~]

I had to endure duel carriageways, roundabouts, spaghetti junctions, and city centre traffic - usually at rush hour - during my lessons. In Caithness, you can see 10 miles in front of you, there are no roundabouts, traffic isn't hectic.

Think that's good, I heard about someone from Strathy having to drive from Strathy to Melvich and back for their test! Talk about a hellish bit of road. They passed aswell!

[Margaret M.]

Ah, but the worst driver in Caithness may well be better than the best driver here. Passing a test in the US is nothing more than taking an easy written exam, driving around the block and coming back to park. There is no hill start, parallel parking, merging into traffic, etc. I was amazed at the difference - I have never heard of anyone failing the test here.

[brandy]

the test is easy but most of us americans are good drivers cause we know that if we crash on interstate thats it for us.. all those crosses on the sides of roads are a good reminder

[Riffman]

No NHS to bail you out huh? I have say that the driving is appalling up here. The amount of lunitics is insane, (no pun intended).

Oh, just a quick question, what speed do you drive at on the interstate?? Over here the limit on motorways is 70, but not many do less than 80...

[Colin Manson]

I thought it was 55 kph but I'm not so sure now, found this interesting article while I was googling.

ABCNEWS.com : Why Are US Drivers So Bad?

http://www.mrtraffic.com/worlddrivers.html

[Zael]

“You still have very much more courtesy and abiding by the rules in England. Someone will go zipping by at 100 [mph] , but they’ll do it in the appropriate lane,”

That made me roll about laughing, class.

[Whitewater]

Two cars from opposite directions attempting to turn right at a crossroad in Wick !!! ??? I'm surprised nobody has had a serious accident. The attempts would be amusing if it was not for the seriousness of the matter.

What sums up American driving mentality for me was the character who put his new mobile home into cruise control, went to make his morning coffee and crashed!!!
I wonder why?? he is now attempting to sue manufacturers.

[scotsboy]

I have to agree. The last two times I was in Caithness, I was in fear of my life every time I went out onto the country roads. I'm now totally convinced: a lot of people in Caithness don't know how to drive. Or are at least not experienced enough to drive safely.

What utter nonsense........lets have some objective evidence to support your claim......I wont hold my breath.

[brandy]

the spped limit on interstate is 65 mph.. but i think in some states can go up to 70...
yes people do speed but we have loads of states troopers pulling speeders left and right..

[dawncw]

Its not that the people dont know how to drive or that the tests are too hard, its some of the older people who are not used to havin to drive round roundabouts and they also aint used to the amount of traffic that are on the roads these days.

[katarina]

Amazingly, yes.

I had to endure duel carriageways, roundabouts, spaghetti junctions, and city centre traffic - usually at rush hour - during my lessons. In Caithness, you can see 10 miles in front of you, there are no roundabouts, traffic isn't hectic.

In fact I usually tell people, who are thinking about taking their test, to move to Caithness for a few weeks. They'll pass in no-time.

Bad idea. I passed my test in Caithness, consequently I have never had the confidence to drive in the city.

[katarina]

Drove through Watten to-night at 7.30, while the auction was on. Cars were parked allalong the road, both sides, and a white van ???HHO was double parked - very dangerous. It was like an obstacle park driving there tonight......did anyone else notice?Surely most of these cars could be parked on the side streets to make the main road safer.

It's the same all the way along Willowbank in Wick and they don't have the excuse of an auction. It's the same every night and day. I always thought it was illegal to double park.

[George Brims]

The main difference between British and American drivers is the level of aggression. I was amazed to find American driving much more polite when I moved here. For instance the four-way stop is common. That is, a junction with stop signs on all four entrances. If you put that in Britain you would just have four cars in the middle, nose to nose, and the drivers out having a fight, whereas here it mostly works (with the occasional jerk the exception that proves the rule). Other examples are that everyone pulls to the side on both sides of the street if an emergency vehicle is coming, and that it is illegal to pull out of a side street and get in the middle of a funeral procession. Both those are rules, but they're an example of the general approach that's quite refreshing.

The person who commented on the test here was overly general - it varies a lot state by state. Parallel parking for instance is in the test some places, but wasn't in the British test when I took it. Mind you back then Week had no roundabouts or traffic lights!

Driving in Hawaii when I lived there is most like Caithness driving. There's no question about the car coming in from the side road - he IS going to come out in front of you. The same with a parked car. If you see the driver climb in as you approach you better be ready for the car to come out. The first time we were back in Scotland from there we had two near misses in two days with owld mannies who both got in their car and did a U-turn from the kerb across the front of us. One was in Beauly and the other in Thirsa.