Gradually creeping out from the parking lot, my brother and I shrieked “Left!” as the car jolted forward suddenly and pulled out onto the main road. As we crept at a snail’s pace away from the airport, a sign emblazoned with the Union Jack warned us: “In the UK, remember to drive on the LEFT.” Although both of my parents had been to Europe before, this was their first time driving on the opposite side of the road. As a result, they had asked their kids (my brother and I) to constantly remind them to stay on the left--an assignment we took very seriously. Over the course of our time in England, we would begin to learn the difficult and frustrating process of driving on the “right” side of the road--which in this case, of course, was the left. …show more content…
It became abundantly clear as we inched along the narrow roads of southern England that your brain can’t simply override all of its instincts when switching sides of the road. Constant repetition of instructions was imperative to making sure the vehicle stayed where it was supposed to. To add to the struggle of simply being on the opposite side, more bamboozling situations arose that added to the mayhem. In the US, roundabouts rotate counter-clockwise, but in the UK, they revolve clockwise. Imagine driving around a rotary the “wrong” way and then exiting on the “wrong” side. Making sure we stayed on the correct side of the road, headed the right direction on the rotaries, and steadily delivering positive affirmations to the driver, all while continuously trying to navigate through an unknown country proved to be an entire family …show more content…
In the rolling hills of southern England, hedges creep right up to the sides of the roads, impairing your vision and making each twist and turn in the road extremely frightening--especially at night. As my family steered into a quaint seaside village for dinner while the sun was setting, we pulled down the one-way road that led to the downtown. At least, we thought it was a one way road- until we pulled around the bend and bright headlights blinded us. The road, upon further examination, turned out to be two way; initially, we had thought it to be one due to its narrowness. To maneuver around the car facing us, both cars had to drive up on the sidewalks. In many other places, the roads were either less than two lanes wide or cars were parked in the narrow roads. We had to be more innovative in our driving than is typical in the
“Have you ever noticed how anyone going slower than you is an idiot, and everyone going faster than you is a maniac?” George Carlin once, jokingly asked. However, this is not the case for drivers on the famous highway systems in Germany. When you drive in Germany you can be “idiot” in the government’s eyes if you go too slowly, drive in the wrong lane or impede the flow of traffic. This distinction is not unique in Germany but is applicable to their federal highway system, aptly named the Autobahn.
Galpin, A., Underwood, G., & Crundall, D. (2009). Change blindness in driving scenes. Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, 12(2), 179-185. doi:10.1016/j.trf.2008.11.002
Today’s society appears to be constantly on the go. People seem to be pulled in multiple directions at once. Individuals never appear to have enough time to complete tasks that continually accumulate. It can be difficult to criticize someone that tries to make the most out every minute. Unfortunately, some of today’s drivers show a lack of judgment and trying to perform other tasks, while behind the wheel. People may feel this is best use time while getting to a destination. Occasionally, the small amount of time that people are trying to gain results in a time consuming accident. With modern conveniences that are geared toward an on the go public, individuals appear to be too preoccupied to driving safely.
The history of driver’s education goes way back. The first known DE programs were developed between 1910 and 1920. However, it was not until the 1930s that formal courses were...
(( Driving is difficult for Americans, Drive on the other side of the road )).
Today, worldwide reports of the alarming road carnage statistics indicate that the same problem still persists as motorists continue to engage ...
A skill that I am now aware that I learned through the Natural Human Learning Process is the skill of driving. I was motivated to start drive because, I didn’t want to ask my parents to take me anywhere, and I was also tired of being late to events. I began practicing by...
road. Some veer left, some right. A few are unaffected by (or unaware of) the
In today’s modern society, there are a cluster of drivers on the road which leads to
Obey all traffic signs and pavement markings. For example, if painted arrows are used to denote the direction of travel, treat it like a one-way street and do not drive the wrong way down the aisle.
and you wonder, why is there a huge line of cars on this road? Then as the lines get shorter you can tell that it was someone taking a left turn. This pisses me off some much, it’s not the driver’s fault but it’s the states fault to have a one-way road in a town that has 7,618 people living in just area of 14 mi². Let me tell you a
It is with this need to assign the right of way at locations that we consider the dual purpose of traffic signals efficiency and safety, which in some cases seem to be conflicting. Safety may be seen as an element needed to be sacrificed in order to achieve improvements in efficiency and meet ever-increasing demands. The reality is that traffic signals can, and in fact must, serve both operational efficiency and safety based on the conditions. The MUTCD goes on to describe that traffic control signals can be ill-designed, ineffectively placed, improperly operated, or poorly maintained, with resulting outcomes of excessive delay, disobedience of the indication, avoidance, and increases in the frequency of
The American highways and roads are something one can find in every country even if they are visually different the concept is the same – getting from a place to another. The endless mythic road that leads to nowhere is the symbolic element of finding the true path for the inner self, as well the true America. The ticket for this journey is one-way. People in this genre usually start out with a question, usually existencial, however, the character does not immediately find the answer and typically the question will develop and change and it is only at the end of these films that the character finds an answer. Having said all this, one may encounter road movies where the question is never answered.
This essay is to inform you about certain aspects of driving. In this letter I am going to talk about the effect of response time, a safe following distance, how the stopping distance depends on speed, how to decide what to do at a yellow light and how you have to change your speed around a curve. In the next following paragraphs I will explain each of the topics that I have listed and I will give you a better knowledge of how to be a safer driver.
“The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers” -Dave Barry, comedian. The number of accidents over the last ten years have drastically increased, drivers are paying less attention to the road itself. Many individuals behind the wheel of a car believe that their driving does not affect the road conditions, however it always will. The driving habits of today are catastrophic due to the reasoning that the driving will affect other lives through reckless or distracted driving, and disobeying traffic laws.