02 of 30 - Driving in Australia vs California, a Comparative Analysis

[emo_snal]

   I have found driving in Australia to be fundamentally somewhat different from driving in California. Beyond the obvious driving on the left side of the road thing.

In California, on highways with two or more lanes in each direction, such as The Five (California's main North-South artery) for most of its length, on paper the fast (left) lane

Comments

[dhatchling]

What you described about i-5 actually happens everywhere else in the country as well.

It sounds like there's some flexibility going on down there, just as there happens sometimes here in the states, depending on the situation.

[emo_snal]

Well not much flexibility on the speed limit here but as long as you don't linger in the "fast lane" it seems good for cars going faster or slower than others.

And yeah I went on a roadtrip or two around the states and most states seem to be the same, but I think there was one or two where I really noticed people actually kept out of the passing lane when they weren't passing.

[anyonesghost]

The thing that freaked me out the most about driving in Oz was the monitoring on the highways. Like, they'd send you a bill if you got from Point A to Point B too quickly. I was really, really happy when I figured out cruise control there. (Also, when the navigation system was switched away from Mandarin.)

At least California drivers are polite enough to send a signal? In New York, they just pull up behind you and hover until you get the hint. ;-)

[emo_snal]

Yeah the automatic speed cameras are freaky! It really does give me a feeling of constantly being watched!

[lenine2]

Your California description perfectly fits both Chicago and Wisconsin Interstate drivers. Australia's drivers sound far more civilized.

I will never understand why people are so angry when they drive. Even driving to work in the mornings was an adventure in psychology. Why are people in such a hurry to get to work? And why are they so angry so early in the day?

PS - I am following your 30 in 30 example!

[emo_snal]

Yeah I don't know! I have a friend who is very very sweet in real life, and she gets behind the wheel and she's shouting at the other cars! I think, I like to think anyway, that maybe people are worse when they have a passenger? Like the fact that they got cut off reflected poorly on their driving skills unless they really unleash about how it was all the other car's fault?

So far in 30 in 30 I'm already a day behind..;. but it's going really well I think! I've gotten a lot of comments on the entries I've made already and starting to get in the "constantly thinking about my next entry" mindset. The hardest part is finding the time but of course that's part of the challenge, if it weren't for my 30 in 30 obligations I'd just put the posts off until, well, they're as infrequent as they had been!

[emo_snal]

PS: scurries over to see your 30 in 30 entries (:

[selucius]

Nope, not just California. I think everyone gets the "gosh dang it" regulators, which cause bottlenecks. People here have figured out that they don't have to yield when instructed. They see the inverted triangle as totally optional because they know I don't want to fuck up my car and I'll probably be able to stop in time, so eh... why not just barrel right on out. And then they flip me off when I honk at them. Nice.

Australian drivers sound lovely.

[emo_snal]

Yeah so far I haven't had any bad experiences driving here. I've heard legends about some weird dreaded "J Turn" they have in Melbourne thouhg, where you turn right (ie across the opposing lanes) by first coming to a stop on the left (outtermost) lane of your side and wait for a break in traffic to dart across. I don't know why in the world they don't make the turn from the innermost lane like everyone else!!

[akirlu]

I've never seen the "#1 lane for passing only" rule observed in any US state that I have driven in. In Washington there is lip service paid to the rule, or rather they whine about the alleged unsafeness of passing on the right, and there are short spates of enforcement, but otherwise it's the same crap. The only place I've ever seen people consistently drive as if the leftmost lane is for passing is in Europe.

[emo_snal]

I've had friends criticize me for allegedly "passing on the right," to which I patiently explain that you are supposed to drive in the rightmost lane available, and if that causes me to pass a car to my left it's their fault for not following the rules, not mine (o: