What about France and Portugal? I was not overly impressed at the cautious or courteous nature of drivers in either country when I visited there. I WAS impressed at how fast and recklessly they drove, however. It seems we have a great deal of variability within the 50 states, e.g., Denver drivers are "better" than those in DC (especially when it snows).
On 12/4/06, Werner Fehlauer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Matt - generally, the USA has a much higher accident/fatality rate, but that is mostly due to the negligent way the states parcel out driver's licenses to anyone that has the few dollars fee. Rarely is any degree of actual driving competence needed, or tested. Most European countries require significant education, driving instruction, and demonstration of ability BEFORE they issue a license. In Germany, for example, it typically takes hundreds of Euros ($$) and around 2 years to qualify. Compare that to little or no training, perhaps an inconsequential written test, perhaps a parallel park, and a few $$ and your "clear to go" with a 4000 lb deadly weapon on an interstate at speed! Werner ----- Original Message ----- From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <mercedes@okiebenz.com> Sent: Monday, December 04, 2006 2:08 AM Subject: Re: [MBZ] OT: Big Brother is Nearby > You wrote: > "There's a lot of political resistance to smaller cars, I've noticed. > When the topic of fuel efficiency comes up Congressional reps always > make dire predictions about the piles of dead bodies we'll see if > people start driving smaller vehicles" > > I wonder if anyone has ever taken a look at the countries where they > have those mini cars to see if there is any signifiant differences in > their traffic injuries/deaths. Accounting for the different type of > driving in each country. > > Matt Claus _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
