When dealing with the Germans it's very helpful to remember the old adage 'Every German kid wants to grow up to be a schoolteacher or a Policeman'. I was told this by a German, and after several years of observation I a) believe it to be true, and b) It explains *so* much.
Could be, though when asked what he wanted to be when he grew up, at an age when most boys want to be firemen, astronauts or footballers, ex-BIL stated the ambition to become a manager. And not of the football variety either. This all goes to show something, although I'm sure I don't know what.
It's mopeds who are the fastest. In a pilot experiment a few years ago Dutch mopedists were permitted to avoid the bike paths, and their accident rate dropped by two thirds. As a result they have been generally removed from urban bike paths. There are no plans, so far as I know, for a similar experiment with bikes.
Mopeds certainly were, and still are problematic. They are often driven by maniacs (imho) with 2 speeds... stop and maximum speed, and just fly across junctions without even looking. Some years back, mopeds were spilt into 2 categories. The faster ones require helmet, and must not be driven on cyclepaths, but the slower ones need no helmet and can be ridden on cycle paths. They are distinguished by a yellow/orange tag on the from mudguard. Needless to say, all the teenage chavs just totally ignore the helmet and cyclepaths rules and hack along them and across junctions as if the own them. The ones that DO follow the rules and ride on the street think that they still have the right to squeeze past all the traffic on the right that is turning right, when in fact they should really pass on the left. But of course their culture and what they've been brought up on is to pass vehicles on the right and expect them to give way. Certainly out of my 4.5years there, cycling is no problem and you can virtually assume cars will give way.
When dealing with the Germans it's very helpful to remember the old adage 'Every German kid wants to grow up to be a schoolteacher or a Policeman'. I was told this by a German, and after several years of observation I a) believe it to be true, and b) It explains *so* much.
We went to the Frankfurt motorshow a few years back and went to the Mercedes stand and inquired where we could the bit of road that comes with all Mercedes. He didn't see the funny side.
You forgot another old adage - a German joke is no laughing matter ;-)
You [censored]! I'm going to have to clean my keyboard now!
"Paul Boyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
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John Hearns said the following on 31/05/2006 09:00:
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And the best feature - cars taking a right hook (left in the UK) have to give way to bicycles and pedestrians. They actually sit on the main carriageway and wait for the street to clear. IMHO, this one law would make the biggest difference to promoting cycling in the UK.
This already is law in the UK for pedestrians - you have right of way
No you don't.
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when crossing a side street. The same applies to cyclists on the road - a car turning left is supposed to wait until the cyclist has cleared before turning.
A cyclist on the pavement though I guess has no right of way at all
Neither does anyone else.
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because they shouldn't be there! How about a cyclist on a shared or segregated pavement/cyclepath though?
"Paul Boyd" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
John Hearns said the following on 31/05/2006 09:00:
Quoted message said:
And the best feature - cars taking a right hook (left in the UK) have to give way to bicycles and pedestrians. They actually sit on the main carriageway and wait for the street to clear. IMHO, this one law would make the biggest difference to promoting cycling in the UK.
This already is law in the UK for pedestrians - you have right of way
No you don't.
When a car turns into a road it must give way to pedestrians who are already crossing that road - maybe that's what he meant.
ISTR that making aggressive gestures at other road users is an offence in Germany, and is taken quite seriously.
I believe you are right, and was certainly told this by various people when I arrived here. My understanding is that it takes 2 people to mention this to the Polizei, and you will get a visit.
