*Update 2023-12-12* I cannot believe this video has hit over 1M views! Be sure to check out other videos on my channel where I dive into more detailed topics and differences between driving in The Netherlands and Europe versus America!
update: before the age of smart phones, road fatalities were about half of what it is now. People do let themselves be distracted more and more as it get busier and busier on the roads... Play stupid games, win stupid prizes...! You just can't make something good enough to actually call it idiotproof, but the road system in the Netherlands covers for alot of idiocy.
Time to rename the video to say "Netherlands" instead of Europe? You are basically going on about the wonderful infrastructure and behaviours in the Netherlands and these vary widly in Europe so it would be much more accurate
@@jorgecardoso3876 LOL most of the points I mention here still apply to other European countries, whether people like the generalizations or not. Not changing the title
@@Kerleem actually a lot of the points don't apply to all Europe and you mention several - starting with the quality of the pavements you mention just next door in Belgium but also the speed limits, the behaviours, the speed limits. I have driven in most of Western Europe from Portugal to Scandinavia and the differences are huge. And Netherlands, despite the very busy roads, is top notch thanks in particular to the top notch infrastructure.
@@jorgecardoso3876 ok the but concepts of less car dependency than North America, stricter rules and costs to get a license, road design and signage are basically the same
"driving while eating, reading a book, checking your emails" As a German, that sounds insane. A car weighing at multiple tons moving at 100km/h is a weapon, not your living room's couch.
I agree so much ! Well, as far as eating goes : I have done it (just munching on biscuits or biting a sandwich , nothing too complicated aha ! Neither a bouillabaisse or a fondue savoyarde). But.... but reading ?! How ?!!!! I'd be livid were I the passenger 😱
I’ve been saying that for years, here in America (especially the degenerate state of Missouri) there are so many idiots on the road, we need a better rail system to keep them off the road
Exactly! I always wonder why there are these cup holder things in my car. And why car reviews from the US of A ding cars for not having adequate cup holders seems also strange to me. 😀
If you have driven long distance in the US you will understand it.I would never do it, but if you Drive in straight line for 200 miles you get bored. A lot. And now imagine your radio is broken, or only works on some bible frequency.
That's even worse long straight journeys reading a book. Our roads deliberately wind on long journeys so if you don't pay attention you'll go into the barrier. They veer left then right and left so your always adjusting the steering every 30 seconds on a motorway.
UK guy here. As I walked out the door to my first driving lesson, my dear old mum said “be careful with cars, you’ll kill someone if you don’t drive properly”. As I sat down in the car, the first thing the driving instructor said to me was “it’s a privilege to drive not a right. They’re like a loaded gun waiting to go off and if you kill someone that will stay with you for the rest of your life.” I think the overall safety culture in Europe is more considered which helps. Sure we all complain about ridiculous health and safety rules, but also husbands and fathers aren’t dying by their thousands annually in awful industrial accidents.
When I learned to drive, 38 years ago, I had lessons with my dad and with an instructor. Those with my dad ensured that I drove on all types of road (dual carriageways with hard-shoulders as a substitute for motorways), for many hundreds of miles and in all weathers - maybe part of why I have never had an at-fault accident ... unlike many of my friends that wrote cars off in the first 18 months or so after passing. He'd just choose a place for me to head for, which might be a shop 30 or 40 miles away and off we'd go. At the start of my first lesson with an instructor, he asked, "What is the first rule of the road?" and then told me that it was "Drive on the left." I preferred the answer that I gave, "Assume everyone else is out to get you!"
I think the British are especially strong on this. People there self-criticize base on what they've learned from their driving instructors -- they comment when they cross hands while steering or take the wrong lane at a roundabout and that kind of thing. Not here in the US. French driving is vastly improved on what it was. Downright nasty in the 1980s. Decent now. The US has regressed in almost the opposite way, decent in the 1980s, horrible now. It's like rules no longer matter, whereas in the 1980s people were quite observant of speed limits.
@danielbliss1988 In all fairness me living in England the road rules when it comes to speed limits etc are not followed at all, they are a suggested speed tbh
I was partially taught how to drive by my parents. I firs had to take 10h of driving lessons with an instructor, then 2h of lesson with instructor and my parents in the back observing. After that I was allowed to drive around with my parents but some special signs on the car and only from 6am-10pm. When I felt comfortable for my exam, I had to take 4h of driving lessons again and then I was good to go. I actually really liked that bc I got to do a lot of driving before passing my exam, so when I got my actual driver’s license, I felt secure enough to drive around alone. This was all in Luxembourg
@@kaikart123 Where you get taught by instructors: All of Europe Almost all emerging countries Quite a few developing countries Where parents teach their drivers: Parts of the developing world (if there are licenses at all) Active warzones and the US.
@@mikeblatzheim2797 Not all of Oceania, parents still teach their kids how to drive in Australia. Also the entire continent of Africa and all of the Americas, The Balkans, the entire continent of Asia barring Japan, Russia, the entire middle-east. I dunno man, it sounds like "the rest of the world" to me.
@@kaikart123 Right, so I wonder what the driving schools and closed road courses all over China are for... This style of driving school is present across the former eastern bloc. As for most emerging countries, do you know why they have a need for driving instructors? Because most people learning to drive won't have parents or grandparents who know how to drive. People might have picked up basic skills from their parents, usually with farm equipment, but just about anywhere that isn't a developing country with corruption issues you'll have to take some lessons before being allowed to take the test for a licence.
Not anymore... Next generations are going to drive automatics or electric cars. SUV's etc etc. And this talk about European drivers not being on the phone or distracted/care about there car or driving. Horseshit. If people really did care they had not spent money on BMW's and stuff that brake down and emission problematic vehicles. That being vehicles that make emission look better then they are in reality. VW anyone? Like older vehicles more or less is better for the environment then some EURO 8 "classified" cheating vehicle with 500HP that go flat out in the spanking new hotness. Old grandmas Toyota with 100hp is driving sane and pollute less. But o boy! It has a small crack in the window or whatever. TO THE SCRAPPER! Cheating emissions "legally" and at the same time throwing away cars that should have lasted 10-15 years longer if cared for. Minor repairs. Now the roofs of cars peel off as they age due to obsolescence engineering. And if that is not going to make you buy cars then emission stuff is going to force your hand. Drivetrains die early to get every advantage in fuel efficiency and emission cheating. Even now very little is needed to make cars last allot longer without the need of mining or work put into building new vehicles. Everything is going backwards since the what late 90s? More then in one way. No EU is just making people pay up the ass more and more. But manual cars + schooling was grate and really WAS a valid point. Now depending on ho you are the tests are harder/easier. And cars are going electric and self driven. Soon enough only the rich are going to be able to afford a car here in EU. ;) Rest are not "clean" or "safe". It is insane that some people have to pay and work hard to be allowed on the road. But some are given it more or less for free from the EU. And self driving coal electric power crap wagons that go ageist everything EU say they care about. Well that is the world we age going towards. Fun. We need lighter and longer lasting transportation. But Electric car looks good since it is "green" like chemical waste pored into drinking water. What do this have to do with EU driving? Well next generations are going to not want to drive, but be driven in there luxury SUV personal UBER. Rest can suck it.
Only because you get a laugh when others came aware you have a crippled licence and you are not able to use stick. Most people who get automaric only permit were unable to learn it. It is like your coming out being challenged.
@@TheDiner50 here in germany it doesnt matter if you end up in an automatic car, you have to learn the stick shift. if you dont, you can only drive automatic and there really isnt a big market for it yet, at least here... i love automatic, but automatic cars are expensive as hell and not worth the money since u learned stick shift
Really?? I literally applied for my drivers licence 2 weeks before my birthday and aced the driving test on my 18th birthday, which means I got my licence in 14 days. I'm from Finland, but I wasn't expecting there to be such a huge difference 😮
@@fridolfgranq Well it depends on how fast your state processes you license application (takes a few weeks). How often your teacher has time for a practical lesson (usually once a week), and how often your driving school offers theory lesson (once/twice a week). But there are driving schools that try to do all that in the fastest way possible. So you could manage to do it in two weeks as well. The comparison is more like the worst case scenario.
@@Gildofaal Ah I see, yeah that would make sense. The system seems to be very similar around Europe and with the tiny population of Finland I guess that stuff gets processed faster on average.
My absolute favorite is when you get on a highway and you see the cars already on the highway moving to the left so you can easily get on. Just tells you that they saw the upcoming situation and decided to make it easier for you. Always nice.
In France, this kind of behaviour can get you more point on your driving test, there is 3 bonus points you can get : anticipation driving, courtesy driving and fuel saving driving
@@Ypolites omg the french dont freakin moveee. They stay on the left so long. As a dutch person that really frustrates me. Cause here in the netherlands you’re a real prick if you don’t drive on the right. So they should give even more extra points cause its not working haha.
""when you get on a highway and you see the cars already on the highway moving to the left " - But that's common practice in the USA at least in Texas and Colorado... ;)
When playing the grand theft auto games, I always thought the programmers did a terrible job on the npc drivers, "nobody drives like that" I always thought. So when I visited the states for the first time I was very surprised the drivers in the game where actually pretty realistic for the setting. 😂
Well in Belgium they pretty much give it away too. As long as you're able to not kill someone during the exam you're good. Of course, it depends on the examinator but we are closer to what he described about America : no imposed training, teached by basically anybody who's had a license for 8 years so most of the time our parents. And drinking and driving is almost part of the culture : I know very few people who never took their car immediately after drinking and almost all of them are still young drivers and therefore will be sanctionned harder if they are caught. Once out of the "young driver" category, people don't care anymore
In hungary I passed all my tests the first time, and I had time as a student, but it still took meg six months for me from start to having my drivers license in my hand.
@@FinlayDaG33k I swear once you go from the nice driving school car to the old first car, and once you are 18 and your parents aren’t required to sit next to you anymore, you just turn into Lewis Hamilton for some reason....
@@cube_2593 That's not much different here tho :p I'm no exception either XD When I got my license and went from the driving school car to our own car (Citroen Xantia 1.8L with turbo) I floored it a lot as well :^) Though ok, I only did so when I deemed it safe-enough (a.k.a "if I crash, I'll only kill myself")... But a lot of people here flooring it when other cars are around as well.
@@FinlayDaG33k yeah that’s true. There is a big difference between responsible and irresponsible speeding and I thing the longer driving lessons make you a lot better at speeding responsible
@@cube_2593 Well, not really... A lot of people that have their driving license here are pretty irresponsible because most of them only care about them. Not using turning signals, not trailing too close ("bumperkleven" as we call it here, I forgot the English word), driving 80km/h+ on a 50km/h road with other traffic around, checking phone while on the highway, ignoring traffic rules around yielding etc. etc. I can drive towards a friend of mine (which takes me about 15 minutes) and already see at least 10+ instances of this behaviour :| I at least follow most of the rules and try to create a safe environment to drive in, taking others into consideration. Most drivers around here tho? "Meh, I'm late for work, don't care about almost causing a crash"
Most dutch start cycling when they are about 4 years old. Going to school, friends, the countryside, exploring town, and later on going to pubs, parties or shopping. Once you start taking driving lessons you're well accustomed to the rules of the road. Almost every driver started out a cyclist which make interactions between different road users happen pretty intuitive :-)
Traveling from Spain to Holland by car: Everything smooth and easy. RAGATAGTAATANG BOEM KLETS KNAL. everything smooth again. What was that dear? Nothing honey, we just passed through Belgium.
Please, Irish roads are even better, where else will you see a dirt road with an 80km/h speed limit 🤣 tried following it with my van, barely reached 60 🤣🤣🤣
I thought drivers were bad in Poland until I drove in Florida. A 300km straight road and I have never seen some many accidents in such a short time span.... ON A STRAIGHT ROAD! IN FLORIDA!
I saw a lot of shredded tires at the side of roads in Florida and Texas and wondered if I was going to die. I though the tires were made badly. Literally never see shredded tires here in the UK.
@@YujiUedaFan The shredded tires are from semi-trucks. They are from trucks that have the tires re-treaded. The tread can come off of the tire after too much use. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-a4SZ-X-zpoE.html
@@johnnyhun1 I fully agree with this, people get mad fast. The drives can drive good, but just don't. But don't proof me wrong, not everyone in Eastern Europe gets mad.
the great saying about the Autobahn is "no matter how fast you are going. someone is driving faster than you!" and it really just means don't stay in the passing lane.
when i drive 120 on Autobahn, theres a guy driving 140~ behind me. when i drive 170+ there's a guy swooshing behind me with around 220+ kmh. its true there's always a guy faster than you
@@TribunalxWarrior I had a somewhat sobering experience regarding this issue on one of my first longer trips on the Autobahn when I was 18. As I was overtaking someone on the left lane while going around 220 km/h I saw a car approaching in the rear mirror, so I switched a lane to the right after passing the other car. Just after settling into that lane a Mercedes just bolted past me and before I could even think "Dude..." an Audi followed after it. I then looked at my own tachometer in disbelief. Some drivers in Germany are absolutely nuts.
US driver here. You make solid points, and I admire the skill of the drivers in your video. I am a retired professional driver (UPS) with a spotless driving record and the one thing which helped me the most in becoming a skilled, safe driver is to control my emotions. Easier said than done. It took me a good 15 years or so, but you have to just let other's stupidity just go on by. Someone is tailgating you, forget it, a driver approaches with their bright lights on, don't get upset, someone pulls out in front of you forcing you to brake, just let it go. That requires self-discipline, which is what I am seeing in your video - self discipline.
I can answer you that as an european. All those little things you mention are not worth an argument or something that could escalate from that and ruin your day, so you just let it go and move on with your life and whatever you are doing. Besides, you kind of anticipate most of that with experience, so all those things dont become such a big deal after a while, you get used to it.
tailgating gets me because the only thing I can do about you endangering me and my vehicle is speed up, which is usually either impossible or illegal, sometimes unsafe. If there isn't traffic I will just slow down to minimize potential damage. If you're being an idiot, you get to go much slower than the speed limit behind me. I've been forced to run a red light because it was more dangerous to stop than to run it.
UK drivers are much worse than mainland European drivers. Our tests while formulaic you don't actually need driving lessons. Compare with continental driving, driving in the UK for 200 miles is tiring but on the continent you get the same effect after 800 easy miles.
Thats funny, because its also pretty much those BMW and Mercedes and Audi drivers in Denmark who drives as if they think they have the rights to the road 🤣 might be the brand that attracts stupid drivers.
@@tomosprice8136 for real or be prepared to have debt in the car for 10+ years. 😅 Who wants to pay of a car for 10+ years? My god. Even my sister and her boyfriend who works with coding and digital stuff and gets paid very well, wouldn't be able to pay for one of those cars without having a 10+ year loan. Like if you only wanted a 5 year loan the loan on the car would be more expensive than the loan on their house every month. 🤦
I think the Main difference is, that in Western Europe a driving license is a proof of knowledge and know how. In the US the drivers license is only permission to drive.
And in Eastern Europe not? Im from Poland and its quite rare to pass the exam for the first time because its so strict. I was well prepared and did not panic so luckily i passed my theory and practice exams first time, but it still took me about 4 months to learn the law...
@@undeadbandit835 Still people in Poland drive worse than in western Europe(except France and Italy), because the tests aren't focused on the right things
@@mozomenku no, not because of the tests but because of small consequences when you break the law. Drivers going 220km/h on 90 speed limit on roads in forests or 150 on 50 speed limit in villages in nothing unusual. In first case you will get ~120 euro ticket, in second same but they will take your driving license for 3 months. And you can actually drive again, if police catch you you will just get another 3 months but its unlikely because random inspections are very rare so most people are just driving without driving license (if you never had one then its different).
@@mychamycha27 i know that, but from June you will have your license taken away when driving 50 kmh more than the limit. Also in Poland people has less money than in the west
Yep, from a German perspective, driving on Italian highways is smooth as hell but driving in Italian cities is road rage at its best. I always wonder how they manage to not kill every pedestrian who even gets near the road :-D
I was on a cruise that stopped in Italy so we went on an excursion tour to Rome and the traffic there was horrendous! It was so bad an ambulance had it’s emergency horn and lights on and no one was moving for it!
@@BossmodePictures 100% agreed, i'm from italy and driving in highways or othet main roads is great, if you go in a city you get back to people who dont know what they are doing and it's a complete shitshow
I don't understand why the driving is so bad in certain circumstances in Italy, on the highway and mainroads is great, I have driven a lot in Italy and Austria and can comfortably say the highway expereince is better in Italy, Also why does this not translate to cities and there is also a huge difference between the south and nord (like everything in Italy) also in my experience the driving school was very thorough and the exam very strict but somehow it's not enough
@@peter-bz3fo i am not 100% sure why but there are many people that only drive in cities and litterally dont know how to drive, in highways this happen sometimes but it's a lot more rare. i think that the problem may be that even tho usually driving school teaches you pretty well, lack of practice can be a huge problem, plus in many places people literally dont think about the consequences of what they do. on the highway side i completly agree with you, i have been to germany, france, austria and many other eu states but i definitely prefer the italian highways (except for a couple of south one that are extremely bad i.e. salerno-reggio calabria) the german one have the fact that they are free going their way tho😂
I think part of this is, strangely, that here in The Netherlands youths are allowed to drink alcohol first and learn to drive second. Most people I know refuse to drive when inebriated because they know how awful the last drunk trip on their bike/scooter went. So you first become a responsible drinker, then a responsible driver. While in the US the 15-year olds start driving, get overconfident and then start drinking. Making them less aware if the risks. Not too sure how true this is, but it's something I've noticed over the years. Thanks for the video! It's great to hear a clear opinion of an expat living here. :)
Also it is possible to get home on foot from the pub so you are not forced to drive home inebriated or cough up for taxi. In fact every time I drink a bit more I make sure to walk home for at least an hour. By the time I get home I sobered up quite a bit and I can go to bed without the room spinning and making me puke.
This information is not correct anymore. When I wore a younger man's clothes the legal drinking age was 16 and the legal driving age (i.e. the age you could start driving lessons) was 18. THat has been changed some time ago, legal drinking age is now 18 and you can start driving lessons at 16 years 6 months old. You can get your license when you're 17 but need a mentor (which needs to have a driver's license for over 5 years iirc) sitting next to you for the first year.
Made a sport out of cycling while mildly intoxicated, without any hands on the steer! Never fell down but some trips back home were harder than others XD
@@boerenlul1981 If you're a car driver those are the only two you need. If you have to use public train networks you can switch these two with "Verspätung" and "Gleisbauarbeiten".
In Germany you don't only have to have driving lessons but you need to have them in different circumstances like on the Autobahn, at night, on country roads and in cities.
You don't have the ice-handling test where you slide around on ice? That's the best one!
3 года назад
@@HrHaakon Is your name a hint that you're Norwegian (or maybe somewhere in Scandinavia anyway ;-))? If so… it's surely easier to find icy roads up you way than, say, in Spain. Or in the UK for that matter. So, requiring it, while I agree it would be nice, is not really feasible.
Same in France. At least 20h driving lessons and 30min driving test with city, open road and at least one parking manoeuver. Also limited for under 3,5 tons cars with 8 passengers max and under 750kg trailer (or less than 3,5 t for the car and the trailer combined). For heavier vehicles, more passenger capacity and/or bigger trailer, you need extra licenses with some requiring medical certificate
When I visited the US, I loved it, big culture, wonderful people. But man, the drivers SHOCKED me, it was like Mad Max, a free for all. I saw a woman on the freeway putting make up on in the mirror, her hands were off the wheel and she didn't take her eyes off the mirror for entire minutes. I saw a guy driving with a pizza in one hand, drink in the other and when he put his drink down, he picked up his phone, lol. It's not the lack of ability, its the lack of seriousness and a sense of responsibility.
The Autobahn: "Because it's our constitutional right to go on a family trip in a Volkswagen with the speed of a cruise missile" - Vince Ebert, Comedian
Driving in the Netherlands is _awesome._ People from the US or Canada cannot understand this. If you try to propose that they implement any kind of Dutch road and street design (as I do on my channel), Americans are violently opposed, declaring a 'war on cars' (or worse). Just check out the comments on my recent "stroads" video, for example. They cannot fathom that building a city where you do not _need_ to drive, works for everyone, _including drivers._ The Netherlands ensures that the only people who are driving are the people who _need_ to drive and the people who _want_ to drive. And that makes driving better. I usually ride a bike for most things in Amsterdam. Not because I'm a "cyclist", but because it's the fastest and most convenient way to get around. But I also drive fairly regularly, and when I do, I'm really, really, really glad that there are lots of people on trams and on bicycles, and not in cars, so I'm not stuck in traffic. Yes, there are all sorts of streets where cars aren't allowed, and you have to take the "long route" around. But that long route is still faster than the short route would be with American levels of traffic. It really does work. As for the reason why the roads are in good condition, it's pretty simple: there are less kilometers of asphalt per person, which means there's enough money to properly maintain them. In the US, there is so much car infrastructure spread over so few people, that it's impossible for states and municipalities to properly maintain them. This is the Strong Towns Growth Ponzi Scheme. Belgium has the same issue: because they are such a car-centric country, they require a lot of car infrastructure, which is horrendously expensive to maintain.
Netherland is also know in the rest of European countries as one of the most anti-cars country in Europe, so I guess that your fellow Americans that refuse the ideo to implant Netherlands Road Laws in U.S.A. have a very good point.
See your problem is that you don't know economics. The Netherlands supplies 25% of Europe's gas. Life is easy when you are pumping gas from the ground and selling it Europe and making huge money with little economic activity. The Netherlands makes more money from gas than Canada makes from oil as an example. (interesting that the Netherlands exports their CO2 emissions). SO other countries need way more transport systems to make their economies work. . Ontario, Canada is number 2 to Sweden on road safety. But you would never want to fathom that concept. . On your own channel you have admitted that America and Canada's street layout (width, etc) pre-dates motor cars. Hence the entire city planning with wide grid structure roads becomes inherited. Planners must do something with what they have given their knowledge at a moment in history. . We see Toronto's bike lanes growing at a rapid rate and today Toronto now has a better snow clearing process for bike lanes than the Netherlands!!! Bike culture is new to Toronto, but they already have more bike lanes and mixed use roads than MOST European cities including the British city where the bicycle was invented!!! . But you are the hypocrite that gives no credit to what is being achieved in North America because you have a chip on your shoulder (justifying your move from Canada to the Netherlands). . This is not about others getting angry at your thoughts - it is about you not being rational.
@@markplain2555 The Netherlands' gas reserves are 25% of that in the EU. However they have massively reduced the amount of gas they collect and gas revenues make up very little of the Dutch GNI. Government revenue is irrelevant, even if the Netherlands was a very poor country, they would still massively benefit from their good urban planning.
Proposing any kind of change in Europe is seen as an opportunity to change things for the better. The rules are seen as something that benefit everyone. Rules in America are seen as something that is a personal insult to you and your "freedom", the only reaction can be immediate, unthinking, total rejection to any changes, because "muh freedom".
As someone who's lived in Europe his whole live, it's kind of weird listening to him talk about all those things that seem so natural to me like they're so surprising and special lol
A thing you missed in the roads section is that the highways in europe have stricter design regulations and standards that make sure the drivers are safer on the roads. One of the most important differences in my opinion is that in europe highway entrances and exits can only be on the right side of the road unlike in America where sometimes you have to go through bypass lanes and speed up when the exit is on the left side of the road making it more dangerous.
@@arnoldmeulen ik haal ook mensen rechts in als iemand links blijft plakken. Maar ik snij zie niet af. Links plakken is irritant, zeker als ze ook nog langzamer gaan de maximum snelheid.
I live in Belgium. When he said european roads are good. I though "he hasn't been in Belgium" then he says " I have seen some poor roads in belgium. me: "o there it is"
I kid you not. I drove across Europe several times, Belgium included. One of the times, at night, I admittedly was a bit distracted. As such I didn't notice I had crossed the border and entered Belgium! Anyway I very soon found out, because a pot hole called me back to reality on the spot. LOL 😂
I can confirm this. The highway/autobahn in Belgium are pretty horrendous. Back then I drove 22h straight from Vienna to London, it was business related.
got a good culture shock when I sat in the passenger seat in my friend's car in California and she was just facetiming someone with her phone in her lap while going 80mph down a slightly sketchy highway (and seeing nothing wrong with it!), while back home in Europe my friends would yell at me to focus on the road if I just want to quickly skip the song playing on the phone that's mounted to the air vent
I know, right! Yeah I once had a German friend over in California. He was perpetually afraid of my driving and begged me to slow down. I was like: "Dude, we're already in the slowest lane, look - we're being passed by trucks, buses and minivans. We're in a sporty BMW. I normally drive like 50% faster than this... Relax!"
@@suzukirider9030 If a German, with their legally unlimited motorways (autobahns), tells you that you are driving too fast... then you may just be driving too fast for the situation.
@@tams805 1) Do you realize how few autobahns there are in Germany? And that most Germans don't use them often, let alone take advantage of the "unlimited" speed? Having a couple autobahns in the entire country is somewhat of a cruel joke on the people which are overregulated and overrestricted in just about every other way: "We live in Orwellian 1984 and most can't even afford a car, but hey - at least we have a couple roads with no speed limits!" 2) I was in the rightmost lane on CA rt1 (Pacific Coast Highway). I was indeed being passed by semi trucks and buses. So, if I was driving too fast for the situation, then so was literally everyone else on the freeway. 3) If you're German - you might very well go ahead and conclude that EVERYONE was driving too fast for the situation (^_^)
@@suzukirider9030 Germany has A LOT of autobahn, 13 190km to be precise, making it the fourth largest highway grid in the world. If I have to drive anything further than ~50 km, I most likely end up using the Autobahn. So I'm sorry but the first point you make is simply wrong.
Just a quick note from the german road law, billboards (among other things) are not permitted to be constructed in a 40m zone around the autobahn. Everything up to 100m needs explicit permission (§ 9 Sections I, II and VI of the Fernstraßengesetz (FStrG)). If I remember my studies correctly, this is specifically because it could pose a distraction to drivers.
Occasionally there are trailers in fields with advertising, but they are not that obvious and they are some distance from the road or they get removed as a distraction.
I'm from Belgium and we play this game when we near the border: everyone except the driver closes their eyes and has to guess when we eventually cross it. Usually we can tell just by the sound of the tires or the smoothness of the surface.
The difference of pavement would wake me up every single time when I was a kid and went to shop across the border from Luxembourg with my mother. Silky smooth to quasi gravel texture. Then again, roads in Luxembourg are paid for with taxes 'stolen' from all neighboring countries....
Because everyone is in the left lane overtaking, if its the start of the jam i always go to the right, also because trucks always leave more room to the next car and prefer to just be driving slowly instead of start-stopping all day.
I'm a fairly new driver and learnt this yesterday, things started clogging up a bit and i saw some trucks up front so i switched to the left lane which then ended up moving way slower than the right-most lane
As an American was has lived in Europe for 10 years, I endorse everything said here. As some who first got a US license in 1974, I have witnessed the serious deterioration of driving norms. In metro areas cell phone use while driving is widespread, use of the shoulder for passing now happens (not frequently - but I now see it, which is shocking), and the level of aggression and menacing has risen.
To my mind US thinks that Europe is one single nation with same rules etc but surprise its not ;) U should say Dutch drivers and roads are better than in US ;)
Lmao Italian drivers. You have to be careful not to get run over as a pedestrian even at a green light. Plus word of advice.. *never* cross the road when your light is red. The car will not stop 😃 even if you're an 80 yo grandma.
The idea that parents can teach their kids to drive in the US pretty much shocked me. Especially when the parents themselves are bad drivers. As if homeschooling wasn't bad enough (in my opinion).
@@BartKemps You don't know what are you talking about. That is not freedom but your socialist PRIVILEGE. Nothing you stated is in any way denying you your or kid freedom but your privilege of your feelings not being hurt. Honestly first time I wrote a long text addressing all your examples but then I accidentally deleted it and after that I started thinking that you may not want to read text with more than few sentences (if I am wrong then I am happy to answer). But because you used in last two sentences examples of typical leftist bs (gun and common sense) I had a temptation to correct your biased view. "Even though some common sense rules limit some freedoms, the net result is positive." I am sorry but this is just a lie. Typical logical fallacy like "if it saves only one live it matters". No the world doesn't work like this (if it would then you can use it as argument for example the holocaust). And about guns, typical antigun propaganda -> again "about feeling not facts"! Feelings, only feeling of weak people who cannot handle live like adult with resposibility "I loose the freedom not to constantly live in fear of loosing a friend or family member due to either an accident (or gun violence)" If you think that then maybe you just should totally lockdown youself for the rest of your life because you want to live in fantasy not reality. World and life is full of accidents that will ALWAYS happen (because you don't plan accidents to happen). People in WTC or Empire state building could be scared of flying. They maybe never set the foot on plane but still they got killed in airplane crash even when they felt safe from this kind of accident (i those big nyc buildings). I gues you know nothing about reality of legalily owned firearms (statistics, etc.), right? (guesing from ... Europeans have a different view on FrEeDoM. We acknowledge that some rules are necessary to prevent people from stifling each others' freedom. If the freedom to carry guns is maximized, I loose the freedom not to constantly live in fear of loosing a friend or family member due to either an accident or gun violence.) Can you explain why I still for all those years I carry firearm I had none (0) accidents, nobody got killed or hurt? Why nobody in my home got killed or hurt with any of my guns? Why the same can be said for the all people I know who own and carry guns have same life experience as me? Why in my country which is one of most liberal considering guns where anyone mentally and criminaly sound can own and carry huge variety of these deadly items even for self-defense (most have them for this reason) on shall issue basis is one of the safest countries in the world and crime with legally owned firearms is so low that is not recorded anymore? Why countries and places with most restrictive policy towards civilian guns ownership for self--defense are generally flooded with crime (NYC, Mexico, uk, brazil)? Common sense gun control is not about any common sense, not about safety but just about "control of the people". Freedom and liberty is about to live your life best you can and not forcing others to live their lives the way you want and the same you expect from them. Live and let live. Responsible educated people used to freedom are harder to control and manipulate but the people from the opposite side, quite easy. Sorry longer story than I assumed.
@@kolomaznik333 Balance my dude, balance is the name of the game..... Also, your comment genuinely reads like a comedic depiction of the typical American, so ye...
@kolomaznik333 Talking about freedom (thus of course gun possesion, its the universal metric for freedom), leftist privilege. Can't simply say Holocaust, has to censor it. Irony.
I was an exchange student in the US when I was 16 and I remember this one time when my host mother was driving with her right arm plastered while talking on the phone (with her shoulder) and drinking a coffee… when she took a U-turn! I had seen a lot of no-nos in the car by then but this one topped it. I remember telling her to put the phone down and focus on the road out of pure concern about our safety and thinking that that had to be the craziest thing I had ever experienced in a car. I admit to have done some crazy stuff later on in life but I knew it was wrong (you know, young and stupid) but for her it was totally normal. Better to have a cultural crash than a car one though.
I am from the UK, I have driven all over Europe. I have now lived in America (PA) for sixteen, and drive a lot all over the East coast. I could NOT agree with this video more - EVERY point you made!!
I'm now in PACA (Provence Alps Cote d'Azur) which has the worst drivers in France and the highest insurance rates. This is still better than driving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where I lived for 38 years.
Same here(but from France), driving here just drives me crazy... I developed road rage, stress due to driving here in New York City. I'm 24 kilometers from work, it takes me 35 min (moto or car) in the morning (5:30am), almost 1 hour at 1pm... Taking the bus plus subway (morning or evening) 1 hour 25 same as bicycle....
@@michaelgamble2848 Friggin hell, what the other guy said. This can't be true! You ARE legally allowed to drink something. Best not be driving while holding a crappucino in one hand and have both hands on the wheel.
It is maybe cause polish transport companies have the biggest part of all European transport companies. Btw. not only poles drives polish trucks. There are working many foreigners.
@@Michallo50 That can be true, there are many Ukrainians who were sleeping in cave previous month and now, they are driving truck in EU. :-D We have bad experiences with Polish trucks here, they completely don't understand how to act on train crossing. But as you said, it's probably because there is just very high number of polish trucks and Czechs are terrible drivers too.
@@Pidalin Of course. There are loads of trucks with Polish registrations in every place in Europe, and especially in Central Europe. There are many logistics companies in Poland. Hundreds of thousands of Poles work in these companies. I also heard about the bad opinion of Czechs about Polish trucks. In Poland, we have same stereotype about Lithuanian truck drivers. Imagine how badly they have to drive :D
I'm doing a study in my University about road behaviour between US and EU. The main problem I find with US model is that the drivers are told that the three lanes are: Slow (Right), Medium (Centre) and Fast (Left) and If someone is already doing the Speed limit in the left lane they won't get out of the way since "Im AlReAdY aT tHe SpEeD lImIt". While here on Europe the only lane is the right one. Both centre and left lane are overtaking lanes. You should use the centre lane if you want to overtake someone on the right lane, and use the left lane when you want to overtake someone on the centre lane. Once you've completed the overtaking manouvre, you should go back to the right lane. If you are overtaking someone on the left lane at the maximum speed permited but someone is going faster behind you, you will make use of something called COMMON SENSE and get out of the way, instead of holding them behind. When a Highway opens up and has more lanes its not because of traffic congestion, its because some of those lanes will diverge into another highway or road, in that case, right, centre and left lanes are not use for driving and overtaking but to choose direction. In those cases, a truck can go to the left lane because he will get that exit. Sorry for my english, I'm from Spain.
Lmao both got non-corrupt police and can't even reach over 60 mph due stupid transit laws awww, better any toll road in México, you can go 100 mph and just pay the cops 30 bucks to let you race without problem and of course the road is in amazing condition. Must be stressful to live in strictly countries No license, no enviroment certified, nothing is needed to drive in México, quit the bs and oay the cop a little bit
I live in America and just gotta say, something else that sucks is that even if there is a car crash one on side, it causes traffic for both sides because people slow down to see what happened, and sometimes people won't even move out of the way for ambulances to get through on the left lane, it's really bad.
We call this rubber necking as, as soon as they pass they snap their neck to look back forward. It is an offense in the UK to do this I believe, but its very rarely enforced.
As child I used to play on my Gameboy while on road-trip with my parents. I automatically knew when we crossed the border between the Netherlands and Belgium, based on sound and rambling of the car.
Go to the States... it's the adults playing on the Gameboy during road trips. I seriously think the only reason they glance out of the window whilst driving is to check the weather.
@@jdk3935 Some places in Belgium are decent, it depends where you're driving and how used you have goten to those roads. Once you have your license, just cross the border with the Netherlands or Germany as a test, you will be amazed...
all the foot pedals (i.e. clutch, brake, gas) are required, at least in Germany. The same goes for special mirrors mounted on top of the regular mirrors that are focused on the instructor to allow him/her to view the road. Basically, only the steering wheel isn't duplicated.
I took my driving test in 2008 in Romania. The instructor had duplicate pedals on its side. Also CCTV was mounted in case something needs further explanation. All in all I remember this experience as a very stresull one. Not something you take for granted. Just like a national exam.
As a Dutch driver I have to add a few points. - The bicycle lane you mention isn't a bicycle lane, it a suggestion lane (suggestiestrook), suggesting it's a bicycle lane but it isn't. It's meant to keep cars more one the middle of the road and to take the speed out of it when passing an oncoming car. The difference between a bicycle lane and a suggestion lane is bicycle lanes have painted white bicycles on them. - Eating while driving is perfectly fine. - You wouldn't pass a Dutch driving licence exam for you're not keeping the right most lane enough. You're not driving bad at all though, you're just not following it strict enough (as even most Dutch drivers don't). - Dutch cars undergo annual tests to make sure they're in perfect technical shape. Failing a test means the car can't be on the road. Yeah, criticism before praise is a Dutch thing too, your vid is awesome.
These annual tests are a thing here in Germany as well. We call them TÜV. If the workers find out something is even remotely wrong with the car, then you're not allowed to drive anywhere with it, yet you have to get it checked out immediately too.
@@danielkool729 I guess he meant by law. Every distraction including eating is bad - I sometimes get chills if my parents do it - but it's not forbidden (as for my knowledge) (yet)
One more point to add, a lot of people do use a car to commute. Probably not as much in/around Amsterdam and some other big cities, but most people you see on the road are commuting or going somewhere. I don't think driving for 'fun' is really a thing in The Netherlands.
As a New Zealander who has driven in Germany on 4 separate occasions, I can totally relate to this. Kiwis all tend to cruise in the right lane (equivalent of your left) and truckers sit in the middle lane on a 3 lane highway. It's so dysfunctional! Driving on European roads is so much less stress, I don't find myself getting angry at the attitude or behaviours of European drivers. I also don't feel anxiety that I will get nabbed for speeding on the unlimited sections. One thing I noticed on my current trip is that they merge lanes so smoothly compared to home where it's like some kind of awkward dance. I wish I could bring the German driving style home with me!
@@LordKaguras "Ritsen" in the Netherlands. We however suck at it. Theory is that you spread out leaving a distance to the car in front while more or less maintaining speed so two lanes can merge effortlessly. Practice is that everybody hogs the rear bumper (you don't want to lose time to someone merging in front of you 😠) then has to suddenly brake until in the back things come to a standstill.
you should not take it like that. You should take it that there is a chance in the future for a BETTER WAY. NOT KNOWING SOMETHING IS NOT BAD BUT NOT TO WANT TO LEARN IS . SO IF YOU WANT A BETTER WORLD THAT IS COUNT AS IT SHOWES INTELLIGENCE AND TO WORK FOR A BETTER WORK.AND THAT IS SHOW THE PERSON IS INTELLIGENT. NON OF US KNOW EVERYTHING... WE ALL LEARN AS LONG AS WE LIVE... AND US IS NOW SHOW THAT THEY WANT TO CHANGE MANY THINGS THAT WORKS BETTER THAN THE OLD. ALLTHOUGH THERE IS ALWAYS SOMETHING GOOD IN THE OLD WISENESS AS WELL WHICH ALWAYS HAS TO CONSIDER TOO . WITH LOVE FROM EUROPE
@@madrooky1398 if Belgium were to be integrated with another country, then the Dutch speaking part would be integrated with The Netherlands and the French part would be joined with France. We also have more than enough beer in Belgium. The no speed limit on highways in Germany is interesting though
@@kissaxd8626 You know im joking. And i kinda like the idea having the border extended to northern France, you know, just to tease them a bit... Like good ol friends do :D
@@kissaxd8626 You do know, we have recently learned that instead of Flanders, the Netherlands should ask the Walloons to join, because then finally, we can built out the A2 from Maastricht straight to France? ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-4go1RXOBF0s.html
As a Brit, I can relate to this pain. I drove through France last year and my mind was blown, I have pretty loud performance tyres on my car, but they were next to silent on French roads. There might be a toll, but man was it worth it just for the piece of mind and not having to dodge broken road. 🤣
Also, the driving test you have to take to get a license in The Netherlands, is hard enough that a lot of people fail the test even after taking 40 hours of driving lessons.
In Estonia, first of all you need to go to driving school. It takes at least 3 months and you'll need to take at least 40 hours of driving lessons with instructor by law. You'll finish that school with theoretical and driving exams. After that you'll need to go to local authority to take also those same 2 exams. 50% failing at first attempt. If those things are done, you'll receive your beginner driver license, which you'll have next 2 years. With beginners license, you can not drive faster than 90km/h, nowhere. And you car should be marked accordingly, so everyone knows, you a beginner. After 2 years, you'll need to do one more exam, which contains, economical driving, driving in the dark and slippery roads etc., after that you'll get you permanent license. In Tallinn, the whole process would cost you around 3-4 thousand €, so you'll take it seriously while learning.
@@RaidoRaud All good things, except beginners having a lower speed limit is a very bad idea in practice. On any road with no passing lane, you instantly become an obstacle for all other drivers. Now either everyone behind you also has a 90kph speed limit or they will all have to overtake you. A single slow driver will lead to a lot of unnecessary overtakes, and overtakes are of course the most dangerous manouver you can do on the road. Maybe the car behind you is fine driving 90kph but the one behind him wants to go faster - double the overtake, triple the chances of an accident! We have this policy in Romania too, and I can tell you from experience that beginner drivers obstructing the flow of traffic is a dangerous policy with zero upsides. Also, what's up with the universal reduced speed limit between 6 a.m. and 19 p.m. regardless of traffic and road conditions? Is it to punish drivers? Because I can't think of any other rationale for it. As much as I like your country, some of these Dutch policies truly boggle the mind.
This is my response as a British driver who has been driving for 15 years as of the end of 2021. Here you must take mandatory driving lessons (although they can be supplemented by family members) as you need a licensed Driving Instructor to certify you to take even your theory test (getting the actual provisional license is only a matter of filling out a form). Then the practical test is an hour long test of virtually every skill a UK driver needs for the roads. As a quick side note here I was warned that the reason all testers will wear a proper hi-vis jacket to your test is so that if they feel truly unsafe with you behind the wheel they can simply tell you to stop the car, get out and walk back to their office, fun eh. Once you've passed your test in the UK you are only allowed a maximum of six points on your license for at least your first year, after which it goes up to twelve. Max out your points and you can kiss your license goodbye. For reference if the police catch you with bald tires on your car it's three points per tire which means if you don't take care of your tires four bad tires can cost you your license. Then there's the MANDATORY road-worthiness test, the dreaded MOT. A brand new, no mileage car, doesn't need to take a MOT for three years after which it is annual. There is a grace period so that if you put your car into a garage and something is wrong you do have time to get it fixed before your certificate runs out but it's only 2-3 weeks. Distracted driving is also a HUGE no-no here in the UK where the cops can slap a fine on you if they catch you on a phone. As for secured loads when hauling/towing, that's a hell yes, unless you want the cops called on you. Finally, one thing you didn't really mention is the fact that here in the UK if we have a problem with our vehicle we're vastly more likely to take it to a professional than try to fix it ourselves or get that relative who says they know what they're doing to fix it. I understand that the distance factor between the US and any country in Europe is a big thing, but seriously? Sure many towns and such might be 100-200 miles apart but that's not really an excuse for a lot of the problems with American drivers in my opinion.
I believe that the fact that most people in Europe are driving stick is also a factor. It makes driving far more engaging than just dozing off while pressing the break and gas
It has to tie in. Stick is kind of low tech but it just works. I was surprised an advanced country like Germany who make more sophisticated cars is something like 80% manual driving. There must be sound reasons.
@@jamesfrench7299 manual is better for speed or rpm handling and this way more dynamic. The only benefits of automatic is comfort in an urban context when you dont have to up and downshift with the sitck doznes of times per minute.
@@jamesfrench7299 Adding to the points, all people made here so far: It is just much cheaper to get a manual car in Germany. Actually, you can do your driving license with just automatic cars nowadays but you are only allowed automatic cars then. If you get a regular license with manual shifting, you can drive both.
There was a news item about an attempted car jacking in Melbourne and they had to abandon it as they couldn't drive off in it with it's manual transmission. In America it's considered the best anti theft device. Looks like the same applies in Australia. I like automatics but their drawbacks are all too apparent, mainly lack of engine brake effect which I miss. I wouldn't mind a manual as my next choice. The auto in my car has good engine slowing effect for an auto but it just doesn't feel as natural as down changing in a manual.
@@saladspinner3200 they are changing that though, your parents now need to take a test as well before they can teach you how to drive. But it's still belgium, the rules and systems are there but they are not realy being enforced yet...
@@angelblu27834 In Ireland there is a thing called mandatory driver instruction, a course of 12 x 1hour lessons covering specified topics which every learner must do. The process starts with a computerised theory test at a national test centre. Then you do the 12 lessons. Then you can sit your test which typically lasts 30-40 minutes. About 1/2 the people pass first time. Lately the police have clamped down on unnaccompinied learner drivers driving without a qualified driver. This used to be a common breach of the law in many cases due to rural people having to take jobs in far distant locations with very poor public transport alternatives. Unlike other countries Ireland does not have restrictions on driving routes or times which might apply to get a person to and from work. Cars can now be seized and disposed of by the State if a person is found driving without a licence on their own. This has caused an uspsurge in youth unemployment as many jobs require a car to get to or work shifts outside public transport hours. The recent COVID emergency has left many employers without workers as many of them have found out how impossible their working situation was without a car.
A much more accurate description would be: "Driving in the Netherlands and Germany is much better than in the USA". There are many countries in Europe, Balkans especially, where driving is absolutely atrocious and can be a huge hassle for many people who are not accustomed to that type of shitshow.
To be fair, when people say 'europe' they mostly mean, or think of, northwestern europe. Aka, UK, Germany, France and Switzerland. And nearly always also Austria, Denmark, the skandinavias and everything small in between. Spain and Italy sometimes, but not always, and in some cases Poland and Greece. Russia, while technically European, is rarely though of when people talk about "Europe". But yeah, in short, most of the time, when people say "Europe" they mean western Europe.
Especially in the Netherlands, road design is also part of the reason why drivers (subconsciously) pay more attention. Roads are often deliberately made narrow, curvy or other visual tricks are applied to them, just to make drivers go slower and pay more attention. Annoying at first, until you realize that it makes us all safer in the end!
The youtube channel 'Not Just Bikes' explains the many road designs in the Netherlands and compares it to North America and the rest of the world. (The guy is Canadian who lived in many countries) I'd advice everyone to check it out. Living in the Netherlands I took everything for granted, but after watching some videos, I started appreciating how special the Dutch system actually is and how big of a sh*thole other countries are, especially NA.
you think its smart? I call it a dumb move...only in netherlands are fucking traffic lights in the highway, or suddenly a raised bridge on the highway :D
@@johnnyhun1 Theres no traffic lights on our highways mate. What are you on about? Also, there no "sudden" raised bridges on highways either.. Unless I've failed to see any of these things in the past 21 years I've lived in this country you should do some more research.
@@Matthew-vq6ql i cant tell you where it is exactly, the lamp, but on Belgium for example, your brother country, I think its the A19 that goes to Veurne, there is a sudden left or right with a traffic lamp, and ahead its just a field and a cemetery LOL. Also, yea, the signs might warn you for lifted bridges in Holland, but if you tired a little, you dont pay too much attention, maybe its night, and you not used to this I'm sure there will be a big surprise that on the highway there is a red light because the bridge is up. The traffic light Im talking abut on the highway is somewhere under Rotterdam if I remember correctly, I wasnt there for years...
In the US the left lane is blocked by slow drivers, the middle lane by trucks, and the right lane is empty. I regularly over-take on the right lane, it's not illegal (though discouraged in theory). Using the indicator lights seems to be optional for the majority of drivers...
@@SchwertKruemel Just because western europeans won't pass through eastern europe, doesn't mean most europeans won't pass it. Europe consists of more than the big five in the west
7:10 Just to add something, truck drivers fairly often flash their lights when they get overtaken by another truck to signal to them that they have fully passed them and it's safe to get in front of them. This is most common when there are just 2 lanes (2 lanes in each direction). This helps to keep the traffic flowing better.
To be fair this is actually pretty common for trucks in the US as well, though there are definitely still times when they will just hog the left lane and not move over
@@selcovoilucian8253 Yeah, done the trip from Kiev to Chernobyl, honestly, didn't notice any changes between normal roads and exclusion zone lol, but yeah, honestly all of eastern europe suffers from old soviet roads, they try fixing them, but I guess there's not enough money for all of them
@@aktapur543 Nationality: the status of belonging to a particular nation. Being an European in this example is wrong cause it indicates the whole of Europe shares the same culture. Which it doesn't, every nation is different. Henrique might be from France which creates a different view than if he was from Hungary.
@@tijmen131 European means living in european lands, from europe. It's quite easy to grasp and not even worth nitpicking, he can say "I'm an european that lives in Spain" and that still works. Your nitpick works if someone says "i thought europe is a country".
The Netherlands are to small for suburbs. There are actually some in the bigger cities, but not at the scale like in LA or New York. Most of the time when you think you continue in a suburb, you transit into another town or village. There is an urban sprawl here. Much little villages around Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht for instance are more agglomerated (grown) or even merged to their bigger neighbours. Edit: As said, there are suburbs, sort of. But the difference between the suburbs in the USA and Australia is that those are huge and in structure almost a different town. In the Netherlands there is no space available. We have outer areas of some cities, but most of them were once villages on their own. The suburbs in the Netherlands are just a different thing than the suburbs in the USA. However, there are some places popping up in the Netherlands nowadays that are maybe countable as suburb. "Leidsche Rijn" near Utrecht is such a suburb. It then doesn't have a fully functional centre with shopping area and sorts (there is a supermarket and medicine but not much more), which a suburb in America would have. So maybe not quite the suburb worthy. The Netherlands is just to small for the real suburbs. But there is still urban sprawl.
The Netherlands does have sub-urbs. You could call Diemen a suburb of Amsterdam. Lots of smaller cities/villages are against Amsterdam and other big cities. Even in the Netherlands, simply because its such a small country.
@@murderboytje But just as in Sweden, these parts of the city have not only residential areas, but shops, schools and most likely public transport hubs. They are fully functioning cities within the city. When zooning a residential area, at least here in Sweden, we make room for shops, services like hair dressers, restaurants and small businesses like e.g. a bike shop or a flower shop. So when Covid isolation strikes, you only really need to leave your suburb for work, and the kids football training on the other side of town. And in Sweden to get alcohol, of course.
European here, living and driving in Germany and several European countries and I must say that the most chilling and relaxed drivers I personally found in Portugal which I really miss and still use as a comparison for all others.
I lived in Germany for almost six years, and I can wholeheartedly say, their driving laws and safety focused approach to driving, makes it the best country I have ever had the privilige to drive in! I agree with this video. Never have I gotten to a 127MPH ride worry free! I sincerely miss it.
I've driven all over Europe before I moved to the USA and I tell everyone that in general, most Germans are the best drivers I've ever seen. Sure, they may seem aggressive on the Autobahn but when you drive a Golf TDI that can go 180 km/h you just need to know there could be a BMW going 240 showing up right behind you at any time. You just get out of the way and no-one gets upset.
@@baddriversofgeorgia3387 Not even SOME the Truckers understand it or care to use it, I would think the Truckers would be sticklers about the rules because THE ROAD is their job.
You can extend that to Australian drivers.. thy must have learned it from the US instead of the UK. :-( Well, at least they have the metric system here.. I can deal with the moronic driving for the couple times I have to (as a German living in Oz, hehe)
The big difference is volume of traffic. Passing lane works in this video because traffic is incredibly light in relation to the amount of lanes. Where as say urban areas in America you are typically talking a high volume of cars with similar HWY sizes. Obviously traffic isnt going to limit itself to 3 of 4 lanes in heavy traffic. The main reason why traffic is better in Europe is because there is less vehicles on the road and people that do have vehicles drive substantially less than the average American. Even so in comparison to kilometers driven. Deaths per billion kilometers driven is the same in the U.S 7.3 to Belgium also at 7.3. Germany does have a far lower rate of 4.2 which is higher than the UK 3.8 but lower than France at 5.8. So the UK has a lower death rate per kilometers driven then Germany implying safer drivers? Perhaps but more realistically it has to do with volume of traffic, population density, the road systems, etc. Not to say that the U.S does have some terrible drivers. You ever been to Miami or New York?. But to pretend that there isn't a bigger reason for the danger on the road other than bad drivers is misleading.
In the UK your parents can teach you to drive entirely but it's almost impossible to pass without actual driving lessons since the standard is very high
Exactly. Everybody will form sub-ideal habits after driving for years, sometimes even things that used to be fine but are now unacceptable. Licensed instructors have to keep up to date on all of these things so you know if they're teaching you, you're going to be best prepared for your test
@@Deathhead68 I've found that most of the really bad drivers in the UK are either really old or immigrants that are still using an international driving licence and have not yet passed the UK driving test.
One of the things that always bugs me about the US driving system is how inconsistent it is between states too. When I was a high schooler, I balked at having to go to a class for driving. “Why,” I thought “can’t my parents just teach me.” I grew up in a state that actually is similar to Europe in some ways. We had a sort of gradual release of the drivers license. At 16 you could get your license, but you were only allowed to have 1 person under 18 in the car with you at a time, unless it was family members. This was for a year after getting your license. Then until you were 21, if you got more than one ticket, your license was taken away. We also had a required number of hours with a teacher and then with a parent as well (don’t ask me what the number was, it’s almost ten years ago, I don’t remember). When I moved to Saint Louis, Missouri, it was like the city and its drivers were trying to actively answer my fifteen-year-old self’s question about why we needed driving school. I swear to god, I lived there for six years and it was unbelievable how bad the drivers were; particularly with merge lanes and stop signs. It was like they were driving around in an opium fog. I have recently moved to the EU and am currently starting the process of exchanging my US license for an EU one. Also, side note: thank god I never switched to the Missouri license, I kept my official address as with my parents even though I had my own apartment, and what a good idea that was, because if I had switched to Missouri, I would have a bunch of extra steps to take now because Missouri doesn’t have drivers Ed.
As a European, I've been afraid of the state of MO since I saw the movie as a teenager, lol: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-fP8_l1K-U_A.html
@@Kerleem There is one thing that you probably forgot in some countries like germany you have a said number of multiplier of how much you will have to pay if you get a ticket. So if someone has a high income then they have to pay 2x-3x times(and even more in some cases) of the fine that regular income person have. In other words they fixed the "i am rich i can affor getting speeding tickets and such" attitude.
I'm not sure if this is the reason but in most European countries most of the drivers, drive stick/ manual cars. So you can't stunt on the road like when you have an automatic car. Most cars you see speeding are expensive new automatic cars. In America most of the cars are automatic. I'm not saying everyone in a manual car drives perfectly, but you are more aware that there is not much room to f*ck up while speeding.
My father told me to drive around the block. When I got back he told me I was good to go. I was probably 15 years old at the time. I guess he knew about all the bootleg lessons I'd gotten over the years.
It was shocking to me when I started watching videos about motorcycle riding. Here in NL you need to take lessons and pass exams. The #1 tip for starting motorbikers in the US? Take classes. I was shocked that you could just buy a motorcycle, get a license with no classes and hardly an exam, and go crazy on the road all in one day.
@@DanDanDoe I didn't even need a motorcycle license at first, as you just used your Alaska diver's license for motorcycles. Later on Alaska did require a motorcycle endorsement, which was a simple test and a quick demonstration of your abilities in the DMV parking lot. I learned how to drive a motorcycle in rural Alaska when I was 12. No license or instruction required. Just get on and figure it out. Another nice thing about riding a motorcycle in Alaska is that no helmet is required. I hate those things and never wear one.
I live in Pennsylvania and have my permit and they are much stricter than Florida with driving. I took a written test on my birthday when I turned 16 and got my learners permit. I have to have it for 6 mouth and then I have to take a test with a driving instructor. After that I can pass to get my license at 16 and a half. I have so far just been taught by my parents on how to drive, but will need a driving instructor in order to get my license.
Once I asked a german friend: "What happens if you´re caught driving without a license in Germany?" He answered: "You cannot drive in Germany without a license". I´ve said "yes, but suppose you do it", and he repeated "You cannot drive in Germany without license".
You'd get about $1500 fine, your car impounded, so that's another $300 to get it out, and you can't obtain a driving license in the next 2-3 years. This is only for the first time they catch you, every next time is going to be a lot more severe.
@@AXELVISSERS *Starts laughing like a Evil Villain* You Fool don't you know... The Ocean won't get us. We dry out parts of the Sea and make it OUR LAND Moehahahahahahahha
You obviously havent been in Bulgaria. Those little belgian bumps are nothing compared to the black holes left around every road here. They're so big and deep they have their own gravity. There has not been a german car driven on bulgarian roads for more than 150k km without its suspension breaking.
If you think Belgium is bad, you want to try Malta. Maltese roads all feel like they have been scraped ready for resurfacing but nobody got round to finishing it. it isn't uncommon to have raised manholes four or five inches proud of the road surface. Local garages selling tyres or doing tracking, alignment and balancing must make a fortune
As a Dutchman who just happened to see this, some comments: - You CAN have a drink while driving (like, coffee or a soda or something. Obviously no alcohol) - If you tow a trailer and the combination of your vehicle and trailer is longer than 11 meters, you are NOT allowed to drive on the left lanes if there are more than 2 lanes. - Most people actually have to use the car to get to work, in and around Amsterdam or Utrecht for example there's plenty of public transport available, but if you live in the North or East of the Netherlands, it's not so great. If you live in a smaller village in the East and you don't have a car, you are f*cked. - One of the reasons driving is expensive here, is our government. If you own a car or motorcycle here, you're paying taxes in 5 ways. I'm self employed, and it depends on the job i have to do. Most of the time i'm lucky and don't need my car to get to the job. If i have to travel some distance but don't need to take stuff with me, i use my motorcycle. Otherwise i ride my bicycle, or even walk. So on that, you're right. Owning and driving a car here is NOT cheap, so if i don't really have to use the car, i don't use it. And i'm a petrolhead and car enthousiast since childhood. ________ Now, can i perhaps ask the Americans here what drivers licenses you have? Here in the Netherlands (and most of Europe) we have these categories: AM - Moped (max 50cc) A1 - Motorcycle, limited to 11kW (if you want to ride a motorcycle at 18 years old, you can only get A1) A2 - Motorcycle, limited to 35kW (if you want to ride a motoycycle at 21 years old, you can only get A2) A - Motorcycle, unlimited (from 24 years old, if you started with A1 for example and want to get A2 or A, you'll need to do another driving test and pass it) B - Car. C - Truck D - Bus T - Tractor For trailers, we've got category E driving licenses. E with B: Trailer behind car. (if you've only got B, you can only tow a trailer that weighs no more than 750kg, sometimes more but the combination of car and trailer can't be over 3500kg) E with C: Truck with trailer. E with D: Bus with trailer. A bus or truck driver has to be tested every 5 years, to make sure he or she knows the rules and is healthy enough to be a truck driver. I personally have categories AM, A1, A2, A, B (with E), and T. I have previously had C, but since i never drove a truck anymore after i changed jobs, i didn't apply for a renewal (meaning a theory and health test, it's pretty expensive) so i lost C at some point. I've worked as a car mechanic before, one of my previous employers had a tow truck and wanted all mechanics to be licensed to drive it, so he paid for the lessons and tests.
My stepdad also had tanks (tracked vehicles) and ambulances on his license, thanks to being a driver in the army. Believe it or not, there's a category for those too.
Here in Ontario Canada, we have classes of driving vehicles, M1, M2 and M = Motorcycle (needed to legally ride) G1, G2 and G = Base Automobile license, anything under 11 000 Kilograms combined. F - Small regular buss and ambulances E - small School purposes busses, D - Large vehicles, without air-breaks C - Any regular sized busses B - Any Regular sized school busses A - Any tractor-trailer Vehicle Special Licenses: Z - Air-break certification, usually done with A class, which we just refer to as AZ. A "Z" class is needed to operate anything with air breaks. Note: G1 is first level learner. This is where you can drive, but only with a fully license passenger with at least 4 years of driving experience G2 is Second level learner. This allows you to drive alone, but not on any major freeways, which are classified as roadways exceeding 100km/h (Typically actually known as the 400 series TransCanada Highways)
There is great public transportation in smaller villages in the north and east. There are great bus routes everywhere, that can take you to a train station not far away.
@@plumdutchess In theory, yes. But in real life, not so much. There's still many places public transport does NOT go to. Sure, in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Utrecht etc. public transport is very well organised, but in the east and the north (or in de south, Zeeland for example), if you live in one of those regions and don't have a car, you're screwed because there's next to no public transport.
I was always on the safe side at drivers ed. I knew I didn't have the reflexes to act in a difficult situation. He even told me once to speed up from 80 to 100km/h on a country road because I felt safer with the lower speed.
fun fact about the german Autobahn. How to stop people from dying on the highway? Build a helicopter network wich is the best in the world. Have accidents -> still no dead people.
@TigerEyes Ever heard of the speeds on this Autobahn? These roads are the reason why all high end cars have a capped maximum speed of 250 Km/H. As it is allowed still on a large part of the Autobahn to go as fast as you dare to go. Traveled at 180 km/h on these roads myself, and trucks still go at 80/90 km/h. Just imagine the time you need to get close by these speeds. So especially on these roads your mirrors ar your best friend to prevent getting a sling shot in the back of the car.
@TigerEyes I- what? Checking your mirrors and properly timing everything out is part of your drivers tests. It’s mandatory to properly master the ‘diligence ‘ as you called it.
@TigerEyes Well, you learn that quickly enough when you are doing 160 on the slow lane and others overtake with 200+ an hour. There is one downside to all this speed though... You dont get as far on the tank of fuel as you are used to at normal speeds.
That is the joy of the autobahn! The reason why you can go fast if you want. In the Netherlands people still drive really close together and there are many more accesses en exits than in Germany for this to work. I always thought driving a big BMW or Audi was useless until I drove on the autobahn😍
@@MarcelVerbruggen the idea of "no speed limit" works fine when my car tops out at just over 100 mph, although with cars that can do 250 mph on a two lane road passing lorries, then I guess my little Citroen C2 would be stuck in the slow lane to avoid getting slammed into by a McLaren F1 or a Bugatti Chiron. Or wait for a 3 lane bit to try racing your supercars or go off peak times. 5 o'clock on a summer Sunday morning should be racing supercar heaven!
I now live in the USA nearly 24 years and I'm always in disbelief, the way people drive here. When we land in Europe, to visit family, and get behind the wheel, I instantly feel the ease of driving, nobody is trying to cut me off, brake check me, etc. One thing that, always gets me is, you want to pass someone on the highway and they attentionaly speed up, to not let you pass, LOL. When I land in the US, get behind the wheel, it has this weird feeling "game on", LOL. It took me as a 18 year old, 3 months and $2000 to get a driver's license. And people.....use your BLINKERS
Sounds like Australia, the USA experience I mean:-) Near exception, NSW that has Australia's best lane discipline practice in its handbook in the motorway section. Victoria and QLD by comparison is the "game on" feeling.
I can't agree with this more, I visit family in the Netherlands very often and my family often spends a few weeks driving around Holland with seeing any car crashes or accidents however when I fly back home (Calgary Canada) often on our 30 min drive from the airport we almost always see crashes or really close calls. It's baffling honestly. I feel scared sometimes to drive in America
Do you really not know what brake check is? I never experienced that anywhere, but in the USA. So, imagine you're in the passing lane and you come up on a car, in Europe you flash your lights, to let the driver know, you behind them and ready for them to move over. Well, in the USA, that driver will get upset and will not move, because, he or she is already doing the speed limit and they don't see a reason to move over. You flash your lights again and they are now really angry and step on brakes, pretty hard. That's a brake check 😉
@@kaitlyn__L A brake test, also known as a brake check, occurs when a driver deliberately brakes hard in front of another driver who is tailgating, or immediately after overtaking, causing the second driver to swerve or otherwise react quickly to avoid an accident. It is very dangerous and very common in America
I'm from Poland and hearing that driving in Europe is better than in US is crazy. I have driven in US multiple times and never had dangerous situation whereas in Poland I get bunch every week. And you can say pretty the same about Italy or Greece. A lot you said is true, I agree but only if you compare Western Europe to US not ALL Europe.
That’s because this video is full of crap. I live in Germany where drivers are, as a rule, aggressive, entitled, and arrogant, but I do have a lot of experience driving in Poland - and all I can say is that I hate driving in Poland.
I think one of the biggest difference-makers between European and American drivers is that Americans feel driving is a "right" they should be given, whereas many European nations treat it as a privilege that needs to be earned.
I’ve even seen libertarian type folks arguing that even having to have a license at all in the USA, even with the lax requirements many states currently have, is too much of an imposition on their freedom of movement.
@@kaitlyn__L Oh there are plenty of people whose movements with a vehicle I would love to restrict. Like all these entitled 20 year old kids who have mommy and daddy buy them Ferarri's and Lamborghini's as if giving a child a car with 700+ horsepower is a GOOD idea. Personally, I love how Europe handles it. Germany in particular. Car gets in an accident...you aren't going to continue driving a wreck of a car because it is unsafe at that point. And if you get so many accidents on your record...license is pulled INDEFINITELY! And is harder to get back after that.
Hmm I think it depends on where in the US, I was never taught to have that mindset. Maybe because it took me a while to even get lessons from a driving school and I was very grateful when I was done and passed!
I'm from Germany and I'm doing my driver’s license right now. To get approved to the theoretical exam you first have to fill out a form (a request to make your drivers license) and send it to the district office. You'll also have to do a first aid class, which is 7,5h long, and get a conformation from an optometrist or eye specialist that you see well enough. The district office usually takes weeks to process your request. In the meantime you do your 14 theory lessons, one lesson is at least one hour long, at least mine. My driving school only lets you begin with real driving lessons after you passed your theory exam AND after you've done the driving simulator for a few hours, but not every school has these simulators. Then there are several different driving lessons, driving in the dark, on the autobahn, on the Landstraße and then the usual test. After that you get your license.
@@MSM4U2POM Yes, you have to do five driving lessons for driving on roads outside the cities, four lessons on the Autobahn and three lessons at night (each lesson lasts 45 minutes).
The doctrine of urban planning is very different in Europe. especially in the Netherlands, the RU-vid Channel "NotJustBikes" does a very good comparison of North American roads, compared to Dutch ones. The buildup of residential area,s commercial areas and "autoluwte" in the inner cities.
@@FrozenDung Imagine having to sweat your balls off walking to and from work everyday in the summer. Lol in Europe I get why you guys are much more comfortable with nature but in the south of the US not being in an air-conditioned box at all times will make you wish to be run over.
@@calebernst8025 It's more about going to the store, and going to the store is the same distance from your car to the wall mart so it's not the distance outside of the car, it's about separation between commercial and housing districts.
@@bruhspenning Sure, but regardless my point is most Americans would do whatever they can to avoid being in the heat for any amount of time, even if they live in a decently sized metro area with a walmart 4 blocks from their apartment.
I'm not a driver. I live in Switzerland and use transit to get around. Even got to school by train since I was 12. Still get a car ride sometimes. Since I learned how streets are designed in North America I really appreciate how streets and transit are here and don't take them as a given anymore.
@@burnsbloodline9438 German discipline is very present because the rules are very respected. Only Autobahns (Highways) are more flexible (no speed limit outside city aera,150 kph/93 mph recommended) but otherwise the limitations (in City aera) and the placement rules are very respected .... Example I was driving at 230kph (143mph) on the autobahn, unrestricted zone, in the car of a German friend (BMW M3) on the second row (out of 3) because there were a few cars and trucks, when I seen arriving from behind left lane a Porsche 911 GT3 warning lighted, which overtook us and sowed in a few seconds. It had to go towards 300kph (186mph) the speed of a TGV. But it was normal, there nobody would say anything. In France it has deteriorated a lot in 20 years because of radars, speed limits, anti-car policy, and non-compliance with the rules of "2 wheels" (scooters, motorcycles and bicycles) which means that everyone now only thinks of passing in front of the other. Japan is similar to Germany with some differences. Very good respect for the rules, except the speed limits on highways (urban aera or not) only them, but rarely more than 20kph.
in western europe they call the police on themselfs for every idiot thing, in eastern europe they beat up each other and continue their journey like it never happened LOL... I've had an arguement with a polish dude in a truck stop, we punched each other until we got bored, we shook hands and went back to our cab to sleep
@@johnnyhun1 It is funny that in the US I usually drive in the rightmost lane yet people want either to have me to drive faster or they want to overtake me further right, instead of taking one of the 4 empty lanes to the left lol
As Europeans with over ten years of driving experience my husband and I both failed our first US driving tests. We were deemed “danger potential “ and had to repeat the test. Also, we drove our own car to and from the test itself, which was really funny.
@Alex DelRio Well, maybe, I don't know what a driving test looks like in the US. Maybe they failed because of different rules and road signs. You'd never know. Either that, or bad habbits from their 10 year experience got them failed. Maybe both.
as someone who lived in the US and lives in north europe, its completely different. there is no concept of "getting cut off" (probably the biggest difference and an absolute game changer), people arent raging, and if you signal folks will make space for you. 12:29 we dont have shit like this up here tho
I don't agree to that. That depends on where you live and where you work. I prefer public transport. I lived in various parts of the Netherlands, and sometimes public transpoprt is better and faster then by car. In the bigger cities you also have the parking problem. I used to work for several companies who gave me a car (lease) to go to the customers, but since I have a steady job in the center of Rotterdam, I use public transport. Ever been in the rush hour in Rotterdam? Using public transport will take 30 minutes, by car mostly almost an hour. And now way to park the car, unless you pay a fortune on parkingcosts.
@@JaapGinder You're right that it really depends on where you live and work. Traffic and public transport north and/or east from Amersfoort is almost incomparable to the Randstad. When you live in a village that sees a bus go through it 3 or 4x an hour. you already enjoying a luxury, cause in most places it's only 1 every half hour.. or less.
@@JaapGinder me husband and i Both drive. When working in 'de randstad' we take a car, park it for free at a trainstation. And then travel with public transport. Only in that part of the country we Will never buy a house public transport is An actual alternative. Driving to work.. 45 minutes. Cycling to work Just over 2 hours. Taking public transport. Just shy of 4 hours, still involves a bikeride, 2 long walks and lots of waiting. People from the randstad are now flooding the area. Complaining about the rursl stuff. And the almost non existing public transport. One bus An hour. No Busses between 2215 and 715.. trainstation, an hour away. The Netherlands is bigger than Just the wellcovered part that is less than 30 % of the country
@@lunasilvermoon2283 I agree, I've lived in Drenthe province, in a small village. Busses only and with a low frequency. So a car was a must to have, otherwise travelling would be a disaster, e.g. taking the kids to the zoo...
The most important thing to point out about driving and drivers in the Netherlands are: 1. The roadways and infrastructure are very well designed and maintained 2. Dutch people in general are very civilized and polite when driving 3. Traffic jams are also rare because their automatic speed limit signals change to pace cars such that traffics are moving always ie. better to keep moving at 50kmh rather than grinding to a halt like in the US 4. Especially in the Netherlands, the on ram and off ram layouts are well designed and intuitive to allow for time/room for vehicles to maneuver
Have to disagree with you on the ON/OFF ramps, the way they are designed is insane, people merging onto the motorway have people trying to get off in the same space, and sometimes they are only a couple of hundred metres long. And as for traffic jams, you ever drive in Amsterdam?
The title of the video should be America vs the Netherlands. I don't think Americans will ever learn that each European country is as different as US and Mexico, but I guess that they don't go past the word "union" when talking about the EU
@@Nutzername92a Just watching the video made me cringe with how often he could have gone to the right lane and kept hanging in the second lane. It's a good sign the driver is either elderly, foreign or afraid to drive. Any well disciplined, knowledgeable and capable driver would be driving on the right lane, so if you're not doing that at least you know you don't fall in all three of those categories :D
You don't require driving lessons in the Netherlands to have your driving exam. It's just that you have to go through a driving school in order to get a reservation for a driving exam, and in practice, they never book you unless they are convinced that you can drive.
A teacher/instructor at the traffic school I went to said he had a friend who was a truck driver, and said that his friend read the newspaper *while driving* and has done so every day for many years
There are many in Wisconsin and they're starting to put them more and more around America. Boston, MA is one of the places where roundabouts were for many years now. Still, American roads and drivers are really bad, can't say the worst but really bad is a great explanation
america uses the grid system whereas atleas where i drive in the UK we use a road plan called curvilinear meaning we always use roundabouts and its quite common to have roundabouts without traffic lights for budget controls
The fact that driving is often at least somewhat of a choice among other options means the person getting in the car is more intentional - it's not like "for fucks sake I need to go to this place and the only option i have is a car" which changes a person's mentality a lot
@@Arsenic71 really cheap gas, plus cheap/loose modification laws never left the US, which arguably makes it a better place to be a car guy than almost anywhere in Europe.
@Admiral Kipper Yeah like what in the hell is he talking about lmao. Tesla is like the least significant company when it comes to contributions to car culture in America. Classics like Dodge, Ford, and Chevy blow them out of the water.
I think one of the important reasons is that in Europe traditionally people drive manual transmission cars, and also they learn driving on stick shift. When you drive automatic, it is not much to do and so you may be tempted to to do other things as driving itself is boring. If you need to use the clutch and the stick shift continuously, you tend to concentrate more on driving.
Well even europe you don't change the gear in a highway unless there is a traffic jam So i think you may right in cities or near them, but on the highway it's just how we were taught to drive
I think that was probably more true in the past but there is a "shift" now towards auto gearboxes, cruise control, lane departure control and all kinds of tech which detach you from the immediacy of manually controlling a traditional mechanical vehicle. Drivers are getting more and more insulated and cocooned from direct control of the vehicle and this will only get more apparent as Ev's and autopiloted cars become the norm. We all hope that this will make driving safer, but I'm not sure that automated systems will ever completely compensate for idiots, poor roads and the very variable road and weather conditions we experience in Northern Europe... I would expect the larger motorways/autoroutes/freeways/interstates to get safer once we are all "robotized" car occupants though!
Still even if on the highway you don’t usually use the change gear, you need to be focused in case something happened. Last time I was on the highway there was an accident and I had to really abruptly go from 120 km/h to 0 km/h and also put this emergency lights to warn the one behind me. So yes, you don’t need to focus as much but is still important. On an automatic car you just press the brakes, which is much easier (in my opinion).
