Hi M,

Most of the funny stories on this board have concerned not being able to find "reverse".

I had a problem with a Peugeot a couple of years ago.

I had a small driving compass that I stuck to the windshield.

After two days, I realized that the car had its own magnet field and my compass always pointed SW.

I think it depends a lot on where in the US the driver is from. Here in the Boston area, it's not at all unusual to find yourself going along on the major highways at 80 mph (130 kph) and being passed (overtaken, that is) by about half of the other drivers on the road, so I find European speeds not much different. Same thing for the numerous rotaries (roundabouts) in Europe - we have plenty of them here, so it's just like home. Both my wife and I have been driving standard transmission cars our entire lives, so that's no different either.

What's the difference with diesel - other than the obvious one of putting the right fuel in? They seem to me to operate pretty much exactly as our gasoline cars do. And in spite of having driven extensively in most European countries over many years, I honestly never noticed that the traffic lights are placed differently

I have always driven standard shift so that was not a problem. Found I adjusted well to speed on European highways and Irish/Uk Motorways or the slower speed on byways. I never remember noticing a difference in placement of traffic lights; I will have to look on my next trip. I live in Massachusetts so rotaries(roundabouts) are a fact of life and I find the European,Uk, Irish ones very civilised in comparison.

My only problem was once with trying to find reverse on a rental car. I was parked on a slope with a steep drop off and no guardrail. Figured it out with millimeters to spare. since then I find a deserted corner of the rental parking lot and check out reverse before I get on the road.

In the Netherlands got caught by a camera which trips as soon as it senses a car over the speed limit. I was going 50kmp(30miles) in a 35kmp (20 miles) zone. (Ithought I was going the same speed as the rest of that traffic.) The ticket went through the rental agency who sent me a copy and tacked on the `
charge to my credit card. Cost $100 when all was said and done. (Ticket, VAT on the ticket--double dipping if you ask me, but they didn't--and rental agency fee for paperwork--fair enough for their annoyance and bother). The only good thing, there were no points and surcharge added to my US insurance for moving violation. My Dutch neighbor rolled his eyes and said those speed cameras are the bane of many Dutch lives. He said his relatives get caught in them from time to time, and that he lets them do the driving when home for a visit.

It did take me over a day to finally understand how the automatic parking brake on Renault work. Once I figure it out, I like it a lot.

Diesel engines have different powerbands and characteristics than gasoline. Diesel has lots of low-end torque, so off the line it's quick and hard to stall.

But it doesn't have a lot of horsepower nor will rev very high. 3500-4000 rpm may be the redline, instead of 6-7000. You won't have the power to go 135MPH (an example) on the autobahns, and on long uphill grades, they won't hold speed. Watch your mirror and let the gasoline-powered BMWs and Porsches pass.

We are in Switzerland...

The traffic lights are not overhead but off to the side. You can get quite a sore neck if you pull up too close - after 10 months I still make this mistake sometimes.

My husband and I never had a speeding ticket in our lives until now. We are about 1400sfr in the hole here for speeding! We live a few minutes from the city and there are lots of speed cameras. The problem? We don't know where they all are. Our wise neighbors do. No self-respecting Swiss person drives the speed limit - they just know where to slow down. Plus, they are awful tail gaters and get rather impatient with those of us trying to obey "speed limits"...And please pick the correct lane before you leave your house and stick with it...lane changing is not well received! Makes for a stressful commute!

If you speed significantly over the limit (20 km) you can lose your license and/or have your annual salary garnished for a percentage. If you don't work, they'll take your spouses salary. Great for marital relations if you are the one with the lead foot! Fortunately, although I'm the faster driver, I have been lucky in that my husband who only drives on Saturdays actually has a larger ticket tally than I do.

My kids tease me about never having seen me with "road rage" before me moved to Zurich I do find myself yelling (windows closed of course) at tailgaters and impatient drivers who toot at me or shake their fists.

Also, the Swiss will turn their cars off for brief waits at certain long traffic lights or while waiting to move into a parking spot. This is standard to reduce emissions... We didn't know about this at first, and received "instruction" from various bystanders. Actually makes good sense in some situations, but I was always taught re-starting the car can be worse than idling. Anyway, I turn it off now to avoid any unwanted lectures.

I once was told to turn my car off and when I asked the women if it was really bothering her she told me yes because it was stinking up the whole neighborhood. Well, it's a brand new diesel BMW. I have never noticed any smell at all and I have a good nose. I think she just wanted to "teach" me...

Well, in almost a year, I have less than 5000 km on my car as the tickets and driving stress really deter me from driving when I can take the bus or train ... Perhaps that is the Swiss plan. I use the excellent mass transit system and the air stays cleaner...

I have driven in NYC for many years and never felt so stressed and worried about breaking the rules...well, nobody there obeys them, so maybe that's easier

The really nasty thing about the Swiss speed camera boxes is that half of them are empty.

They are talking about doing it in France, too, where for the moment the radar boxes are all authentic.

That is common in Spain too, but at least where I live they have painted all radars in yellow, so you know in advance where they are. Handy for drivers, but useless to avoid speeding...

It is more usual to have "hidden" mobile radars...and the cops waiting for you a hundreds of metres ahead.

The latest trick in France is to have a mobile radar a few kilometers after the clearly indicated real radar, since it was obviously noted that cars tend to speed up the moment they have passed the visible radar.

If you think Ireland or Paris is tough driving...

An interesting challenge for any N.A. would be driving in Istanbul. Imagine driving where the lane lines are absolutely ignored. The number of lanes of traffic is more a function of how many cars wide is the road. Then factor in massive amounts of traffic.

I thought it would be stressful, until you realize there is order inside the chaos. If a car is ahead of you and has a sliver of his car in your lane, you let him in. Everybody knows the rule. Signalling is good (but not always used) hand signals also good. Surprisingly, no road rage and mininal car horns beeping. I saw no accidents either. Parking is another story (as are street names). Made me wonder if accepting car upgrade at rental agency was good idea or not, or better to go with smaller car for more manouverability. Diesel was the norm, with plenty of power.

Another learning experience was parking at gas station, and needing to back up, but could not get it into reverse. For one thing, located to left of 1st gear...but the secret was.. there was a lever you needed to pull up, just below the gear change knob, to allow you to go into reverse.

>where the lane lines are absolutely ignored.
I'll be driving in Manhattan two weeks from now. Do I need to be scared? .

well logos you won't have to worry about speeding tickets...hee, hee...

So it's just like at home, standing and waiting

Driving in Manhattan is orderly, but can be maddening if traffic is bad. Some days it seems to be insane traffic (from my pedestrian's point of view) while others it seems everyone left the car at home. Not always predicatable.

<<Yes, it WILL be a "problem" for some US drivers, mainly the following:

the ones who think they OWN the passing lane>>

That's an important warning for highways like the autobahn or Italy's A1 - with very fast cars appearing out of nowhere behind you, you want to leave them a place to go - keep right! (US drivers who use the passing lanes as mid-speed "cruising" lanes beware.)