I got a lot of amused reactions to my last column about life in the American suburb – both from Germans who have lived in the USA for a longer time and from Americans themselves. However, some readers felt that I did not understand the American soul and felt hurt. Of course I don’t want that. Therefore, first of all, the things that make driving in America fun:
Tatjana Heid Editor of the service at FAZ.NET . Follow I follow
The streets are big and wide. There is no nerve-wracking meandering through Old Town alleys here. If this country has one, then this is space. There is ample parking. At the beginning I left 20 minutes earlier before each appointment, as in Frankfurt and Berlin I had calculated the search for a parking space. This was completely unnecessary, I was constantly waiting. The cute “All way” stop signs, which give the right of way to the one who was there first, lead to the fact that you have to take better care of each other. And no one waits too long at a crossroads.
But! There are things that annoy.
1. Turn right at red light
The intersections are completely confusing. This is because they are huge, especially in the city center. In addition, cars are allowed to turn right, even if they actually have red. Of course, this is only possible if there is no traffic. At least in theory. In practice, you always have to expect that someone comes from the cross road gondola and an abrupt braking is necessary. The only good thing is that, compared to us Germans, the Americans are rather patient motorists. During the many times I have blocked the right-hand turn lane for an extended red phase, I have only been honked twice.
By the way, for pedestrians this idiosyncratic red rule is also not a pleasure. At traffic lights, there are actually signs asking you to make eye contact with the motorist before crossing the road so that he does not suddenly drive off and rivet you. For me it was once almost time. Only a big jump back to the curb saved me. It would not have turned out a pleasant thing, the hood of the car reached my shoulder.
