McCollum Auto Body - Portland

Driving Manners Across the Globe

Drivers in the United States and northern Europe are the safest motorists in the world, but if you're ever driving in places like the Dominican Republic, Thailand and Venezuela, be careful. Those countries have more car accidents and road fatalities per capita than anywhere else.

From all of us here at McCollum Auto Body - Portland, where we hope all of our customers abide to the local laws here in Portland and throughout the entire state of OR, here are some interesting facts about driving etiquette all over the planet.

Chile

Many Chileans have a propensity to speed, pull out of lanes without signaling, and rarely demonstrate driving etiquette when it comes to cyclists.

China

Driving etiquette is still in its early stages in China where many people and new drivers. As a result, traffic can at times be out of control, and some road manners are often ignored. Taxi and bus drivers will commonly aim their vehicles at pedestrians to move them out of the way more fast, with regular honking of car horns the standard.

Germany

After analyzing the culture of German driving, taking all this into consideration, it is not surprising that the Germans developed a driving etiquette that varies from the American. The German driver is aggressive

Guatemala

Loud honking, always giving up the right-of-way to vehicles traveling on uphill mountainous passes, and passing on blind curves is considered acceptable driving behavior in Guatemala.

India

Hyderabad has "what could be considered the worst driving etiquette in the country.

Kenya

It is considered good etiquette in Kenya to honk your horn to warn other vehicles of rocks or debris on the road ahead. Turn signals are commonly used to indicate if a driver wishes to be overtaken or not. At night, some drive with their right indicator on so as to show you the extended width of their cars to avoid collision on the narrow road.

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico's driving is a toxic mixture of chaos and too many vehicles on under developed roads.  Speeding on the shoulder of a road is okay and actually preferred.  After letting ambulances or police cars overtake them, it is not surprising for drivers to heavily tailgate that car. Merging into a main road from a side road is simply a matter of nosing your automobile into traffic until a bighearted fellow traveler waves you in or until you force them to a sudden stop.

Turkey

In Turkey, flashing of the headlights is commonly used to show that the driver intends to go first.

South Africa

A peculiar but agreeable part of South African driving protocol involves pulling over onto the tarred hard shoulder to let the car behind overtake in safety. This is done regardless of whether there is traffic or not. The driver who is given the right-of-way is expected to flick their hazard lights as a sign of saying thanks.

South Korea

Recently, South Korea has improved its driving decorum. It has been suggested that it is as if South Korea is learning how to be a modern country

United States

72% of Americans believe that driving etiquette has worsened over the last 10 years.

The takeaway from this blog is simple--drive in the USA and hire taxis or limos when you're vacationing abroad. Good advice from McCollum Auto Body - Portland. 

Sources: Ask.com, AOL and Wikipedia