2009/09/24

Implicit understanding

Although somewhere some local government has a little bit of their own traffic codes, it is almost all the same codes in the same country. It must be the same but we can see differences when we go to other places. We have some implicit understanding between local people even though we have explicit traffic codes.

Before I had a chance to live in Fukuoka, Westside of Japan, I noticed that they have road etiquettes which differ from what I knew before. They never stop when the signal is at the end of yellow or the beginning of red. 50cc motorcycle riders drive inner side of the road when they make a right turn (same as left turn in the US or many other countries). They should drive outer side of the road and make a large turn. Actually, it’s a law (furthermore, they should make right turns the two-step way like pedestrians), but nobody obeys these rules and doing so seems to be their implicit understanding.

These kind of things are not only in Japan. In the US, I can recognize another thing. California people may stop when they can recognize pedestrians (I know only Bay Area, though), Chicago people never stop for pedestrians (same as Japan and Korea). Under the law, we should stop when we see them on the crosswalk, but their action depends on where they live. It seems like they have another set of road etiquettes implicitly. So, we have to know how people behave on the road when we go to new places.

I would say it is like a local custom which is beyond the law. Although we should not follow this kind of local custom which is actually illegal, sometime I have no choice but to obey it because some people pressure me using their horns, saying something like “Hey, what are you doing!? Get your ass moving!”

I’m curious who made this kind of etiquette? I know it is caused by something like the “invisible hand.”


Are you sure? Why are you waiting at the right-side of me?? You are supposed to be left-side!!

2009/09/21

R.I.P Roc Raida


Oh man, We lost a great DJ, Roc Raida.

R.I.P Roc Raida.

DJ Roc Raida, RIP
ベテランDJのロック・レイダーが急死!

2009/09/09

右から左へ受け流すの巻き

どーも、僕です。

こんな記事を発見。サモアではオーストラリア、ニュージーランドから車が流入する関係で右ハンドル車が多いようです。そんな経緯で右車線から左車線への変更のようです。危険を危惧する人もいるようですが、前にも登場した「となりの車線はなぜスイスイ進むのか?」ではどっかの国(忘れました・・・)でこのような車線変更が行われた後の1年間は例年より事故率が低下したそうな。みなさん慎重に運転するからのようです。

右と左、結構大切なんですよねー。逆の生活に慣れてきましたが、またすぐ戻さなくてはいけないのです。どうなることやら・・・
 
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