Plucky 0 Posted January 1, 2003 Share Posted January 1, 2003 I've been to Saudi, I've been to Costa Rica, I've been to Chile - but the Japanese are by far the worst drivers I have ever seen. It's not the mountain that is extreme - It's getting home from the mountain that is the adventure. When the speed is posted 50kmh, you're in a raging blizzard, following a snow plow, why in the hell do they still try to pass you doing 80 kmh on a blind corner? Invariably, they end up in ditches, trashing their cars and then try to blame it on other people. No common sense in these people. At least the snow was good. Link to post Share on other sites
snowboard_freak 0 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 Bangkok has very interesting driving too. So do the islands of Thailand actually. Link to post Share on other sites
amandanism 0 Posted January 2, 2003 Share Posted January 2, 2003 worst ever driving is in vietnam (specifically driving from ho chi minh to the mekong) ive never been so terrified in my life. there are no two sides of the road. there is one side of the road and cars drive on it in different directions. u just honk like hell and hope the other person swerves out of the way. i saw my whole 17years flash before my very eyes i dont believe youve seen appalling driving until youve seen vietnamese driving. and ive been to quite a few places (thailand, malaysia, nepal) watching traffic jams on the streets of kathmandu caused by a cow the size of a bus standing in the middle of the street is also quite a sight! Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted January 2, 2003 Author Share Posted January 2, 2003 I've heard about traffic down there from my surfing buddies. Nasty, I know. But in Japan, you are considered a 'professinal driver' and if someone hits you, it's your fault too. That is BS in my opinion. When a guy blames you for hitting him, even though he was behind you while you were following a snow plow, get back to me. How does that happen? Oh, he saw a Y plate. I love Japan, but right now, I have no respect for them I'm so pissed. And America is sue happy? This bastard wanted to blame us for him running in to us. We were three very big guys and did the right thing by being polite. We should have thrown him over the damn road barrier. Just trying to make money for his own mistake. I guess he couldn't get over the sight of our round eyes. Link to post Share on other sites
zwelgen 0 Posted January 3, 2003 Share Posted January 3, 2003 I thought Vietnam was bad but not as dangerous as Japan. There is lots of traffic in Vietnam and chaos but not the sheer stupidity of people here (ok except for not turning the lights on at night "to save petrol") I am amazed at the idiots that overtake you on slipery as roads when youre not even going that slow. An idiot passed me the other morning when I was following a snowplow. But where do they do it? On a blind corner going onto a bridge (ie super icy) which was exactly why I hadnt passed the snowplow yet. Thats why the damn insurance here is so costy. I hate driving with my Japanese mates, they scare the crap outta me. Link to post Share on other sites
damian 0 Posted January 5, 2003 Share Posted January 5, 2003 In my infrequent driving experiences in Japan (as a passenger) I have observed the exact opposite to that described above. And when I have been driven by Japanese friends I silently pull my hair out with frustration at the pussy footing that they do when driving. I am yet to see a Japanese driver with a tinnie of VB or XXXX in their right hand and a smoke in their left whilst going 100km/hr on a one lane gravel road. Link to post Share on other sites
Will Lee 0 Posted January 6, 2003 Share Posted January 6, 2003 You oughtta try driving(or just riding in a taxi)in Taiwan! Link to post Share on other sites
Dokumanju 0 Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 hey plucky, the system here is an old one based on the system they used to have in england i heard(dunno how true this is) - it's assumed every party is at fault in an accident and percentages are given based on how much fault each party is responsible for. From the sounds of your situation the insurance company might try to make u accept 10 or so percent. U could always try playing the big angry gaijin card and just refuse to take anything but 0 percent. There was an ALT who did this, he made a big show of it with his girlfriend holding him back and exclaiming "i just can't control him when he gets like this!". Link to post Share on other sites
ausbo 0 Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 The drivers around mount buller in victoria are pretty damn crap too, and it usually goes the more expensive the car the shittier the driver Link to post Share on other sites
Fattwins 0 Posted January 7, 2003 Share Posted January 7, 2003 Plucky update the story who has to pay for your acciden. Sorry the accident. Nothing meant by that. Here in Kyoto Yellow means hit the gas red means hit it harder. Link to post Share on other sites
enderzero 0 Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 You know they drive on the wrong side of the road here?!! Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted January 11, 2003 Author Share Posted January 11, 2003 Well, crap endzero. They don't drive on the right The update to the story - My friend was forced to drive back to Aomori since they had jurisdiction. Crappy roads and all, they wanted him there by 9am. He got there at 1pm due to the roads. Apparently, the old guy was livid. I swear to Neptune, I could have put the dent in his car with my fist (yeah, it was SO big). This thing was tiny and this guy was rabid. He was still pissed about WW2 or something. They measured everything, height of impact, height of where the paint scratch was, etc... and told my friend they would get back to him. He's going to have to end up paying because of some old guy lying and taking advantage of a yank because he screwed up. It is seriously ridiculous. My buddy has to pay more money because someone 'supposedly' ran in to him? I think I'll write GWB about this. Forget N Korea, this is more important! It probably isn't such a big problem down south, but up here I've heard stories and have now lived one. They will take advantage of you. Does Buddhism have Karma? what about Shinto? This guy is going to fry. Link to post Share on other sites
Dokumanju 0 Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 hey plucky - whoa, r u saying ur mate didn't have car insurance? could be dodgy man, 2 kiwi mates of mine slid into the car in front at about 30 k's. The bumper ended up scratched and they had to fork up 17 man. 17 man for a bumper! all the best for your mate. keep us informed about what's going on. cheers Link to post Share on other sites
Plucky 0 Posted January 12, 2003 Author Share Posted January 12, 2003 No, he has insurance - we have to as Americans. That's not the point though. There was NO accident. Nothing happened and this guy is blaming this ding on my buddy. If this guy hit us, we would have known. And there's the rub - if HE hit US. That is what is so messed up. The guys story claims he hit us and he wants us to pay and the Japanese police are behind him???? I just don't understand. I'll keep you updated and let you know what happens. Like I said, it looks like my friend is going to have to pay. The only crime my friend is guilty of is driving the speed limit on an extremely icey road. Wait, that's not even a crime. If we see this guy at Hakkoda again, he's in for it. Nothing physical of course, but I'll be damn sure we make him wreck in to one of the 20 foot deep tree wells. Then we'll pee on him. sorry about your mates brah. And they say the U.S. is sue happy! This place beats them all. Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts