Entries from December 1, 2007 - January 1, 2008
LEARNING TO DRIVE #3: JAPAN vs. MASSACHSETTS
Lots of cars, lots of drivers, not much driving. Is it possible to drive like ass in a country in a country built around civility and solicitude?
Flashing the peace: happy Japanese "paper drivers" celebrate their driving school graduation, never to drive again.
This is the third in a series of studies, inspired by Peter Hessler’s November 26 article in The New Yorker (“Wheels of Fortune”), in which the DLA research staff examines driving instruction and licensing procedures in other countries as a hopeful window into Boston driving behavior. The first entry, “Learning to Drive #1: China vs. Massachusetts” concluded that drivers in China were being taught to drive like ass, unlike Boston where current research points to an innate behavioral component of ass-like driving. In the second installment, “Learning to Drive #2: Poland vs. Massachusetts”, based upon that country’s prehistoric driving and roadway conditions, we established that you can truly drive like ass only if you have no reason, and Poland has plenty of reasons to drive like ass.
Undeterred, the DLA research team pressed on to Japan.
JWD
in driving instruction, drivers' license, driving school, driving in China, road test, Driving in Japan, Driving camp, Hessler, Poland, Driving in Poland
|
Post a Comment
| 
Email
LEARNING TO DRIVE #2: POLAND vs. MASSACHUSETTS (con't)
Driving is a laugh a minute in Poland. So much so that they even had a reality show in which an actress scares the pants off an instructor. Bedlam ensues. Much hilarity. Of course, having your pants scared off doesn't seem to be a reason for the instructor to put on his seat belt.
JWD
in driving instruction, drivers' license, driving school, driving in China, Driving in Japan, Driving camp, Hessler, Driving in Poland
|
Post a Comment
| Email
LEARNING TO DRIVE #2: POLAND vs. MASSACHUSETTS
The DLA Research team takes a look at driving in Poland where it is discovers that “ass-like” driving is not always the same as “driving like ass!”
A Czarny Punkt, or Black Spot, marks a particularly deadly traffic location in Poland and includes the number of fatalties (zabitych) and injuries (rannych)
Last week, inspired by Peter Hessler’s intriguing article in the November 26 The New Yorker (“Wheels of Fortune”) the DLA research staff was hopeful that examination of driving instruction and licensing procedures in other countries might provide a window into Boston driving behavior. The first entry, “Learning to Drive #1: China vs. Massachusetts” relied on Hessler’s first-hand experiences to conclude that, despite the naïve charm and frighteningly arbitrary nature of Chinese driving and driving instruction, new drivers in China were being taught to drive like ass, unlike Boston where current research points to an innate behavioral component of ass-like driving.
Nonplussed, DLA researchers pressed on. I have spent a great deal of time in Poland both driving and being driven and it is my studied impression that Poland is a nation of ass-like drivers.
JWD
in driving instruction, drivers' license, driving school, driving in China, Driving in Japan, Driving camp, Hessler, Driving in Poland
|
Post a Comment
| Email