From: bashley101@gmail.com   
      
   On 05/21/2018 03:48 AM, Erik Meltzer wrote:   
      
   > On 16.05.2018 18:57, The Real Bev wrote:   
      
   > Eventually, I think you'll have to go back to public transport.   
   > Big cities here (nowhere near as big als LA, although I think   
   > the Ruhrgebiet, which is a continuous metropolis consisting of   
   > dozens of big cities might come somewhat close) rely on it, and   
   > despite constand moaning and bitching it seems to work quite   
   > well.  Car ownership in big cities is on the decline too -- I   
   > understand it's similar in NYC, is it not?   
      
   Apparently, but I live in the suburbs of Los Angeles and public   
   transportation is woefully inadequate for general usage.  I can drive to   
   my daughter's house ~30 miles away in half an hour.  It would take 5   
   hours by public transportation.  There are just too many places to go   
   to/from here to make this practical.   
      
   Uber is suggested, but I don't see how that makes a difference.  A car   
   on the road is a car on the road.  Period.  It solves the parking   
   problem, of course.   
      
   > I have since come up with another theory: speeding is less fun   
   > in SUVs, which are regrettably on the rise over here too, albeit   
   > not nearly as much as in the US from what I read.   
      
   Worse gas mileage = more expensive, but I don't think that matters as   
   much as time.  You can see further in an SUV than in a Corolla, which   
   would seem to indicate that you could drive faster...   
      
   > Which means that you can choose to go slowly, if you so desire.  It is   
   > not advisable to go slower than the big rigs, lest their drivers get   
   > irate and/or the police pull you over to inquire what is wrong with you   
   > and/or your vehicle.  But it's no problem to go 60 or 70 mph if you   
   > feel like it.  And if there's time, I like to do so.   
      
   Pretty much the same here, although  you're not allowed to drive   
   small-displacement motorcycles and other slow-by-design vehicles on the   
   freeways.  Theory has it that slow drivers use the rightmost lane and   
   fast drivers use the leftmost, but slow drivers don't seem to understand   
   that concept.  These are the same people who apparently can't read the   
   SLOW VEHICLES USE TURNOUTS signs on narrow mountain roads.   
      
   > Of course, you can go even more slowly -- just not on the Autobahn.   
   > There's a network of Bundesstraßen and Landstraßen on which you can   
   > avoid ever touching an Autobahn at all and still travel long distances.   
   > On travel weekends, I usually take the time to do that -- it's way   
   > slower, but it makes up for it in stress relief and sightseeing, at   
   > least in my book.   
      
   'Interstates' are generally not all that interesting for pleasure trips,   
   although they're fine for speed once you get out of the cities.  Older   
   Federal and State highways are much better and more interesting and   
   those are what we used for most of our cross-country driving.   
      
   BTW, your English is perfect.  If you're not a native English speaker   
   I'm impressed as all hell!   
      
   --   
   Cheers, Bev   
       "In a closed society where everybody's guilty, the only crime   
        is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin   
        is stupidity."                              -- H.S. Thompson   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)