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-   -   Time to own up: What's your national car trait (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/150081-time-own-up-whats-your-national-car-trait.html)

Generally speaking it's not a good thing to generalize. Especially when it comes to behaviors associated with nationalities.

Having said that, sometimes we probably all do and some of it might be true. Or if anything it might show the ignorance of the person doing so.

So, I'm a Dutchman and I have been traveling nearly all of my professional life all over the world. So I get a lot of questions that you could qualify as "generalization of the Dutch and or the Netherlands".

Let me give you some examples:

- Do you all wear clogs in the Netherlands? (No, very few of us do)
- Everybody is stoned all the time (Jeremy Clarksson on Topgear, and no, not all and not all the time, just a lot, often)
- Do you live in a wind mill (No, very few people do)
- Do you really live beneath the sea (yes, that's why we have dikes)

etc.

I just came across this little car related video. And the maker claims that if this particular behavior of a Mercedes driver is observed, he or she is very likely to be Dutch. And I have to agree with him. I'm like that. I have a Mercedes and I will get our several times to adjust until it is absolute perfect. Drives my poor wife bonkers, my kids think I'm going senile and start pretending I'm not their dad.

So, ladies, gentlemen,

time to own up: Is there such a thing as an Indian car related ritual? I believe we have many different nationalities on the forum, or at least forum members who live in many different countries. So there might be insights to such other nationalistic traits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvUd...layer_embedded

I fully admit to the stereo type Dutch Mercedes owner. Guilty as charged!

Let me offer one, based on my own observations. No offense, all in good humor:

If you see a driver that adjust his/her speed immediately based on the speed signs, he or she is very likely to be German. Germans observe traffic rules and signage with military precision even if it doesn't make any sense. They drive at the Autobahn with a speed limit of say 100. Everybody will be doing exactly 100. Speed sign of 90. Everybody will be doing 90 as soon as they pass the sign. No speed restriction, everybody goes pedal to the metal until the next sign. Nobody and I mean nobody will jump a red light. You see somebody jumping a red light in Germany, it is most likely to be a foreigner.

So, what's your national trait?? Let's have some fun!

Jeroen

Jeroen Sir, Here in India we get to see diverse characteristics of the fellow motorists. But, in my view, a common characteristic of a Indian driver is uncalled for "honking" in the traffic and even otherwise at any moment depending on his/ her mood.

Thanks

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Our Indian National Trait is to festoon our vehicles with Religious Icons and involve our vehicles in all ceremonies, propitiating our numerous Gods, in order to ensure a smooth drive/ journey...
I believe I am well educated, urbane, well travelled, well read and completely open minded. The family have been well educated and so on for the last three generations at least.
Yet I exhibit this trait. I buy a car. I immediately do a puja for it. I always like to have my favourite religious icon on the dashboard. I like my mother to 'bless' my vehicle for every festival or auspicious occasion. Etc.

Interesting topic. :)

To add to what Shankar has mentioned - along with religious idols/pics, another common accessory/tool is for warding off evil-eye. One can see black cloth or parrandah (hair accessory in North India), or nimbu-mirchi (lemon and chili) dangling from the grill or tow-hook. Anyway, apart from religious and superstitious beliefs, some other traits are:

• If one uses indicators while changing lanes and the car behind suddenly increases its speed to not let the person in front change its lane, one must be in India.
  
• If one notices people speeding up on orange/amber light, then too one must be in India. :D

looking at a car ahead of you in the lights, you will almost definitely see some stuffed animals in the rear parcel shelf.

Sitting in a Desi car, you will see a pungent ambi-pur air "freshener", an idol stuck on the dash, a gigantic eye-catching box of wipes and the stalk for the lights left permanently on high beam position.

Unfortunately I am not as easy to spot out as your average Indian car owner since I don't abide by any of these characteristics, BUT, there are wipes and a tiny bottle of Bulgari perfume under the armrest which I use twice a month to wipe the AC vents with. :D

ha ha... a very interesting thread Jeroen. A national trait here in Pune, is to start going through the red light, even if everyone has stopped completely. These days it has become so irritating and crazy; as soon as the other light at the opposite side turns red, people from this side start honking and from the group at-least 4-5 scooterists dart across the intersection even if this light is red! :)

Another OT question for you. Do you still have those fat old windmills, that we used to see the pictures in the fairy tales books? Or have they all been replaced by the modern versions with slim looks?

There are still quite a few of the old windmills left. Mind you, at one point in times there were well over ten thousand. Mills were used to pump out water, as a saw mill and to grind. A lot of them were for pumping water as most of the Netherlands is well below sea level and we live on a lot of land claimed for the sea.

Below a nice example in my hometown, Amstelveen. It's name de Dikkert, means the Fatty. Its been converted into a restaurant, at some point had Michelin stars.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molen_de_Dikkert

In our home, Nootdorp, near the Hague, another one. This is about a two minute walk from our home. Again, these days a restaurant, This one a very nice cafe/bistro.

http://www.devang.nl

Here is a cool site; https://www.kinderdijk.com Very much a Dutch landscape

You can hear the sounds of the mill. Lots of information. This is one of the best known areas in the Netherlands where we still have a bunch of completely original wind mills.

Nearly all mills are still working. There is an organization that trains and certifies millers. So you can still see this mills working, or at least turning all year around.

To bring this topic back to cars; here's one of my cars in front of a Dutch mill, during one of my many tours.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/vbpgim...3&d=1385476802

Jeroen

The best, most frequent and consistent trait according to me is that we are absolutely allergic to the concept of anyone driving faster than us. I see this in two ways:
1. Whenever you see a car in front, you get this uncontrollable urge to overtake that car regardless of the speed limit. So you honk, flash, overtake from the left, play chinese checkers and what not to overtake.

2. If we see someone behind us trying to overtake then we naturally and instantly increase our speeds and try our best not to let them pass.

Needless to say that we don't keep an eye out for sign boards on the road for speed, signals, zebra crossing extra. We are too smart for that sort of a thing. Instead we just keep an eye out for the cops. :D

Funny topic :)

Well, I stay in Bangalore and would like to highlight a few deadly traits here:

- If you drive a car, bike, three wheeler, horse, donkey, whatever... You must have an earphone plugged into your ears while driving. Keeps you away from the fact of how close you were to death when the vehicle behind you was speeding and honking and suddenly braking not to rear end you because you were busy on earphone.

- If you a cab driver in Bangalore, it is your 'duty' to hold a mobile in one hand while driving.

- You must have all the 'Branded' stickers on you ride, whether or not their products are a part of your ride. Example: See below. All these are pasted on one car.


Source: eBay

- And one of the most important trait - You must learn driving on the right lane (fast lane) and continue driving on the fast lane, irrespective of your speed, size or whatever.

Phew, that post just looked like a Rant on Bangalore traffic. :uncontrol

EDIT: Just realised the thread name says - 'Won' up ? Did you mean "Own" in Indian accent ? LOL

Just to add one more question to this list

- Do you all have a bicycle at home? (yes, usually three :-)

IMO, leaving plastic seat covers on HAS to be the defining Indian trait!

One of the common traits for Indian driver (or should I say a male driver) is to treat all women drivers as bad even though they may be following all rules and driving correctly. Being overtaken by a lady driver generates so much of an Ego boost that it can put the NOS booster to shame! lol:

Second thing is no matter who did the accident, the bigger the vehicle the higher the blame! :Frustrati

The front & rear windshields that depicts the whole family tree and a mini Resume as well. This is widely prevalent in the rural India and among the first time car buyers.

And not to forget the "AC No Hand Signal" lettering found invariably on all AC cars in the late 90s.

Here in south, it is a religious practice to keep a lemon under each of the four wheels and squash them while starting. If you go for a longer trip (outside city limits), this is almost mandatory! lol:

The roads will be full of squashed lemons whenever longer holidays come, as every car owner will be out for a trip!

I would disagree with this one.
We drove from Switzerland to Salzburn taking a circuitous route through Germany as I wanted to drive on the "limit free Autobahn".

Speed limit 80kmph - Everybody doing 90-95
Speed limit 100kmph - Everybody doing 110-120

And then that sign "all limits ende" appeared.
Guess what.
You are right pedal to the metal.
I am doing a scary 130kmph in a Citreon C3 picasso.
A BMW whizzes past, but wait its not one car. On the tail is Porsche barely inches from the bumper, both doing around 170kmph.

As I pull to the fast lane, to overtake a truck, a superbike turns up behind me, I quickly fall right again, and guess what, its not a superbike, its a beat up old stationwagon doing 150kmph with one headlight.

Next is a mini truck(much like our 407), roaring at 150kmph.
One of the scariest rides of my life.

Speaking of Indian traits.
Ever seen a deserted intersection at night light green.
Everybody goes through very slowly, inching. Some even stop.

If the light is red, they just run through. Maybe its due to so many cows and bulls on the road which leads to DNA transfer, so whenever we see Red, we charge at it.