Drivin' USA – The American Way of Life, Teil 3 Auf unserer
Nationalpark -
Tour vor ein paar Wochen bin I first had the pleasure to participate not only as a pedestrian and passenger, but as an active driver on the American road. Reason enough to deal with some of the differences between German and American system.
The most important lesson of all: By and large I had to not move much: Even in the U.S. on the right, in the U.S. you stop at red lights and driving in green. But at the traffic lights the differences already start:
How can you here
un difficult to see the normal traffic lights may look the same as in Germany, but elsewhere PLACE. You are not actually includes, but
behind the intersection, for which they apply. So if you only just before a red light comes to a standstill, has done something wrong - and crossing the intersection illegally. This is my own fortunately not happened, but I have corresponding get told by other Germans.
Another difference: When a red traffic light, we may yet turn right after one has previously assured that the road is clear - similar to
green arrow green arrow in Germany. However, this rule does not apply in all states of the USA - namely the traffic law is generally the responsibility of individual states.
And one last to the traffic lights, this time from the perspective of a pedestrian: If one rule here in the beautiful
Upon the red, green means go , we shall have to wait some time - also pretty long. For a pedestrian traffic light is not always green in Utah, they will know! A complete traffic light cycle is as follows:
The characters are self-explanatory (which I does not stop to explain them anyway): If the white person on (left), the way is clear, the red Hand (right), should you stop better. That leaves the middle image, which corresponds to a yellow phase for pedestrians: Click the red flashing hand and the seconds are counted down to the red phase next to it. How long does it but during this stage may start is safe from traffic light to traffic light quite different: In some places the road-traffic light immediately after the second green, in others still goes up to another half minute. Too bad that you do not know that before. As a rule of thumb is therefore (at least for me): Once the clock is running, to assess whether the seconds still crossing the road and to the rich rather be in doubt and stay angry, if there were still plenty of time left.
What is in the pictures does not see: the white phase is accompanied in Salt Lake City by a Tonignal for the blind - and specifically for east-west or north-south direction, the same throughout the city (the is so constructed in a grid pattern, we remind
us). is whether this (in many places quite loud) but turned off during the night or if you are the residents of a traffic light, even at four clock in the morning from an electronic cuckoo (North-South direction) and Sparrow (East-West direction) harass must be, is beyond my current Memory.
So much for lights, but I stay at intersections, because there is another, for me at the beginning rather curious feature: the so-called all-way stop
. What does this mean? Let me tell a little detail: If you come in Germany to an intersection or junction equal roads, the rule
right before left . And in the U.S. we have this rule well, I is not a known intersection, where it is actually applied. As a rule, namely, always has a road right of way (although not by an extra priority sign is displayed). The intersecting street is indicated by Stop signs, a lower priority. Now to the all-way stop
: Meeting once a road but the same priority to each other, so get all
or a stop sign, often accompanied by the words
4-Way (for crossings) and 3-Way
( for branches) among them. This then means: When you no matter from which side, at the crossroad, you have to stop in any case, make sure that everything is free, and can then, if so, is proceeding. Interesting but will it be if cars come from several directions at such a crossroads. Then it states: be attentive! The rule is: Who came first at the intersection, the das Recht zu fahren. Anschließend wird abwechselnd aus den verschiedenen Richtungen gefahren, bis die Kreuzung wieder leer ist. Problematisch kann das natürlich dann werden, wenn mehrere Fahrzeuge beinahe
zeitgleich gleichzeitig die Kreuzung erreichen. Dann gilt wohl, wenn ich den englischen Wikipedia-Eintrag zum Thema richtig verstanden habe, auch die Regel rechts vor links. Aus meiner Erfahrung wird hier aber eher mit Blickkontakt und Handzeichen für Ordnung gesorgt. Was mich am meisten überrascht hat: Das System funktioniert meistens gut und reibungslos. Natürlich wird aber der komplette Verkehrsfluss ausgebremst. Und so gilt als größter Kritikpunkt des
All-way stops der caused by him increased time requirement and fuel consumption, so increasingly in the United States experimented with roundabouts is. In Salt Lake I have still not seen one, but it should be on the university campus one.
The biggest adjustment for me when driving meant well but the handling of overtaking the U.S.. The rules allow namely the passing lane roads on both sides - left and right. So if the
Interstate (the American counterpart to the highway) the micro-switches to the right, should be particularly attentive.
At this point we leave the street, our tank is empty in the meantime (going fast at the local big cars with automatic transmissions). We drive to the gas station and ask already set the next feature: Pay after refueling is not typical. This does not mean you did not pay. It has instead mostly the following possibilities: Either you pay before filling up a fixed amount and just the appropriate amount of fuel is then released from the pump. So you should be able to appreciate pretty good fit in the tank or how much you have to hope that you get back at the end of its excess money. Or you can pay directly at the gas pumps, vending machines with credit card. This works in general, but only with a credit card, on which a
ZIP code (ie a U.S. postal code) is stored. On our National Park tour, we had three times lucky: Twice was also the European credit cards accepted, and once I found a friendly cashier who allowed me to pay for all European-style behind and in
cash.
Ah yes, the U.S. citizens complain of too high fuel prices. Here's a little calculation: The price of the gallons
Super is here now at around $ 2.80. If, at an exchange rate of one euro to $ 1.36 as it applies at the moment about, so get there ...
... right on about
54 (€) per liter cents - a price that drove me, my American friends to a complete lack of understanding, almost tears of joy in his eyes.
What you should know? If you want to come in the U.S. of A to B, you should plan a little more time than in Germany. First, because apply to the State
Routes and Interstates
always speed limits. The limits are displayed at regular intervals, so I still do not know if it even exists a general speed limit. Speed limits are in fact always
MPH (miles per hour) indicated - converted to kilometers per hour or about 1.6 times the displayed number conversion is in most cases be unnecessary, since the speedometer scale also in MPH. Second, you should bring along a little more time because the country is just so much bigger than Germany. If only our National Park tour, where we even left the state of Utah and not us "only" went from the north to its southern middle meant an easy distance of 500 kilometers.
the time being I am now, after returning the rental car, again relying on my two legs, my bicycle or public transport, so I need I be concerned about such distances currently do not have thoughts.
Bon voyage!
Only 55 days
The film shows a scene at the famous Hamburg harbor. The sun is shining. A few white clouds adorn the otherwise blue sky. A green Sail (Rickmer Rickmers) is shown. Likewise, the other Hamburg's landmark, the tower of the piers. A gull flies 
