Is this just a hollywood stereotype? In movies, you always see Latins smoking like chimneys, even in indoor places. And I've heard about Italian and French basketball games where the crowds smoke in the arena, so that the whole place is drowned with smoke.
Walker
Dunno why they smoke so much. I was told by a first-hand source that in Spain people smoke everywhere, even in grocery stores. :blurp:
Sander
It's funny ... if smoking is such a part of mediterranean life, how come we never people smoking in all those pasta adds?
Benjamin [inactive]
They certainly smoke a lot in Germany as well though. I tend to think of the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Netherlands and Belgium as being the main places in Europe where people are less likely to smoke. But we (especially the British Isles and Scandinavia) have a reputation for binge drinking more.
Deborah
I tend to think of the whole world except the US as a smoky place. I was dismayed to find that even Canada seemed much smokier. Something that did surprise me about who smokes and who doesn't is that when I stayed with newly-made friends in Russia, none of my friends or their friends smoked. There was plenty of smoking elsewhere, but at least in their homes I could breathe easily.
fab
I think that Europe is generally more smoking (especially in public), than in the USA. Most of the time smoking, like drinking alcohol is considered to be a sociolizing behaviour.
But things change very quikly. Especially in Italy where new laws have been adopted to fight smoking in public places.
A few years ago I remember that much more people was smoking in public places than now (such as planes, restaureants, etc.)
Benjamin [inactive]
fab wrote:
But things change very quikly. Especially in Italy where new laws have been adopted to fight smoking in public places.
A few years ago I remember that much more people was smoking in public places than now (such as planes, restaureants, etc.)
They've already introduced a public smoking ban in Ireland and Scotland, and they'll be introducing one in England and Wales next year. And when I was in Belgium, I saw a television programme in which they were talking about doing the same there.
Unfortunately, when I was in Scotland a few weeks ago, I noticed that lots more people were sitting outside the pubs and restaurants, because they can smoke there.
The fact that people seem to smoke everywhere is the only thing I don't like about Germany. It's like how it was in England 15 years ago.
Joanne
Benjamin wrote:
Unfortunately, when I was in Scotland a few weeks ago, I noticed that lots more people were sitting outside the pubs and restaurants, because they can smoke there.
Sidewalk smokers. Yeah, they're annoying when they're drunk. One has to carefully scoot past them before they throw up/trip on/make a pass at you. :roll: It's less of a problem during the winter, though.
Not too long ago, my state (New Jersey) tried to ban smoking in cars because it distracted drivers as much as talking on the phone or eating did, according to Assemblyman John McKeon. :roll: But the people pretty much said, "F*ck off, Nanny State!" and the legislation was quashed. It was unnecessary, anyway. There are already laws against reckless driving.
Loic
A ban on smoking in cars would make North Korea seem like a bastion of free speech and democracy. I'm sure even Pyongyang would not go that far.
I'd like to point out that there is a thinly veiled prejudice against smokers here. Apparently, they seem to be only a notch above paedophiles and a rank below wife beaters.
Joanne
It's just Dear Lea---Big Broth-- our Government (yeah, that's it) trying to keep us all hale and healthy. That's all, Loic. We must be saved from our own bad judgment, after all. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to consume my government-recommended daily serving of fruit (2 cups). :roll:
Walker
Joanne wrote:
Benjamin wrote:
Unfortunately, when I was in Scotland a few weeks ago, I noticed that lots more people were sitting outside the pubs and restaurants, because they can smoke there.
Sidewalk smokers. Yeah, they're annoying when they're drunk. One has to carefully scoot past them before they throw up/trip on/make a pass at you. :roll: It's less of a problem during the winter, though.
Not too long ago, my state (New Jersey) tried to ban smoking in cars because it distracted drivers as much as talking on the phone or eating did, according to Assemblyman John McKeon. :roll: But the people pretty much said, "F*ck off, Nanny State!" and the legislation was quashed. It was unnecessary, anyway. There are already laws against reckless driving.
What counts as "reckless driving"? If smoking in your car doesn't, wouldn't it be a good idea to try to get to that which causes reckless driving, such as smoking in your car?
Pauline
Benjamin wrote:
when I was in Belgium, I saw a television programme in which they were talking about doing the same there.
yes, i think that after 2007 it will be not allowed smoking in the restaurants and places where there's food.
Joanne
loic wrote:
I'd like to point out that there is a thinly veiled prejudice against smokers here. Apparently, they seem to be only a notch above paedophiles and a rank below wife beaters.
Dear Smokers, you all stink like shit on a hot day and you're not allowed to smoke in my house, but I'll fight any form of health fascism that gets thrown your way :wink:
Walker wrote:
What counts as "reckless driving"?
According to Law.com:
reckless driving: n. operation of an automobile in a dangerous manner under the circumstances, including speeding (or going too fast for the conditions, even though within the posted speed limit), driving after drinking (but not drunk), having too many passengers in the car, cutting in and out of traffic, failing to yield to other vehicles and other negligent acts.
So, if someone can still drive responsibly and smoke at the same time (i.e. not endangering others on the road in ways listed in the above definition), there is no reason why he should be prevented from doing so.
Walker wrote:
If smoking in your car doesn't, wouldn't it be a good idea to try to get to that which causes reckless driving, such as smoking in your car?
I guess this is where you (and probably most of the people in Langcafé, as far as I can see) and I fundamentally disagree, Walker :/ The government preventing someone from smoking (or whatever-ing) in his or her own private property just...well, it makes me crazy, to put it mildly. :evil:
Walker
Joanne wrote:
I guess this is where you (and probably most of the people in Langcafé, as far as I can see) and I fundamentally disagree, Walker :/ The government preventing someone from smoking (or whatever-ing) in his or her own private property just...well, it makes me crazy, to put it mildly.
I don't think the government should prevent anyone from smoking in his or her home, but while driving... it depends. If you're on a busy street in the heart of a city I don't think that smoking will increase the level of safety. But if you're on a main country road or something, sure. What I wish is that people would have the common sense to just drop their cigarettes/cell phones/food whatever when they're driving.
Joanne
Walker wrote:
I don't think the government should prevent anyone from smoking in his or her home, but while driving... it depends. If you're on a busy street in the heart of a city I don't think that smoking will increase the level of safety. But if you're on a main country road or something, sure. What I wish is that people would have the common sense to just drop their cigarettes/cell phones/food whatever when they're driving.
IMHO, it's better to punish the actual crime, rather than such specific triggers for reckless driving. Because, let's face it, they could be anything. Personally, for me, it's talk show radio. For my stepfather, it's sports radio. (In 1994, the man almost drove us off a cliff when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup :roll: )
Tiffany
Fab wrote:
But things change very quikly. Especially in Italy where new laws have been adopted to fight smoking in public places.
A few years ago I remember that much more people was smoking in public places than now (such as planes, restaureants, etc.)
Every Italian seemed to think there was going to be an uproar when the Italian ban on smoking was passed. There wasn't. Case of every Italian pointing the finger at every other Italian.
I have to say though, to my American standards, Italians, in general, still seem to be chimneys. I counted last time I went - about every one person in three smoked - and that was generous I think because I wasn't paying attention too well. Of course, I went to Las Vegas too and it was as foggy as it gets in San Francisco...
Loic
Quote:
Dear Smokers, you all stink like shit on a hot day and you're not allowed to smoke in my house, but I'll fight any form of health fascism that gets thrown your way
It's comforting to know that the smoking lobby has supporters even among its detractors.
Deborah
Joanne wrote:
IMHO, it's better to punish the actual crime, rather than such specific triggers for reckless driving. Because, let's face it, they could be anything. Personally, for me, it's talk show radio. For my stepfather, it's sports radio. (In 1994, the man almost drove us off a cliff when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup :roll: )
Beautiful scenery can be the culprit. Last year my brother almost drove us off the road into a deep canyon for that reason, leaving Yosemite on Tioga Pass.
André in Zuid-Afrika
And another cause of careless driving....
Quote:
Sex rears its head in traffic by
Janice Johannes and Reuters
08/10/2006 23:00
The latest research shows that many people are thinking about sex, rather than about their driving, as they sit in traffic...
Johannesburg - Why are some motorists bad drivers and the cause of accidents?
Research conducted recently shows they've been thinking about sex.
The research indicated that thoughts of a sexual nature were the biggest culprits when it comes to accidents.
A survey undertaken by British car insurer More Than showed that one out of every five motorists didn't concentrate on the road for 75% of the time, while about 1.2 million thought mostly about sex.
Other topics that intruded on concentration on traffic were work and family matters.
Beeld asked a couple of local celebrities what they thought about the survey's findings.
No time to think about sex
A former Miss South Africa and businesswoman Amy Kleinhans-Curd said: "I think about my schedule for the day and how I'll find time to fit in everything and then I also have to think about accommodating the schedule of my two children. Sex?
"No, I definitely don't think about sex, because I don't have time."
Actress Therese Benade of the local drama series Home Affairs said: "Good grief! I can guarantee that I don't think about it. When I'm driving, my thoughts are mostly work-related.
"I think about pretty nature scenes. Anything else is just wrong."
Newsreader Riaan Cruywagen said: "I'll think about sex only if a Mercedes-Benz SLK drives past."
He said though, his thoughts while driving depended mostly on his destination.
The director of motorist research at Cranfield University in Britain, Lisa Dorn, said: "Just like falling into bad habits, you can also learn to get rid of them.
"It's important that motorists should realise it's dangerous not to concentrate on the road and their driving."
The research also indicated what people hated with a vengeance:
people not keeping to the correct following distance and tailgating the car in front;
motorists who wanted to dominate lanes; and
drivers who overtook and cut into lanes without warning, as well as people driving too fast or too slowly.
Joanne
André in Zuid-Afrika wrote:
And another cause of careless driving....
Quote:
Sex rears its head in traffic by
Janice Johannes and Reuters
08/10/2006 23:00
The latest research shows that many people are thinking about sex, rather than about their driving, as they sit in traffic...
Johannesburg - Why are some motorists bad drivers and the cause of accidents?
Research conducted recently shows they've been thinking about sex.
The research indicated that thoughts of a sexual nature were the biggest culprits when it comes to accidents.
Ehum... I must confess that I've been guilty of this, too. :oops: Luckily, I get my brakes checked regularly, so they're quite good :wink:
Walker
Joanne wrote:
Walker wrote:
I don't think the government should prevent anyone from smoking in his or her home, but while driving... it depends. If you're on a busy street in the heart of a city I don't think that smoking will increase the level of safety. But if you're on a main country road or something, sure. What I wish is that people would have the common sense to just drop their cigarettes/cell phones/food whatever when they're driving.
IMHO, it's better to punish the actual crime, rather than such specific triggers for reckless driving. Because, let's face it, they could be anything. Personally, for me, it's talk show radio. For my stepfather, it's sports radio. (In 1994, the man almost drove us off a cliff when the Rangers won the Stanley Cup :roll: )
I reckon you make a point there. However, I still think that some things should be, maybe not punishable, but avoided... somehow. Seeing somebody driving in a crowded street and talking on the cell phone... you just don't know what to think. It's just upsetting that so many people have to killed or injured because of traffic. I got my driver's license pretty recently so and I haven't driven much on my own, and therefore I have yet to experience the temptation to do something else while driving. Furthermore, I suppose that the theory part in taking the license (which included so and so many people are killed in traffic every year, your focus works this way etc) still prevails in my mind. Being so I guess you could compare me to a good school boy who hasn't yet learned how to relax and be cool. I was told that I will get bad habits in the future (like most people), but I hope they won't be too bad. I don't know what happened to Elaine, but I'm glad she's still around.
I'm not saying you are a bad driver just because you like to listen to talk show radio, I'm saying go easy with the listening and be careful.
The amount(s) of money you have to pay if you receive a ticket here was raised quite drastically on Oct. 1.
A couple of examples:
If you're driving on a road where the speed limit is 70, 90, 110 or 120 km/h and you exceed the speed limit by 1-10 km/h (and get caught) you have to cough up 203$. If you exceed by 41-50 km/h it's 541$. If you drive without having put on your seat belt it's 203$. If you haven't made sure that a passanger that's under aged wears his or her seat belt it's 338$. It's pretty expensive if you get caught. But as they said it's not to bust people but an attempt to make them change their behaviour in traffic. I hope it works.
Deborah
Walker wrote:
I got my driver's license pretty recently so and I haven't driven much on my own, and therefore I have yet to experience the temptation to do something else while driving.
I started driving very late (like about 3 years ago) and don't own a car, so I still don't drive often. At first I avoided answering my cell phone because, as Walker said, I didn't experience the temptation to do something else while driving. After awhile, I started answering it, even though it made me nervous. Then I decided there was absolutely no reason why I should force myself to get used to something that has been shown to be potentially dangerous, and resumed ignoring my phone.
André in Zuid-Afrika
Deborah wrote:
Walker wrote:
I got my driver's license pretty recently so and I haven't driven much on my own, and therefore I have yet to experience the temptation to do something else while driving.
I started driving very late (like about 3 years ago) and don't own a car, so I still don't drive often. At first I avoided answering my cell phone because, as Walker said, I didn't experience the temptation to do something else while driving. After awhile, I started answering it, even though it made me nervous. Then I decided there was absolutely no reason why I should force myself to get used to something that has been shown to be potentially dangerous, and resumed ignoring my phone.
I hate it when people talk on their cellphones while driving. It's against the law here, but lots of people still do it. :x
Elaine
Walker wrote:
I don't know what happened to Elaine, but I'm glad she's still around.
Huh? Was somebody asking about me? Sorry I haven't been around much. I've been a little depressed lately. A good friend of mine took a gun to his head and killed himself right in front of his significant other. Apparently they'd been having marital issues and this time they really came to blows. Such a desperate and hateful thing to do, IMO.
Anyway, the other day I pulled up behind an SUV at the drive-thru and the occupants had 4 video monitors playing (1 up at the passenger's side, 3 in the back). They were watching hip-hop videos with the subwoofers crunked up to the max making the whole street shake! :roll: How the hell can a person concentrate on his driving with all those distractions?? And what's up with the car manufacturers making such extravagant, unsafe vehicles? Those things should be illegal.
Joanne
Walker wrote:
Being so I guess you could compare me to a good school boy who hasn't yet learned how to relax and be cool. I was told that I will get bad habits in the future (like most people), but I hope they won't be too bad. I don't know what happened to Elaine, but I'm glad she's still around.
Tell me when you start driving with your knees while eating a muffin, drinking a coffee, and flipping off a driver that passed you :wink:
Walker wrote:
I'm not saying you are a bad driver just because you like to listen to talk show radio, I'm saying go easy with the listening and be careful.
It's cool, I know what you meant. I mis-typed, actually. I didn't mean "talk show radio" as in Rush Limbaugh or Al Franken (although they're certainly upsetting), I meant talking radio in general...anything that's not music.
Unfortunately talk radio is an evil necessity, since I live in New Jersey. The five most densely populated cities in the US are all less than 9 miles away from my town, and I work in the fifth and ninth most densely populated cities in the country. Around here, it's not easy to drive without knowing the traffic conditions every ten minutes. Believe me when I tell you that a tiny accident on, say, the Cross Bronx during rush hour can stop traffic from Pennsylvania to Connecticut. Luckily, I'm in a carpool, and I don't have to drive every day :DD
Walker wrote:
But as they said it's not to bust people but an attempt to make them change their behaviour in traffic.
... and to meet their monthly ticket quotas. Whoops, did I type that? :oops: :DD
André in Zuid-Afrika wrote:
I hate it when people talk on their cellphones while driving. It's against the law here, but lots of people still do it. :x
Same here... :down2:
Walker
Elaine wrote:
Walker wrote:
I don't know what happened to Elaine, but I'm glad she's still around.
Huh? Was somebody asking about me? Sorry I haven't been around much.
Well, I was referring to the car accident you were in. Here or not, you're still alive and kicking and that's the most important thing.
Elaine wrote:
I've been a little depressed lately. A good friend of mine took a gun to his head and killed himself right in front of his significant other. Apparently they'd been having marital issues and this time they really came to blows. Such a desperate and hateful thing to do, IMO.
That's terrible! Yes, that was an extremely ruthless thing to do. Hope you guys are holding on aight!
Joanne wrote:
Tell me when you start driving with your knees while eating a muffin, drinking a coffee, and flipping off a driver that passed you
Uh... uhm... okay... and when I start shouting "save some cake for me, aunt Mary Jean!!!" every time I see a blue car whose license plate begins with an E, I'll let you know I swear.
Joanne wrote:
Unfortunately talk radio is an evil necessity, since I live in New Jersey. The five most densely populated cities in the US are all less than 9 miles away from my town, and I work in the fifth and ninth most densely populated cities in the country. Around here, it's not easy to drive without knowing the traffic conditions every ten minutes. Believe me when I tell you that a tiny accident on, say, the Cross Bronx during rush hour can stop traffic from Pennsylvania to Connecticut. Luckily, I'm in a carpool, and I don't have to drive every day
I believe you. I guess it might seem a little extreme, but what if one person listens to the radio and another concentrates on the driving only. I was just thinking, 'cause I for one wouldn't really want to drive on one of them highways I've seen pictures of at this forum.
Uriel
I think about sex while driving. Hell, I think about sex while brushing my teeth! I vaguely remember what it's like....
Actually, in all of the accidents I've been in, I was concentrating very hard (and worrying) about getting to my destination, being in the right lane, not losing the car I was following, etc. In other words, I was thinking about driving. Ironic, eh?
Porthos
I wonder if most Europeans even know how to drive, at least the urbanites. Here, everybody has a car. I drive, but I don't have my own car. I guess that means I'm nobody...
Porthos
That last emoticon I put on there looks like, "Oh no, who am I?" lol!
Deborah
Porthos wrote:
I wonder if most Europeans even know how to drive, at least the urbanites. Here, everybody has a car. I drive, but I don't have my own car. I guess that means I'm nobody...
This doesn't apply to San Francisco and New York, especially New York. Or at least it didn't apply to New York when I lived there. I only knew 2 people who had cars, and only one of them actually drove his car in the city. The other kept his car in a garage in Hoboken (across the river in New Jersey) and only used it when he went out of town. I think owning a car in NYC is a liability because of the parking situation.
As for San Francisco, there are quite a few people who don't own cars, and even a fair amount of people who either don't know how to drive or are uncomfortable with driving. A few years ago, the 16-year-old son of one of my co-workers was in our office just after he got his learner's permit. He was chiding his mother for not driving, saying something like "That's so lame! Everyone has a car and drives." Another person in the office said that he didn't own a car. We then discovered that the only people in our department who owned cars were the two who lived across the bay in remotest suburbia. And of the non-car-owners, several of them had not driven in years and had no intention of driving again.
fab
Quote:
I wonder if most Europeans even know how to drive
Yes, of course, most people can drive. But it is thue that it is generally much less necessary to have a car here than in the US. Especially in big cities where a car is more a problem than a solution.
In countryside small and medium size cities cars are almost a necessity to have.
In France you need to have your majority (18) to drive alone.
The driving is very different in Europe than in the USA (at least in France for what I know). Car are generally not automatic, and we tend to drive much more sportivelly, much faster than in the US, on small roads with a lot of roundabouts, non-strait ways, hilly roads, etc...
It is better to have small cars... [/quote]
Porthos
Well we do everything bigger here.
Uriel
Even on the autobahn in Germany, I did not see cars going all that fast, fab. But I'm used to western speed limits, which are usually somewhat higher than on the East Coast (75 mph as opposed to 55 or 65, and most people are doing 85 0r 95 when they can get away with it). When you see our roads, you'll understand why ... you want to get there while you're still young....
Looking north toward Colorado, from the New Mexico side of the state line
Porthos
Well, where I live, I can be out of town in ten minutes, and then hit speeds of 80-90 mph! It still doesn't beat the big city.
Uriel
I've lived in everything from a huge megalopolis (the greater Tokyo area) to rural cow country (upstate NY). I prefer something in the middle -- much like where I live now.
Porthos
IDK, I just really miss living in the big cities where I grew up. There's no culture here, no shopping, no clubs, no amusement parks, no sports stadiums, etc. I mean, some of those are present here, but compared to L.A. or Las Vegas, they just suck. And I still really, really miss my old crew of friends. People here have no idea how to have fun.
Uriel
Where do you live now?
Porthos
Santa Maria. It's a vineyard/farm town on the Central Coast, about an hour north of Santa Barbara.
Uriel
I think your problem is that you are trying to only recreate what you've known before, and are not opening yourself up to new ideas and practices. I'm not saying you have to lower yourself to cow-tipping, but you seem to have a certain amount of tunnel-vision -- you'll never learn to appreciate what your new surroundings can offer if you are constantly comparing them to your old ones and bemoaning the the fact that the new is not the same as the old.
If you're just going to do that, you will never enjoy travelling, for instance.
I guess that means I'm nobody... 
[/quote]