7 ms·

Drivers are actually calm in Helsinki, not constantly honking and slowly rolling into you in the pedestrian crossing either.

jks 1y ago
This may be the case, but as a Helsinki resident I am always surprised when visiting either Stockholm or Tallinn, because their drivers always seem more likely to honor zebra crossings than drivers in Helsinki.
dyauspitr 1y ago
I rarely hear anyone in the US honking outside of maybe the downtown of really big cities like NYC.
- aljgz 1y ago
  What part of the parent comments implied comparison to US?
  - Forgeties79 1y ago
    They’re just relaying their experience in the US.
- diggan 1y ago
  The world differs greatly when it comes to socially acceptable (or even legal) honking. In Sweden barely anyone honks unless to avoid serious accidents. In Spain, there is some honking, even when you just mildly inconvenience someone. In Peru, honking is a way of life/driving, and to communicate with other drivers, even when you just pass someone normally.
  - quirino 1y ago
    Honking is common across Brazil but not in the capital Brasília. Signs at some entrances of city read "Dear visitors, in Brasília we avoid honking".
  - DFHippie 1y ago
    When I was in Thailand, people honked at pedestrians to let them know they were passing them. Not angry honks, just toots. Different culture. It left a lot of confused tourists.
- ses1984 1y ago
  How many miles do you drive per day and where are those miles? I hear plenty of honking in the suburbs and I only drive 5 miles per day.
- jfengel 1y ago
  NYC has really cracked down on excessive honking. It's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Shouting and middle fingers are still common.
  - eduction 1y ago
    What? How? Where I am it is endless. Maybe it used to be worse but I have never heard of or seen someone getting a ticket for it or seen a single sign or heard an elected official so much as mention it.
  - tommoor 1y ago
    lol, lmao, etc.
- socalgal2 1y ago
  It was common in Shanghai. Then the government made it illegal and actually enforced it. 2 months later, no honking
- tommoor 1y ago
  Yea, I live in downtown NYC and it's egregious. The selfishness of drivers here is frankly unfathomable
- projektfu 1y ago
  In Atlanta you get honked at for merely not breaking the rules like the person behind you thinks you should. For example, not taking a right turn on red where the sign says "No Turn on Red", or not pulling out into oncoming traffic because the person behind would be crazy enough to do it.
skippyboxedhero 1y ago
Other places have introduced the same limit and haven't seen the same results. People who are likely to have crashes are likely to be able who ignore the limit. One of the biggest problems in modern policy-making is the introduction of wide-ranging, global policies to tackle a local problem (one place that introduced this limit was Wales, they introduced this limit impacting everyone...but don't do anything about the significant and visible increase in the numbers of people driving without a licence which is causing more accidents...and, ironically, making their speed limit changes look worse than they probably are).
- crote 1y ago
  > People who are likely to have crashes are likely to be able who ignore the limit. ... which is why you have to do actual road design. You can't just put up a speed sign and hope people will magically abide by it. Roads need to be designed for the speed you want people to drive. When done properly the vast majority of drivers will follow the speed limit without ever having to look at the signs, because it'll be the speed they will feel comfortable driving.
  - cluckindan 1y ago
    Proper design of road networks also makes traffic flow better. Many congested areas would actually benefit from removing some roads altogether.
    - perching_aix 1y ago
      I believe you're referring to Braess' Paradox, right? This was a very surprising effect for me to learn about, just recently Veritasium covered it in their video on a mechanism that becomes "shorter when you pull on it": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTkPfq7w1A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTkPfq7w1A [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27_paradox
      - cluckindan 1y ago
stevekemp 1y ago
Last night two cars tried to drive in front of a tram, on my ride to the Kallio block party. So while driving is generally calm, and I'm impressed at how often drives stop for the zebra-crossings, despite minimal notice, it's not universal.
- arp242 1y ago
  There's always a baseline of assholes.

jks 1y ago

This may be the case, but as a Helsinki resident I am always surprised when visiting either Stockholm or Tallinn, because their drivers always seem more likely to honor zebra crossings than drivers in Helsinki.

dyauspitr 1y ago

I rarely hear anyone in the US honking outside of maybe the downtown of really big cities like NYC.

aljgz 1y ago
What part of the parent comments implied comparison to US?
- Forgeties79 1y ago
  They’re just relaying their experience in the US.
diggan 1y ago
The world differs greatly when it comes to socially acceptable (or even legal) honking. In Sweden barely anyone honks unless to avoid serious accidents. In Spain, there is some honking, even when you just mildly inconvenience someone. In Peru, honking is a way of life/driving, and to communicate with other drivers, even when you just pass someone normally.
- quirino 1y ago
  Honking is common across Brazil but not in the capital Brasília. Signs at some entrances of city read "Dear visitors, in Brasília we avoid honking".
- DFHippie 1y ago
  When I was in Thailand, people honked at pedestrians to let them know they were passing them. Not angry honks, just toots. Different culture. It left a lot of confused tourists.
ses1984 1y ago
How many miles do you drive per day and where are those miles? I hear plenty of honking in the suburbs and I only drive 5 miles per day.
jfengel 1y ago
NYC has really cracked down on excessive honking. It's nowhere near as bad as it used to be. Shouting and middle fingers are still common.
- eduction 1y ago
  What? How? Where I am it is endless. Maybe it used to be worse but I have never heard of or seen someone getting a ticket for it or seen a single sign or heard an elected official so much as mention it.
- tommoor 1y ago
  lol, lmao, etc.
socalgal2 1y ago
It was common in Shanghai. Then the government made it illegal and actually enforced it. 2 months later, no honking
tommoor 1y ago
Yea, I live in downtown NYC and it's egregious. The selfishness of drivers here is frankly unfathomable
projektfu 1y ago
In Atlanta you get honked at for merely not breaking the rules like the person behind you thinks you should. For example, not taking a right turn on red where the sign says "No Turn on Red", or not pulling out into oncoming traffic because the person behind would be crazy enough to do it.

skippyboxedhero 1y ago

Other places have introduced the same limit and haven't seen the same results. People who are likely to have crashes are likely to be able who ignore the limit. One of the biggest problems in modern policy-making is the introduction of wide-ranging, global policies to tackle a local problem (one place that introduced this limit was Wales, they introduced this limit impacting everyone...but don't do anything about the significant and visible increase in the numbers of people driving without a licence which is causing more accidents...and, ironically, making their speed limit changes look worse than they probably are).

crote 1y ago
> People who are likely to have crashes are likely to be able who ignore the limit. ... which is why you have to do actual road design. You can't just put up a speed sign and hope people will magically abide by it. Roads need to be designed for the speed you want people to drive. When done properly the vast majority of drivers will follow the speed limit without ever having to look at the signs, because it'll be the speed they will feel comfortable driving.
- cluckindan 1y ago
  Proper design of road networks also makes traffic flow better. Many congested areas would actually benefit from removing some roads altogether.
  - perching_aix 1y ago
    I believe you're referring to Braess' Paradox, right? This was a very surprising effect for me to learn about, just recently Veritasium covered it in their video on a mechanism that becomes "shorter when you pull on it": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTkPfq7w1A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTkPfq7w1A [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27_paradox https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braess%27_paradox
    - cluckindan 1y ago

stevekemp 1y ago

Last night two cars tried to drive in front of a tram, on my ride to the Kallio block party. So while driving is generally calm, and I'm impressed at how often drives stop for the zebra-crossings, despite minimal notice, it's not universal.

arp242 1y ago
There's always a baseline of assholes.