Comments on: Driving, Dutch-style

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 04:39:30 +0000

In reply to Marcus. Haha! NL means 'never learned'! I love that! Thanks for the funny explanation, Marcus!

By: Marcus

Marcus — Wed, 01 Apr 2015 20:48:46 +0000

Germans think that the Dutchs are not able to drive. Really, many people hate to see them on German Autobahn, as they do not drive like Germans want them to 🙂 Germans do not understand how they drive and why Dutch drivers do what they do (or not do). So that’s the reason why they are bad drivers for us.
And there are many jokes about how Dutchs drive. For example: Having a yellow numbershield on your car means that you passed the exam for your drivers licence after the 3rd trial or even later 🙂 The presend after passing the test is a caravan 🙂 And “NL” at the Car means “never learned” insted of the countrie’s name 🙂
What I like most, is that Dutch people are able to laugh about that jokes, too and (with exeptation of the topic “football”) we like the Dutchs somehow 🙂

And yes: Belgians drive like the devil in person! In Brussels one could think everybody there attended driving school in hell:)

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 15:54:07 +0000

In reply to Sarah (Expat-Mom). Germans tailgate too? All I remember is them whooshing past me so fast I could barely see them... What do they say about Dutch driving?

By: Sarah (Expat-Mom)

Sarah (Expat-Mom) — Mon, 26 Aug 2013 11:46:44 +0000

Gave me a good laugh for the day. Thank you! I shared your post since I hear Germans often mocking Dutch driving, but apparently they have more in common then they thought:)

By: An

An — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 18:47:05 +0000

I think Belgians are much worse when it comes to tailgating. They (I should say ‘we’ as I am Belgian myself) are quite aggressive behind the wheel, I think. But passing on the right is taboo here too (but I have to admit that I do it sometimes when someone lingers on the middle or left lane)

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 17:52:30 +0000

In reply to An.

Worse than Dutch people? Or just as bad? It’s hard to imagine it could be worse unless they actually come so close that they bump into you to urge you out of the lane!

Anyway, despite their tendency to emphasize the differences between them, and to make fun of each other, there are mostly similarities, I find, between the Dutch and the Flemish. I don’t know about the French-speaking part of Belgium.

Thanks for commenting!

By: Rachel Heller

Rachel Heller — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 08:47:50 +0000

Farrah, maybe Detroit is different? I’ve never driven there; mostly only the east and west coast of the US.

Arjen, do you mean bicycling? Hmm. Maybe the fact that the Dutch do so much bicycling makes them more aggressive in general? They are, when they bicycle, very aggressive…

Melanie, glad you “meet you”!

By: Melanie

Melanie — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:23:21 +0000

=D this made me laugh Rachel! I’m a French Canadian and we tailgate like the Dutch seem to be doing. And passing to the right is toootally taboo. Now I live in California, US and it’s like you say. How funny.
ps: I’m new here, just found you through twitter!

By: Arjen Haayman

Arjen Haayman — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 08:26:59 +0000

It must be a bikers-thingy

By: Farrah

Farrah — Wed, 21 Aug 2013 07:44:53 +0000

Interesting! We’ve been here almost a year and I honestly thought that the driving here has been much, much better than in the US- esp. with the tailgating. But then again, we won’t drive in the left lane. Also we’re originally from Detroit so maybe that’s my frame of reference 🙂