A Brief Diversion

   I’ve just returned from our most recent visit to the Languedoc and I have to say it again. Americans are lousy drivers compared to the French.

   I drove over 1,000 kilometers (about 650 miles) in our rented VW Polo. On the multi-lane highways, slower traffic kept to the right and, when I pulled up on a slower vehicle in the middle or left lanes, the driver took the first opportunity to move over. Twice, on back roads, drivers actually moved onto the shoulder to let me by. The use of directional signals was universal.

   It’s not that I’m a terribly aggressive driver when I’m over there. I don’t flash my brights or sound my horn. If anything, I’m more patient than I am in the States. The French are simply more aware of the traffic around them and more courteous than their American counterparts.

   Yes, I use the words ‘French’ and ‘driver’ and ‘courteous’ in the same sentence and I’m not kidding. It must be that most of the handbooks on life in France, the ones that castigate French drivers, are written by Brits. What do they know? They drive on the wrong side of the road, fer goodness sakes!

   In contrast, the ride back home, from JFK to eastern PA, was a nightmare. Other drivers were oblivious of their surroundings. They cut people off, acted as if they owned the road. There was consistently more traffic in the left lanes than the right. I vented more spleen on that two hour drive than I did in ten days of driving in France.

   Thanks for listening.