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Högertrafikomläggningen

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Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#141

Post by mistrial9 »

lb1lf wrote: post #68
hnarn wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This almost sounds like a sketch since Sweden has “Norway jokes” where the punchline is consistently how dumb Norwegians are — a structure that I’m sure is mirrored in Norway and similarly in other countries (england/scotland, france/belgium maybe?)

Oh yes. In Norway we have the exact same jokes about the Swedes. One quip which did the rounds in the papers prior to the Swedes starting to drive on the right was that they would perform the switch in several phases - first heavy traffic, then cars a month later...

the only Norge jokes I heard (in California) were about the cowardice of Swedes in battle.. nothing about being dumb.. that was well before the year 2000, admit

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#142

Post by mncharity »

throwaway290 wrote: post #126
jackothy wrote: post #111

I know of this one single intersection in northern Stockholm that still enforces left-hand traffic: https://maps.app.goo.gl/uGWr28JUQnEh9cXc6

Doesn't need to be related to left-handed past. Just imagine those lanes were the other way around, then if you and me were going on Valhallavägen opposite directions and wanted to U turn over there at the same time then we can easily be in the way of each other. When you have two multi lane one way roads going opposite ways and want add a two-way connection between them then you often want to put lanes the opposite…

> all roads connecting Chiang Mai's old city outer and inner circle road.

Such as https://maps.app.goo.gl/uRzHBaZAY38rnjVS9 .

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#143

Post by rags2riches »

fl7305 wrote: post #92
stareatgoats wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In Norway we have the exact same jokes about the Swedes This is a fairly recent development. When I moved to Sweden in the 1970s, it was so bad I learned Swedish at accelerated rate in order to avoid the kneejerk compulsion of many (if not most) Swedes to tell their favorite jokes about how dumb Norwegians seemed to be. No doubt a consequence of century-old rivalry and the fact that Sweden during the early part of…

> As Norway has become progressively richer these jokes in Sweden about Norwgians have more or less disappeared however. Yeah, the prevailing notion in Sweden is now that Norway is so much better off that we swedes should declare war on Norway. After which we promptly surrender, and all our problems become Norway's problems instead.

Similar jokes were made when the outlook for a Swedish NATO ascension was bad. The much more cool-headed and diplomatically grounded Finns were set to join NATO without trouble. So the solution was obvious: Sweden should join Finland instead of NATO.

Relevant context is that Norway was the junior partner of a personal union with Sweden for most of the nineteenth century and until 1905. Also Sweden and Finland was one and the same realm for six centuries or so until 1809.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#144

Post by constantcrying »

encom wrote: post #99
constantcrying wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Speaking English Having worked in an international organization where most people communicated in English and most people were ESL, going back to a company where my native language was the norm was a huge benefit in clarity of communications. Languages certainly form how we think, a universal language undoubtedly leads to worse communication and worse ideas.

>clarity of communications I (native dane) work in robotics. Our company has a disproportionate amount of non-danes employed, who also are not native english speakers. I've been reading and writing english since I was very young, but having almost never spoken it makes face-to-face communication challenging. And not only that, but I encounter colleagues conversing in Hindi, Russian, Hungarian, Polish, Greek etc. Any…

>And not only that, but I encounter colleagues conversing in Hindi, Russian, Hungarian, Polish, Greek etc. Any of those conversations is one I'm locked out of, and unable to contribute to.

I had that happen on occasion, every time it felt pretty exclusionary and somewhat rude, so I tried to always speak in english if that was the only common language among people tangentially involved in a conversation.

But even that is certainly not ideal, it has been pretty clear to me that, even though I have absolutely no problem speaking and understanding English, talking to a native speaker in my native language leads to much quicker and clearer communication.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#145

Post by bsza »

echoangle wrote: post #122
bsza wrote: post #107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I was implying is, language barriers are a firewall against charismatic, manipulative psychopaths trying to brainwash you into doing unspeakable things. They do so by turning "he has a point" into "who is this funny little moustache guy and why does he sound so angry?"

You think germany would have taken over europe by convincing them if the citizens of the other countries spoke german?

They had Europe's most accomplished public speaker and its best propagandist at their disposal, both of whom had a better understanding, or at least a more insidious approach, to crowd psychology than perhaps anyone at the time.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#146

Post by mistrial9 »

rags2riches wrote: post #143
fl7305 wrote: post #92

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> As Norway has become progressively richer these jokes in Sweden about Norwgians have more or less disappeared however. Yeah, the prevailing notion in Sweden is now that Norway is so much better off that we swedes should declare war on Norway. After which we promptly surrender, and all our problems become Norway's problems instead.

Similar jokes were made when the outlook for a Swedish NATO ascension was bad. The much more cool-headed and diplomatically grounded Finns were set to join NATO without trouble. So the solution was obvious: Sweden should join Finland instead of NATO. Relevant context is that Norway was the junior partner of a personal union with Sweden for most of the nineteenth century and until 1905. Also Sweden and Finland was one…

also some other Scandinavians captured and sold Finns as slaves until about 1100.. some things are hard to forget once known widely

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#147

Post by lynguist »

yencabulator wrote: post #120
noduerme wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Still on escalators everywhere, if you're standing, you stand on the right. If you're passing, you pass on the left.

In Tokyo it's common to stand on the left and pass on the right. https://www.getaroundjapan.jp/archives/4730

And opposite in Western Japan!

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#148

Post by rkagerer »

Interesting how changing up the side of the road drivers use elevated their attention, resulting in less accidents, until the activity became second nature again.

The relatively smooth changeover saw a temporary reduction in the number of accidents... These initial improvements did not last, however. The number of motor insurance claims returned to "normal" over the next six weeks

Iceland saw a similar effect on "H-dagurinn" when they made the switch (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-dagurinn):

Traffic accident rates briefly dropped as drivers overcompensated for the increased risk from driving on the unfamiliar side of the road, before returning to the level following the trend prior to the changeover.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#149

Post by gmac »

gerikson wrote: post #28
matsemann wrote: post #7

One surprising (after we got a ticket..) thing about parking laws in Sweden is that you're also only allowed to park on the right side of the road / with the car in the direction of the traffic. This has the benefit of that when you're leaving the street parking, you are sitting close to the lane and can look behind you for coming cars and only cross one lane. Compared to parking on the "wrong" side, where you're sit…

As a Swede it amazes me that some countries allow parking "in the wrong direction". I've never even thought about it, and I don't know if it's a written rule (I'm sure it is, just it;s been a long time since I got my license).

As a Brit it amazes me that this is even a concept. I've certainly never heard of it. We park whichever way is convenient.

Re: Högertrafikomläggningen

#150

Post by matsemann »

rkagerer wrote: post #148

Interesting how changing up the side of the road drivers use elevated their attention, resulting in less accidents, until the activity became second nature again. The relatively smooth changeover saw a temporary reduction in the number of accidents... These initial improvements did not last, however. The number of motor insurance claims returned to "normal" over the next six weeks Iceland saw a similar effect on "H-d…

Yes, it's a thing that makes it hard for city planners and transport engineers when they test out new things. Any change often improves status quo in the start, so need to run it for long enough to actually gather valid data.
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