I don’t think the French know what a queue is.

[sdm@social.taker.fr]

@Zambunny @oblomov i thought italians loved zipping around in their little fiats?

[gustavinobevilacqua@mastodon.cisti.org]

@sdm @oblomov

Once I was at a red light downtown Koblenz.

Since there was not a single car on the road, I pushed the "Nur für Blinde" button to cross with the green.

An old gentleman started to rebuke me, and I replied (in Italian) "Scusi, non parlo tedesco" 😄

[oblomov@sociale.network]

@sdm @Zambunny it's a bit more complicated:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiRibi19wdU

[oblomov@sociale.network]

@sdm oh yeah, french apparently don't care. Curiously, Americans do. We had a workshop in Paris and an American was with us, and all of us (Italians and French) would just cross the road whether there was no danger, even without traffic lights or zebra crossings, and the American was SHOCKED («but but but jaywalking»)

[oblomov@sociale.network]

@GustavinoBevilacqua @sdm that's basically how it went for me with the cops. They checked my ID, and I'm pretty sure they just let me with go with a stern taking to because I was Italian.

[sdm@social.taker.fr]

@oblomov @GustavinoBevilacqua it really depends. i've crossed on red in germany a few times, but you have to be strategic...and obviously not in front of cops.

[oblomov@sociale.network]

@sdm @GustavinoBevilacqua yeah that was an extremely poor choice on my side, but really it was because I hadn't noticed them at all, just as I had not noticed the traffic light 8-D

[zambunny@livellosegreto.it]

@oblomov @sdm Many years ago they did, because all cars were small anyway. Now everybody and their mother seems to need an ugly ass giant SUV that they can't even park properly anyway. I hate them with a passion.

[sdm@social.taker.fr]

@Zambunny @oblomov yes i see these in france all the time and i'm like "for what!!" the roads don't fit these cars anyway

[zambunny@livellosegreto.it]

@sdm @oblomov At least I hear in Paris they must pay lots of extra taxes and they pay their parking spots double, too. Someone is trying to actively do something against these monsters.

[vfrmedia@social.tchncs.de]

@Zambunny @sdm @oblomov

I think in all Europe now the cars are mostly *either* superminis or SUVs, but superminis have bloated in recent years - for instance a former work colleague got a new VW Polo recently, this is now same size as my Mk 7,5 Golf GTI. Fiat 500 has similarly grown, at least the new ones are electric.

I have never wanted an SUV - but I am a single man and don't have kids or dogs.

I think one factor is end of "nuclear family" and a lot of people having multigenerational extended family groups with biological kids and stepchildren, with a wide age gap of kids living at home and depending on parents for transport (from primary school kids to teenagers) and an expectation of more interior space in a family car (compared to 30+ years ago)

[sabrinaweb71@sociale.network]

@oblomov @sdm Italian queues are actually heaps