Tight Squeeze: Parking in Japan
It's no secret that import cars are usually smaller than their domestic rivals, this can be attributed to a variety reasons. However, you might want to take a look at some of the parking spaces in Japan compared to those in America. It might make these parking spaces in Tokyo look like spots for toy cars. The lack of available parking in Japan might have some people considering a Yaris instead of the Cadillac, but certainly not everyone. At least one person managed to squeeze a Hummer H3 in a spot. How it actually got there remains a mystery that only David Blaine might have the answer to. It isn't just small parking spaces, it's the lack of space in general. You might be parking in car vending machine, which would make loosing change or having the car get stuck, precariously teetering on the edge a little bit more nail bighting than a stuck candy bar. You're alternative it seems is to spend a few hundred a month to park in a lot so far away you'd have to take another car to get to it.
Comments
Dustin B.
I believe it...The Japanese are among the best drivers in the world. I know because I lived there for 3 years. However, the one's who were born/live in America seem to have an opposite effect.
The driving schools in Japan are extremely expensive, not to mention difficult in order to discourage everyone from driving or owning a car due to lack of space. But let me tell you, the one's who are on the road are usually damn good....they have to be.
bepsf
Dustin B is right - the Japanese take their responsibilities while behind the wheel very seriously. You don't find them yapping on the phone, drinking coffee or fixing their makeup while driving the way many Americans do.
Will Patrick
It should be WAY harder to get a license in the United States!
hwyhobo
No, it shouldn't be. All in all, drivers in the US are some of the most courteous you will find anywhere in the world, and I drive in many different countries on a regular basis. There are pockets of aggressive driving in the US, but that is not related to driver's ed. For all the love fest with the "get tough on getting driver's licenses" and Japanese drivers, in Japan there is one fatality per 9 cars, in the US 1 per 6, and the difference is highly localized.
Besides, how exactly do you enforce those tougher licenses among illegals who drive without licenses?
All the tougher requirements would do is create yet another enormous bureaucracy that would feed on creating more and more regulations and corruption. No, thanks. That's like killing a flu with a baseball bat.
Eric
Drivers in the US are some of the most courteous you will find anywhere in the world???
Where do you drive? You certainly don't live in Jersey. Feel free to stop by, fallow me on my commute one day, and see if you still feel that way.
And you can't compare stats on Japan's number of fatalities per car versus the entire US's. We have far more land per person here - I doubt there are more than 5 fatalities per year in Montana. If you want to compare a region of the US that is equivalent in population density to that of Japan, then you might have a more accurate and relevant comparison.
And just because there are some illegal’s who drive without licenses that means the rest of the population shouldn't have higher standards? Good logic. Hell, if 0.2% of the drivers out there are illegal’s without licenses, we might as well get rid of licenses altogether then, eh? I'm sure there are lots of illegal’s who can afford to own a car too.
hwyhobo
Drivers in the US are some of the most courteous you will find anywhere in the world??? Where do you drive? You certainly don’t live in Jersey.
No, thank you. I live on the West Coast (Silicon Valley, to be precise). I drive all over the country, and I stand by my statement. Please read my previous post again and note "There are pockets of aggressive driving in the US, but that is not related to driver’s ed."
And just because there are some illegal’s who drive without licenses that means the rest of the population shouldn’t have higher standards?
You have merely asserted, but failed to prove that growing yet another absurd, corrupt bureaucracy will in fact result in better driving habits. I stand by my statement that some NJ, NY, and Boston drivers are aggressive for reasons unrelated to their driver's education.
Good logic. Hell, if 0.2% of the drivers out there are illegal’s without licenses, we might as well get rid of licenses altogether then, eh?
Your leaps of reasoning are fantastic. Nowhere did I suggest that. I merely suggested that current standards are perfectly adequate, and that more stringent government requirements would not make for a better driving experience.
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