On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:44:03 GMT, T i m wrote:

On Sat, 13 Aug 2005 12:01:04 +0100, Andy Hall
wrote:


IMCE, this is very much a north/south issue or perhaps a cultural one
in Europe.

Countries further north or with a Germanic language/cultural root tend
to have a more proceduralised environment and usually do tend to work
by and to follow rules.

Those further south with more of a Latin language/cultural root tend
to have the rules, but frequently apply them just when something bad
happens.

Seems to fit ...

I was driving a mate recently (who had moved to Italy about 10 years
ago) when the set of lights I was approaching turned to amber and I
stopped (it would have been touch and go that I would have crossed the
first set *just* as they turned red or not).

He had a bit of a panic and asked me 'not to do that again!'. He said
that had I done that (stopped on an amber) in Nth Italy I would
probably had had a car in my boot, in the South it would have been
guaranteed!

Oh sure. The best white knuckle ride I ever had was with a taxi
driver in Milan who thought that traffic lights were more of a
"policy" thing. However, he did believe in giving hand signals. The
window was wound down the whole time and he gave many of them with the
middle finger of his left hand.




So I wonder why this Nth / Sth (Europe) thing is though? And are there
any stats to show the consequencies of 'not following the rules' is
more dangerous (the point of all these rules / regs in the first place
in most cases)?

It's a stereotype, of course, but I think that the main part is
cultural.

The idea of having rules covering lots of things in many countries in
continental Europe probably comes on the back of the civil legal
systems which are based on the Napoleonic code or on the codified
environments of the German speaking countries.

Scandinavia does not seem to be so influenced by that approach, there
being more of a culture of the individual (but with humility).

The British system tends to be based on case law and hence I suspect
that this has been the reason why the culture is not naturally in
favour of regulation and legislation on things unless there is a need
to do so.

In terms of impact, I suspect that there are a whole bunch of factors
for a given issue.




--

..andy

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