Although not all Germans are to blame for this stupid thing about Germany, the fact the Germans don’t start a revolution to change this is annoying.
When you drive in Germany, you never want to be the first car at a stop light, because in Germany they put the traffic light on your side of the street instead of across the street. This causes you to have to lean forward and sort of look around your rear view mirror to try to catch a glimpse of the traffic light directly above your head.
Since Germans have realized that they chose a rather moronic place to put their traffic lights, they often place an extra traffic light lower on pole that holds the crossbeam for the benefit of the first car at the light. That person need not look straight up, they can also look straight across the car, unless there is a passenger in the car, who would then block the view.
deutsche Übersetzung für Astrid ein/ausblend
Mahlzeit, Astrid,
hier die Übersetzung:
Ampeln direkt über dem Kopf
Auch wenn man nicht alle Deutschen für diese dumme Sache verantwortlich machen kann, ist die Tatsache, dass keiner eine Revolution startet, auch schon sehr nervig.
Wenn Sie in Deutschland Auto fahren, möchten Sie sicher nie das erste Auto an der roten Ampel sein, denn in Deutschland sind die Ampeln auf Ihrer Seite der Straße anstatt hinter der Kreuzung. Dies zwingt sie dazu, sich vorzulehnen und irgendwie um den Rückspiegel herumzugucken, damit Sie wenigstens eine Ahnung davon bekommen, was die Ampel direkt über Ihnen gerade anzeigt.
Und weil selbst die Deutschen mittlerweile gemerkt haben, dass sie sich einen idiotischen Platz für ihre Ampeln ausgesucht haben, platzieren sie oftmals eine zusätzliche Ampel etwas weiter unten und seitlich, so dass auch das erste Auto an der Ampel eine Chance bekommt, diese zu sehen. Diese Person muss dann nicht gerade nach oben gucken, sondern sie können die Ampel nun auf der rechten Seite sehen, es sei denn es sitzt noch eine weitere Person im Auto, die dann auch diese Sicht versperren würde.
Viele Grüße,
John
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April 29th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
I never noticed that, but I think your right. Senseless, in a way. However, when I visited the States, I thought this little traffic light in the middle of the crossing can be overlooked easily and I had to concentrate on searching for it every time i approached a crossing. “First come, first go” was always an adventure. Unimaginable for a german how you determine who is responsible for a eventual car accident.
Despite this driving a car there is kind of boring, though. Automatic transmission feels like driving a dodgem car for me and the speed limit in Califorinia was hard to take. 65 mph is simply to slow, imho 80-90 would be appropriate. Such a big country and no chance to get ahead. :o)
May 5th, 2008 at 2:39 pm
You are wrong.
First of all, the “main” light is not the light on top, but the light on the right side. Second the light on the right side is perfectly visible to the driver if he stops before the bold white line on the street. Even if your co-driver is a giant hulk.
Third the purpose of the light on top is dead simple: You can see it even from a long distance. So when you drive towards a crossing, you can easily see if its red or green and change your speed accordingly.
To me as german the light on top makes perfect sense. But maybe we are different
(From now one I’m subscribing this blog to correct you every time you post something :p )
May 5th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
You are absolutely right, I always have to crane my neck to see the traffic lights.
But there is one thing you might not have noiced: The second traffic light is not always on a beam above the street. Sometimes there is only one traffic light at the side of the street and a second red light right next to it. This is to make sure that always one of the red lights works.
May 5th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
One further pro is that you can’t go too far on the street. If you do so, you won’t know when the green comes up. So you won’t block the way. And on some places it might be hard to fint out which light is yours, as there maybe are more crossings of streets that are not rectangular to each other.
May 6th, 2008 at 10:19 am
You have no idea how often my parents and I almost ran a red light in Canada and the States because the traffic light was on the _other_ side of the intersection. We were so used to driving up to the light that it took us a couple of unpleasant surprised until we learned that we had to stop way before the light.
I found that extremely confusing because I was never really clear on where the light belonged.
May 6th, 2008 at 12:43 pm
Personally, I find it rather confusing to make a turn and to have to pass the red light when driving in the States. I never drove myself in the States but I found myself screaming at my American friend who was driving to stop because I thought it was red though obviously the traffic light was not meant for our direction.
May 6th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
two other things in Germany that work differently:
1st:
No U-turn…
2nd:
crossroads doesn’t work like in the US.
In Germany always the guy from the right side comes first IF NOT regulated by any other traffic signs.
I personally prefer the american way of crossroads-reglementation.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:18 am
Das kann man einfach erklären: Fußgänger und Radwege spielen eine weit größere Rolle in Deutschland, es wäre zu chaotisch wenn man an den Rad/Fußwegen nochmal extra Ampelanlagen anbrächte (wo es eh schon genug Schilder usw. gibt). Das ist an und für sich der einzige Grund, die Fußgänger/Radampeln sind fast immer am gleichen Mast angebracht wie die Ampeln für die Autos. Wobei ich festgestellt hab, dass das in den Regionen teils extrem unterschiedlich ist. Vom grünen Abbiegepfeil im Osten bis hin zu wahrhaft übergroßen Kreuzungslandschaften in Bayern die für mich immer wie ein Autobahnkreuz aussehen dabei ists nur eine Kreuzung von zwei Landstraßen
Naja, die haben ja auch mehr Platz im Süden..
May 17th, 2008 at 11:21 am
Actually: I never noticed that fact. Maybe that’s because we Germans have better eyes or are just aren’t lazy enough like Americans^^
May 22nd, 2008 at 8:24 pm
it is true and i don’T think it has anything to do with americans being to lazy to look up there. it has more to do with the car you are sitting in.
in some cars it’s in fact impossible to see the red-light turn green. you unly know by the people behind you using their horn.
May 25th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I’ve often been annoyed by this myself. At the same time, I never really got used to the American style, either. Those cheese-eating surrender monkeys, on the other hand, have additional tiny lights mounted to the pole at a lower level that are perfectly visible from the first car in line.
August 3rd, 2008 at 9:37 am
The front of your car has to be beyond the stop line big time for the passenger to block your view of the lights on the right hand side. As you can see in the picture the lights are still in front of the first car allowing a clear view. Sometimes the A-pillar next to your windscreen is in the way but then you just have to slightly tilt your head.
I personally have more trouble seeing ANY lights when the sun is hitting them on a freak angle. I guess that’s quite international though.
August 3rd, 2008 at 6:17 pm
“I personally have more trouble seeing ANY lights when the sun is hitting them on a freak angle.”
Ugh, yeah, this sucks! Luckily the newer LED lights seem to be less prone to this!
October 29th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
@John
Great! You are so what of right.
This is the best thing among lots of others, I found here so far.
But almost better are some of the replys by some of my beloved fellow citizens. Especially those which tend to be ment honest. It’s etremly interesting to notice the utter idiot arguments provided to find a reasonable explaination for total foolish stuff.
October 31st, 2008 at 3:20 pm
If traffic lights would be across the street in germany we would not know when we have to honk to the truck in cross direction blocking the street in traffic jam because we don’t see the lights turn to green.
June 19th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
we wouldn’t know where to stop.
July 16th, 2010 at 7:27 pm
That can be found everywhere in Europe and yes, it’s quite annoying sometimes. In France by the way it is even worse. Sometimes they place additional miniature traffic lights on the right for the first driver in the row…