Shocking Cultural Differences Between Germany & USA! 🇩🇪🇺🇸 No. 81-83 #shorts

[karinwenzel]

Not the traffic lights again, seems to be a US American trauma when driving in Europe. ;-) You are not meant to look up to the traffic light above you, if you are the first car at a red traffic light, you just look right (bend your head in a less than 45 degrees angle) because that traffic light on the right is the one for you. (Or left if it is a dual carriage way and you want to turn left.) The traffic lights above you are for the cars behind you so that they know when to change into first gear. In Europe, you'll find traffic lights usually in cities where they don't just regulate car traffic, but also pedestrians crossing the street or bicycles or even separate bus lanes. So it's very complex and they American way just would be confusing and dangerous. That's also the reason why there is no turning right on a red traffic light (unless there is a green arrow attached to the traffic light) because you could easily run over cyclists or pedestrians.
On major (or minor) roads outside cities you'll rarely find traffic lights, but roundabouts (modern traffic circles) which work just fine for cars only traffic.

[prof]

Bro if you are the front car, don't look at the traffic light above you but at the light at your side. The above one is for the cars behind you.

[agn]

Traffic lights - doing it wrong, and complain about it, proving America's world leading ignorance. Priceless

[vomm]

The reason why traffic lights are before the intersection is to protect pedestrians. It forces cars to stop before the pedestrian crossing, and not to drive on or over it. Of course, this is not understood in car-centric America.

[Harzer-Roller]

It's nice that you live in southern Germany and always show Germans wearing Seppel hats and lederhosen. But the majority of Germans dress normally and don't wear Seppel hats, just as not all US Americans wear cowboy hats.

[emiliajojo]

There are always two ways to do things.the wrong way, and the german one.

[real_doombastic]

Sry, but the traffic lights in he US are on the wrong place. A traffic sign has to stand BEFORE an intersection.... or why are STOP signs before an intersection? xD

[Isabel_Czichy_Art]

It's so stupit do pay gas BEVOR filling your tank. I mean, you don't pay bevor going shopping, do you?!

[saskewoo]

I think one reason for this is that we don't always have perfect perpendicular intersections so it might be harder to know which light is for which road if they were on the opposite side, sometimes maybe even impossible because of the way roads intersect, as well as what buildings may be around

[crazydavelp]

I feel like they had to put the traffic lights in the middle of the intersection because every single American fails to stop at the stop line in front of the intersection. There is a line for a reason, goddamnit.

Purely from the perspective of the driver of a car, I agree that the American placement of traffic lights seems "better", as the German type can be less convenient to see, especially if you are first in line at the intersection.

But if you consider traffic participants beyond cars, the American system is more dangerous, as it encourages cars not to stop at the stop line, but to encroach on pedestrian crossings. I see that all the time in the US and entering a pedestrian crossing can be scary, even when my light says WALK.

The German traffic light placement forces cars to stop at or before the stop line (and well before pedestrian crossings) so they can actually see their signal at all.

This reflects a general cars first policy and attitude in American street and traffic design (in most places) whereas in Europa pedestrian (and bicycle) safety more often takes precedence over car driver convenience.

[eaglede]

Traffic lights on the opposite side of the road are for cheaters !

[anewly]

At petrol stations in Germany, you can pay at the pump also

[stuborn-complaining-german]

And of course we do all that maily to annoy the Americans! 😜

[eaglede]

WRONG ! german traffic lights have markings where to stop to have a good view on the lights. Even more so there are multiple traffic lights in different positions so that if you can't see one you see another... (arguing that is just american laziness...)

[mc_redspace]

That traffic light above you, is for the people far behind you.
On your right is a second one for you and the few people behind you
and under that (In France) is often another tiny one, specially for the first person in lane.

So basically there are 2 or 3 traffic lights for the same lane.
Specifically to solve that problem you mention.

[brewdog]

Fully agree with the traffic light comment… it drives me crazy how they do it here!

[EngelinZivilBO]

It's due to traffic law.. you could turn before the traffic light, what isn't indented, there are traffic lights on the opposite side if the street allow it

[RobintheW]

As a tall German I also hate our Traffic light placement.
I know why they're in front of the crossing but I absolutely hate having to do gymnastics every time I'm at the front of an intersection

[norrinradd]

As you may have heard, cities in Europe are not built for cars. Most of them have existed longer than cars and are therefore built for people and horse-drawn carts. Very often more than two roads cross at intersections, often three or more. This is why Europeans have many traffic circles in different variations. You can't regulate intersections with more than two roads with traffic lights across the intersections when space is limited. Nobody would demolish a historic place or a historic building just for cars. They love their national heritage, which is usually centuries old and will still exist when the cars are gone.