We in America are probably marked forever in our view of roundabouts by the Chevy Chase movie European Vacation in which Chevy as the quintessential American tourist with his family gets on a large roundabout in England and can’t get off for hours. The actual use of roundabouts however is much more efficient than stop lights\signs and apparently saves a great deal of gas over the stop and go intersections we use in America. Roundabouts have multiple entrances and the vehicle (car, bus, motorcycle, bike) coming from the left has the right away. With some practice and confidence, a driver can time their entrance and exit to slip between cars with a minimum of braking. It kind of reminds me of figure 8 racetracks I’ve seen in Florida (similar to a demolition derby) where vehicles slip in and out of the intersection without having to stop. The key seems to be to understand the right of way rule and drive with confidence. Of course, I’ve almost hit three cars and just about creamed a biker, but that’s only because I’m new at it. It’s kind of like watching a race when you see the local drivers speed up or slow down to fit within the cars and then get out of the pattern. The big boat rule applies. If a large bus enters the roundabout, then look out because the bus drivers take the offense and the rest better take cover. With that exception, they really do work remarkable well and it’s kind of fun to whip your little car through one and continue unscathed out the other side. (I hope I don’t eventually have to eat these words). Cars here are almost universally small, although I did see one Tahoe, and it is hard to find an automatic, most are stick shift. This gives us racer types the chance to try out our speed racing skills as the cars are quite powerful or at least feel that way from 2” above the pavement, and nimble. Further, the Swiss and French fancy themselves as NASCAR drivers and want to get wherever they are going first. This makes for an interesting commute. Throw in the motorcycles, bikes, buses, and small roads and you’ve got a convoy. I typically have a driver pasted on my rear bumper because even though I’m over the speed limit, the driver behind me wants to show how much quicker he or she can get there. This is serious business, no room for the squeamish. That is until you purchase gas. For my microspeedster, I filled up on less than an empty tank at $1.32/liter and it was fifty dollars. Not bringing my big American gas-guzzler truck here.
If you’ve not experienced it, you have at least heard of the efficiency of the bus and rail systems in Europe and certainly in most of the western European countries (Italy may be an exception). The trains and buses are modern, fast, efficient, timely, and expensive. For the bus, some stations have a dispenser so that you enter your destination, put in your coins (exact change) and out pops a ticket good for one or two hours. With that, you can hop on and off the train or bus or train/bus combination, or train/bus/water taxi combination around Lake Leman, as many times as you like during that timespan. If the station or pick up point doesn’t have a ticket machine, machines are available on the bus. They also sell monthly passes between various zones for less money. No one takes up your ticket or checks your ticket or pass and the driver is totally uncaring and inattentive to the passengers. However, occasionally the police board the bus from both ends and check tickets and passes and if you do not have one, then you get an 80 CHF fine – about $80.00. If the machine on the bus is not working which I’ve seen several times, no excuse. In that case you get off ASAP, pick up a ticket at the stop if they have a machine and hop back on, or, take your chances. It’s a pain purchasing on the bus because it is lurching around, you are slow if you don’t read French, people are waiting on you, and you’re typically fumbling for the right change and at my age, I have no idea what the coins are and can’t read them. The pass is much sweeter, you just hop on with it securely in your pocket and enjoy the show at the ticket dispenser.
It is often said in Switzerland that you can set your watch by the bus or train and it’s true. We were taking a train back to Geneve from Lausanne last weekend and it wasn’t there about two minutes before it was suppose to depart. Then in those two minutes it pulled in, loaded people, and zipped off at the exact minute and second it was scheduled to depart. These things are not cheap. A one way fare on the bus or train is about four dollars. My monthly pass is $95.00. Our round trip to Luzanne from Geneva, probably 50 miles one way, was 40 dollars. On the other hand, the buses are the big Mercedes folding buses and are fast and clean and the trains are even better because they don’t lurch and the seats are comfortable.
I had driven Chris to school the other day and dropped him off and was returning home through the town of Versoix (Ver as in Very and soix as in swua) on the lake road. I’m in my Toyoda Varis, a car about the size of those little enclosed plastic kiddie cars that kids move with their feet sticking out the bottom, and in a line of traffic. The two main automobile arteries into Geneva from up the lake are the Interstate and the Lake Road and both are crowded at rush hour (between 6:00 am and 8:00 pm). We are bumper to bumper and moving slowing when several motorcycles pass me on the left riding on the road stripe because cars are moving fast at us coming the other direction. I could have patted them on their helmets next to my window – of course I would have had to reach up. About that time several other motorcycles pass me on the right which I’ve come to find out is a perfectly acceptable practice, legal or not. Behind the motorcycles is a Lance Armstrong want-a-bee in full bike attire and he is going very fast as he passes me on the left and then he passed the four motorcycles riding the center line just to their left. We are not stopped but all moving at different speeds in the same direction. It gets really interesting because we were coming into a large four entrance roundabout with cars coming in from all directions and exiting at different points - fast. The cyclist zipped through and left us all in his dust, now that is roundabout confidence.
Oh, and of course you can walk which everyone does. I’ve walked more this month than I have in the last year.
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