# American tourists in here! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 30, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595 "2004-07-30T14:22:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/1 "2004-07-30T14:22:30Z")
This is also not a “Americans suck” post. I’m not anti-American. I’m anti-left ‘lane camping American tourists drivers’ . Like it or not, while you’re visiting another country, you’re a representitive for your country. If you act like a fucker while driving with American plates (in this case Massachusetts), you’re just giving other American drivers all a bad name. Too bad there’s just too many examples of retarded American drivers that I’ve seen in the past 10 days (from states like Florida and Texas). Guys (and gals). I know for a fact while you drove to my lovely city of Toronto you passed signs that read “slower traffic keep right”. These signs are in English. The same English that you guys should have learned in school. Fucking HEED the signs or don’t get pissed if 50 cars zoom past your fucking vehicle cutting you off and/or honking at you. The left lane is not the “crusing” lane. Why the fuck are you driving in that lane while not passing the vehicle beside you? Is it an American thing? Do you guys get lessions that teach you to fuck the left lane because the _right_ lane is actually the passing lane? These days Canadian/American relations are rather strained. I personally know many Americans who are good, decent people. It pains me to see one driver piss of a hundred Canadian drivers by fucking with our roads. And yes, I know there are plenty of Canadian drivers that I can rant at (and og knows I have) but as a tourist you should take a little more time trying not to piss off others. Again, you just tarnish other Americans when you act like a fucking idiot. ---
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/2 "2004-07-30T14:33:24Z")
This from a Toronto driver. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/3 "2004-07-30T14:39:55Z")
We just like to ram people with our big SUVs, we can’t help it. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/4 "2004-07-30T14:41:46Z")
But you forgot that we don’t care if you piss you guys off. After all, you’re only Canadians. 😉 Joking, I’m only joking. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/5 "2004-07-30T14:46:26Z")
They have roads in Canada? I’ll have to take the canoe accross some time and check them out. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/6 "2004-07-30T14:47:33Z")
Until we receive an official apology for Brian Adams, we refuse to apologize for our drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Bruce\_Daddy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85f322/32.png) [@Bruce\_Daddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bruce_Daddy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/7 "2004-07-30T14:48:34Z")
How do you drive with all that snow on the ground all the time? ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/8 "2004-07-30T14:50:09Z")
> [@World Eater](#): > > We just like to ram people with our big SUVs, we can’t help it. I purposely left out any mention of the vehicle this guy from MA was driving. They don’t sell it (I think) in Canada and it was the first I’d seen. The Nissan Armada. Holy cow. That thing’s not an SUV, it’s a fucking tank/mobile home! Not that I didn’t like seeing it. I just wish the guy didn’t cruise the left lane at 110 km/h (that’s about 68 mph for you Americans) while traffic rerouted around his right side doing at least 140. I mean, come on! I know you Americans speed! Why do we only get the slow shitty drivers? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/9 "2004-07-30T15:01:38Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > This from a Toronto driver. 😛 Tell me about it. Driving on the QEW is more risky than gambling at Casino Niagara, what with drivers passing you on both sides at 125 km/h and up. What the OP neglects to mention is that “slow” on a Greater Toronto freeway means “less than 10 km/h over the posted speed limit.” One of my friends from Toronto once complained that “The 401 has taken years off of my life”–not from the construction, but from the other drivers flying past her, going faster than her Mazda could go downhill in a hurricane. And, just to turn the tables–we here in Niagara County remind you Canadians: 50 mph is 88 km/h. Not 50 km/h. Not 110 km/h. Remember this as you drive down our local roads, especially the one right outside my apartment. ---
**Author:** ![Philster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/13edae/32.png) [@Philster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philster)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/10 "2004-07-30T15:02:25Z")
There must be something about driving in another country, because down here the Northeast U.S. roads are just littered with Canada’s finest overloaded, unmaintained rust buckets going unsafe speeds while tailgaiting. Sure, in Canada a car that is 40% rust, 160% to max cargo capacity and 125% to max passenger capacity might be considered safe, but that overloaded roof rack and pathetic excuse for a trailer really belong farther south…say, in Mississippi. Is there some kind of law that requires all your vehicles to have at least two bald tires? Is the rust a sign that no one has figured out how to keep road salt from eating your cars, or is it a sign that you are too busy forking over everything you make to provide yourself with decent and safe transportation? ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/11 "2004-07-30T15:06:30Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > And, just to turn the tables–we here in Niagara County remind you Canadians: 50 mph is 88 km/h. Not 50 km/h. Not 110 km/h. Remember this as you drive down our local roads, especially the one right outside my apartment. OK, in the spirit of international understanding, I should restate that 50 mph is 80, not 88, km/h. But I still can’t figure out why I see so many Ontario-plated vehicles either trailing several cars behind, or zooming down a two-lane rural road at freeway speeds, without figuring something’s up. ---
**Author:** ![Greathouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greathouse/32/2992_2.png) [@Greathouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greathouse)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/12 "2004-07-30T15:06:40Z")
> [@badmana](#): > > I know you Americans speed! Why do we only get the slow shitty drivers? It is our new invasion technique. We are gonna start off by send all our really bad, slow drivers up north. We figured it wouldn’t take much more than that. I mean it’s _Canada_ fer cryin’ out loud. If that doesn’t do it, then we’ll just have to send in the _Salvation Army_. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/13 "2004-07-30T15:08:50Z")
> [@Philster](#): > > There must be something about driving in another country, because down here the Northeast U.S. roads are just littered with Canada’s finest overloaded, unmaintained rust buckets going unsafe speeds while tailgaiting. And drive for any length of time in Texas or Florida and you’ll be impressed by the vast numbers of giant motor homes with Canadian plates, struggling to get up to their cruising speed of 50 mph on the Interstates. ---
**Author:** ![badmana](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@badmana](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badmana)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/14 "2004-07-30T15:12:57Z")
> [@Duke](#): > > Tell me about it. Driving on the QEW is more risky than gambling at Casino Niagara, what with drivers passing you on both sides at 125 km/h and up. What the OP neglects to mention is that “slow” on a Greater Toronto freeway means “less than 10 km/h over the posted speed limit.” One of my friends from Toronto once complained that “The 401 has taken years off of my life”–not from the construction, but from the other drivers flying past her, going faster than her Mazda could go downhill in a hurricane. > > And, just to turn the tables–we here in Niagara County remind you Canadians: 50 mph is 88 km/h. Not 50 km/h. Not 110 km/h. Remember this as you drive down our local roads, especially the one right outside my apartment. Nothing special about the QEW/401 highways. It’s rather simple. Keep all the way right, and you only get passed on the left side! Wow! Rocket science! I’ve driven along a huge amount of the 401 (from Montreal to Niagara) at the limit without a problem. Cars passing me don’t worry me. What worries me are the timid drivers who SLOW DOWN when trying to overtake a truck. Or those who can’t drive within the lane. The drivers doing 140/160 or 200 km/h shouldn’t be the ones you should be worried about. It’s the guy who doesn’t pay attention and wipes out on the freeway who I keep an eye out for. Indeed **Philster**. Maybe I shouldn’t just point out Americans but _any_ tourist driving along in another country. While I was in Detriot I drove in the right lane at the speed of traffic and signalled all my turns. I basically drove in “polite” mode (of course half of that was trying not to get shot 😃 ). ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/15 "2004-07-30T15:29:33Z")
If it makes you feel any better, people **are** told here - at least in driver education classes and the “rules of the road” handbooks - that they should stay left if they’re going slower than the flow of traffic, and they still manage to screw that up. It’s general stupidity, not an attempt to pick a fight. I know my father-in-law probably ticked off a number of Italians the first time I traveled to Italy with him. He was driving on the highways in first gear much of the time, maybe second, though I don’t think he spent an inordinate amount of time in the passing lane. I’m sure the people who thought they were traveling slowly but had to pass him were annoyed, at least. By the time we got back, there was a smell like oil burning, and the car made noises like an angry cat. High-pitched “rrrroooOOOOOwwww” sounds, seriously. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/16 "2004-07-30T15:43:18Z")
Yeah that Armada is a huge fucker. A one car armada if you will. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/17 "2004-07-30T16:03:58Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > If it makes you feel any better, people are told here - at least in driver education classes and the “rules of the road” handbooks - that they **should stay left** if they’re going slower than the flow of traffic, and they still manage to screw that up. Dammit! I manage to screw up my explanation - that should have been **should stay right**. ---
**Author:** ![Legolamb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4491bb/32.png) [@Legolamb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Legolamb)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/18 "2004-07-30T17:07:04Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Until we receive an official apology for Brian Adams, we refuse to apologize for our drivers. This from the country that produced Britney Spears… ---
**Author:** ![badbadrubberpiggy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/57b2e6/32.png) [@badbadrubberpiggy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/badbadrubberpiggy)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/19 "2004-07-30T17:16:54Z")
> [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Until we receive an official apology for Brian Adams, we refuse to apologize for our drivers. According to South Park, Canada has apologized for Bryan Adams on numerous occasions. However, I personally would like an apology for Celine Dion… ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2004, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595/20 "2004-07-30T17:17:40Z")
> [@Ferret Herder](#): > > Dammit! I manage to screw up my explanation - that should have been **should stay right**. LOL , it would have made more sense keeping it the original post. For the record , anyone driving in Canada , be it indigs or tourists (that includes Torontonians) , stay out of the hammer lane and yeild to faster traffic. Declan [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-tourists-in-here/257595.md?page=2)