5 things that are way different in the Netherlands than in the US (Southern California) Reaction!
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• 5 things that are way ...
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#SoulToSoulTravels #reaction #netherlands
Ii wouldn't want to see you smoking on this video. So why do you think chewing tobacco is ok?
um...because it's MY channel and I'll do what I want... Do you assume that I'm going to change myself to please you? That most certainly isn't going to happen. AND, if you MUST know, it's NOT tobacco... it's mint leaves...non-tobacco, non-nicotine and none of your concern.
@@HighlyCombustibleReacts I couldn't have said it better.
@@HighlyCombustibleReacts Well said Paul....
Who are you to want this ? He can do whatever the hell he wants, and if you don't like it, don't watch.
Who are you I smoke I do what I want so can he dont watch the channel whit your comments just go away
We in the Netherlands do not need stop signs at every intersection because we have well-functioning traffic rules, which everyone also uses, it has a clear reason that getting a driver's license in the Netherlands is a costly and long-term matter, you really get a thorough training and exam in safely participating in traffic with all the rules and behaviors that you have to know and carry out, that is why you cannot exchange an American driver's license for a Dutch driver's license, you will have to take an exam in the Netherlands according to the Dutch traffic rules and standards.
One of the most important rules is the car from you're right goes first
@@bokigaab7064 Not always, if you are on a priorityroad (voorrangsweg) or if someone pulls out of an exit (uitrit). So def not every car has a right of way when he comes from the right.
@@bokigaab7064 I think one of the most important rules is an unwritten one: make eyecontact so you know you are seen and your intentions are clear.
@@komkwam true
@@dutchladylover yes also true
I am a driving instructor and i can explain why there are no stop signs.
A junction without signs means its an equivalant junction and the driver from your right has priority, no matter who arrives first.
Yes, and is so simple that even I can understand it.
I have one of those libraries in front of my house, i placed it there almost a year ago. 1st week most of the books i put in there had already been traded for others. It really is based on the honor system, and mostly everyone respects it. We got a lot of people in our neighborhood who have one in the front of the house. It's nice to give those old books a second life.
So what happens if two cars arrive at the stop sign at the exact same time? Our basic rule is: traffic from the right has right of way. We don't need a sign to remind us. 😄
Hey guys(living in the netherlands)It depends on where the stopsigns are located at the junction. If they are accros from eachother then the rule is: the one with the shortest turn gets the advantage to go first.
Alsow it depends on the matter if it goes into a two-lane road or one-lane road. If they are for example: one where you driving up to is one en one on your right. The main rule then remains the same in the netherlands. When you come from the right on a diffrent intersection, you always get the first priority. If you wanna know more about this, there are allot of videos how to drive in the netherlands about rules and terms on the road. (conclusion of your question: There are stopsigns. But only on verry importent intersections: it isnt a reminder, but its a warning to look out for a dangerous intersections.(markings are seen in red around the sign).
The only thing is often car users will give way to cyclist and pedestrians coming from the left because due to a second rule. "if you hurt a cyclist or pedestrian your liable for the damages" even if they broke the rules. Protection towards the weaker party.
@@EZMonster1991I was curious about how it works in the US …
We do have stop signs sometimes when approaching dangerous intersections. There are general rules we all know, like give way to traffic coming from the right, even a bike coming from the right goes before a car, only if you drive on a priority road you always have right of way. The side roads have shark teeth signs then in the pavement so you know you have to give way. We also have a lot of traffic lights and roundabouts that regulate the traffic. Children have to pass a traffic exam by bike during their schooltime. So we know the rules early on.
A friend of mine has a small bookcase in her frontgarden. You can take books out and put books in that you don't need anymore. You don't have to bring back the book you take out but you can if you want when you're done reading it. It works.
We prefer to support the small mostly familyshops in our neighborhood instead of the massive shops.
I had traffic lessons in primary school, sadly I don't have the bike with the "OK" sticker that we got when approved for the exam. (Which also means every child has their own bike since most of us can remember)
We have a mini library in front of our house. Its next to a cycling road, so every day we see people stop at our mini library and pick up or drop off books, then hop on their bikes and go on with life. Its nice to see that they really enjoy it. 😊
In my neighbourhood is also a big fridge and cabinet, where people can put any food they have left, or out of their garden or whatever. People can take it out if they need it. The owners take good care of it, cleaning, making sure nothing is out of date. At holidays they gather presents for children that the parents can get if they cant afford a present. So wonderful 💪
There are 2 urban libraries just on my way walking to the supermarket, 3 minutes walk. (Groningen)
I'm old enough to remember when supermarkets started putting a lot of small businesses out of business, especially green grocers, bakeries, butchers, and other food stores. Then at some point they started coming back and became cool. There's one cheese store here in town that made it through the interim and is extemely popular now.
The RUclips channel not just bikes has an interesting video on why there are almost no stop signs in the Netherlands if you are interested.
In short we do not have stop signs because or roads are designed in a way that they are not needed. We have the rule that traffic from the right goed first, and we also have yield signs to make clear that the road you are passing has priority, but stop signs should almost never be necessary.
The not just bikes video is called : stop signs suck and we should get rid of them
In that case also watch the episode about our traffic lights as they work differently, (smart lights)
I've put up the link
we have here in the netherlands called "sharkteeth " works great.
@@eobi-edobi4275 😁
The rule is: Drivers from the right, have the right away. It doesn't apply to pedestrians.
There is a miniature library kiosk in my street right across the road. I have been getting rid of too many books that I had gathered through the years. Some of them I put into this kiosk. The rest I brought to a bookstore to be sold as second hand, and sold via Marktplaats. But the miniature libraries are the best. I love the concept.
I run into 2 of these mini libraries when I walk to the grocery store. There's a website with a "minibieb" (which is what they're called) locator. One of them is part of the minibieb organisation; one is on the terrace of a sandwich shop.
When I first saw them here, I imagined they would get emptied all the time, but so far, they're not being destroyed (at least not in my town) and they're always reasonably full with books
I live in West Virginia and the town I live near has little book drops like that where people can get books and leave books
when i was in rehab, one of these book kiosks actually helped me out so much...
everytime i went on a leave of absence, i would take a book and read it.
then whenever i got my next leave of absence i'd return the book and take another...
it helped me thru some rough times man, it really is a very cool and good thing to have...!!!!
( oh and yeah BTW, i am from Rotterdam) whahaha ;)
BOOKS ARE KNOWLEDGE, KNOWLEDGE = POWER..!!!
@@ricokramer7716 RuneScape!!! :D
There are lots of yield triangles on side roads going on to a main road. On equal junctions you always yield to all vehicles (cars, bikes, horses, etc.) from your right.
No stop signs, but lots of yielding. Or roundabouts. 😁
The few stop signs we do have are only at really dangerous intersections with very poor visibility.
With the high inflation the mini kiosk are now also used to give food to people who really need it. People put stuf they have left over or special buy so people who have it difficult can take them
Lately in apartment buildings tenants sometimes place small things they have no use for anymore in the central hall, like books, household things, decorations, a vase, lamp, things like that but still in good condition, so other tenants can make use of that. Better than easely throw away.
Nice video, nice man, so are you 😊
In my neighbourhood there are a few mini libraries that people have in front of their house. Even our local supermarket has a small library when you can trade books, its pretty neat.
Eric and Tammy (Soul to Soul Travels) are such fun people, they live in Rotterdam and make lots of fun video's they made a whole food tasting series if you interested 🥰😂
soul to soul travel are awesome people..great to see you reacting to them
Following "Soul to Soul travels" since they moved to the Netherlands. Nice video's also food tasting and so. Fun to watch. Can recommend watching them.
I live in Switzerland and we have those mini book kiosks, they are great and they do get used and are never vandalised.
well...we do have stopsigns...and also what we call haaietanden..triangles in a row signed on the streets, that means we have to stop, also normally the traffic comming from the right side goes first
there are not only book kiosk's around, there are also food kiosk's in many places...
At the city hall you can get s map where all the mini library's are in the city. You exchange it with another book and if your finished you go swab it again
the actual back story to zwarte piet ... aka black pete ... he is a friend to Sinterklaas. The Historical back story is that Sinterklaas was a bishop until 362 A.D. after which he retired to the Iberian peninsula. couple of centuries later around the time of Charlemagne a Muslim people invaded the Iberian peninsula. They founded a caliphate there. now they were the leaders, But they still had their religious duties. One of which was to use some of their annual income for the betterment of the lesser fortunate. problem was ... those lesser fortunate were still catholic and god forbid a catholic to take money from a none catholic ... you might be taking a bribe from the devil. So they came up with a ruse ... they started secretly calling themselves friends of Sint Nicolaas ( Sinterklaas) that way they would pass by the windows of the houses and look at the fireplace. if they saw shoes drying at the fireplace they knew they were dealing with someone less fortunate and they would throw a small pouch with coins at those shoes ... from the friends of sinterklaas who was a bishop who was catholic so it would be acceptable for those less fortunate.
fast forward to the 80 year war and legends travel when armies do. that is how it arrived in the Netherlands. at first they were plain unrecognizable dressed like every one else. around the second half of the 19th century a historian got pissed off because pick pockets and other undesirables would pose as the friends of sinterklaas. so he backtracked the story of the friends of Sinterklaas to fiend out only the people they conquered noted a historical description of what they looked like ... and that description read ... a dark skinned Muslim people that came to the Iberian peninsula THROUGH North Africa.
the people they conquered came to the Iberian peninsula from around the Black sea area. so the historian concluded that they would have known what a Persian would have looked like ... so NOT from North Africa ( as they came THROUGH) Not a Persian. So those Muslim must have come from SUB Saharan Africa.
So the character is supposed to depict a dark skinned Muslim Noble. Hence the elaborate attire.
That's quite different from what I was thought. In short, I was thought the zwarte pieten were ex slaves (mostly north african Mores) who's freedom had been bought by a wealthy man called Nicolaas and offered a job as a page. The clothing they wear is the livery that came with the job.
This is one oft he reasons Nicolaas became a saint and his pages are still helping him deliver the gifts to children.
@@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff yeah ... but that is not the actual hystorical back ground.
If you look at the old stories you'll note that he is referred to as a "Moor" .. and that was the name of the moslim people in spain
If you look up Morish architecture in spain you wil find there are a few very beautiful buildings left.
@@Jurjen_Warrel_Ottenhoff By the By .. sint nicolaas was Bishop in Mira. which was in 362 ad in the eastern roman empire. after retiring he moved to a monastery on the Iberian peninsula . from there he would visit the port cities there. and those port cities had port side slave markets ... when ever he saw a child being sold into slavery he would buy them and free them ... But since they couldn't return home ( their parents had sold them into slavery in the first place) he offered them a job at the monastery. hence him being the patron saint of children.
Now remember the slaves at roman slave markets were mostly Mediteranian or from the barbarian tribes north from the roman world.
There are a couple of mini libraries in every neighborhood of the city I live in. We also have a mini plant librarie and one for women's hygiene products.
The last one only with new products of course.
I don't know if the Dutch read more than people in other countries, but we do have the biggest bookmarket of Europe.
It used to be 5 km of bookstands, although since covid it's been reduced.
My mom has a mini library outside of her house. She has had it for about 2 years now and she is still super happy with it, and it's getting more used then i thought. sometimes when i come by to visit there is someone in front of our front yard just reading one of the books.
Jullie willen alle niet weten in hoeveel buurten met alochtonen geen ruilkast het een dag overleven..vertel dat er ook maar eens bij..3 x ruilkasten gemaakt met zowel voetsel en boeken en gereedschap...niks blijf een dag heel of leeggeroofd...wat zijn de reacties kortzichtig..
Sinterklaas.
In short;
He was a bisshop from turkey living in spain.
He gave the poor people presents on his birthday.
He had helper, called Moren.
People from afrika with dark skin.
Thats it!
And yes discussion is there to that this tradition is wrong, discriminating!
Like you said Paul, people are destroying traditions because……long tows!
Sad!
No stop signs because everywhere outside of the US and Canada, traffic is better organised.
Our neighbour doesnt have a mini-library, but rather a sillimar sized egg stand.
She puts in cartons of eggs and people can buy a dozen eggs for 1 euro. It's pretty much done in good faith that people pay for them, simmilar to the mini trade library.
She's still doing it since she started 3 yrs ago.
I like the small businesses because I can talk with the owner who usually works really hard to help me out. Service is something different
Yes, because most of the time the small business owner is a specialist in his/her trade ( in Germany, Meister).
They know everything about the product they are selling, from the raw material to the finished product,
and they are proud to explain why those products are superior to other ( cheaper) products.
5:30 on roads where farms are located, you can go to similair boxes and buy straight from th elnd, leeks, unions, potatoes, cabbages, apples and so on, dairy farms have yoghurt, cheese and milk, meat farms will have fridges with buthered meat, steaks, sausages, brisket, you name it...wthout the middlemen raising the prices ;) ... drive around the countryside of your town and you'll be surprised :D Greetingsfrom The Netherlands
Over here stop signs are only used where they are really needed, such as in situations where drivers have only a partial clear sight on a junction.
We also have so called little "give away" kiosks on the streets in several cities where people can place relatively small objects they want to give away; anyone who wants one of those things can take it.
Also there is a system called "Bookcrossing": free books, you can read one and leave it anywhere - for example in a train - for someone else to read it and do the same.
glad you discovered StS travels, they have an awesome channel, keep in mind that this was one of the first videos they made... also there is a follow up video after this one, since they got tons of comments on this 5 things (especially with Sinterklaas en Piet) to clarify it. make sure when you subscribe to StS that you mention that Highly sent you...... thx...
Piet is black because Sinterklaas freed him from slavery when he was young. And after wanted to work for Sinterklaas. It's got NOTHING to do with the American Black face and is NOT racist. Black Piet is a Dutch hero, and all children prefer Black Piet because in fact he is bringing the presents on 5 december. You have to NOT be a racist to understand our tradition. Racists see racism in everything. That's a very negative trait.
The mini-library in my village got completely out of hand 😂
It started with a small stand for few books in our local community center.
Soon more books emerged, so they were put in a open closet.
1closet became 2 closets in a less used corridor. 2 closets became 3 and the neighboring room was annexed. Dvds were added aswell. Volunteers were requested to archive the books.
Now we have a small library with around 2000 books, run by 4 volunteers who drop by for about 30minutes per day to see if there are books returned and need to be put back. Check if there are any new books or dvds brought in to our library. The items are free to take. You can read/watch them and bring them back or you can just keep them if you really like it.
We get many compliments for our endeavours 😁
Its nice
Im happy its part of our community
we have the mini library outside, but nowadays we also have mini cabinets with non-perishable food, cleaning items, etc. where you can also take it out or exchange it for free
On an equal crossing, traffic from the right has right of way, or, if you're facing each other, shortest turn has right of way. That's it. We have speed bumps and markings that force right of way on other crossings, but when there's no signs or road marks, right has right of way.
Nice to see that you've found soul to soul travels. He has some nice video's. No stop signs is simple: you just have to yield to people who are coming from the right. If it's an unclear situation, you'll have sharks teeth on the ground or the occasional stop sign when it's really necessary (so it's not completely no stop signs).
Also straight ahead on the same road goes first, and short turn goes before long turn (i.e. the one turning right goes before the one turning left). That saves a lot of road rage or accidents when two people think they were first on a crossing.
There are quite a few book drops/swaps in my city, it's really nice to see. 😊
Yield signs are more than suffiecent. Stop sign is only used where the visibility is not so good.
we do have stop signs just not that many
we have either give way signs on intersections which means that if you are driving on said road everyone has to w8 for you to pass
we also have intersections with no signs at all and on those the traffic that comes from the right always has right of way
we also use a lot of roundabouts and on heavy traffic intersections we use traffic lights
we also use a lot of crosswalks with and without traffic lights the crosswalks without traffic lights pedestrians have right of way over any vehicle except emergency vehicles who are using there lights and sirens
I want to add that many people will also give room to someone else even thiugh you have the rigth of way. If you are stuck behind a truck on the highway, it can be hard to get on the lane next ti the truck because you have to yield to every car. If you use your signal then manytimes a car will slow down a bit to give you room or drives to the third lane
Also if you have a hard time to taje a rigth turn to a street with high volume of slow moving traffic that you have to yield, there will almost allways be someone who makes room for you. Make clear what you want with your signal, pull up a bit and try to make eye contact with the driver Chance is high ti wave you in. You have to pay attention though, since we also have our share of A**holes.
5: we don't have stop signs. On residential roads, you have priority if you're coming from the right and if you're both on the same road, the car going straight has priority., so you always know who's allowed to go first (unless a car/cyclist is coming from every direction). For arterial roads, they usually are priority roads and we use yield signs for intersections with those. Stop signs are only used when you can't really see well around the corner at an intersection.
They live in Rotterdam and have a lot of other video's about their adventures in the Netherlands and Dutch food
I can imagine that blackface is frowned upon in the USA because of their history. The black and white minstrel shows come to mind in the time there was still segregation. White dancers making their faces black in a silly way and make a mockery out of black people by portraying them as childish, dumb etc. Blackface became also outside the theatre a way of insulting black people, ridicule them etc. That is not OK. But making your face black is by itself not the problem. The problem is what it symbolizes in the USA.
This has never be the story around black Pete. Nobody knows exactly why the helpers of Sinterklaas were black. I can imagine that part of it is because it is an easy disguise. However, blackface was never used to mock black people and Sinterklaas not to mock old people.
But now we have new citizens who come from a culture close to the USA. They live in the Netherlands and due to their background see Blackface as an expression of racism while that is not the case in Dutch culture.
And that was the start if the conflict Even the UN (by an american employee) accused us of racism. I personally have no problem with changing the skincolor of black Pete because some people feel uncomfortable about it. What I can't appreciate is, that this tradition of black Pete is called racism by their own cultural bias and the Dutch culture by extension racist. What was really bad was the lack of consideration for the meaning the Sinterklaas tradition has for us. The children should have been left out of the discussion. No agressive demonstrations during the reception of sinterklaas and Zwarte Piet.
And to the UN: Fantastic that you want battle racism but before you condemn something, remove first your glasses with american bias.
And especially don't go like: there already is a Santa Claus (like she did), because the American Santa Claus is a direct ripp-off of Sinterklaas.
@@dutchladylover santa claus is not a rip-off from sinterklaas...
In the time of the VOC a piece of Amerika was dutch proportie..... t it was called New Amsterdam.. the british wanted New Amsterdam and we got Suriname instead.. New Amsterdam become New York ( look up some streek names in Harlem and u wil see it ) because a lot of dutch folk was living in New Amsterdam we brought the tradition of sinterklaas aswel.
How ever the britsh could not say sinterklaas so the say Saint nick.
And Saint nick is otherword for santa claus.
Coca-Cola did make santa claus the way we know him right now fluffy with the red coat and 12 reindeer.
@@gilbertduijnmaijer4557 Oh but it is....
Yes I know of the whole Suriname - Manhattan trade.
And it's not just Harlem but also Brooklyn (Breukelen), Hoboken (Antwerp) etc.
It was a logical deal as at that time the Dutch 'stole' Brasil from the Portugese for a short while.
The Coca-Cola thing is also known, it was a marketing trick and got 'a bit out of hand'.
But let any native English speaker try to pronounce Sinterklaas (from a piece of paper) out loud, not in their head but actualy say it, and then tell me Santa Claus is not a direct ripp-off.
Anyway, I'm not a fan of people not understanding the tradition to put their own personal historic views on it and make opinions based on a onesided argument.
That's my point.
@@gilbertduijnmaijer4557
Isn't what you're describing basically exactly what a "rip-off" is?
@@AhsimNreiziev let put a positive spin on it and say Santa Claus directly evolved from Sinterklaas?! No ill will there, just one thing directly morfing onto another, with a bit off help from capitalism😜
"zwarte piet" is a helper for Sinterklaas and the black stuf is because he has to climb down the chimney to deliver the presents.
We have give way signs, and if there are no signs drivers coming from the right have way. Traffic going straight-on on the same road (*note I say traffic here, which includes pedestrians) have way over any traffic making a turn. And concluding drivers taking the short turn have way over drivers taking the long turn (in most instances basicly,right turn over left turn) . I hope I made sense.
we have made a bookshelve out of the letterboxes downstairs in the appartementblock (8 appartments) every nos and then there are some new books and every now and then some books dissapear and sometimes re appear
I've been following them for a while and I think they're great, especially the videos about food. So funny!
We also have a box with foodstuffs such as shampoo, food, detergents, dishwashing detergents, ect for people who do not have it wide to grab
We do have stop signs. And if they are not there, there are traffic rules. I live in a small town where almost everyone says hello to each other. And when I am somewhere else I talk a lot with other people. I have not a problem with that. Just like it. Most people are friendly and social
We not only have bookpantry also with plants or as I have one with food, canned or fresh. It's called a neighborhood pantry we're you can put swap or take food depending on if you have enough or come a little short. I put one up in March and I have a new love for my neighbors now, we care that's nice to see
Almost no stop signes here (yes, we do have them), because:
1. Traffic rules
2. 'Haaientanden' (don't know the English word for it, white triangles on the road that means the crossing traffic goes first)
3. Roundabouts
4. Traffic lights
And there's no honking the horn allowed, only when there is danger 😉
1. We do have stop signs in the Netherlands. Look it up on your computer!
Being interested in peoples history and the whats and the whys: 8 years in Thailand and now back in the US.? How come?
Here I am watching this video while staring out the window, with a beautiful view of the stopsign at the end of the street and the giant Karwei hardwarestore... 🙂
In the Netherlands we have priority roads and thats indicated by signs. When you want to turn on that road, you have to give away on everybody on that road. If its free you can go. In residential areas there are ussaly equivalent intersections. And there is no sign for that, and thats how you recognize it. There are a couple if rules on this. First. The car from the right go first on the car from the left. (also bikes) Second : Two cars aprouching the intersection from opposite directions and take a turn in the same street. The one with the short turn go first.( bikes also) Third: Two cars from opposite direction and one go straight on and the other turns to the left. The one who go straight forward go first. (also for bikes and even people by foot). We have stop signs, but they are used on intersections when there is a bad view to the road you want to cross or drive on to.
About the little bookkiosk. There are also little kiosks where there are not only books but also food and female products. In fact, I am going to have sutch a kiosk in my front garden as part of a project in our village to tackel what they call " female product poverty" . Those things are expencive and we are providing them for free.
I have one in my front garden. I have books for children and adults. People will put new books in it too
Stop signs in the Netherlands usually on bigger roads and intersections, not in smaller and quieter streets in neighborhoods.
Funny that you mentioned chimneys... the zwarte pieten crawl down them to bring you presents. Or... if you've been bad take you away in a sack... 😄
Good thing about small shops. They do know what they sell.
Go to a big retailer and ask a question. The answer you get is literarly what is on the small paper that is on the shelf (already did read it). Or you get a salesman from a big company that realy realy realy realy wants you to sell his product (think Apple, Samsung, Siemens, etc. No thank you).
I live in a town near Den Bosch and the next street down has a huge bookcase on the pavement and gets used often.
I have the feeling that talking about your background is also due to lesser patriottisme. I worked when I was young some months in a summercamp in the US and couldn't believe it that everyday we had a ceremonie to raise the flag and where singing the national anthem. Every American was so proud to be an American, almost like you where the chosen ones. Like everyone wants to be Amercan and wants to live there. Here patriottisme and natiolisme only rises during soccer worldchampionship or european championship and kings day. We don't considder ourself as the best and think it's normal if you miss your home country and you memories there, even if you live here for long. We ask you to respect our country and habbits but don't have to forget where you came from. I really like the US, met a lot of friendly people, and for shure see a lot of beauty there, but really have no desire to live there or be an American.. But holidays in US...absolute Yes!
As a German, I was just thinking about when I saw the last stop sign, I can't remember where! The rest is also the same, except for the last one.
There are stop signs. But only if there is a building in the way which makes it impossible to oversee the intersection. And the other road would have right of way over the road with the stop sign.
I have one of those book cases downstairs in the appartment building entrance.
Local hardware stores are long gone, in NL. All specialised business that compete in sectors that are commoditised. Hamer you buy at the local supermarket, when the are on sale once or twice a year, or you go to Gamma, the Box store. The ones that survived, have long specialised in B2B, you can not even buy there, without a business registration. And these have merged or grouped, like into the Bouwmaat chain.
As others have also indicated, traffic from the right has right of way at an "equal" intersection. Should it happen that various traffic approaches an intersection at the same time and there's a bit of confusion, plain and simple non-verbal communication sorts out who to go first pretty quickly. A smile, a gesture, just being chill and patient goes a long way. People actually communicate with each other in those situations.
Other than that (a lot of) road markings, traffic lights, sometimes stop signs, among other options manage to make travelling in the NL very safe indeed.
I live in Anaconda MT. We have 1 stop light and there are very few stop signs. The majority of the stop signs are at the East end of town because that's were the majority of the businesses are and all of the schools. The further West you travel there are fewer and fewer stop signs. The town is very small, though. I live at the far West end of town, practically at the point where you're leaving the city limits and starting into the rural area. There is only one road into town and one road out of town - literally. If you enter from the East heading West, Pinter Scenic Highway 1 will become Main Street which is one way - West. When you leave town to go back East, you will take Park Avenue, which is a 1 way street that runs East. There is a comment explaining why there is no need for stop signs in the Netherlands. After living here and reading the reasoning behind no stop signs, I th8nk that America needs to adopt the traffic laws and intensive driver's training to earn the privilege of driving. This town is literally only 5 miles lone from the East en to the West and the numer of automobile accidents are per year are ridiculous. It's so dangerous being a pedestrian that even the small herds of mule deer that reside in the city limits have learned to use the crosswalk and to stop and look before crossing the streets. I have had to wait for the AT THE CROSSWALK while they stop and look to make sure the cars are stopping before they cross. Adult humans don't even do that anymore, despite learning to look both ways before crossing the street in kindergarten!
We also have the small book exchange kiosks in almost all of the smaller cities.
Stop signs: we do have them, but only where there's no safer option available.
Which means our roads are safer in general (I think you've reacted to Not Just Bikes before, but not the one on stop signs. You should definitely check out more of his videos to really understand these differences and why we don't risk our lives when we go outside)
Though getting a drivers licence is also harder and more expensive, because we have to actually know how to use different roads, streets, crossings, roundabouts, etc. and are only allowed to get practical lessons with certified driving instructors.
You won't be able to do the exam without your instructor's recommendation either.
And with how our traffic laws work, you really need to study for it and get those practical lessons, especially if you didn't grow up learning about the basic laws in school (at around 11/12 years old, children get a traffic exam too, to make sure they won't get in trouble riding their bikes to school alone)
Mini kiosks: They can be found all over the country, and people tend to be respectful with them. Which should be the standard with everything, but unfortunately we're not a crime free country.
It's not because we read a lot that we have these, but to encourage people everywhere to read, including people who don't have the budget to buy books.
This actually reminds me to bring some of my books to the one down the street, and find a new one to read.
And the mini book kiosks aren't the only things you'll see around here.
There are also people selling things, leaving them out with a box or tin for money, all in good faith, and people tend to be just as respectful with those mini kiosks as well.
Small businesses: Unfortunately, current energy prices are forcing small businesses to close, because they can't afford to pay their electricity bills anymore.
But these small businesses make the shopping centres feel welcoming to everyone.
They're the ones preventing the entire place from turning into concrete blocks and parking lots.
They're the ones who are specialised in the products or skills they sell, so we'll know we can trust them. And if they aren't good at what they do, the news will spread like wildfire, so they all make sure to know their craft.
Asking where you're from: We are curious people. We live in a tiny country and often wonder what brings people here.
This helps us understand and sympathise with others, and seems to be a bare minimum for most people here.
We don't like lying, keeping secrets, or pretending to be better than we are in general, and we often show this by sharing about ourselves and asking others about what they've experienced.
And honestly, the stories people have can be so interesting!
Sinterklaas: The picture shown is not blackface. It's actually trying to be the opposite.
It's the result of admitting that the caricature we grew up with was extremely racist, and needed a lot of changes.
The soot smears you see are just soot smears, not meant to make anyone look black, and all the children know that those are soot smears.
It's still a sensitive subject, though, so unless you want a heated discussion, I wouldn't recommend bringing it up among Dutch people.
its my opionion though that people shouldnt whine as much as they do about zwarte piet, ive never heard anyone in person that has a problem with it. and at the verry least ive never heard a black person having a problem with it. though all of that might be because of the general mindset in my area.
Having a nice cold one and a Mary J, and continuing on my journey together with you brother. 🍻😊🌷
Its very simple.. If crossing streets are equal (no road signs) , the one coming from the right has priority, OR it is indicated by road signs which street has priority, this can be signs on the side of the road or by the type of lines on the road.. If you come up on a row of "shark tooth's" painted on the asphalt, you must wait. Exits from private properties, parking lots or 30 km/h residential areas ("woon erven") always have to wait for ongoing traffic.
But it is something that comes very obviously to you because the roads and streets are designed in such way, you naturally know which road or street has priority, like having continuous sidewalks and bike lanes along streets that have priority, which often also function as a speed bump... coming from a lower priority street you naturally have to slow down for this sidewalk anyways.
We also have a low max speed on different roads. In the city it is 30 km or 50 km roads on the outside parts they are 70 or 90 km and highway's are 120 km
No stopsign means from right on a straight goes first , and turning left waits
You have to watch Not Just Bike's channel, a Canadian living in Amsterdam. He discussed this No Stop sign on his videos and why it is more effective.
On some roads you got triangles on the road. of the point of triangle faces you then you need to stop. We call those triangle shark teeth. those birdcages with books is not in every sity or every neighbourhood.
The big stores tried that here too.
But we the people didn't want that.
Because small business are the backbone of you're community. Very important for interaction between people
Here in Groningen are those little book,,liberys,, to and also plants, like herbs and vegetables or just plant, some put a price on it like 10 cents, but overall it’s free.
Interesting to hear the differences between the USA and the Netherlands.
About the stop signs: they do exist here, but usually other traffic rules make them redundant. For example, on low speed neighbourhood intersections, traffic coming from the right (cars and bicycles) have priority. And larger streets usually have priority over smaller streets crossing them. They will have signs on the smaller street that you need to give priority, so you'd have to slow down when approaching the intersection. The difference with a stop sign is that that you don't have to come to a full stop when you can keep going safely. Only when the intersection has bad visibility, they would oblige you to come to a full stop when approaching a priority street.
Also, many intersections have been transformed to roundabouts or they have (smart) traffic lights.
The local tiny shops is because of our bike and pedestrian based community you only use a car if you have to go outta town
in the hague there are a lot of those book thingies too
There are rules. FYI beeping is concedered very rude unless it's used for a very good reason.
-If its an "equal" intersection then right goes first.
-If you are on the oposit sides then the one that goes straight goes first then the one that turns.
-If the road is "uneqal" you have the mainroad and side roads. The main road goes first. There are signs that indicate what road you are on.
-If you have the "sharkteeth" (triangles with point towards you) then you are NOT on the mainroad and you need to wait your turn.
It's more effective then stopsigns. Because never anyone stops at those. We have a few of the stopsigns but they are effective and that's the difference. Bcause they are only used if the intersection is poorly visible due to houses and the intersection is road vs bicyclelane. Visiblity is key. So you need to stop and then you have the time to see if no bikes are comming. It's easy to understand why you need to stop. The person needs to brush up on his traffic rules. Then he would know why you need to stop and who goes first. It's different here. And i guess we have less crashes. Roadrage is not really a thing here. And because every driver is mostly also a cyclist you are more aware of your surroundings. And that's why you keep in mind that there can be a cyclist popping in front of you when you share the road with them. Every one wants to get safley from one point to another. And cardrivers are more accountable because you are in the more dangerous and leathel vehicle. So you keep a lookout for the more vunrable ones. So it's also a attitude thing. Priority is given not taken. Sometimes i think its the otherway around in the states. (But i am probably wrong i hope). The attitude of the man in the video is very "Amirican" as in why does he wonder why we dont have the stopsigns. If he is living here he should learn the rules then he would know. Instead it seems that he is aplying the american rules here and that makes him unpredictable and dangerous in trafic.
we got these book things all over the neighbourhood aswell
FYI, the Stop Sign is universal in it's design and color. The first Stop Sign was installed in Michigan in 1915. They are all over Europe if not the entire planet where they are applicable, however in a lot of countries they aren't used and in their place is the use of round abouts.
You are extremely funny I always laugh my head of as a Dutch person.😂
The tiny book spaces .....we do that with plants as well ...if plants do sprout we take out the tiny ones put them in flowerpots you can go and swab and if you dont have plants you can donate some small money we call them plant libraries 😀
Those big businesses were once small too!But they have grown a lot because they do it right!
There are stop signs over here in the Netherlands, they just only place them on intersections on which you cant propperly look at the crossing roads propperly. For roads without stop signs, traffic lights or anything else its some basic rules. Rules we learn when we take a theoretical exam about traffic rules and regulations. The pretty simple, cars coming from roads from the right side have the right to go first. Ofc it is a bit more complex then that when there are more cars from other directions aproaching the intersection. Bit the main rule is, the car coming from the right side you have to let go first
I've got one of those book kiosks in my appartement building 😊
Less traffic signs means that drivers are more cautious and it means less accidents.
Traffic from the right has first right of passage
I have never seen those mini kiosks here 🤣
Small shops are doing well because our infrastructuur in cities is not only car based. Walking, cycling and public transport is pretty good organised.
I did a roadtrip in the USA earlier this year, those stop signs were annoying. Had to stop so many times, while there was no traffic in sight from any direction. I'm glad we don't have so much stop signs here in The Netherlands.
Going right through red light is a good thing they have in the USA though, as well as taking over on the right side :)
doing the US turn right on red is dangerous since the driver is mainly looking to their left to spot a hole in the traffic, ignoring pedestrians and cyclist crossing the road on the drivers right side.
even if the sign is snowed in, we can tell if we have to give way, because then there is a triangular sign at the intersection with the point down.
That's the only road sign with a point down in our system
The public libraries get vandalised aswell in the netherlands
Everyone that is approaching you from the right hand side has priority, simple.