Why oh Why do Poles drive so incredibly poorly

Yes and the majority of people in all countries are from that country.
So your request is pointless.
You are either playing devils advocate for your own amusement or Roz is right............ you've hit the bottle early today.

Nope, it isn`t. My point is very logical. You provide statistics about general fatalities on roads and conclude sth about drivers? How about other factors? E.g., is it bad driver`s fault if a drunk passer-by suddenly enters the road? That is why I said your source is useless, it is too general.

If you tried to think for a while instead of sticking to your stubborn mistaken views, you would understand certain things better.
E.g,
Why the highest rate of accident fatalities appears in the newest and poorest EU members in Eastern and Southern Europe ?


I suppose some people should definitely give up driving and use public transport instead. They are too uptight or lack basic skills on the road. :) I drive every day and I find it a pleasant experience.


Bad Poles prevent you from drinking. Great. hahaha Your life must be miserable although you vehemently deny it. :)


Choose whichever you want. I won`t mind. :):)

why do you insist on that? No my life is not miserable. Now stop being so hateful yourself and pour yourself another vodka. Sad little man.

In fact the Polish people in my family and of my acquaintance DID put me off drinking. Sorry if the truth upsets you.

@pawian

You are an intelligent man and so I cannot believe you are taking this seriously.

Have you not noticed that you are the only one on this thread defending poor Polish drivers?

Thanks, but I only drink vodka twice a year when I visit my family. I prefer wine. :):)


Coz you suggested that Poles influence your daily behaviour and you do or not do certain things because of them. If I said sth like that about Ukrainians in Poland, other people would look at me with astonishment. :)


By no means whatsoever. It is only funny to me.


Hmm, it is not a logical argument, sorry. I still insist yuo prove that the high number of accident fatalities in Poland is caused solely by bad drivers

OK now I see you actually ARE drunk, therefore no point in continuing conversation.
bye. Have a nice kac.

This is a really frightening obsession of yours. :)) You said you haven`t drunk for a long time but probably you need it so bady you can`t forget it and allude to it all the time. :))

oh do shut it you ridiculous little man. Go and sober up and maybe find some people in real life to talk to.

You could say the same about all the other countries on that chart.
It makes no difference, Polands figure is terrible.
Anyway, you are definitely not taking this seriously and just playing dumb, so I am out of here.......

hahaha I am not so little.


That is good advice. Luckily, I am coming back to work on Monday.


You are still ignoring my request for logical thinking and factual proofs that would show that accident fatalities are only cause by bad drivers and not other factors.


Please, don`t walk out on me now!

Yes you are, you are tiny, miniscule. Probably smaller than a garden gnome.

Are you required to take a driving test first before you get your drivers license in Poland ?
Does each infractions raise your car insurance premiums ?
It seems like a simple enough problem to solve.

of course they have to take a test, it's just not a very high standard.
Not sure car insurance works like that there, it's the vehicle that is insured not the person. Perhaps indeed that has something to do with the general 'don't give a feckness' that we witness here on the UK roads from Polish drivers.

Despite all the evidence, Pawian doesn't seem to think there is a problem.
But I reckon he's just mucking about.

Then let him as he has the right to his opinion just like you do.


I understand that Love.
However if points accumulate on a persons drivers license for having many citations then his insurance rates for his car increase as his citations increase.

Eventually the guy won't be able to afford to insure his car taking him off the road plus eventually with enough citations he loses his drivers license for a year.

If he continues to drive he goes to jail for six months.

In Poland you insure the car, not the driver (well, driver too but in a much smaller degree than in UK for example)

Ha, ha - I have a racing licence, old man. Unfortunately there are people who barely got their regular driving licence (after 26th attempt), but who think they are in some sort of race in regular traffic. :) In comparison to drivers in Ireland, Germany or even Italy, Polish drivers come across as a bunch of lunatics.


You probably live somewhere in the countryside then.

It is a truth widely acknowledged that drivers become civilised in the third generation. My grandfather drove a beautiful 1937 Adler Trumpf, and my father is still a great enthusiast of classic cars. The problem is that drivers in Poland are, by and large, second or even first generation drivers (all their grandfathers drove were old manure wagons pulled by a mule or something), and it is very well visible on Polish roads. :)

You mean my physical size or moral standing now? hahaha


You are imagining things, as usual. What do you know about it? You haven`t taken or even seen one?


Of course, I do. I think it is a problem when you offer us such serious claims without factual evidence. :):)


They increase if you cause crashes.


Here it is 3 months first time, next time 6 months for speeding over 50 in urban area. Repeat offenders go to jail. If you collect over 24 points, you have to take the exam again.

This is enlightening. If I read discussions on "bad drivers" in the US they always take the same pattern, whether the discussion is about local, regional or national drivers. It seems that I can now add international to that list.

My neighbor was on a jury pool for a trial resulting from an automobile crash. During the selection process one of the lawyers asked him "Do you think there is such a thing as a bad driver?" "Yes" he answered. "And how would you define a bad driver" the lawyer asked. My neighbor responded "Everyone except me".

When asked to rate their driving ability, 80% of Americans say they are better than average. I would have guessed the number would be higher than that.

Wow, good. :) So, I understand why you consider driving in Poland a struggle - it is too slow for you!


I live both in a big city and countryside. :)

Yes, I meet lunatics on the road but they are just tiny minority and I really don`t understand why you all say that driving in Poland is such a horrible experience.


You could say it about 20 years ago. The collapse of communism allowed Poles to buy second hand cars cheaply. Let me remind you it happened in 1989, 31 years ago. You must be extremely lucky to find a first generation driver here. Second generation are also not so frequent. . :)

They are a minority, but unfortunately not that tiny.


Probably because we can compare it to driving in other countries (but, if it's any consolation, it's probably even worse in Russia from what I've heard).


Most middle-aged and older drivers are second/first generation drivers (and these two groups are still the majority of car users in Poland).

I don't think that's the reason because Ireland didn't have many cars on the roads until the 1980s really and we have the safest roads in Europe after the UK. I think it's partly down to the fact that the tuition is of a very low standard, no defensive driving skills are taught and Poles don't know how to use their mirrors. My husband had driving lessons both in Poland and Ireland (he took his test and passed it in Ireland) and he was shocked at how in Poland, he was expressly told NOT to use his mirrors while driving and NOT to watch the road ahead as according to the instructor, this would distract him!!

Polish drivers also don't know how to use their brakes correctly, the don't apply the brake gradually on approach to traffic lights for example. This is because they don't read the road ahead and have to jam on the brakes at the last minute. Apart from that, excessive speed is a factor as they frequently lose control of the vehicle and end up on the wrong side of the road or even worse, mounting the pavement. I've seen this happen quite a few times.

I know! Driving in Ireland was an amazing experience - very relaxing and safe, even in Dublin.

If it is indeed about tuition, then we should implement Irish driving tuition system ASAP. About 3000 people die in road crashes each year in Poland. :(

It is still a lot but twice as low as in the past. Despite the growing number of cars.

The cars nowadays are safer and our roads are better, but still the number of deaths in road accidents is terrifying.

Did you ever drive down those narrow, winding country roads with the hump backed bridges or the little boreens, one car wide with the hedges grazing your car windows as you drive :)) On narrow country roads drivers reverse to the nearest gate-way or 'pull-in' in order to let another car pass them.

I suppose, the pace of life in general in Polish cities is more frantic and people are pushier and more aggressive, I think that shows in the driving.

I wonder what's the story with seatbelts and road deaths in Poland?? I know that many, many times when I've been a passenger in a Polish car, at least one of the seatbelts is broken and the driver isn't a bit bothered about it. In fact they tell you to pull the strap across you anyway, just in case there are any police around, so it looks as if you're wearing a belt :(

In cross cultural terms, Ireland is pretty low on the "Uncertainty avoidance" scale and Poland is very high*.

This manifests itself (among other ways) in greater stress in everyday life in Poland (actually not bad for mental health some level of stress keeps the mind sharp) and occasionally aggressive behavior. It also generally correlates with worse driving... as drivers feel greater subjective levels of stress.

lower uncertainty avoidance cultures tend to be kind of boring and lethargic and the people in them constantly use caffeine carriers (like tea or coffee) to try to goose their nervous systems into action, the lower level of stress also correlates with people spending more time in their own heads and higher levels of mental illness.

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncertainty_avoidance

Once or twice. :) I spent most of my driving time in Dublin, but managed to visit a couple of other places as well. One more thing that I find admirable about Irish drivers is that there wasn't that much police on the roads, but even in the absence of police they kept to the rules and behaved with tolerance and kindness towards other road users.


I'm not sure about seatbelts, but I have two friends who are car crash experts, working for courts, in road crash reconstruction and simulation, and they both tell me the same thing: overwhelming majority of car accidents in Poland are caused by excessive speed. If only people were willing to slow down a little bit, we would be able to avoid most of the road deaths. :(

Have you ever noticed how people become King Kong when they are behind a steering wheel flipping people off, yelling and showing no manners.
Then when you get behind these same people in the grocery store line and tell them that you are the guy that they just flipped off and yelled at out on the road they all of a sudden start shaking, clam right up trying to ignore your presence.

Something about being in that two ton car gives people a false sense of security but once outside that car with no witnesses they become as meek and well mannered as can be,

That is a very good remark. In rich Ireland or UK people don`t need to rush to make a pound/euro while in Poland, still trying to catch up with the West, they do. I was trying to imply it to Milo when I asked him: why the highest rate of accident fatalities appears in the newest and poorest EU members in Eastern and Southern Europe ? but he wouldn`t listen. :)