by Alice Rush
ON OUR visits to the Netherlands, we rent a car, and I usually drive. My driving experience outside of the U.S is admittedly limited, and it may simply be that I’m more tense behind the wheel in another country, but I think driving in Holland can be very stressful.
That says something coming from someone who also pilots aircraft. But flying a helicopter, while challenging, has never had me on edge the way driving the Dutch roads can.
At home, in all the areas familiar to me, I’m usually relaxed on the road, and I feel in control. There are crazy drivers here in the States, and when they are too close to me I get out of the way, usually by slowing down and staying clear of their antics. When I see police here, I’m unbothered. I know that even if I’m stopped because something is wrong, it can’t be anything too serious because I’m in control and a safe driver.
Conversely, in the Netherlands, I don’t feel nearly as secure with the formalities on the road. I try to obey all the laws, but some of the road signs still stump me. Plus, all the native residents who are familiar with navigating the road in their own country often race up on the back bumper of my rental car, and then I feel chased down the road. I try to pull over for them, but it is trickier since I do not know the neighborhoods as well as they do, so I don’t know where to pull in. All that uncertainty causes me to fear a traffic stop by the police much more than in my home country.
Big roads have their fair share of technicalities as well. When I get on the interstates here in America, I try to keep plenty of room between me and the cars ahead of me, and I keep my distance around big trucks and groups of vehicles juggling for their position in the pack. In Holland, all of that goes out the window. It is very hard to maintain the space that I am accustomed to, and the backups make everyone bumper to bumper anyway. In my opinion, everyone in Europe seems to feel much too comfortable driving closer together. It makes a nervous driver from out of the country almost paranoid!
Really though, I do okay. Unlike a growing number of Americans, I learned to drive stick shift in a standard transmission car. Automatics are growing in popularity in Europe, but I love being able to go “old school” as needed at the rental counter. Navigating with the help of the latest GPS system, I watch out for cyclists, and that has probably added a few extra gray hairs to my head. I would enjoy a quick street sign review before every visit, but my husband usually helps with that once we’re on the road.
It’s a bit scary, but I like a challenge, so I look forward to my next drive in the land of Orange. I’ll try to fly a little American flag out the window, so that you will know it’s that wacky American driving up ahead.
* Alice is a Maine realtor and a licensed helicopter and fixed wing pilot. She first met her Dutch husband in Maryland in 2005, and married him four years later.
