European and US Riders - Why is there a difference?

[Drjones]

Most trucks here never see anything approaching "off road" and most of the folks that drive them have no idea how to handle them when the weather turns bad.  You can spot those drivers pretty easy. They are ones flying down hills, slidding, and stuck in the ditch. 

They're also the ones who hang rubber nads from the trailer hitch to show how manly they are in their F250/2500.

[Goat_Herder]

In Melbourne motos were allowed to park on the sidewalk. I was envious as that'll get you a quick ticket here in Seattle...particularly in downtown. Maybe less Aussie riders, but the govt. (at least in Melbourne) seemed to have a good view of bikers. 

The parking nazi of Seattle will get you for a stunt like that

[Holden]

The parking nazi of Seattle will get you for a stunt like that

Motos should be allowed to park anywhere a bicycle can

[Greg]

I have not lived in the UK for a long time, but their driving test used to be pretty hard, and only about 15% of people passed it on their first attempt.

[Super T.I.B]

In Melbourne motos were allowed to park on the sidewalk. I was envious as that'll get you a quick ticket here in Seattle...particularly in downtown. Maybe less Aussie riders, but the govt. (at least in Melbourne) seemed to have a good view of bikers. 

Can do that in Sydney as well. 

I used to commute to work but then moved further away from where I work and I was getting a bit tired of being cold & wet nearly every day so I sold my bike & bought a Holden ute. It's not the super dooper SS or R8 but it does the job. I moved to a rural town about 80km south of Sydney where you see hundreds of bikes come into town every weekend. And now having no bike, I'm hanging to get another. My favourite pastime is sitting at the open window of the pub, drinking a schooner  and watching the bikes go by.   

[weemonster]

I have not lived in the UK for a long time, but their driving test used to be pretty hard, and only about 15% of people passed it on their first attempt.

woohoo i'm in the 15% 
They have just this year made the test alot harder. People get injured on the test now. Fall off and break arms and legs and dislocated shoulders.

petrol is 101.9p a litre so £1.02 a litre.
Trucks count as commercial vehicles so have aditional tax to pay on the purchase if its not a bvusiness vehicle.
There still lots of them but they babies compare to the US models

Utes kick ass. They have just started official imports of the Holden HSVR to the UK woohoo
its about 1/3 of the price of an M3 or and Audi RS4 and waaay more fun.they spoil it by putting vauxhall badges on it too.

[Super T.I.B]

Utes kick ass. They have just started official imports of the Holden HSVR to the UK woohoo
its about 1/3 of the price of an M3 or and Audi RS4 and waaay more fun.they spoil it by putting vauxhall badges on it too.

Some owners spoil them here by putting Chevy bow ties on them. 

[somegirl]

Motos should be allowed to park anywhere a bicycle can

[Holden]

...and suddenly it's ticketable. Or maybe I should slap on a pair of pedals when I park.

[ducatiz]

Where'bouts in Europe were you? We consider it A Big Place^tm.

I'll just mention that scooters are generally popular for commuting across all European cities.

he was in Monaco and Liechtenstein

[ArcDeDucati]

The parking nazi of Seattle will get you for a stunt like that

I do it all the time in downtown Manhattan.  NY tickets are absurd, usually around $185. My trick? Take your plate off.  They can't ticket you if they don't have it. The parking ass holes don't want to go through the hassle of a vin check and probably don't know where to look for it. 

Seriously NY is the worst.  I was sleeping in my truck and woke up to a meter maid slapping my wiper down with a ticket under it.  I was waiting for an employee to come out of a building.  They even write you tickets for things that you didnt do in hope that you will just pat it rather then going through the insane hassle of fighting it.

[Howie]

I do it all the time in downtown Manhattan.  NY tickets are absurd, usually around $185. My trick? Take your plate off.  They can't ticket you if they don't have it. The parking ass holes don't want to go through the hassle of a vin check and probably don't know where to look for it. 

Seriously NY is the worst.  I was sleeping in my truck and woke up to a meter maid slapping my wiper down with a ticket under it.  I was waiting for an employee to come out of a building.  They even write you tickets for things that you didnt do in hope that you will just pat it rather then going through the insane hassle of fighting it.

Removal of the plate makes it more difficult and less likely to be ticketed, But no plate is a possible two more tickets (no plate and improperly registered) and possibly a tow.  They can write a ticket using the VIN. 

[weemonster]

he was in Monaco and Liechtenstein

Monaco is nice place but not exactly representative of the whole of the continent.

And the Mall of America takes up more space than lchtenstien 

[Zee]

Can do that in Sydney as well.  ...

Not quite... We can park without a ticket in a parking space for the indicated maximum time. Very nice to not have to feed the meter...

Z...

[weemonster]

Here in the uk Bikes dont have to pay for street parking if its the kind where you feed the machine and it gives you a ticket that you 'd put in the car window so the traffic warden can see you have paid.

In big city centres there are dedicated bike spaces but usually in places you wouldnt wanna leave your ducati.  places with high volumes of bus and taxi traffic.

You dont have to pay for bridges or roads or tunnel tolls either.