日本の運転者は狂っている・Drivers in Japan are crazy

２年前に日本にいた時、日本のバスの運転さんは本当のプロだってことが分かった。狭いところでも行けるし、前の車にすごく近づいて止まるし、バスに乗ったら、運転さんを信頼したけど、少し怖かった。

でも、車にあまり載らなかったので、日本の運転者の運転の方法を見る機会は少なかった。今度、友達と一緒にドライブしたことが多いので、車を見る機会は多かった。日本の運転者をよく見た後、日本の運転者は狂っていることを断定した。

どうしてそう思うって？　邪魔な車は一つ目の理由だ。

日本では道路も駐車場だろう。

日本人にとっては邪魔な車は普通だけど、アメリカで邪魔したら、みんなは怒って、警察は来るはずだ。

２つ目の理由は信号の色のこと。信号は赤じゃなくて、黄色じゃなかったら、どんな色だと思う？アメリカ人だったら、緑だというけど、日本人だったら、青だというんだ。なぜかと言ったら、複雑だけど、日本の緑の信号はアメリカの信号より青に近くて、歴史的に、日本語は緑という色はなかったから、今の緑色のものと青色のものは全部「青」と言われた。面白いでしょう？

最後の理由は駐車の方法だ。アメリカ人は大体バックしないけど、日本人はバックをしなさいと言われるので、バックする人のほうは多い。

The sign reads, "Please back in when you park."

まあ、日本の運転者はそんなに狂っていないけど、アメリカ人にとって、少し変に見えるだろう。

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When I was in Japan two years ago, I realized that Japanese bus drivers are real pros. They can maneuver in tight spaces and they stop really close to cars in front of them, so whenever I rode the bus, I trusted them, even though I was a bit scared, too.

But, I didn't really have many chances to ride in cars, so I didn't get to really see what drivers in Japan were like. This time, I've been driving with my friend all over the place, so I've had many chances to observe cars. After a decent amount of time observing the drivers here, I have determined that drivers in Japan are crazy.

Why do you say that, you ask? The first reason is the problem with cars parking in the rode. It seems like the road can also be used as a parking lot. For Japanese people, it's perfectly normal, but in the US, anybody that did something like that would be hated and would likely be arrested.

The second reason why I think drivers in Japan are crazy is related to traffic signals. When the light isn't red or yellow, what color is it? If you're American, you'll say green, but if you're Japanese, you'll say blue. If you ask why, I'd say it's a complex issue, but Japanese green lights are closer to blue than the lights in the US, and historically, Japanese didn't have a word for green, only blue. That means that things that are called green today used to be called blue in Japanese (along with blue things, of course). That's pretty interesting, I'd say.

The last reason I think drivers in Japan are crazy is because they are obsessed with backing in to spaces when they park. They are taught to back in when they park, and there are even signs in parking lots that tell them to back in to their space when they park.

Well, maybe drivers in Japan aren't crazy, but to an American, they do seem a little weird.