Cars - Part 2: Driving on the left, driving on the left...

So my mantra when I get in the car. Just a reminder. It is a huge mental effort to suddenly do something as automated as driving on the 'wrong' side: getting in on the wrong side, shifting with the wrong hand (even though with automatic it's just moving the lever from P to D), trying to use the indicator without turning on the windshield wipers... By now, I'm pretty good at driving on the left side and if Rene or I accidentally reach for the indicator with the wrong hand and turn on the windshield wipers on a cloudless sky, the other person immediately says: Rookie mistake!

In Western Australia, they have a lot of space, which is why they have big houses and, to the relief of driving-on-the-left newbies, very wide roads. On the multi-lane freeways, similar to our highways, there are hardly any traffic jams and everyone drives very slowly and relaxed. No tailgating, no honking, everything is very chilled. No wonder people here are so relaxed: constant blue sky and ocean, friendly supermarket cashiers, the prospect of having Prosecco on the beach at a kitschy beautiful sunset after work... There's no reason to drive like an idiot with the car around here! That's our first explanation so far.

An unpleasant letter quickly put an end to this naive impression. It's not the infinite laid-backness of the Aussies that makes them drive so disciplined, but the hefty fines imposed for speeding. The letter comes from the police and includes a fine of 400 dollars! For just a few km/h over the speed limit, that's 400 dollars (about 250€)!!!

Of course, I'm the one who was driving too fast. And besides the fine (quote from Rene: With that, we could have bought 2 surfboards!) I also get 3 points on my license (quote from Rene: Well, if this continues, you can at least still drive until June before they take your license away...) What nonsense! I am capable of learning! Last time, I didn't get any points and only had to pay a petty 100 dollars (about 60€) for going 7 km/h over the speed limit... No, I'm really trying. It's not easy with such wide roads and so much horsepower, but I think the Australian laid-backness is already starting to rub off on me and I won't, as Rene fears, have to decorate Aurel's bed, as a counterpart to Sofia's Harry Potter furniture, with fines from me...