Finland on Driving

I always feel that you can tell a lot about a person based on how they drive. Primative behaviors that are so ingrained in our being come out in droves behind the wheel. Reference any time you have been in a car with a man at the helm who has lost his direction. The first thing they will do is turn down the radio (as if the NPR program is too large a distraction to work through)....this is the by-product of a man´s simple brain...one thing at a time, or nothing at all (yes women, it´s true that there are times when there is litterally NOTHING going on in our heads, stop asking about it!). Anyways, my experience with Finnish drivers so far (both genders) is that you must drive as fast as your car will allow at ALL times. If you can´t grab at least three gears getting up your driveway into the garage, then get off the road! Despite the heavy excise taxes on automobiles, 50% of purchase price, Finns (and europeans in general it seems) will purchase the best made european power house that will accomidate their needs. Most cars are small, reference the renault line and VW Polo (a smaller version of the cabrio) that seem to be incredibly popular, but all seem to have at least 5 gears and most have 6......the Finns intend to use ALL of them at every opportunity. Just tonight, on our way to a heated game of badminton (not league play, just rec level I was informed), we took a sharp corner at roughly 60Km/hr and the driver didn´t need to pause his story to do so. This mind you, was negotiated in a Saab (Swedish made) station wagon (the family truckster as Clark W. Griswald would say) sporting snow tires....We did however, make it just in time to suit up, stretch a bit, and grab our shuttle cocks (that term gets a bit lost in translation as I found out) before the match....can´t argue with punctuality I guess.

Advantage: brake pad manufacturers and pharmacy salesmen that peddle dramamine.