English, baby!

Traffic Laws

Date: Feb 02 2007

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

point

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

If you’ve ever traveled, you know that different countries handle traffic very differently.

For starters, in some countries you drive on the left side of the road, as in England or Thailand. In other countries you drive on the right side of the road, as in Mexico or the US.

Speed limits vary too. To most Americans, the fast-moving traffic on European highways can be pretty frightening.

Furthermore, how drivers deal with traffic signals like stop signs or traffic lights differs from country to country. Aside from traffic jams in major cities like LA, traffic in the US is fairly tame.

But Americans wouldn’t know what to do with all the bicycle riders in China or all the motorcycles in Thailand. In Mexico City, intersections jam up with cars whose drivers honk their horns and proceed regardless of red lights.

Listen to Mason and Toby talk about traffic!

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Toby

Mason

Toby: So, I think it’s really funny how, we’re, we’re… we tend to be sort of a law-abiding, uh, society.

Mason: We do?

Toby: Well, everybody stops at the stop signs and the red lights. I mean, you go to Mexico City; you go to Bangkok, like…

Mason: Yeah? It’s just not happening?

Toby: No! Traffic signals abroad are mere suggestions.

Mason: I, see… maybe this is just me ‘cause I tend to be a really aggressive driver and I acknowledge that the rules are there to keep order. Um, but there are times when the order’s not necessary. Like, if I’m driving home at 2, 3 in the morning, I’ll slow down at a red light and I’ll stop, but if no one’s coming, I’ll probably run it because I’m, like, you know, there’s really no point in me waiting here for two minutes for nothing.

Toby: I will definitely run it.

Mason: So…

Toby: But you never see people…

Mason: I don’t just go through.

Toby: ... in the middle of the day running red lights.

Mason: Mm hm.

Toby: Never!

Mason: Right.

Toby: Well, and now you can get busted on video camera.

Mason: Uh huh.

Toby: Which is lame!

Mason: Yeah, you gotta be careful. That’s why I ride my bike everywhere. Because they can’t give me a bike ticket. Although, I mean, technically they can.

Toby: They can. I got pulled over on my bike.

Mason: Really?

Toby: Yes.

Mason: Even on your bike?

Toby: Yes. And it goes on your driving record. It can affect your insurance.

Mason: Well, so that’s why we’re all following the rules.

Toby: It’s lame. It’s so lame.

Mason: It’s because it goes on our record…

Toby: Exactly. It costs a lot of money.

Mason: ... And it costs us more.

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Discussion

Mason isn’t sure he agrees with Toby. He is an aggressive driver who will sometimes break the law if it seems like the law makes no sense.

Toby sees his point, but she is hesitant to get busted since she got pulled over on her bicycle.

What is traffic like in your country?

Do people obey the traffic laws?

Comments

CaN I CrY

Turkey

When you drive if you are in a thinking of that you are the person who walk on road, it makes you a much more carefully driver..

everyone is hurry, everyone has a lot of things to do, to catch. So it creates a lot of reasons to have simple or severe accidents.

Staisy

Russian Federation

I always obey the traffic lows, and try to drive very very careful not to do something wrong. But really I am not a good driver yet :(

sierbird

China

They are talking about the trafic rules. Rules work well in US for the record will influence the insurance and cost money. Somethimes, rules are lame, and bikes riders have to obey to rules too,

misael181

Mexico

everybody needs to respect traffic laws,!!

生活是美好的

China

In China, most of the people obey the traffic laws. For safety and not be punnished by police.but i also see some people even some public transports broke the law .because in our city, there are always roads beside the public road ,which are like sidewalks and it is wide enough for people and car pass through ,when the bus pressd for time ,it goes into this roads ,run the red light and don’t catch by the camera.

rayne

China

i’m from places where people just don’t, ugh… sigh

nodah

Saudi Arabia

frinds are like baiioons,once you let them go,you can never bring them back.

eadanlin

United States

we follow the traffic light in Taiwan

jimmyahmed

Pakistan

I dont know about every people but I often dont stop for signal…...lolz .. it is really a fun for me…. and I enjoye it…..

sara06

Palestinian Territory, Occupied

The most thing I like in today post is the traffic sign in my native language it is in Arabic for whom don’t know .Amazing.We are definitely law-abiding.

assia

Algeria

We must keep order when we drive for the good drives If our drives are good,we will not stop by police .
So don’t be an aggressive driver,ok!

nugroho

Indonesia

The most important thing is the responsibility of driving safely wherever we are. If we are responsible then we will find out its law’s differentiation compare to ours.