[paulvs]

A couple more from around the world (esp. Paraguay): 1. To drop a passenger off where there is no street parking, just turn on your hazard lights and stop in the middle of the road. 2. In the seconds before a red light turns green, the cars behind you will honk to get you moving. 3. Be prepared for squeegee men at traffic lights who clean your windscreen for coins even if you say no. 4. Most city parking spots are controlled by guys who "take care" of your car while you're away for notes (really your car would be better off without them, they sometimes scratch your car if you don't pay). 5. Asphalt streets have preference over cobble stone. 6. Speed bumps come in all shapes and sizes (and are not always marked). 7. Drove through a pothole? Hey, you should've been looking where you're going. 8. Pedestrian crossings (zebra crossings) have no real significance.

[LeftTurnSignal]

> 4. Most city parking spots are controlled by guys who "take care" of your car while you're away for notes (really your car would be better off without them, they sometimes scratch your car if you don't pay).

I've had this happen at a large city in the midwest US.

They basically said, "most people here will break into your car. give us a few bucks and we'll make sure no one does." I didn't want to, but I figured its a few bucks and gave them it.

I got out of the concert and went back to my car. They were still walking around. They ran up and talked to us a bit, said nothing happened, thanked us again for the money and offered us a hamburger from McDonalds.

I'm not sure if they were "good" guys or bad guys yet, but they are around.

[jen729w]

> 4. Most city parking spots are controlled by guys who "take care" of your car while you're away for notes (really your car would be better off without them, they sometimes scratch your car if you don't pay).

Back in the 90s this would routinely happen at English football grounds. The ‘watchers’ were the local kids - at Roker Park in Sunderland, in my case.

The point is that your car is guaranteed to be scratched if you don’t pay the fee.

[Synaesthesia]

>3. Be prepared for squeegee men at traffic lights who clean your windscreen for coins even if you say no. 4. Most city parking spots are controlled by guys who "take care" of your car while you're away

This so much in South Africa.

[reaperducer]

And New York. And Chicago. And Houston (the squeegee guys). At least in the 90's and early 2000's.

Thanks to Lyft and Uber, I rarely drive when I'm in cities anymore, so I don't know if it's still a thing in the U.S.

[pthomas551]

It's not - one of the first things Giuliani did in NYC was get rid of the squeegee men, and other cities followed suit.