[DocTomoe]

That sounds like the French system, only they push the other car forward with their car instead of requiring some random car pusher guy. And somehow that is legal (?)

Just over the border in Germany there's a good chance of getting beaten to death if you attempt something like that. Cars are holy here.

[seszett]

I'm not sure where this myth comes from but in France, although it's not a crime to slightly bump the car in front or before by mistake while parking if there isn't much space, it would be very much frowned upon to do it with enough force to actually move the other cars.

Using the handbrake while the car is parked is universal, and in most modern cars the handbrake activates automatically, so it would likely cause actual damage to try and move the other cars with your own. It's also not uncommon for people to put their car in 1st gear on purpose when parked (in my experience, mostly older people who don't fully trust handbrakes) so you'd be unlikely to move those at all.

It wouldn't be legal in any case, although I suppose it would be difficult to be covered by insurance without video evidence. If it happens when you aren't there then tough luck, but if you saw someone touch your car while parking you would go to them, check for damage and if there is indeed any damage you would both fill a constat d'accident (standardised European Accident Statement) to let your insurances sort it out.

[DocTomoe]

Hm, personally, I got warned about this by my French language teacher. And the fact that there are videos of this "bumper-parking" happening [1][2][3] made it believable. Just over the border, touching a car like that is not a crime - but an accident (and leaving from an accident site without contacting the owner of the other vehicle OR the police is a crime).

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkCyepivokQ [2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n51OdFlOi1o [3] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA09matde2Y

[seszett]

All cars bumping others in your videos are already pretty damaged though and they are all in Paris, which is pretty much agreed upon in France to be home of the worst drivers in the country. I'm not surprised their drivers are doing this, but that doesn't make it a normal thing to do. Also, the "c'est normal en France" comments and applause in the second video are obviously sarcastic.

These are 100% just bad drivers that are lucky the owners of the other cars weren't here (and would have probably fled in that case). As I said, this behaviour results in filling an accident statement if the victim is present (and if actual damage is observed of course).

[teh_klev]

> It's also not uncommon for people to put their car in 1st gear on purpose when parked (in my experience, mostly older people who don't fully trust handbrakes)

Having been a Saab owner, a habit I can't break is leaving my car in reverse (my Volvo's reverse gear position is the same as Saab's) with the handbrake on (a fairly universal thing in the UK).

[4wsn]

This is one of my favorite things about living in Germany. I bought my current car in 2018; it doesn't have a single scratch. Back home I'd be lucky to go six months without some careless idiot damaging it.

[Cockbrand]

It's in fact one of my least favorite things about living in Germany (not the pristine-ness, but the holiness GP mentioned). Cars are absolutely holy, many drivers absolutely freak out when you dare touching their car or take up precious road space with your unworthy bicycle. Traffic rules for cars are often mere recommendations, and breaking them goes unsanctioned. Prioritizing motorized traffic is a borderline religion (e.g. the eternal discussion about a speed limit on the Autobahn), and other means of traffic are only very slowly awakening. What a waste of space, resources and quality of life.

[egeozcan]

People also don't hesitate to honk if you are driving with a bike, or even a car slowly. It has a fine of 10 Euros, so nobody cares (even the Police themselves) if you call the police for abusive honking.

Last week we were driving 43km/s on a road with 50km/s limit. The driver behind us drove 10cm away from our bumper for like 5 minutes, and even though our indicator was on he didn't calculate we will slow down even further to turn right, and made an emergency brake then honked like 10 seconds as he/she was driving away as fast as that car could.

To be fair, it's not remotely as bad as back in Istanbul (what a mess there!), but I expected more from Germany, a country in which people normally love sticking to the rules.

Sometimes I watch this channel to see I'm not the only regular victim of traffic abuse: https://www.youtube.com/c/EureVideosFahrn%C3%BCnftig

In a weird way, it calms me down to see others also having similar problems. Edit: Just opened the latest video and here's another one - https://youtu.be/8mUi2uOzXvs?t=543

[DocTomoe]

> People also don't hesitate to honk if you are driving with a bike, or even a car slowly.

The acoustic warning signal is meant to warn other traffic participants of imminent danger - which includes the intend to overtake (outside of towns). There is no fine for that.

> but I expected more from Germany, a country in which people normally love sticking to the rules.

Careful there: Your scenario does not exactly paint you as a hero. Driving deliberately slowly (you mentioned for "like 5 minutes") when higher speeds are possible (both from the street conditions and your vehicle's capabilities), if it hinders others from using legal use of the road (which includes driving at the speed limit), can be construed to be "Nötigung", which is a crime. (The other driver of course could be fined for the same as well)

[egeozcan]

> The acoustic warning signal is meant to warn other traffic participants of imminent danger - which includes the intend to overtake (outside of towns). There is no fine for that.

Honking before overtaking is completely fine, I know my rules. Imminent danger honking is allowed everywhere, even in towns. It's completely not allowed honking to mean "drive faster".

> Careful there: Your scenario does not exactly paint you as a hero

You are missing context, perhaps I should have given the full picture: The road IMHO wasn't suitable to drive at 50km/h. It was curvy with many parked cars on the sides. I wasn't trying to annoy anyone. I even started breaking earlier before turn so it wasn't a harder break, which may have saved us from an accident. Also 43 is nowhere near going "too slow". You need to drive 25 or less, so that it becomes a dangerous situation. The instructors would give you a warning in an exam before failing you if you do it twice, if you drive less than half the limit.

You can also drive 60km/h in a country road (limit 100km/h), and as long as you do not go below 50 for an extended period of time, you don't need to worry. If you are going slowly just to piss someone off, or you are creating a dangerous situation (for example, blocking the flow of the traffic when there's cross-traffic), that's a different story.

[kwhitefoot]

Which part of Germany do you live in? It's really not a homogeneous place.

[Cockbrand]

I'm in the north, but I've been to lots of places in all parts of Germany. In this aspect, the country seems fairly homogenous to me.