Let's install a European Warning Triangle

[mosx]

We have the same law here in the states. "Failure to render aid." Its a felony charge here. But here's the really screwed up part. If you do your civic duty and render aid and end up hurting them they can sue you for it. Go figure. So you come up on an accident, overturned car, its on fire. You pull the passengers to safety but in that process you end up breaking their back and paralyzing them you can kiss your assets goodbye.

[supraking]

Originally Posted by ulrichd

Most Americans do. It means pull out of the passing lane

Oh man, last weekend I drove from Montreal (Canada) down the 87 to the GS Parkway to the Jersey shore. I averaged about 140km/h* from the border to Albany. From Albany to the Parkway I averaged about 125km/h. On the parkway I averaged about 110km/h. And here's why:

Americans don't understand the concept of the passing lane. I don't mean to generalize here, I know there are lots of good drivers and lots of bad drivers EVERYWHERE, but honestly... the deeper into the U.S. I got, the worse it got.

People pulling into the passing lane without looking, and having to slam my brakes to avoid hitting them (even at normal, non-excessive speeds). People in the passing lane not doing any passing, just travelling next to the car ahead at the same speed. Trucks do this too, it's awful. You drive quickly, and hit a bunch of cars with a few slow guys up front. Then people weave in and out of tight little spots, but nobody moves forward. Finally you get out, put your foot down for about 20 seconds, and hit another bunch of idiots.

I probably lost over an hour each way due to poor driving etiquette on the roads. Really, if you're not in a rush, get out of the way and let someone else go who is. IT'S ALSO DANGEROUS, so if you know someone who drives like this, tell them to stop. Please.

/rant

*Disclaimer: Any speeds I claimed to be doing in this post are purely for illustrative purposes. I drive the speed limit. Always. ...

[supraking]

Originally Posted by mosx

We have the same law here in the states. "Failure to render aid." Its a felony charge here. But here's the really screwed up part. If you do your civic duty and render aid and end up hurting them they can sue you for it. Go figure. So you come up on an accident, overturned car, its on fire. You pull the passengers to safety but in that process you end up breaking their back and paralyzing them you can kiss your assets goodbye.

Gotta love lawyers. I would know, my girlfriend is one .

[Dackelone]

Originally Posted by supraking

Americans don't understand the concept of the passing lane. I don't mean to generalize here, I know there are lots of good drivers and lots of bad drivers EVERYWHERE, but honestly... the deeper into the U.S. I got, the worse it got.

And... Americans drive that way over here (in Germany) too!

One reason why the Germans don't drive in the center or left lane is bc it is law. Another (real) reason is bc the Autobahn Polizei will drive around (in unmarked video cars) and hand our tickets (& points) IF you do not drive in the right most lane. Even IF you are driving really fast... you should be in the RIGHT lane.

[dko3tgk]

This mod was quick and easy to do. However punching the holes in the right spot wasn't perfect and it was hard to drive the screw in straight.

Not sure if it differs between triangles, but the triangle I purchased is for an Audi. And the grooves on the case that lock it in to both brackets don't line up. It still stays in place fine. I wonder if the BMW triangle has the grooves in a different place so they can lock into both brackets.

[jkoral]

I just ordered the hardware yesterday for this mod and I am going to order the BMW triangle. I had read the Audi was identical, but perhaps the case is indeed different.

[dko3tgk]

Originally Posted by jkoral

I had read the Audi was identical, but perhaps the case is indeed different.

It might be identical. i haven't seen the BMW one. It could be that the brackets are not supposed to lock into both grooves. Just one. The Audi one I have still fits fine and doesn't slide or shift.

[Mr Kleen]

Since this thread has also turned into "odd European driving laws" I thought I'd include the latest: France says 'oui' to mandatory Breathalyzers in cars.
Beginning 1 July 2012 you'll need a single use breathalyzer in your car when you drive in France or face an €11 fine.

[Dackelone]

Lets get this thread back on track...

Here are some close up pics of the warning triangle. There are some "detents" in the triangle's plastic case for the trunk holder clips to "latch on".


WarnDreieck - BMW part# 71606770487 price 13 euros
2 clips - BMW part# 51238247699 price 0.47 euro cents
2 screws - BMW part# 07129905220 price (bag of ten screws, 1.70 euros)











PS: the triangle is made by TRImicro. And you should always place the triangle at least 100 meters from the broken down car. (thats two white/black sticks on the autobahn).

[dko3tgk]

I'm not sure if mine doesn't fit right or not.

Does anyone with the BMW triangle care to comment? Do the grooves on both ends lock into the brackets when mounted?


My Audi triangle only has one side grooves locked into the bracket.

[__ivy__]

Originally Posted by Dackelone

Well.... Germany has all sorts of wierd laws. Like making it against the law to wash your own car ON your own property! They want you to go to one of those wash strasses - so the water gets recycled. My personal favoerite is making WEDS and SAT designated days of the week to CLEAN! lol Ever wonder why we see Germans cleaning outside thier homes on those days!

Yea... well... the light bulb kits are law. I have heard that the vest needs to be inside the pass area too. But I keep mine in my trunk.

You guys know about Austria's autobahn decall/vignette right? When you drive on the Austrian autobahn you need to buy a toll sticker in order to use the autobahn. You can buy these in GERMANY just before you cross the border. 7 euros for a ten day decall. They have more expensive ones too.

The Austrian polizei setup check points... like at the toll for the Brenner Pass or they just watch you thru binoculars on the bahn. IF you have no decall... it is a 110 euro fine! Right there and then. IF you have a decall... but don't apply it to the windshield... or if you apply the decall half way(so to remove later) they consider that tampering... like that you will switch it to another car -so that is a huge fine! 500 euros - right there and then. Ohh... have no money... they will drive you to an ATM or... take something of yours that is on equal value. Like a cell phone, car radio, ect. Crazy!

At least you can buy a 10 day decal for Austria. In Switzerland, you need to buy a decal for the entire year. The Swiss are also ruthlessly efficient at traffic enforcement, and appear to hate automobiles in general. I'm fairly certain that thinking about speeding will bring a swift fine.

[jkoral]

Originally Posted by dko3tgk

I'm not sure if mine doesn't fit right or not.

Does anyone with the BMW triangle care to comment? Do the grooves on both ends lock into the brackets when mounted?


My Audi triangle only has one side grooves locked into the bracket.

Just installed my BMW/TRImicro triangle this morning. There are no groves that lock into the brackets. There is an indentation in the center (as pictured), perhaps you were wondering if there were similar indentations where the brackets grip the triangle case? Regardless, it's held tight and solid when the brackets are snapped closed.

[3002 tii]

Installed mine today, thanks for the DIY

[speedbird]

Reading some of these laws reminds me of a nasty accident I witnessed years ago. Drunk driver drove off a cliff in Pennsylvania around 1am. Only two of us saw it and we hiked down together and pulled the guy out. The car was in pieces but the drunk jerk was fine. Gas everywhere. We dragged him out of what was left of his Honda. Once we got him about 100 feet away we dropped him and I went back to make sure the ignition was off. No fires thankfully.

The guy had this bag of pills he was holding and something which looked like a knife taped to his leg. So at this point we were done. Wanted no more part of this mess. We did our duty. Then, to our amazement, the jerk starts army crawling back to his wreck. We decided quickly we weren't going to try to stop him. I didn't want us to get stabbed. He climbed back into the mangled mess and starts trying to restart the car! About then the cops arrived and asked why we didn't try to help him. I calmly explained that we had tried and that I didn't climb down a muddy hillside, in sub-freezing temperatures only to watch a crash victim try to blow himself to hell.

Turns out crashing his car was the least of his worries. They pulled gobs of drugs off of him.

No one wore a reflective vest though.

[3002 tii]

Originally Posted by speedbird

Reading some of these laws reminds me of a nasty accident I witnessed years ago. Drunk driver drove off a cliff in Pennsylvania around 1am. Only two of us saw it and we hiked down together and pulled the guy out. The car was in pieces but the drunk jerk was fine. Gas everywhere. We dragged him out of what was left of his Honda. Once we got him about 100 feet away we dropped him and I went back to make sure the ignition was off. No fires thankfully.

The guy had this bag of pills he was holding and something which looked like a knife taped to his leg. So at this point we were done. Wanted no more part of this mess. We did our duty. Then, to our amazement, the jerk starts army crawling back to his wreck. We decided quickly we weren't going to try to stop him. I didn't want us to get stabbed. He climbed back into the mangled mess and starts trying to restart the car! About then the cops arrived and asked why we didn't try to help him. I calmly explained that we had tried and that I didn't climb down a muddy hillside, in sub-freezing temperatures only to watch a crash victim try to blow himself to hell.

Turns out crashing his car was the least of his worries. They pulled gobs of drugs off of him.

No one wore a reflective vest though.

So you're saying this is why we all need warning triangles!

[speedbird]

Originally Posted by 3002 tii

So you're saying this is why we all need warning triangles!

Ha! Just adding to the old post about rendering aid