Safe Speed Forums

.....right infront of me!!!!

TBH, I saw the direction he was riding and I half expected it, so I was able to comfortably avoid it. An old man was going the other way and went to stop to have a go at the kid, same idea as me. I was in Clare's convertable Mazda so it was easy to speak to the kid, whilst still in the car and it was a quiet road too, so it was safe for me to stop. I calmly said to the kid that he should look before crossing the road because I don't want him to die. This shocked him a bit and with any luck this little exersize has taught him some road safety.

Only thing that annoyed me, was the "responsible" adult 50 yards down the road was out of sight. When I caught up with her, I stopped her to inform her what her darling youngsters were up to (and tell her to take more responsibility) only to be informed that "she doesn't speak English!!!!" It kind of annoyed me that the woman didn't speak English as its not a tourist area, its a residential area and the kids accents point to the fact they're locals, but I think tbh the kid learnt anyway, just ashame the parents never will!

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www.clubrwd.com - For all things rear wheel drive

This kind of thing happens in my estate all the time. There's a school just round the corner from my house and I've lost count of the number of times I've seen parents standing in one place shouting at the kids as they run about in the road...what ever happened to holding the little brats' hands? (not too much of the not speeking english though thankfully )

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Uhh - au pair?

Either way, I don't think it's fair to criticise people for not speaking English, when it's the English and Americans who are by far the tardiest when it comes to learning languages.

Glad the wee 'un didn't come to any harm though...

J.

_Tc_ I have to disagree with you there. Don't get me wrong, I think its appauling how ex-pats expect to live somewhere like Spain without learning the local language, but I also think that if someone wants to live and work here then they should be expected to speak english. If you want to live and work somewhere you should speak the local language, full stop. (tourists are a different matter of course...)

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Fair enough, but as we are going to become part of a wider European community regardless of what The Sun wants, it might make sense for us to try a little harder to integrate.

Either way don't want to drag this off-topic.

J.

I'm a firm believer in while in Rome do as Romans do, I live in England, and I can understand English and have no need to know any other language, hence I was a bit aggitatted that I couldn't inform the woman what the child in her care was doing. At the end of the day it was for the good of all, its someones life potentially at risk.

It was most definately not an au pair, besides, most au pair's have to learn the lingo a bit before they arrive, it was a woman who at a guess probably came from somewhere in Asia originally, all I can presume is that she lets the children translate for her, which is ashame because the children could have lied about the reason I stopped and nothing will change. If the woman at least understood me, then the responsibility would be placed back on her.

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www.clubrwd.com - For all things rear wheel drive

It'll be nice if we were bloody well asked first, wouldn't it?

And daveyboy's right, do as the Romans do, that goes for the English who live abroad too. My parents have purchased a place in Spain (which i'm not happy about, they won't move there however, until they have learnt the language and can integrate within the Spanish way of life. That means flying the spanish flag outside their villa if they have to.

I think the English abroad can pick up more marks for effort with the local language than we lose for ineptitude. We know ex-pats in Spain and France who've found that the locals really don't object to them mangling the language too much so long as they're trying to learn it and, perhaps more importantly, mixing in with them instead of only hanging out with other ex-pats. Like others have said, when in Rome...

It's an odd situation in this country where we have a minority of people who seem disinclined to learn English, and simultaneously a minority of native English speakers seem unwilling to show patience with those who have begun to learn but still get things wrong from time to time. I'd like to think most of us would show the same tolerance to someone who's still picking English up as our friends have received in France and Spain.

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Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler - Einstein

I have all the patience in the world for people who are making the effort to learn english. The ones I have the problem with are the ones who refuse to even attempt it and seclude them selves into ghetos.

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

Yeah, same here, now the communication I was trying to make wasn't even a chat, or a social call, it was to inform that her childs life was in danger if she didn't get a grip of him, this to me strikes it home the most.

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www.clubrwd.com - For all things rear wheel drive

Exactly my problem too daveyboy. If someone can't understand warnings, instructions etc then they are a danger to themselves and others.

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Science won over religion when they started installing lightning rods on churches.

damn, I better cancel that trip across Europe then.

Course you shouldn't do that, take a phrase book and you'll be fine, if you're only visting somewhere for a fortnight, you're less likely to need the language than if you were somewhere for way longer, like if you lived there. Besides, English is a more universally spoken language than other languages so you're less likely to have communication problems.

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www.clubrwd.com - For all things rear wheel drive

e verdade meu, voce tem que forca os estrangeiros malditos falar ingles, nao?

Don't laugh. A kid at our local primary school plunged off the pavement straight in front of my car. About what I had expected, as he has no road sense at all. However at the time he was the school's "road safety representative".

Brian

Damn foreigners? You said it, not me!

I take it that is Portugese? I don't understand why you posted that? Is it because more people speak this than English? Anyway, this is getting dragged off-topic, at the end of the day, what has this got to do with Road Safety in this country?

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www.clubrwd.com - For all things rear wheel drive

I was pointing out that you expect all those foreigners to speak English even when you're in their country. Doesn't exactly work too well in some places.

Now remember, Aunt Bessie has come to visit from "somewhere in Asia" for a few weeks. I sure hope she doesn't have some madman in a 200sx pull up and start hurling abuse at her like Aunt Mavis did when she was here last week. Poor thing was walking to the shops with the kids and took a real fright.

Fair point about the reasons for not knowing the lingo, but this can't be the case much of the time. In my case, the woman would have easily been able to tell I was not stressed or angry, I was in my g/f's open top MX5 with the roof down at the time, so I didn't even need to shout to be heard. I was perfectly civil and polite. My first words were "Excuse me, are you with those children over there?" Hardly intimidating words and certainly said in a polite unoffensive tone, I mean if I'd have got stroppy with her straight away, would she have paid attention or would she try and defend the kids without realising what they had done?

Have a think about it, the way you worded that presumed I'm some nutter who likes conflict and having a go at people, but I can assure you that wasn't the case.

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www.clubrwd.com - For all things rear wheel drive

I didn't presume that, I probably would have done the same, but she may well have given the press beat-ups about nutters getting around. Might also be the reason for her saying "don't speak English". Far easier to say that than potentially get into an argument or worse.

No speeeakk eeennnnnglish,

Where's the giro centre mate, gotta sign on