Welcome to the inaugural installment of Jalopnik's World Atlas of Bad Driving, a look at footage of screw-ups from around the globe. We begin in Europe, where everyone knows everything is better... except for these guys.
Despite our patriotic impulses to claim it for our own, bad driving isn't a uniquely American phenomenon. Yes, the roads of Europe are faster and in better condition, and many of the cars are very capable, but the people behind the wheel are still human, as you're about to see. Click Next to see just how human they can be. Warning: As is often the case with video on the Internet, these are shot through with bad Europop and awful narration, so you may want to turn the sound down.
Click next to travel through the world of poor drivers.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Romania
NATURE OF INCIDENT: This truck driver decides to take a break from driving his truck to celebrate the accordion music and folk dances of his country. Which would be fine, if he wasn't driving his truck at the time. Okay, you can leave the sound on for this one, but remember to run it off right afterwards.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Poland
NATURE OF INCIDENT: A truck driver, again.This particular Pole is objecting as strenuously as possible to being overtaken on the right. Short but sweet proof that racking up the miles can do things to you.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Croatia
NATURE OF INCIDENT: Traffic camera footage of a particularly active and evidently slippery street corner in Rijeka. We find this one oddly hypnotic and, at times, even graceful.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Italy
NATURE OF INCIDENT: Icy conditions surprise drivers exiting a tunnel. An illuminating study in anticipating changes in road conditions. It also poses the question of how best to warn other drivers of danger.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Holland
NATURE OF INCIDENT: A couple kids talking about a car accident at an icy intersection get to see a couple more. Again, how exactly should citizens warn people?
NATION OF ORIGIN: France
NATURE OF INCIDENT: It's anybody's guess what started the incident in this tunnel-cam footage, but it provides a good example of panic stops by drivers not paying attention.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Turkey
NATURE OF INCIDENT: An accident at the mouth of a tunnel becomes a cascading failure. Of particular interest is the traffic slowing to a crawl on the other side of the divider as people rubberneck.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Germany
NATURE OF INCIDENT: A Mercedes driver loses it on the Autobahn. Despite the breathless American narration which you should ignore, the car was most likely fine and the driver most likely wasn't concentrating.
NATION OF ORIGIN: Russia
NATURE OF INCIDENT: Getting a strong anti-tunnel feel? There's two reasons for this: First, there are more traffic cameras in tunnels, meaning more footage is available. Second, reduced sight lines and, of course, lack of room to avoid accidents in tunnels make for more dramatic incidents.
NATION OF ORIGIN: UK
NATURE OF INCIDENT: Okay, you can turn the sound up! Enjoy the antics of the Tijuana Brass as these drivers attempt to sneak into the parking lot without paying and run afoul of diabolical countermeasures.
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