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I'm Dutch. I've never heard of this, nor has anybody I asked about this. I've never even seen someone in the driver's seat use their right hand to open the door

by rgj 8y ago

I'm Dutch. I've never heard of this, nor has anybody I asked about this. I've never even seen someone in the driver's seat use their right hand to open the door. Dooring is not an issue here either since Dutch cyclists tend to anticipate very well. What we do have here in the Netherlands are bike lanes, so in a lot of places the bikes pass the parked/stopping cars on the right hand side.

themodelplumber 8y ago
There are a lot of idioms in U.S. English which contain the word "dutch" but which are not recognizable to actual Dutch people. Some of these will come from e.g. stereotyped interactions with the Pennsylvania Dutch, etc.
- twblalock 8y ago
  This particular "dutch reach" idiom is not related to the Pennsylvania Dutch in any way.
  - Symbiote 8y ago
    None of the "Dutch" idioms will be from Pennsylvania Dutch, they all come from being the neighbour country to England.
    - laurentl 8y ago
      Ireland?
    - NeedMoreTea 8y ago
      Pennsylvanian "Dutch" is a corruption of "Deutsche", and the community German is it not? As I understood it many of American "Dutch" idioms were originally meant to be referencing German. You do get cookie from Dutch though. Cookie comes from the Dutch keokje.
      - stevesimmons 8y ago
        koekje :)
- rgj 8y ago
  The article states "There is no name in Dutch for this technique — it’s just second nature to Dutch drivers, and has been for years. It has been deeply ingrained in the country’s culture. “It’s just what Dutch people do,” said Fred Wegman, professor emeritus of Traffic Safety at Delft University of Technology and the former managing director of the National Institute for Road Safety Research SWOV in the Netherlands. “All Dutch are taught it. It’s part of regular driver education.” " which is simply not true.
chki 8y ago
>Dooring is not an issue here either since Dutch cyclists tend to anticipate very well. Two points to this: Obviously (and you probably implied this but I want to make it clear:) it is first and foremost the duty of the car driver opening a door to make sure that there is nobody endangered. Secondly: It is not always possible to anticipate car doors opening, even if you are following traffic very carefully. People sit in their cars for prolonged times without the engines on. It only takes one bad situation to kill a person. Therefore in my opinion all reasonable measures should be taken, including teaching people to open their car doors with the opposing hand. (Even better, as you mentioned: separate different kinds of traffic)
- rocqua 8y ago
  I think a large part of this is that dutch people expect bikes. Therefore, we notice them a lot easier. Scanning for cyclists is very much part of our system. Another part of this is probably that cyclists are essentially never sandwiched between parked cars and traffic. The sandwiching requires you drive a lot closer to the parked cars. Without it, you can take a lot more distance.
  - childintime 8y ago
    Also, dutch cyclists tend to ride at modest speeds (11-15mph) that do not warrant helmets and protective measures. Bike lanes are explicit, so anyone parking knows to not blindly throw a door into the bike lane. Also never heard of this in the Netherlands. Note: this was featured on HN several times already.
xkcd-sucks 8y ago
In the USA a "Dutch" is a common euphemism for a blunt (marijuana cigar) rolled in a "Dutch Masters" brand cigar wrapper. A "Dutch cruise" is basically loading up a car with people and smoking, and a "Dutch reach" transfers the blunt from a back-seat passenger to a front-seat passenger or driver.
- justtopost 8y ago
  Dutch usually means splitting the check to the average americian, but as covered in a recent submission, there are dutch ovens (of various meaning and peasantness), etc. But yes, also dutchy (blunt), but dutch-X meaning blunt-x but thats more of a regional thing imho. Northeast I think.
jrnvs 8y ago
I’m Dutch too. This technique was mentioned in the book I read to prepare for the theoretical part of the drivers license exam. I never saw anyone use it in practice.
Kim_Bruning 8y ago
Did you used to learn "spiegel spiegel schouder" before getting out instead? It doesn't work so great on modern cars with folding mirrors though. I think maybe it got introduced more recently?

by rgj 8y ago

themodelplumber 8y ago

There are a lot of idioms in U.S. English which contain the word "dutch" but which are not recognizable to actual Dutch people. Some of these will come from e.g. stereotyped interactions with the Pennsylvania Dutch, etc.

twblalock 8y ago
This particular "dutch reach" idiom is not related to the Pennsylvania Dutch in any way.
- Symbiote 8y ago
  None of the "Dutch" idioms will be from Pennsylvania Dutch, they all come from being the neighbour country to England.
  - laurentl 8y ago
    Ireland?
  - NeedMoreTea 8y ago
    Pennsylvanian "Dutch" is a corruption of "Deutsche", and the community German is it not? As I understood it many of American "Dutch" idioms were originally meant to be referencing German. You do get cookie from Dutch though. Cookie comes from the Dutch keokje.
    - stevesimmons 8y ago
      koekje :)
rgj 8y ago
The article states "There is no name in Dutch for this technique — it’s just second nature to Dutch drivers, and has been for years. It has been deeply ingrained in the country’s culture. “It’s just what Dutch people do,” said Fred Wegman, professor emeritus of Traffic Safety at Delft University of Technology and the former managing director of the National Institute for Road Safety Research SWOV in the Netherlands. “All Dutch are taught it. It’s part of regular driver education.” " which is simply not true.

chki 8y ago

>Dooring is not an issue here either since Dutch cyclists tend to anticipate very well. Two points to this: Obviously (and you probably implied this but I want to make it clear:) it is first and foremost the duty of the car driver opening a door to make sure that there is nobody endangered. Secondly: It is not always possible to anticipate car doors opening, even if you are following traffic very carefully. People sit in their cars for prolonged times without the engines on. It only takes one bad situation to kill a person. Therefore in my opinion all reasonable measures should be taken, including teaching people to open their car doors with the opposing hand. (Even better, as you mentioned: separate different kinds of traffic)

rocqua 8y ago
I think a large part of this is that dutch people expect bikes. Therefore, we notice them a lot easier. Scanning for cyclists is very much part of our system. Another part of this is probably that cyclists are essentially never sandwiched between parked cars and traffic. The sandwiching requires you drive a lot closer to the parked cars. Without it, you can take a lot more distance.
- childintime 8y ago
  Also, dutch cyclists tend to ride at modest speeds (11-15mph) that do not warrant helmets and protective measures. Bike lanes are explicit, so anyone parking knows to not blindly throw a door into the bike lane. Also never heard of this in the Netherlands. Note: this was featured on HN several times already.

xkcd-sucks 8y ago

In the USA a "Dutch" is a common euphemism for a blunt (marijuana cigar) rolled in a "Dutch Masters" brand cigar wrapper. A "Dutch cruise" is basically loading up a car with people and smoking, and a "Dutch reach" transfers the blunt from a back-seat passenger to a front-seat passenger or driver.

justtopost 8y ago
Dutch usually means splitting the check to the average americian, but as covered in a recent submission, there are dutch ovens (of various meaning and peasantness), etc. But yes, also dutchy (blunt), but dutch-X meaning blunt-x but thats more of a regional thing imho. Northeast I think.

jrnvs 8y ago

I’m Dutch too. This technique was mentioned in the book I read to prepare for the theoretical part of the drivers license exam. I never saw anyone use it in practice.

Kim_Bruning 8y ago

Did you used to learn "spiegel spiegel schouder" before getting out instead? It doesn't work so great on modern cars with folding mirrors though. I think maybe it got introduced more recently?