Then do not visit the USA. People here have no idea how to use the few roundabouts that we actually have. Not to mention that they put stop signs on them and speed bumps as well.

Priorite-a-droite supposedly comes from the English. The French just copied it without realising that the English drive on the other side of the road.

These are called Traffic Circles (at least in the USA). Where traffic approaching the intersection has priority and traffic on the circle must yield. After a few Etoiles were built in Paris, as well as New York, it was realised that priority-a-droite didn't work well. Eventually, in some countries, the logical framework of yielding to traffic on the roundabout was adopted. Needless to say, it worked much better after that. The USA is just now getting around to doing it correctly.

The advantage of roundabouts is that they slow down cars on the approach and increase throughput at the intersections. Not to mention that they reduce the possibility of accidents by removing 50% to 70% of the conflict points at the intersections.

I really HATE four way stop intersections. I guess it means that the average driver in my country isn't smart enough to handle priority-a-droite or roundabouts or normal yields at intersections. You would think this odd in a nation that is so in love with the automobile that it is almost impossible to get around without one. But, there you have it.

Only if equal amounst of traffic come from all directions, if not, one lane ends up waiting "forever" with a constant stream of traffic coming down the other way...

There have been quite a few threads about getting (imported) vehicles through vehicle inspections. One suggestion has been to remove accessories (wheels, exhaust ect) and refitting originals for the test, then refittting the after market bits back later. Has anyone a "friend" who has done this and been caught by the Police? What is the fine for having unapproved accessories on your car? On a sidenote, if I see another BMW316i with 22`wheels, M3 badges and a milo can for an exhaust pipe, I will send them to jail myself!!

This is actually possible and happens more often than you think. As a fine upstanding citizen you can write a letter to the police saying that you saw such and such commit an offence. Like when you see someone driving from the wrong way into a one way street you can write and report their number plate. The police will then send a ticket to the offender. (all of this happened to me once )

So, don't hold back I would say, knock yourself out !

Nah, just showing my age, it was a sport in my misspent youth making dubious modifications and dodging the plod!! But as my father was friends with most of them (small country town) he would just get a call, it sometimes would have been easier to deal with them than my old man's wrath!!

Does Switzerland ( Canton Geneve..) have something like the UK "roadsafe" system?

Driving around on the swiss-french border really gives me the idea that as far as crazy driving is concerned I have now seen it all.

Thank you for this fantastic thread. It has cleared up nearly all my questions....including the mystical round-a-bout theories. In NZ, we indicate like the UK. I have had many "almost-a-heart-attack" moments working out what the other motorists are trying to do.
I am now just hoping my husband was mistaken when he told me how far over the speed limit he was when flashed yesterday...especially after looking at the example above

As you may have probably noticed already, you can register more than a car on a single number plate, is nothing uncommon here. Anyway, if you are in this situation, make sure that the car without plates is parked on a yellow/private parking place, not on a white/public parking space! You're gonna get a ticket if you don't do so.