A goal

I really need to learn the finnish for:

"Excuse me, taxi-driver, but would you mind not driving so fast through the snow and ice and traffic whilst text-messaging? Thank-you."

Perhaps I should feed it to folksonomy of the moment: 43 things.

0 thoughts on “A goal”

vanderwal says:

November 26, 2004 at 9:33 pm

Perhaps the course of action should be: 1) get the translation in text form on your phone 2) get the driver’s cell number when entering the taxi 3) as the prescribed pattern begins send your stored text message to the driver.

Alternate course of action is to bring a phone jamming device into every taxi with you. However, at some point this could provide greater distraction for the taxi driver as they can send or receive messages.

Alternative 3: Have a front page of a Finnish newspaper made up with a mock headline, taxi driver killed while texting at high speed on ice. A graphic photo would also help.

Reply
hfb says:

November 26, 2004 at 9:43 pm

Finland is an entire country filled with frustrated rally drivers. Now you understand why people wait at the crosswalks for the lights to change. 🙂 My father-in-law drives like a bat out of hell and is, like many other Finns, an inveterate tailgater. Just buckle up and try not to flinch too often. 🙂

Reply
Janne says:

November 27, 2004 at 12:15 am

Try screaming “aaaaargh, pelottaa” and looking really scared.

It does not work, but at least it will keep the driver amused.

Reply
ChrisL says:

November 27, 2004 at 5:45 pm

It’s the same in Germany. The only time I’ve genuinely felt like sending my wife an ‘I love you, I think I’m about to die’ text was in Germany, late at night, on a icy autobahn as a crazy German taxi driver screamed along the road, never more than an inch behind the car in front, for an hour as he drove me to the hotel.

Perhaps we’re not used to it in the UK because there’s so much traffic taxi drivers don’t get the chance to be mad.

Chris

Reply
Piers Young says:

December 13, 2004 at 3:40 pm

Asked a Finnish colleague and apparently it’s:
“Anteeksi, voitteko ajaa hitaammin tassa lumessa ja liikenteessa jotta saan taman tekstiviestin lahetettya? Kiitos.”

Not word by word, but should be the sense. He also suggested silence might be best. Talking to the taxi-driver might be just one too many things for them to concentrate on, and a little dangerous as a result

Reply