Valkoinenpakettiautomies aka white van man

OR, why Finns have rally driving in their blood. White van man doesn't really exist here in Finland, but if he did, he wouldn't be sitting on your tail shouting abuse at you. Driving conditions here in winter are such that, even with studded winter tyres, the car is going to slide around. Even with the most care in the world it's impossible not to spin the wheels, or understeer as you go round corners. You get used to it. But white van man, well, he takes advantage of the fact that his Ford transit, probably pretty well empty, has rear wheel drive. White van man approaches his T-junction of choice (usually onto a dual carriage way, cos there's more space) and drifts it round the corner. He's too busy enjoying this to remember to shout abuse at others, besides it's too cold to open the window. This driving style is not just his perogative - I've seen quite a few very respectable middle-aged businessmen in company Beamers enjoying the same technique. Before you cry ' isn't it dangerous - what about pedestrians etc?' I add that usually pedestrian footpaths are wide, and there is also a snowbank and a wide verge between the too. I have almost never cycled on the road here - the walking and cycle routes here are so well organised. Then when the snow melts in summer, there are the long windy and deserted gravel roads out in the forest, Ouninpohjas for the less fortunate. There are a few quite insane young men who still drive their motocross bikes in winter, which really is nuts. One interesting experience was sitting near the back of a bus coming down a steep windy hill, early one saturday morning in November. The day before it had rained, then the temp dropped to just below 0, about the worst driving conditions, ice everywhere . Only half awake (just as well, really), I realised that the back of the bus was travelling more sideways than forwards, as the real wheels were locking while the bus driver did his best to control the speed so as to get round the bends. He didn't even seem remotely bothered by it, though. As regards Norwegian wood's comment about cycling in -30 like a true Finn, it's actually only the mad (ignorant) foreigners who do that. Finns sum it up simply: 'We already know we're hard as nails, let's just get the bus!'