Comments by "Helmuth Schultes" (@helmuthschultes9243) on "American Reacts to 10 Things Americans Don't Like About Australia" video.

  1. Many petrol, gas, stations do have credit card payment at pumps, but locally drivers largely seem to prefer to pay at the register. Ok some card units are faulty too, I have NEVER tried to pay at the pump, and some petrol stations tried late night overnight prepay at the pump for increased security, and some driveaway fuel thefts, but many including me avoided these places causing loss of business. Before predominance of self serve, the attendant would collect payment and return with change. I did years serving cars, all that was before credit cards, all was cash or account sales. We largely are used to it, and many also pickup a newspaper, snacks, cigarettes, etc.
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  2. WiFi is not the limit, it runs at full capacity depending on WiFi node capacity to hundreds of Mbit per second. But pre new NBN the actual internet connections were slow, either to cable with 20Mbit/s download or phone line, copper pair ADSL, with similar or down to 5Mbit/s were the limits not the local WiFi node. Not all premises had cable unless signed up for some video streaming service, most were on copper line and limits imlosed by ADSL and such twisted pair phone line hardware. Further most internet accounts had huge difference in download and upload speeds. Most accounts setup for accessing information from internet and little outgoing u ppl load data. So depending on internet account downloads were still reasonable, even on WiFi, but uploads far slower, to mere 1Mbit/s or less, unless you payed for premium such as people intending to provide info to internet. As a internet site you even had seperate high cost accounts, again most user accounts did not allow operation on a fixed IP address as a internet site, you had to sign up to special internet accounts. Few shops, cafes and restaurants did not pay premium accounts and had upload speeds very limited. Most users of free WiFi were happy enough as browsing the internet worked fast enough, only some who wanted to cheap uploads using someone's free WiFi to send images, music, videos as uploads were heavily impacted not having own high cost account. Optical fibre were very expensive and only used by large corporation and were very few, certainly most users had no such capacity. I however know that around the time in 1990s internet was establishing, high speed connection of mere 64Kbit/s were still costing over $100,000 per year, I had a major work site issue getting such put in by the company IT department as my 19.2Kbit/s modem on phone line was limiting my direct work on co. Poll any computers back in Germany. Cost killed that aim. Modern speeds were beyond imagining. The new NBN was planned by the government to give everyone optical fibre internet, so up so 1Gigabit/s rates, with some upload limiting still present but now at reasonable fast speeds. Sadly a change of government altered to fibre backbone with lower costs, as fibre is more expensive especially the connection hardware, to using older phone local copper pair ADSL to homes from street shared fibre nodes and finally also some to get onto previous cable network. Some lucky people and new housing estates got fibre to the home and could get upto 1Gbit/s download and if paying more even similar upload speeds though default I think more like 100Mbit/s upload. Most common on cable is 50Mbit/s download and 10 to 15 Mbit/s upload, with optional higher cost for 100Mbit/s down and also increased up rates. Copper pair more typical is 20Mbit/s down, 5Mbit/s up, depending on copper line and distance to central fiber node, can go to similar to cable 50 to 100 Mbit down. Still most free WiFi nodes are not necessarily providing higher cost premium service as most usage is for internet browsing and social media, and not to provide zero cost service for user uploading massive data quantity..
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  3. Bikes unlike skate boards and scooters areboperated on roads with traffic, and there are considerable injury risks. Road trauma and road deaths are a large issue. With trauma being especially costly with the medical cover effectively born by tax payer, far more than USA, and a large proportion of people even on private insurance still use free public services for typical abrasions and broken bones, private insurance used only for more serious cases. Many bike crash victims get all treatment at cost of tax payers. In the USA I believe costs of thousands are born by the patient.
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  4. Ozone hole was a serious issue over 10yrs ago, but in reality the actual hole only briefly reached southern regions, part of the year. But it has repaired significantly since various refrigerants and spray can propellants were banned world wide. Flurocarbon compounds extensively used were very damaging by destroying Ozone, O3. Sadly much use in all refrigeration and AC systems, as well huge quantities in form of pressure gases in spray can products, combined with common system repair practice to drain the refrigerant gases to atmosphere and end of repair charge up with new refrigerant. Not all repairs pumped the gas to storage for reuse or return to industry, but significant fraction was vented, customer just had to pay for new gas charge. Also many systems developed faults, leaking the charge of refrigerant By the way in moder servicing of systems, it is compulsory to pump out the new replacement refirigerant, either reuse or return to industry. The new allowed materials are not perfect but less damaging if leaked and no longer allowed as spraycan propellant. The Ozone hole has very much shrunken but it still partially establishes in Antarctic regions. Strange is that the ozone destroying flurocarbons predominantly were Northern Hemisphere created as Australia, South America and some South Africa regions combined had far lower use and release of such materials, yet it was southern areas most impacted. One possibility is that Australia has clearer air, less pollutants and possibly less atmospheric water, and naturally less UV absorption. Another aspect may be latidude, where places like Sydney and worse Queensland actually are closer to equatorial latidudes than most US people get exposed under. Sun burns and worst effect Skin Cancers are an issue here, and locally you grow up with the protection messages hammered home. The good motto "Slip, Slop, Slap" has for some 40years pushed, Slip on a Shirt, Slop on sunscreen lotion, Slap on a Hat.
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  5. Many main roads have turn slip lanes provided, so there with suitable caution you CAN turn left at a Red light. But no if not specifically such turn lane, you may not turn after Red. However the US need to fully stop, before turning, with fraction of second margin of error, often ignored to stop, leads to many accidents by the dashcam videos watched, and many drivers doibg the most carekess turns bith right and left with conflicting traffic. Here at least clear is yellow stop while safe, and must be stopping at Red active. Red light cameras are common at many lights intersectiob, with error window of mere second from Red active. By the way an unusual fact often not well known, at a traffic light, even having Green in your direction, you are still at fault, when hit from right side by a vehicle runnibg its red light. For our Left side traffic, the giveway to right law applies all the time.
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  6. Not only fixed position cameras, which most car GPS unit now give warnings about, many get constant upgrade info, but also many mobile cameras. Basically all triggered flashes in the oast especially these fixed and mobile speed cameras, but latest are mobile do not gove visible flashes, and prgressively more and more fixed also do not as well. Many are hidden under overpasses or behind overhead signs, while on many roads the camera on a pole is visible, more instances now are hidden. The mobile ones are often just looking to be a parked car, once identified easily by large asembly out fron, now many have a small unit on the dash, and not at all obvious to traffic. One speed camera mode becoming far more prevalent o many highways and freeways, are longer distance average speed, where the cars registration is captured at succesive points and average speed is evaluated from time intervals, so those speeding by knowing the fixed cameras, slowing down going past, then back to well over linit, are now caught. Most such operate over short distances of 10 to 50 km depending on route. But some continue over multiple segments, yielding results for hundreds of km distance. JUST STICK TO LIMITS! or risk fines. Police also still use radar, and here any radar detectors will getyou a very hefty fine. A new camera is now going into service allowing detection of drivers using phones or other distracting electronics while driving. Apparently able to resolve such up to km distances away, also police are monitoring for such from vehicle and motorbike patrols too.
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  7. A very large government excise (tax) applies on all fuel purchases, which represents presently near 64cents in say $1.50 per liter. The excise is supposed to cover goverment expenditures on roads, highways and related traffic infrastructure costs. Now there is concern that EV, Fuelcell and Hybrid vehicles are increasingly not carrying full costs of such road/support structure costs, by not buying fuel. There is now planned a annual kilometer driven based charge to be imposed on such vehicles. Even a discussion of dropping Excise entirely and have all traffic charged by annual kilometers and vehicle mass and engine power. One fact is certain, the excuse now is like most taxes never fully used for intended reason, but vanishes into government funds. And as clear as a fine sunny day, the view of kilometer and vehicle type charges will become an even greater tax ripoff by governments to increase revenue. Since 1960s cities have been in constant discount cycles, with daily and weekly variations and across city areas, quite possible is on a given day in recent times min $1.36 to over $1.70 per liter, diesel stays more stable over time, only petrol varies a lot, both vary across various petrol stations. Some areas more likely higher, other city parts lower. Worst aspect is for holidays or other special events the prices go high, even end of week goes up Tuesday back down. If foreign crude price goes up within a day the prices go up significantly, often percentage wise more than percentage crude increase. Then tends to remain high, but when crude prices fall it might be nearly a month before any significant drop in prices, unusually rarely all at once but drawn out over weeks, and seemingly not by anything like the percent crude went down. Commercial users get some gov kickback, especially Diesel trucking, but also petrol or LPG and Propane gas. Yes real gas, Liquified Petroleum Gas. Many/most Taxis but also commercial vehicles and some private vehicles. That is cause of confusion to us when US people talk about filling up GAS, or going to the Gas station, not petrol, or even proper name Gasoline (so abreviated to GAS). Cost wise I have only one Hawaii visit, when I payed US$2.27 a gallon, which since US Gallon is only 3.78 L so 60c per Liter. At that time iur typical local premium fuel price was around 58 c per Liter and that contained the government fuel excise, around 1/3rd so almost 20 c, while from memory, as typical in US state tax still added to the fuel bill. At that time we were cheaper here. By the way our gallon (imperial) is 4.55L so take care if someone talks gallons here versus USA gallons. I have little direct current US pricing, but on the whole believe we are still quite comperable, especially considering possible taxes on the final bill in USA, while our prices aee akl inclusive like all prices displayed. That adding of tax at end of transaction, and the expectation of tips are two massive annoyances to us visiting in USA.
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