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Where are the worst drivers located?


Another Fan

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I've lived in several states and I think the worst is Arizona.  


I get they have speed cameras but there the limit is 9 mph over.  Most people there when I was living there were driving under the speed limit and people never ever changed lanes.  You'll have someone driving 5-10 mph under the speed limit in the left lane the entire time they're on the road.  

 

On a regular basis when exiting off the highway, many of them have the "Keep Moving" sign but yet most of them would yield or come to a complete stop.  It's brutal they just sit there and wait for traffic when they are in the merge lane with bars/poles separating.

 

A lot of their problems for driving are the old people which the west side of Phoenix is a retirement community.  The drivers licenses expire after 30 years (it was at the time I was there) so it basically allows the very old to keep driving.  I remember getting behind an elderly lady who was scraping the median wall and didn't know it.  Her drivers side was sparking up like crazy and she had no idea...just kept driving.


I once was driving on the highway and this old couple noticed jets flying through the air and they came to a complete stop to look.  I could see in my car behind them they were pointing up at the planes and enjoying the show.  Literally stopped and parked on a highway and not on the shoulder.

 

I had another driver once stopped with a blinker on trying to turn into a gas station.  The problem was they weren't in the median or turn lane...they were on the wrong side of the road but had no idea.  We had to wait until traffic cleared in the lane next to me just to continue.  

 

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In the civilized world?  

 

The USA, by far.  I see no difference in driver behavior among US localities.  

 

Our poor road quality, artificial speed limits, lack of driver education, and total lack of lane discipline combined with cell phone usage make driving on American highways a scary, chaotic adventure.

 

It's every man for himself and you don't know what anyone is going to do at any moment in time.

 

Zipping along on proper roads in an orderly fashion at 115mph on the Autobahn in Germany is massively safer, more predictable, and more relaxing.

 

I also give high marks to the Italian Autostradas as well; great lane discipline, great roads, high avg. vehicle speed and attentive drivers. 

 

 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

In the civilized world?  

 

The USA, by far.  I see no difference in driver behavior among US localities.  

 

Our poor road quality, artificial speed limits, lack of driver education, and total lack of lane discipline combined with cell phone usage make driving on American highways a scary, chaotic adventure.

 

It's every man for himself and you don't know what anyone is going to do at any moment in time.

 

Zipping along on proper roads in an orderly fashion at 115mph on the Autobahn in Germany is massively safer, more predictable, and more relaxing.

 

I also give high marks to the Italian Autostradas as well; great lane discipline, great roads, high avg. vehicle speed and attentive drivers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In Atlanta when I was getting my license (back in 1996), the driving test was only in the parking lot and you didn't go on the road.

They set up cones, you drove between them and parallel parked at the end.  If you can do that, you get a license to drive.

It was awesome as a kid because it was that easy but now looking at it as an adult.....

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7 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

In the civilized world?  

I also give high marks to the Italian Autostradas as well; great lane discipline, great roads, high avg. vehicle speed and attentive drivers. 

 

 

 

Please.

Rome has to be one of the most insane driving experiences one could experience.

Depending on what you call "the civilized world,"  Brazil and Argentina are far worse than the US.

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In the U.S., Louisiana.

 

Riding around India was f@#$ing terrifying.  I spent 4 hours in a van on winding two lane roads on the edge of a cliff while the driver tried to pass large trucks.  He'd peak out into the passing lane only to swerve back in to avoid oncoming cars or trucks.  It took 6 hours to drive 100 miles to see the Taj.

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28 minutes ago, Fadingpain said:

In the civilized world?  

 

The USA, by far.  I see no difference in driver behavior among US localities.  

 

Our poor road quality, artificial speed limits, lack of driver education, and total lack of lane discipline combined with cell phone usage make driving on American highways a scary, chaotic adventure.

 

It's every man for himself and you don't know what anyone is going to do at any moment in time.

 

Zipping along on proper roads in an orderly fashion at 115mph on the Autobahn in Germany is massively safer, more predictable, and more relaxing.

 

I also give high marks to the Italian Autostradas as well; great lane discipline, great roads, high avg. vehicle speed and attentive drivers. 

 

 

 

 

 

        Interesting on how things get interpreted.  When I saw the title of the thread, I thought Italy.  In the city, any city that I have been in, paying attention to signs and right of way seem totally optional.  Don't want to wait for a light, cut across the sidewalk at the intersection.

       The Autobahn is great until you see fog. In the 80's, coming out of Munich, the road  has these slight rises and dips.  I saw two delays going north with traffic jams about 2 miles long each. Within each jam. at about a half mile intervals, rear ender's with a variety of severity.  Guess they couldn't figure out they should slow down.  

 

 

Edited by Greybeard
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Another vote for NJ.  I am amazed that the streets here are not lined with burning wreckage every day.  Half the drivers are oblivious to their surroundings, and the other half simply don't care.  You are more likely to see bigfoot roaming the streets than a blinker.  Cars with more than 1 working brake light are most likely lost and from out of state.

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53 minutes ago, sherpa said:

 

 

Please.

Rome has to be one of the most insane driving experiences one could experience.

Depending on what you call "the civilized world,"  Brazil and Argentina are far worse than the US.

But it's Europe. They are pretty much better at everything than us. At least that's been the narrative for the last 40 years.

Anyway, it sucks in Cali just like everyone else.  Apparently, no one knows they have a signal installed in their car. I always seem to get stuck behind someone going the speed limit in the fast lane. Usually a Prius strangely enough. Also a lot of the "undocumented" running around without insurance.

Edited by Dante
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Vermont - too slow and use passing lanes as cruising lanes.  They never use the right lane.  Ever.

Pennsylvania - Erratic, unpredictable.  You can pass them, then they'll pass you ... only to slow down, making you have to pass them again.

Massachusetts - They're born !@#$s and it extends to their driving.

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5 minutes ago, Gugny said:

Vermont - too slow and use passing lanes as cruising lanes.  They never use the right lane.  Ever.

Pennsylvania - Erratic, unpredictable.  You can pass them, then they'll pass you ... only to slow down, making you have to pass them again.

Massachusetts - They're born !@#$s and it extends to their driving.

 

I think this is due to cell phone use. I see that all the time someone going under the speed limit while texting or whatever. You pass them. When they are done f'ing around they speed up and pass you!

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I feel it's all pretty relative.  I have found myself in the following cities thinking each had the worst drivers at that time:

 

Chicago

Atlanta

Dallas-Ft. Worth-Arlington

Houston

St. Louis

Milwaukee

Seattle

New Orleans

Phoenix

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Detroit

 

There are many others, but those all jump to mind immediately.  Fair disclaimer: I am not exactly defined as a courteous driver. I have a penchant for being really hard on cars from purely a driving standpoint. I tend to downshift rather than brake and generally always exceed the speed limit. I was raised in the Ozarks and genuinely love hauling ass down ridiculously curvy roads. I often find myself in the situation where my wife is griping at me about considering the other person could be learning how to drive and to think about how I was when teaching my daughter to drive.  Last year I got three speeding tickets in one week.  Received a letter from the Wisconsin DOT that if I got one more I would need to attend traffic school or lose my license. Let me tell you, auto insurance companies just love that kind of stuff.

 

In the same breath, as long as you don't count smoking an 8 point buck (and my truck) at 60 miles an hour, I have never had or caused an accident.

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