I thought it would be interesting to hear some thoughts on the driving habits of residents in various Ohio cities.  Here are my thoughts:

 

The two main things I have noticed are the drivers in Ohio are slow compared to a lot of other places and horn honking is rare (which can be a good or bad thing). When I honk my horn at someone, they seem to get pissed off and shoot me the bird or wave at me. What the hell is that waving gesture supposed to signify anyway? Is that a nice way of giving someone a one finger salute.

 

To break it down further:

 

Cincinnati-Slow on freeways, but drivers will zip around curves and down hills on secondary roads. Drivers here seem to tailgate the most of all Ohio cities, especially on 75 and the Norwood Lateral (cutting across the Lateral to "beat" traffic I assume.)

 

Dayton-Faster than Cincinnati drivers, but less agressive. I've noticed the drivers there blatantly ignore the posted speed limits for construction zones. Dayton drivers seem to be fairly good with signaling and not tailgating.

 

Columbus-Relatively fast drivers on the freeways (fastest in Ohio), but slow on secondary roads. Can be rude and somewhat aggressive at times. Probably because of the mix of driving styles there from the transplants.

 

Cleveland-Slow, but not as slow as Cinci drivers. Drivers seem fairly courteous overall (signal lane changes and lack of cutting off others). I seem to always encounter left bandits there. Grrrr. Clevelanders also seem to have a problem with drifting into other lanes for some reason.

 

Akron-Comparable to Dayton drivers but slightly more aggressive.

 

Toledo-The drivers there seem to all be on a Sunday drive.

 

No experience with driving in Youngstown.

 

On the rural interstates, I know 65 is the posted speed limit, but that seems to be the absolute maximum most people will drive. You have the occassional person that will cruise at 70 or maybe 72 but rarely any higher. I usually cruise at 75 and most of the time I'm flying past everyone.

 

The pace of traffic is surprisingly fast on interstates in South Carolina, especially on I-95 headed to Florida. The speed limit is 70 but you better be going at least 75, and if in the left lane, if you're not going 80, then you will be reading the characters of a yellow NJ plate in your rear view mirror. Traffic in Orlando was surpringly bad also, but that's a whole different subject...

 

-Someone please explain the "waving" gesture to me.-

The two main things I have noticed are the drivers in Ohio are slow compared to a lot of other places and horn honking is rare (which can be a good or bad thing). When I honk my horn at someone, they seem to get pissed off and shoot me the bird or wave at me. What the hell is that waving gesture supposed to signify anyway? Is that a nice way of giving someone a one finger salute.

 

You can thank our fear-inducing state patrol for that.  Not many states have as much aggressive state AND local patrol as Ohio.

 

Cincinnati-Slow on freeways, but drivers will zip around curves and down hills on secondary roads. Drivers here seem to tailgate the most of all Ohio cities, especially on 75 and the Norwood Lateral (cutting across the Lateral to "beat" traffic I assume.)

 

I agree. 

 

Dayton-Faster than Cincinnati drivers, but less agressive. I've noticed the drivers there blatantly ignore the posted speed limits for construction zones. Dayton drivers seem to be fairly good with signaling and not tailgating.

 

Daytonians are more aggressive I've found than Cincinnati drivers.  We DO blatantly ignore posted speed limits period (construction or not) and we do tailgate (lawd Jesus, do we!).  I never notice the signaling thing so perhaps that's correct.

 

Columbus-Relatively fast drivers on the freeways (fastest in Ohio), but slow on secondary roads. Can be rude and somewhat aggressive at times. Probably because of the mix of driving styles there from the transplants.

 

SHHHEEEIIIIT!  Columbus drivers are slow as hell compared to here (Dayton), freeways or secondary roads and I've lived in that b!tch for ten years!  I don't think Columbus drivers are rude at all and not even close of being aggressive.  They are too lax IMO.

 

Cleveland-Slow, but not as slow as Cinci drivers. Drivers seem fairly courteous overall (signal lane changes and lack of cutting off others). I seem to always encounter left bandits there. Grrrr. Clevelanders also seem to have a problem with drifting into other lanes for some reason.

 

I've found THE slowest drivers in the state to be in Cleveland in all my travels here.  I think it has to do with the weather, honestly.

 

Akron-Comparable to Dayton drivers but slightly more aggressive.

 

Meh, I've found Akron tolerable.  Nothing stands out in driving habits. 

 

Toledo-The drivers there seem to all be on a Sunday drive.

 

I'll say this about Toledo: they seem to have Detroit run-off when it comes to drivers. 

 

For your last thing, the South can't drive.  Period.  I've seen some outrageous things in my life and that region is the worst.  The Northeast has some horrific inner-city drivers but overall it's just faster paced, less state patrol, and people generally know what they are doing.  The Pacific NW seems to have THE most courteous drivers; Californians are insane but strangely it "works" for them; Denver drivers are nitwits; and Phoenix...just awful.  Don't EVEN get me started on Texas drivers...

 

And I don't know about any "waving" gesture ???

No one ever complains about Ohio drivers in Chicago.  But Wisconsin drivers move soooooo sloowwww

And I don't know about any "waving" gesture ???

 

I like to wave to other drivers to get their attention. Then I flip them the bird.

 

I don't have a whole lot of Ohio experience outside of NEO, but someone explain to me the phenomenon on the freeways here of driving along at 70 mph, then suddenly stopping to 30 mph, for no reason whatsoever. I've seen more people panic / pull into the shoulders because they can't stop in time in my time here, than in any other place I've driven. One time I was picking my folks up from the airport and coming back on 480 E, the traffic just shut down to about 35 mph. I had luckily kept a buffer between me and the guy in front. The guy behind me couldn't react in time, swung into the left hand shoulder, sped past me, hit the median, then sideswiped the guy in front of me.

 

Just another day in Cle.

When I moved to Columbus from Philadelphia, I was stunned at the difference--drivers in Columbus may be rude by HHS78's standards, but I don't know what his frame of reference is.  Compared to Philly, Columbus drivers deserve a medal from Emily Post.

 

I agree with the overall "meh" sentiment about Akron drivers.  Nothing too crazy.  The worst craziness happens around poorly designed interchanges, and I think that's more the fault of the interchanges than the drivers.

^^LOL. Usually the answer is one of our fine bedroom community patrol officers have decide to work on their ticket quota during rush hour in a construction zone.

 

Oh, and Columbus drivers freak the f' out in the snow. That was annoying when I lived down there.

 

When I moved to Columbus from Philadelphia, I was stunned at the difference--drivers in Columbus may be rude by HHS78's standards, but I don't know what his frame of reference is.  Compared to Philly, Columbus drivers deserve a medal from Emily Post.

 

I agree with the overall "meh" sentiment about Akron drivers.  Nothing too crazy.  The worst craziness happens around poorly designed interchanges, and I think that's more the fault of the interchanges than the drivers.

 

I'm basically just comparing my experiences with other Ohio cities, not my experiences in the northeast. I grew up in New England and went to Boston all the time, so yeah,  compared to there, drivers everywhere in Ohio are like grannies. Boston is the only place where I've ever witnessed a cabbie hop the curb, drive on the sidewalk behind two street vendors just to bypass traffic.  :-o

 

There is a huge difference in Cleveland's west side and east side. West side you see almost everybody going 60 mph, and not much faster. East side, you will a lot of people going over 70. Idk what the reason for it is, but its true.

Columbus says "What's a turn signal?" I think it's a fairly new phenomenon. When I was learning to drive as a teenager, I don't remember Columbus drivers having a problem with turn signal usage. I lived in other cities for 10 years and upon my return I was greeted with a city that seems to refuse to raise it's ham arm to hit the turn signal stalk.

 

Columbus secondary roads and side friction: Best observed on our high speed crosstown roads such as Livingston, Hamilton, Main and Broad. OK people, haven't you realized yet that turning left from anywhere but a traffic light is really stupid here? You're going to sit and sit and sit. Oh, what a surprise, you got bored while waiting for the non-stop restrictor-plate pack of cars to dissipate in both directions. Clearly best solution is to stop traffic by pulling your vehicle out into the travel lanes and blocking them so that you can turn left out of the check cashing place.

 

Cincinnati secondary roads, on street parking and additional lane availability: Everybody knows that on-street parking comes and goes all over town and also knows that a clear right lane won't last long. So what do you do when the right lane opens up or more lanes exist for an intersection? Get in the new lane and floor it! Who cares if someone in front of you needs to be in that lane? The whole road is yours, and traffic behind you won't end up coming to a complete halt to let the guy who was in front of you get over while you hog it.

 

Tailgating: Everybody knows that Cincinnati drivers tailgate a lot, but it's almost a part of the culture and they're really good at it. It is annoying, but they're not going to hit you. Now, in Columbus, tailgating infuriates me because it is not acceptable here and doesn't happen much. When it does, the car is usually poorly maintained and you can't trust whomever is doing it since they're usually some kind of tweaker.

 

275: Man, people drive slowly on this road, especially on the East Side. People drive way faster on 71 in the heart of the city than on 275.

 

Middletown and U-turns: Why is this the only city in the state where U-turns are legal? Can the rest of us not handle it? Were this city's citizens blessed with a special gene that only they and residents of other states have?

 

Cincinnati's skilled drivers: I do maintain that Cincinnati drivers, on a purely technical basis, have the most ability of any city in the state. Daily, they drive briskly on technical narrow roads with lots of curves and elevation changes. Not only that, but they have to make quick decisions constantly as a new surprise often awaits around the corner or at the top of the hill. Whether it's always the right decision or they choose the proper aggressiveness level is another story. One exception: the West Side. Every time I went over there were crashes all over the place and ambulances running around. It's kind of surprising that not many good race car drivers come out of the Cincy area; the only one I can think of offhand is Danny Popp. I think it has to do with the lack of racecourses around.

There is a huge difference in Cleveland's west side and east side. West side you see almost everybody going 60 mph, and not much faster. East side, you will a lot of people going over 70. Idk what the reason for it is, but its true.

 

I think part of it is that I-271 encourages really fast travel.  It has to be the widest freeway in the state and it's very straight and flat.

I have noticed the texting/bad drivers on phones thing really increasing lately. A lot of very, very inattentive drivers drifting into other lanes, following too closely and almost hitting the person in front of them, slowing way down instead of going with the flow of traffic, it seems MUCH worse than it used to be. I don't know what can be done about it. People don't seem to get that this is not something you can do while you are driving, and it seems very dangerous and prevalent.

 

The "wave" by the way is a passive-aggressive way of saying f*ck you, I'm doing what I want, ha ha and I'll smile while I do it to you.

The "wave" by the way is a passive-aggressive way of saying f*ck you, I'm doing what I want, ha ha and I'll smile while I do it to you.

 

That's a perfect description of the "wave".  It's also the method people use to be racist in today's world.

The "wave" by the way is a passive-aggressive way of saying f*ck you, I'm doing what I want, ha ha and I'll smile while I do it to you.

 

That's a perfect description of the "wave".  It's also the method people use to be racist in today's world.

 

.....Elaborate please. I don't see it that way at all, especially when I see white people do it other whites all the time. I was just curious about the "wave" because I never experienced it until I came to Ohio. Frankly, I would rather someone just shoot me the bird instead of all the passive-aggressive stuff. That seems to irk me more than anything else. The drivers in Seattle and Minneapolis seem to be good for passive-aggressive behaviors also.

Akron-Comparable to Dayton drivers but slightly more aggressive.

Akron drivers do NOT allow other drivers to merge. It's like they think they're going to lose a race if they let someone in. It doesn't matter how much traffic either. (It took me years to break myself of this habbit, still trying to convince the wife not to do this.)

The pace of traffic is surprisingly fast on interstates in South Carolina, especially on I-95 headed to Florida. The speed limit is 70 but you better be going at least 75, and if in the left lane, if you're not going 80, then you will be reading the characters of a yellow NJ plate in your rear view mirror.

Just stay off that section of I-95 the week after Christmas because of all the snowbirds headed to FL. In the right lane is an RV doing 35, in the middle lane is an RV passing them doing 45, in the left lane is an Oldsmobile trying to pass them doing 55. Meanwhile there's a couple of locals that think the Interstate signs are speed limit signs and are doing 95 weaving from lane to lane cutting everyone off and tailgating. (give it a couple of miles and you'll see them in the trees at the side of the road.)

I would also say the drivers are much more selfish and aggressive on the E side of Cleveland than the W. They won't let you in when you're merging, they cut you off, many drive as though they're the only ones on the road.

Akron-Comparable to Dayton drivers but slightly more aggressive.

Akron drivers do NOT allow other drivers to merge. It's like they think they're going to lose a race if they let someone in. It doesn't matter how much traffic either. (It took me years to break myself of this habbit, still trying to convince the wife not to do this.)

The pace of traffic is surprisingly fast on interstates in South Carolina, especially on I-95 headed to Florida. The speed limit is 70 but you better be going at least 75, and if in the left lane, if you're not going 80, then you will be reading the characters of a yellow NJ plate in your rear view mirror.

Just stay off that section of I-95 the week after Christmas because of all the snowbirds headed to FL. In the right lane is an RV doing 35, in the middle lane is an RV passing them doing 45, in the left lane is an Oldsmobile trying to pass them doing 55. Meanwhile there's a couple of locals that think the Interstate signs are speed limit signs and are doing 95 weaving from lane to lane cutting everyone off and tailgating. (give it a couple of miles and you'll see them in the trees at the side of the road.)

 

I have found Pittsburgh drives to be the worst with the merging, but most of that is due to the terrain and the fact they they actually have STOP signs instead of yield signs at the bottom of many of their on ramps. Their merging lanes are also extremely short.

 

A lot of I-95 needs to be widened (most of it is two lanes) or at least repaved because a lot of the concrete on the stretch from the 95/26 junction down to around Hilton Head is in deplorable condition. I cracked one of my wheels down there, at night. My gf was all worried because of how dark it was out there.

I would also say the drivers are much more selfish and aggressive on the E side of Cleveland than the W. They won't let you in when you're merging, they cut you off, many drive as though they're the only ones on the road.

 

This seems to describe exactly the differences between drivers on the east and west sides of Cincinnati.

The "wave" by the way is a passive-aggressive way of saying f*ck you, I'm doing what I want, ha ha and I'll smile while I do it to you.

 

That's a perfect description of the "wave".  It's also the method people use to be racist in today's world.

 

.....Elaborate please.

 

Sorry, I didn't mean the wave itself.  I just meant that people are much more passive-aggressive in displaying certain behaviors, especially non-PC ones like racism.  I believe this is why many people mistakenly believe racism is nearly non-existent, they just don't realize it has changed.  The wave is just the driving analogy to that.  People feel better about themselves because they didn't flick the other person off, but they really had the same intentions (a gesture to piss the other guy off, and I might even say the smug wave is worse than the angry finger if you're on the receiving end of someone being a jerk).

 

But this is getting off-topic, so I'll divert back to...

 

I'm not so sure about R&R's assessment of drivers on each side of town.  I haven't found many differences.  The only thing I notice differently is that the non-interstate roads tend to be more confusing on the east side of town (especially around the Heights, Shaker Square, and University Circle) which causes big disparities between those who have local knowledge and those who don't, which of course leads to frustrations and aggressions.  Outside of that, though, and especially on the interstates, I really don't think there's much difference at all.

A lot of I-95 needs to be widened (most of it is two lanes) or at least repaved because a lot of the concrete on the stretch from the 95/26 junction down to around Hilton Head is in deplorable condition. I cracked one of my wheels down there, at night. My gf was all worried because of how dark it was out there.

 

As much as I'd prefer better train service down to Florida, you're absolutely right about I-95.  It pains me to say it, but it really ought to be 3-lanes the whole way.  There's just too much RV and truck traffic (and thus a variance in the speed of traffic) for 2 lanes.

One of many driving irritants I have experienced repeatedly here in the Buckeye State is what I would call passive-aggressive driving. Amazing balls and nerve (in a bad way) combined with extreme witless slowness.

 

Example: somebody who waits literally until the very last split second to pull out of a side street in front of very fast traffic, and then proceeds to drive at a VERY slow speed. Or who lefts on you after waiting a very long time for you to get very close to them, and then turns VERY slowly.

 

In general, Ohio has a plague of drivers who are really extremely aggressive but in a really stupid and slow way. In most metropolitan areas drivers are very aggressive but they go about their business quickly and expediently. Here if a driver has 12 seconds to decide to make a turn safely, he will spend 11.75 seconds of it picking his ass.

 

It's like in Ohio there is a mentality of driving as if to say: "I despise you simply because I do not know you, I am more important than you, and therefore I am entitled to do anything I like. But I will not break a sweat over it."

 

Dayton's the worst with this stuff.

My biggest annoyance is stop signs.  It seems like at some intersections when traffic is a little heavier people have a mentality that they can go after waiting a few seconds, regardless of how long anyone else has been waiting or if it's their turn.

 

But even worse are the people (and there are MANY) who follow right behind the person in front of them and double up going through the stop sign so you have to wait fro two cars instead of one.  It's like they are purposely trying to piss you off since they know you aren't going to be stupid and try to squeeze between them and the car in front of them.  Kind of like when 4 cars turn left after the left turn arrow goes off and the people coming the other way have to wait for them all to clear the intersection well after their light has turned green.

 

Basically, many drivers are just selfish and think others should just have to wait for them so they can get to where they want to go a little faster.

I would also say the drivers are much more selfish and aggressive on the E side of Cleveland than the W. They won't let you in when you're merging, they cut you off, many drive as though they're the only ones on the road.

 

Sounds like northern Illinois! LOL

Now that I live somewhere else I can compare. I agree with RR that the texting and cell phone use is a huge problem.  It seemed like everyone was on the phone. Since I use 2 wheels for transportation it is especially hazardous. I could not believe the difference when I move to CA. There is a law statewide and it makes a huge difference (you can use a hands free device) I LOVE IT. Instead of 95% of the drivers being on the phone only about 10% are.  Even though I ride a lot more here, I have had far fewer near misses. Drivers are also much more likely to NOT ignore scooters and motor cycles  at stop signs and let them in when changing lanes or merging on to the freeway. In Cleveland, right of way was determined by the size of the vehicle.

 

That said in CA, no one uses a turn signal, and they drive like maniacs on the freeway. In both Cleveland and San Diego, the suburban area drivers are more aggressive and oblivious. Don't know if it is entirely the fault of the driver, or the road design.

I think that Youngstown drivers are, quite possibly, the worst drivers on the planet; or at least the worst drivers I've ever experienced. Given how deserted much of the city is, there seems to be an almost belligerent disregard for traffic laws. I've been honked at more than once--in the middle of the day, no less--for waiting at a stoplight. Stop signs are optional. I think I may be the only person in this place who knows what an indicator light is. Every city street in relatively decent repair is an excuse for a drag race. And, I'm sorry, but my car's small tires require me to drive carefully over all the pot holes so please stop aggressively riding my ass!

 

I say all this somewhat in jest (though not at all tongue-in-cheek). But, honestly, the Yo is sort of a driver's free-for-all  :whip:

(Allow me to clarify, however, that many of the stoplights here are either way too long or simply unnecessary  :-D)

Isn't it legal to run stoplights at night in Youngstown after you have come to a complete stop and no one is coming? They probably think it's true in the daytime as well.

Toledo has a complete and total disregard for red lights (I attribute to the massive grid system with basically too many intersections).

 

I think the slowness of Ohio drivers isn't their fault entirely (the whole state has a couple points on their license from our fine patrol folks engaging in revenue enhancement). The relative presence of 18 wheelers has a pretty big affect on the driving personality of the road - 75 for instance is always clogged w/ trucks, whereas 71 is never as bad and so traffic flows far more on 71 and the drivers seem less annoyed most of the time.

... And, I'm sorry, but my car's small tires require me to drive carefully over all the pot holes so please stop aggressively riding my ass!

 

I say all this somewhat in jest (though not at all tongue-in-cheek). But, honestly, the Yo is sort of a driver's free-for-all  :whip:

 

When someone is tailgating me and I see a pothole coming up, I steer so as to straddle it while just missing it with my wheels. More often than not the tailgater won't see it in time and will slam right into it.  :evil:

... And, I'm sorry, but my car's small tires require me to drive carefully over all the pot holes so please stop aggressively riding my ass!

 

I say all this somewhat in jest (though not at all tongue-in-cheek). But, honestly, the Yo is sort of a driver's free-for-all  :whip:

 

When someone is tailgating me and I see a pothole coming up, I steer so as to straddle it while just missing it with my wheels. More often than not the tailgater won't see it in time and will slam right into it.  :evil:

I like that idea. I've often likened driving down Youngstown streets to slalom practice  :-)

 

Isn't it legal to run stoplights at night in Youngstown after you have come to a complete stop and no one is coming? They probably think it's true in the daytime as well.

No. It's still illegal. They've even begun putting cameras at some of the lights. They could easily set many of they're stoplights to blinking so they act as a stop sign instead, but there'd be no money in that...

Observations:

 

Cincinnati - people drive either slow and conservative or bat sh!t crazy, not much in between.  When caught in traffic jams people tend to leave 6 feet in front of them and go slower than they should, which is annoying because when on 75 traffic would move smoother if they left less space.  Finally the most annoying thing is ALWAYS on 71 heading towards the university there is someone going 45 in the slow lane, so you can pretty much never get off at Taft without swerving lanes around someone plodding along at the min speed limit.

 

Columbus - People are probably the most aggressive I've seen in the state (though I haven't driven as much in Toledo or NEO), whenever I merge I'm more likely to be cut off here than anywhere else.

 

Ohio in General: People tend drive slower due to the gestapo highway patrols. (I've gotten 0 tickets in Illinois since I moved here, though in part that's due to not driving much due to good transit, and 2 tickets in Indiana both in Indianapolis but nowhere else.)  No one honks their horn unless they are really angry.  This is weird, as other states (particularly the northeast and Chicago) people honk their horn for all kinds of minor things.

 

Also, weird observations about Chicago:  People like doing U turns in the middle of busy roads, sometimes across major 4 lane highways like Western Ave (which has traffic almost at the level of many Ohio expressways).  I don't really understand it either, because Chicago is nearly a perfect grid, it would be a heck of a lot easier to turn left down a neighborhood street and then go around the block to turn around.  People also almost never let you in on the freeway unless you drive defensively, and finally they are (maybe Detroit wins here) some of the most aggressive drivers in the Midwest, but this kind of is understandable given the sheer volume of traffic here.

 

Observations:

 

Cincinnati - people drive either slow and conservative or bat sh!t crazy, not much in between.  When caught in traffic jams people tend to leave 6 feet in front of them and go slower than they should, which is annoying because when on 75 traffic would move smoother if they left less space.  Finally the most annoying thing is ALWAYS on 71 heading towards the university there is someone going 45 in the slow lane, so you can pretty much never get off at Taft without swerving lanes around someone plodding along at the min speed limit.

 

Columbus - People are probably the most aggressive I've seen in the state (though I haven't driven as much in Toledo or NEO), whenever I merge I'm more likely to be cut off here than anywhere else.

 

Ohio in General: People tend drive slower due to the gestapo highway patrols. (I've gotten 0 tickets in Illinois since I moved here, though in part that's due to not driving much due to good transit, and 2 tickets in Indiana both in Indianapolis but nowhere else.)  No one honks their horn unless they are really angry.  This is weird, as other states (particularly the northeast and Chicago) people honk their horn for all kinds of minor things.

 

Also, weird observations about Chicago:  People like doing U turns in the middle of busy roads, sometimes across major 4 lane highways like Western Ave (which has traffic almost at the level of many Ohio expressways).  I don't really understand it either, because Chicago is nearly a perfect grid, it would be a heck of a lot easier to turn left down a neighborhood street and then go around the block to turn around.  People also almost never let you in on the freeway unless you drive defensively, and finally they are (maybe Detroit wins here) some of the most aggressive drivers in the Midwest, but this kind of is understandable given the sheer volume of traffic here.

 

 

I think this is spot on.

 

Yeah, Chicago drivers can be fast and aggressive, but I think metro Detroit wins in this department. Even the suburban drivers there tend to be fast and aggressive. I remember being on I-96, way out near Novi, and the flow of traffic in the far left lane was 85-90. If I'm not mistaken, the speed limit on most of the freeways IN the city of Detroit is 70. Detroit is the only place where I feel somewhat intimidated by the native drivers, and I've driven in NYC, Boston, Philly, DC, and ATL plenty of times.

 

BTW, I absolutely hate Michigan's street layout (Michigan left), and the terrible merging lanes.