Damn this sure has taken off! I'm certainly glad I split this off from "Transportation Planning Gone Wrong" into its own thread when the debate over bad drivers was just a few messages old! Otherwise the other thread would have been taken in a completely different direction!!

LA was the worst I've experienced.  As I remember any little thing, like trying to merge getting onto the highway, resulted in someone wanting to fight.  And I was going with the flow of traffic!

 

Thats exactly why I don't drive in LA.  I know my temper and I'll be ready to get out the car and fight.

 

LA is only city I won't drive in.  Most other places I'll take public transportation or a taxi.  In LA I'll sit in back and let someone else drive.

Everyone loves to stereotype drivers in different  cities lol. It's not just the demographic at this kind of site. It's funny how you hear it everywhere. "People in _____ don't know how to drive!". Hehe.

Damn this sure has taken off! I'm certainly glad I split this off from "Transportation Planning Gone Wrong" into its own thread when the debate over bad drivers was just a few messages old! Otherwise the other thread would have been taken in a completely different direction!!

 

I'm sure everyone was just holding back because they didn't want to post off-topic.  :angel:

 

I can echo the sentiment of feeling unsafe (car wreck wise) when I first started driving around Ft. Lauderdale/Miami.  But my worst experience was when I was in Baton Rouge when they were still running a curfew during/after the hurricanes last year.  The rush hour just before curfew time was intense and I unfortunately got caught in it more than once.  It's an isolated experience but it certainly skews the way I look at drivers and traffic today.

Rome, Caracas, Boston, anywhere along the eastern part of New Jersey.

I'll agree with ColDayMan on Minnesota though.  Everyone drives like an angel in the Twin Cities.  Unfortunately that makes the erratic driver REALLY stand out and they can really catch you off guard there.

By what's stated this thread, it seems that cities in more conservative areas have less courteous drivers.

By what's stated this thread, it seems that cities in more conservative areas have less courteous drivers.

::)

By what's stated this thread, it seems that cities in more conservative areas have less courteous drivers.

 

Ever been to Boston?? Or Paris!!!

By what's stated this thread, it seems that cities in more conservative areas have less courteous drivers.

 

Conservative areas tend to have more sprawl. I don't think sprawl = road rage but there's somewhat of a correlation.

Well, what I said was a bit of a joke.

 

KJP -- yes, I have been to Paris, and it sure was craaaazzy. I mean really, why NOT cram five vehicles into two lanes, right? But abroad, you kind of expect irrational driving patterns. The U.S. is intended to have a very orderly roadway system, and for the most part it turns out that way. Here, when the order is compromised the problems compound themselves very quickly.

I groan every time I hear someone say "people here can't drive", because it's probably the most trite, overused and often meaningless complaint I know of. It's like they don't realize everyone else is saying that about them!

 

That said, LA is the worst. It's a combination of a couple things. First, the fact that its highway systems are ancient by interstate standards -- built in the 1950s -- means that a good deal of them don't conform to interstate construction standards, and you have on-ramps without adequate merging length and other problems. Second, it's a city where, like Atlanta, everyone drives everywhere because of the immense sprawl. And everyone goes 90 all the time.

 

Bigger cities do tend to have more aggressive drivers, though. I was with a friend who was driving around Chicago once and it made me nervous just being a passenger -- I'd never drive there in a million years. Good thing I don't have to!

When I first moved to Cincinnati from Chicago I thought everyone he drove like crap.  I still do.  Mainly, it's poor highway etiquette, like slow cruising in the left lane, lots of weaving, trying to merge onto the highway at 40 mph.  Generally on surface streets it's ok, but sometimes there's a doofus who doesn't know how to make a turn or which lane they want to be in.  It seems around here that it's not an issue of people being aggressive or dangerous, but just driving like a...well...doofus. 

 

The disturbing part though is when I've driven back through Chicago, I experienced all the same problems I see here.  Namely, people blocking the passing lanes on the highway for no reason.  I remember saying, "damn, I thought people here were better than this."  Oh well. 

 

I have noticed a broad pattern, where it seems southerners (and we're already far enough south here in Cincinnati) just don't understand the principle of merging onto a highway.  The farther south you go, the slower people are when merging onto highways.  This also leads to people making a bee-line for the left lane, even if they're barely going the speed limit, to get out from behind all the other wankers who aren't accelerating. 

Do most stupid drivers drive trucks??

 

BTW, that video of all the trucks hitting the railroad bridge was shot in Raleigh, NC where stupid drivers must be everywhere!

^half of them are rental trucks so it's no surprise they don't know the exact height of the vehicle but still that's pretty pathetic.

BTW, that video of all the trucks hitting the railroad bridge was shot in Raleigh, NC where stupid drivers must be everywhere!

 

The issue is the low clearance of the bridge. There should be 50 warning signs or something telling truck drivers to stop.

The name of the video is 11' 8" the clearance height. Dam near everyone assumes that a truck will pass safely under a bridge.

It's actually in Durham not Raleigh.  But anyway, they even have a detector to activate warning lights when a vehicle is over the height limit.  http://goo.gl/maps/DOoFA  Maybe they need to make it a flashing red instead of yellow, but it's not as if the city and the railroad are lacking in due diligence. 

The issue is the low clearance of the bridge. There should be 50 warning signs or something telling truck drivers to stop.

The name of the video is 11' 8" the clearance height. Dam near everyone assumes that a truck will pass safely under a bridge.

 

'Can Opener Bridge' repeatedly ripping tops off of trucks

 

Authorities know of no serious injuries. Signs start warning of the low clearance several blocks away and vehicles that are too tall trigger the, "over height when flashing," lights, which drivers manage not to see, and don't even think of trying to slowly sneak up on the can opener.

 

So you say, why doesn't someone fix it? Raise the bridge; lower the road, but the sewer main runs right under the highway and the bridge would cost millions to raise. So the “can opener” keeps racking up hits that YouTube enjoys putting to music, like "Rocky," and "The good, the bad, and some ugly crashes."

 

http://www.kmov.com/video/featured-videos/Can-Opener-Bridge-repeatedly-ripping-tops-off-of-trucks-202730411.html

 

The bridge is the immovable object. No matter how many times you hit it, the clearance is not going to get any higher. No matter how many warning signs you place in advance of it, there are still going to be people who hit the bridge. So no matter how much you try to protect people from their own stupidity, some are going to defeat all attempts.

 

The smart answer is, if you aren't sure your vehicle will clear, you'd better start to steer....

I posted a message earlier and it seems to have disappeared! Hmmm.

I posted a message earlier and it seems to have disappeared! Hmmm.

 

Nope. It was moved into a newly created thread.

 

Sobriety test: see if you can find it.....

Drivers can't seem to stop hitting a giant rock in a suburban parking lot, despite it being an inanimate object surrounded by yellow-painted curbs. "I don't know how you miss this big rock or how you cut the curb so tight you end up jacked up on the rock"  https://t.co/MxEwqdOtkZ

It's actually in Durham not Raleigh.  But anyway, they even have a detector to activate warning lights when a vehicle is over the height limit.  http://goo.gl/maps/DOoFA  Maybe they need to make it a flashing red instead of yellow, but it's not as if the city and the railroad are lacking in due diligence. 

 

Why wouldn't they put up a section of PVC pipe at the same height as the bridge, so trucks hit that before they get to the bridge, like fast food drive-thrus do?

Worst drivers ranked by state:

 

15. It’s

14. Impossible

13. To rank

12. Them

11. Because

10. Every

9. State

8. Has different

7. Laws and

6. Everyone

5. Grew up

4. Learning

3. Different

2. Techniques

1. Maryland

 

I hate the Cincinnati move (or at least that's what I call it, maybe it happens everywhere)

 

For example, driving down Madison Road during rush, you see a bus up ahead. You look to switch lanes way far ahead of time, waiting for traffic on the left to clear to move over, you have your turn signal on.

 

Person directly behind you then decides to shoot over top of you without turning on their signal.

 

Happens ALL.THE.TIME.

Yeah I hated that. That's why I tried to avoid riding my motorcycle in the city. I would try to get of the surface streets ASAP when leaving or arriving.

Funny you say that, a motorcycle tried doing this to me yesterday on I-75. Iwas in the middle lane, they were in the left lane. I had my signal to move over to the right lane, waited for the car to pass on my right, started to merge, then noticed in my side mirror the motorcycle had cut across two lanes to pass me, and had to put the brakes on so I didn't side swipe him

Unfortunately you're going to have to assume a sportbike is going to do that. These days, most sane motorcyclists avoid interstates like the plague so if someone is riding on an interstate you can't really trust them.

Yeah, anymore I just use caution. I'm in a big heavy 2005 Jeep GC, if I hit one of these numbskulls in their Hondas in a swide swipe it's going to knock them into the oncoming lanes or spin them completely around. If I hit a crotch rocket on I-75 it's game over

Person directly behind you then decides to shoot over top of you without turning on their signal.

 

As we say where I live, "Signaling just gives the other guy an unfair advantage."

I hate the Cincinnati move (or at least that's what I call it, maybe it happens everywhere)

 

For example, driving down Madison Road during rush, you see a bus up ahead. You look to switch lanes way far ahead of time, waiting for traffic on the left to clear to move over, you have your turn signal on.

 

Person directly behind you then decides to shoot over top of you without turning on their signal.

 

Happens ALL.THE.TIME.

 

Isn't that just normal? The further back you are away from the blockage (bus, stopped car turning left) the more time you have to react and get over to get around it. If you're right behind the blockage, you normally just have to wait for it to go away, or for there to be a lull in other cars going around on the right. I know I wouldn't just let someone over in that situation...maybe I'm an asshole driver, but I always thought that was just the way it goes. Part of the reason why I tend to stay in the right lane when there are no left turn lanes.

 

Also, it is funny how individual regions and cities have their own unofficial rules of the road. One of my early roommates in LA was a born and raised Angeleno and had never lived anywhere else. He thought it was an actual traffic law that 2 cars got to turn left when the light turns red. I always operated under the understanding that if you're waiting to turn left and in the intersection, you can complete the turn if the light turns red. Here, it's at least 2 cars, and often 3 that make this turn. Just happens literally all the time, and with the amount of traffic here, it's often the only way you can make a left turn. I guess I could see how someone who has spent their whole life here would think that 2 cars turning left on red was a legit traffic rule, but it's still funny to me.

^Haha sorry edale, but I think personally that's an a-hole move. I'm not talking necessarily even people further back, I'm talking if say three cars are trying to move over from slowed traffic up ahead. The front vehicle turns on the blinker to move lanes, but there is traffic on the left and you have to wait for it to clear. IMO, the person who has the turn blinker in front should have the right away to move over after the traffic on the left passes before the car behind them does. That is how I would always handle it.

 

HOw it happens here is as soon as the traffic moves past say that 3rd car the 3rd car jumps ahead, then the second, then you are clear. It's backwards to me, completely.

 

It also happens when there is no traffic on the left, you turn on your blinker to be kind, and the person behind you all the sudden decides they want to move and the jet in the other lane and pass you before you have a chance to merge over.

 

I would definitely merge over but I just view it as highly risky yet people here do it ALL.THE.TIME. It's like they don't even look over before merging lanes they just do it.

https://quotewizard.com/news/posts/the-best-and-worst-drivers-by-city-2018

 

The Best and Worst Drivers by City 2018

 

Quote

Ranking (Worst)   City

1     Omaha, NE

2     Riverside, CA

3     Sacramento, CA

4     Columbus, OH

5     San Francisco Bay Area, CA

 

Quote

Columbus

 

Ohio's capital city is the birth place of Guy Fieri, the legendary Mayor of Flavortown. It's also home to some impressively bad drivers. Though Columbus cut down on accidents and speeding, they increased their DUI and violation rates. That was enough to boost them from seventh-worst to fourth-worst. Considering the fact that Columbus was recently named one of America's best cities for beer drinkers, their propensity for buzzed driving should come as no surprise.

 

In terms of Ohio drivers, Columbus is behind the curve. Other Ohio cities include Cleveland at 17th worst, Cincinnati at 32nd worst, and Dayton at 25th best.

 

Edited January 7, 20196 yr by DarkandStormy

Maybe if Columbus had a more comprehensive mass transit system this DUI problem would be less of an issue. 

 

Hooray for Dayton being 25th best, though. It really is an easy city to drive in, and drivers are also generally pretty decent at respecting cyclists compared to some other places. 

Dayton has synchronized light timing on the arterials while Columbus does not. High-speed arterials are quite dangerous and Columbus definitely proves that. Livingston, Hamilton, Main, Morse etc. are total bloodbaths. While introducing Dayton-like light synchronization would increase the average speed of traffic, the amount of ambiguity, frustration, and light-running would certainly drop.

I finally found it. The worst opinion on the Internet. Ever....

 

 

I've had to spend a lot of Time in Dallas for work.  I thought Atlanta, Houston, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Orlando, New Orleans, drivers were bad, but Dallas drivers DGAF!

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I agree with @MyTwoSense.  My mother lives in Dallas and I go about twice a year and yes, the drivers REALLY DGAF.  They use service roads for highways.

 

But no, they are not worse than Miami.  No one except Boston is worse.

 

To be fair this is a Danish study and not something done here in the US.  I highly doubt there is that much of a law breaking difference here, and I would still argue that breaking laws would be more against cyclists than motorists.

Because motorists never speed, change lanes without signaling, cut across more than one lane in a single motion, follow the car ahead too closely, etc.....

 

Or, from the cyclists' perspective, motorists never throw things at cyclists, try to cut them off on purpose, bump them so they crash, or even intentionally run them over to hurt or kill them. Then they claim it was an accident and never face punishment. But yeah, cyclists are the real problem out there.

On 5/6/2019 at 10:40 AM, ColDayMan said:

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I agree with @MyTwoSense.  My mother lives in Dallas and I go about twice a year and yes, the drivers REALLY DGAF.  They use service roads for highways.

 

But no, they are not worse than Miami.  No one except Boston is worse.

I agree with this. Miami area, particularly Dade County are terrible. Reversing on the Interstate, running anything that denotes stopping or yielding, texting because every light is 2 minutes and then missing the light because they were texting and then proceed to run it, blocking any car because they may get in front of you. I'm almost T-boned every single day multiple times. My car has been hit/swiped three times in the past month. I could go on and on lol.

Yeah, Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, etc are bad but none are Miami...except Boston.  Miami and Boston have their own zipcodes for bad drivers.

Motorists/cars are a public health threat....

 

Edited May 13, 20196 yr by KJP

 

 

On 7/12/2018 at 9:43 AM, KJP said:

Worst drivers ranked by state:

 

15. It’s

14. Impossible

13. To rank

12. Them

11. Because

10. Every

9. State

8. Has different

7. Laws and

6. Everyone

5. Grew up

4. Learning

3. Different

2. Techniques

1. Maryland

 

 

 

That's because the DC area is filled with people from all over the country with their own driving habits, and likely gets a disproportionate percentage of the Special from each region.

I never saw as many car crashes happen right in front of me as I did in D.C. And that was with driving only on the weekends!

^^Angie is great at bolstering my opinions when we are on opposite sides of an issue.   She's morphed into Roldo Bartimole with twice the sanctimony and about a third of the insight.

On 5/6/2019 at 10:40 AM, ColDayMan said:

I can't believe I'm going to say this but I agree with @MyTwoSense.  My mother lives in Dallas and I go about twice a year and yes, the drivers REALLY DGAF.  They use service roads for highways.

 

But no, they are not worse than Miami.  No one except Boston is worse.

@ColDayMan you know you love me!  Come here.........   

 

Dallas drivers are completely oblivious to pedestrians.  The Whippersnapper and I were crossing the street from the hotel and in two blocks, we were almost hit twice, yet we had the right of way.  I still believe S. Florida drivers are worse than BeanTown drivers.