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Worst drivers in the USA?

driventotheedge

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driventotheedge

driventotheedge

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So looking for opinions on what part of the country has the worst drivers. To me it's none other than my home area, the Pacific Northwest where the concept of merging is as foreign to these morons as speaking Swahili. Plus they either want to drive 85 or 55 with no safe speed in between. And of course there's the idiots that have to blast in front of you to stop a block later at the next stop sign or take the next exit cuz that even tho there's no one behind you that 1/2 second they saved by gaining that one car length is everything in life.

I lived in the San Diego area for 14 years and while people in SoCal all drive very fast, they aren't usually stupid and are artful at merging. If you're not a decent driver down there you probably don't last very long anyway based on sheer numbers. I've ridden a motorcycle through Omaha, in and out of Atlantic City, through Philadelphia at rush hour (surprisingly polite and quality drivers tho admittedly it was morning rush hour and no ione was going more than 30 MPH but still, no stress whatsoever), Cleveland, Buffalo, Erie, PA, around Chicago (southern burbs and admittedly on a Saturday but still no stress), into and out of the heart of Milwaukee (ditto, a Saturday but again no stress), through San Francisco, on the 101 freeway in LA at afternoon rush hour, in and out of Las Vegas, etc.. and in none of those places to me were the drivers as bad and as stupid as they are here in the Northwest.

 

I have not driven/ridden in the south nor Boston or New York City both of which have dreadful reputations so cannot comment on any of those. Canadians, feel free to weigh in on your country too. My experience there is more rural areas so no stress situations.

 

What say you?

Edited by driventotheedge
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Lorraine

Lorraine

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Posted

So looking for opinions on what part of the country has the worst drivers. To me it's none other than my home area, the Pacific Northwest where the concept of merging is as foreign to these morons as speaking Swahili. Plus they either want to drive 85 or 55 with no safe speed in between. And of course there's the idiots that have to blast in front of you to stop a block later at the next stop sign or take the next exit cuz that even tho there's no one behind you that 1/2 second they saved by gaining that one car length is everything in life.

I lived in the San Diego area for 14 years and while people in SoCal all drive very fast, they aren't usually stupid and are artful at merging. If you're not a decent driver down there you probably don't last very long anyway based on sheer numbers. I've ridden a motorcycle through Omaha, in and out of Atlantic City, through Philadelphia at rush hour (surprisingly polite and quality drivers tho admittedly it was morning rush hour and no ione was going more than 30 MPH but still, no stress whatsoever), Cleveland, Buffalo, Erie, PA, around Chicago (southern burbs and admittedly on a Saturday but still no stress), into and out of the heart of Milwaukee (ditto, a Saturday but again no stress), through San Francisco, on the 101 freeway in LA at afternoon rush hour, in and out of Las Vegas, etc.. and in none of those places to me were the drivers as bad and as stupid as they are here in the Northwest.

 

I have not driven/ridden in the south nor Boston or New York City both of which have dreadful reputations so cannot comment on any of those. Canadians, feel free to weigh in on your country too. My experience there is more rural areas so no stress situations.

 

What say you?

Really bad in the Pacific Northwest. The amount of accidents we have each day and the deaths caused by them is high.

 

I can't tell you how many drivers I've seen with their phone in their right hand over the steering wheel and their eyes on it instead of the road.

Lots of speeders too. You can tailgate me all you want - I'm not getting a speeding ticket for you. If you want to speed, pass me.

 

Two weeks ago, at around 1 in the afternoon, a woman in her fifties who got on I90 going west instead of east - purposely - she said she wanted to kill herself. Well, the only person she killed was the 23 year old man with a 10 month old son and a young wife at home she went head-on into. She, on the other hand, only sprained her wrist.

 

We have a lot of motorcycle accidents too.

 

There's a lot of truth to the old saying: Haste makes waste.

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lerxt1990

lerxt1990

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The worst I've seen is in NJ and the South

 

I'll just beg to differ just slightly.

 

NJ drivers are crazy and bad.

 

PA drivers are bad, but partcularly in driving slow in the left lane ... part of NJs insanity is they go 300mph in the left lane which can be handy.

 

Delaware Driver all stink.

Edited by lerxt1990
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Nova Carmina

Nova Carmina

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I used to live and work in the tourist mecca of Estes Park, CO, and one of our favorite hobbies was noting license plates and the driving habits of said denizens.

 

Our conclusions -- often disputed early in the season, but unanimously agreed to by season's end -- was that the worst drivers are from Nebraska.

 

Driving too slow, failure to stay in lane, driving while folding/unfolding map, rolling stops, inability to use a four-way stop at all, inability to merge, the whole package.

 

There were several theories, but my favorite was advanced by a native Nebraskan named Cody: because Nebraska is so flat, all of the streets, roads, etc. are laid out as a giant grid, and anything involving curves, inclines, declines, ellipses, parabolas, and so on created a kind of system failure in the drivers' brains.

 

Every time we saw Nebraska plates, we cringed.

 

Admittedly, it was a long time ago and not on their home turf; maybe in Omaha these days is full of smooth drivers. But I doubt it.

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Principled Man

Principled Man

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Farmers live in their own little world. They pull out onto a highway (55 mph or higher) nice and slowly, with no consideration of how you’re coming up on them really FAST. They’ll even be pulling a trailer to make it even more dangerous.

 

Just this past weekend, I had to step hard on my brakes and then quickly pass some old fart in an SUV, just keep from rear-ending him. Of course, he had a clueless look on his face as I went by him.

Edited by Principled Man
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That One Guy

That One Guy

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I think tons of places could claim they have the worst drivers. I'll say that the best drivers I recall seeing, as an aggregate, were those of Quebec, Canada. Pretty consistent driving style, attentive to road, little in the way of selfish road behavior.
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lerxt1990

lerxt1990

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Farmers live in their own little world. They pull out onto a highway (55 mph or higher) nice and slowly, with no consideration of how you’re coming up on them really FAST. They’ll even be pulling a trailer to make it even more dangerous.

 

Just this past weekend, I had to step hard on my brakes and then quickly pass some old fart in an SUV, just keep from rear-ending him. Of course, he had a clueless look on his face as I went by him.

 

So right. And then I notice Ive passed a 1987 Ford Ranger that looks brand new because the farmer drives it slow and easy and rarely. Goddamned farmers. lol.

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Principled Man

Principled Man

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Every driver on the road sucks except for me.

 

The most honest, sensible post in here :LOL:

 

Growing up in Northern Kentucky, one of my first driving lessons was to beware of those damned Buckeyes from across the river. Then I moved to Wisconsin, where I learned to beware the damned FIB's, Minnesotans and Iowegians!

 

Bad drivers are everywhere! They follow me around wherever I go!

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driventotheedge

driventotheedge

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I used to live and work in the tourist mecca of Estes Park, CO, and one of our favorite hobbies was noting license plates and the driving habits of said denizens.

 

Our conclusions -- often disputed early in the season, but unanimously agreed to by season's end -- was that the worst drivers are from Nebraska.

 

Driving too slow, failure to stay in lane, driving while folding/unfolding map, rolling stops, inability to use a four-way stop at all, inability to merge, the whole package.

 

There were several theories, but my favorite was advanced by a native Nebraskan named Cody: because Nebraska is so flat, all of the streets, roads, etc. are laid out as a giant grid, and anything involving curves, inclines, declines, ellipses, parabolas, and so on created a kind of system failure in the drivers' brains.

 

Every time we saw Nebraska plates, we cringed.

 

Admittedly, it was a long time ago and not on their home turf; maybe in Omaha these days is full of smooth drivers. But I doubt it.

I've heard the same thing about drivers from Iowa. Have heard they freak out at the site of a fairly sharp corner.

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pjbear05

pjbear05

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Posted

South Florida. No driving mofo's that not only think driving is a right and not a privilege, but also no habla des Ingles. Lots of people here "running naked" (no insurance), which drives up rates.

 

Learned by road skills in Detroit and the surrounding 'burbs, better know how to drive there.

 

Strangely had no problem driving in Washington state and Oregon while on vacation. New Mexico was another matter, thought I was being dive bombed by speeders. The trek from Reno to South Lake Tahoe was fun, but then it was summer. Driving in Chicago, no sweat. Cross country Florida to Colorado and back was all right except for Kansas-the pavement on the Interstate was s--t.

 

Don't think I want to drive anywhere in NYC, and I understand driving in Boston can be a nightmare if your not a local yokel, but I doubt I'll be doing that. Just want to get across the Mackinac Bridge and head West on US 2 across da U.P. one last time, ya sure, you betcha!

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The God of Balance

The God of Balance

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Bad drivers are everywhere. A good driver drunk (within reason) is much safer than a bad driver sober. I've seen outrageously bad driving everywhere from Istanbul to Caracas to Vancouver to Manhattan, but, by far, the worst I've seen have been in Detroit, Baltimore, Memphis, New Orleans, and Shreveport. For some reason, the residents in those cities have remarkable difficulty knowing the rules, avoiding bad habits, extending courtesy to those from whom they need nothing at the moment, and working well within a dynamic system. Merely sitting and watching the fiascos at a 4-way stop can be quite entertaining in those cities.

 

One other aspect I've noted that seems unrelated to the above - in terms of types of cars to watch out for, I've noticed a disproportionate amount of douchebaggery from drivers of modern muscle cars - Camaros, Challengers, etc. Among many other things, they seem especially prone to pointless tailgating and stopping at lights with 5 car lengths in front of them, apparently so that they can whip out their stupid phones and get on Instagram or whatever a precious few seconds sooner. Of course, during times of heavy traffic, that creates a backlog and ripple effect that can last hours. It's amazing how many innocent people one buffoon can obliviously inconvenience.

 

Now, when the two above paragraphs come together, which, thankfully, does not seem all that common, things really get screwed and activating Civil Defense or the Emergency Broadcast System becomes a consideration.

Edited by The God of Balance
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Blue J

Blue J

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BMW drivers in any state are the worst!

 

They're just assholes.

 

:LOL:

 

A neighbor of mine years ago told me a joke I’ve never forgotten.

 

What’s the difference between a BMW and a porcupine?

 

With a porcupine, the prick is on the OUTside.

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goose

goose

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BMW drivers in any state are the worst!

 

They're just assholes.

 

:LOL:

 

A neighbor of mine years ago told me a joke I’ve never forgotten.

 

What’s the difference between a BMW and a porcupine?

 

With a porcupine, the prick is on the OUTside.

Good to see you around, Blue!
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driventotheedge

driventotheedge

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Las Vegas is really brutal too. You've got the locals trying to get where their going and they're pissed off and frustrated because they're having a hard time doing so what with all kinds of tourists gawking at all the pretty buildings and bight lights. Bad combo, so bad in fact their billboards and local TV commercials are thick with accident attorneys.
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The God of Balance

The God of Balance

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BMW drivers in any state are the worst!

 

They're just assholes.

 

:LOL:

 

 

 

Would that include the, uh, er, um......BMW motorcyclists?

Edited by The God of Balance
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