OT: worst drivers in America
As I prepare to commute home from my office through Seattle traffic I dread another afternoon of watching drivers around me move well below the speed limit on the freeway, entitled motorists merge with the expectation that moving traffic will adjust to them, approach four-way stops where no one seems to understand the basic rules of a 4-way stop, every teenager texting and driving, idiots driving 45 in my neighborhood and 50 on the freeway, and people unable to execute a left hand turn without a green arrow.
In the past I've commuted in Seattle, Detroit, Tampa, Austin, So Cal, and the Bay Area. I can say without question the worst drivers I have ever encountered are in Seattle. The best drivers I've ever seen are in Detroit. I feel like Michigan, in general, trains the best drivers.
What do you think? Where are the worst (or best) drivers in America?
I went to Hawaii about 10 years ago. Those people have no clue how to drive. I was constantly yelling out my window at others. I just could not believe how clueless they were at driving.
I've driven on 3 of the Hawaiian islands and would agree that Hawaii drivers appear to be thinking about something else. Maybe it's the surrounding beauty distracting them? Also, when driving in Hawaii just assume that when you park your car, it will be broken into.
Iowa drivers aren't bad, but there is next to no traffic here except around Des Moines or Cedar Rapids. Once you cross into Nebraska, it's like every mf'er camps in the left lane for some damned reason.
But better yet, just don't use the phone at all. Studies show that cognition is impaired worse when texting (and maybe talking?) than it is when drunk.
I just want to know when using the turn signal became optional. No one uses it anymore and it drives me nuts not knowing which way people intend to go.
Yep - I've been to Jamaica, St. Thomas and the Bahamas, and I white-knuckled most of the rides I got (never drove myself).
In fairness, the left-side drive islands have to deal with lots of tourists not used to that. I found it very, very weird to drive on that side of the road.
Im from michigan and school in chicago, Chicago drivers are the worst, people cutting you off left and right, anarchy on the road, and you drive by them and see they are either oblivious to their surroundings or too dumb to know what is going on
Minnesota. Their motto is "we can't drive 55 (we prefer to not push it and stay at a safer 12)".
I'm told Miami is just awful where the motto is "The sidwalk is another lane"
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Side note: I was lucky enough to spend a few weeks with a friend's family in Beirut and the driving there is f*cking nuts. Bombed out street lights that never got fixed result in an insane game of chicken at every intersection. I saw a 12 year old kid on a moped going the wrong direction on a freeway (in a lane...not on the shoulder) with one arm extended behind him manually towing another kid on a broken down moped.
Side side note: cyclists in Amsterdam! Saw a woman riding her bike through throngs of people/cars/bikes downtown one handed while serenely breastfeeding an infant with her other hand.
I've never heard of FIP. What does it mean?
And as far as Chicagoans not using turn signals that someone up thread mentioned, I think I know why. My brother in law commutes to Chicago for his job and says as soon as he turns on his turn signal, the driver in the lane next to him speeds up to fill the gap.
I live in Chicago and I don't think what your brother says is accurate. I could be wrong, but I've never experienced it personally. What I have seen is countless assholes who change lanes or try to merge into traffic without signaling first, so no one knows when its coming, resulting in being cut-off all the time. I've also seen oncoming left turns without first signaling (in a non-dedicated left turn lane), as well as the asshole who turns on their left turn signal only after the light has turned green, pissing off everyone who pulled up behind him/her thinking he or she is going straight at the light. For me, if I see someone who is trying to merge in front of me and he or she has their turn signal on, I let them in because I'm so thankful someone is using their fucking turn signal. Oh, and Chicago drivers can't seem to figure out how to pick a lane and stay in it.
/rant
FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching. It's a sabermetric stat that is supposed to show a pitchers true era, and can show if a pitcher has been lucky or unlucky
Fucking Illinois Person.
I'm from the southwest corner of Michigan and Illinois drivers pop up all the time on 31 or 94. They are terrible. Whenever I am around a car with Illinois plates I know it's going to be a bad trip. The one that gets on my nerves the most is when I'm hanging out on cruise control and they come flying by me and then two minutes later I end up passing them. And then that cycle repeats itself for fifty miles because they can't pick one speed. And every time they pass me they do it when I am coming up on another car so I have to hit the brakes. Fucking Illinois People.
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For sure the worst drivers are in Texas. I used to live in Austin and now I come to summer "vacations" north of Houston. I'm surprised there are still people alive here, I saw one major accident per day over our first week here. The most common things:
- Driving slowly on the left lane and not using the right lane.
- Texting while on the move.
- Crossing lanes suddenly.
- Not checkng blind spots.
It doesn't help that construction projects here take forever to be completed.
Without a doubt, the best US drivers are in Michigan.
I have driven a car in London, Paris, Honolulu, and Tokyo.
By way of comparison and in my experience Denver drivers are the worst. Not. Even. Close!
I'll agree with you Michigan drivers are generally above average.
People of Florida are batshit.
There, I fixed it for you.
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Ohio also has the most State Patrolmen on the roads. Drive down 23 and see how many of the pricks are setting there watchin every move you make. I hate the state of Ohio.
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I scrolled through this thread looking for this answer. I lived there for a few years, and without a doubt, those drivers are terrible. Not a single one seems to know that the left lane is a passing lane, not an extra lane to do whatever the f you want lane. Almost perfect city outside of this.
I just moved to Grand Rapids and I already completely believe this. 196/96 doesn't seem so bad to me, but 131 is a clusterfuck when you go through the city. The speed limit stays 70, but people regularly drive 55 in whatever lane they feel like being in. Trying to do the multiple lane changes to the exits around the 196/131 intersection is like taking your life into your hands sometimes.
Columbus, but Ohio in general!! WV is a close second.....the only state i've witnessed people braking up hill!!!!
1) If Michigan drivers are the best around (and we're generally OK, I think), part of that is because we naturally learn it from having to navigate the worst roads of any state in the USA
2) The stereotype about Asian women drivers is demonstratably false - Asian women drivers are demographically one of the safest groups. Men accrue DUI's at almost triple the rate of women and generally are costiler to insure. Furthermore, the auto fatality rate for Asians is 1/3 that of other ethnic groups (4 deaths per 100,000 for Asians vs. 12-13 deaths for whites/blacks/Hispanics)
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When I first moved to Oklahoma, there were people who would come to a complete stop at the end of an entrance ramp to the expressway, roll down their window, and look over their shoulder until there was a big enough gap for them to feel comfortable getting on to the expressway. I haven't seen anyone do that in a few years now, but that used to drive me nuts.
I should add, too, that there were a lot of 4 way stops when we first moved here, and my wife couldn't figure out why drivers wouldn't go when it was their turn. We finally asked an older male Okie about it, and he said it was men being gentlemanly. They would nod their head or lift an index finger off the steering wheel to let a lady know he was letting her go first.