Boise Drivers

[Lacerta]

Originally Posted by Syringaloid

Try driving in Utah and you will like Treasure Valley drivers. Utah drivers are the absolute worst with no regard for other drivers safety and no regard for the law either. And the ironic thing is some of them have LDS bumperstickers on their vehicles, yet they drive like crazed banshees.

As I started reading this thread, I was thinking exactly this. Utah drivers are SCARY!! I remember when I was in college, telling my mom that she had better run the red or she would get rear ended, since at least 3 cars usually go through after a light turns red.

My very favorite had to be the construction in SLC prior to the Olympics. I remember once, in a 55 construction zone, I was going 65, it was REALLY windy (the semi's were swaying), and I was getting passed regularly by people going 75-80.

Anyway, I don't honestly think the drivers here are that bad. A bit impatient, but not purposely rude. Utah drivers are just rude. Most people here will let you into traffic, or wave if you let them in.

When it comes to the freeway, I usually spend most of my time in the left lane, but if someone comes in behind me, I will get right out of the way. Its funny, from here to Salt Lake, the speed limit is 75 the entire way. If I set my cruise at 75-80, I will pass almost everyone in Idaho, but as soon as I get about 50 miles into Utah, I am getting passed by everyone (and their grandparents too).

If I had to give a theory on driving habits in Boise, I would say that long time residents didn't get a chance to adjust to driving in a larger city. Boise grew too quickly. It wasn't that many years ago, that it took less than 10 minutes to get from Meridian to the State Capital building. Now, sometimes it takes 10 minutes to go a mile.

I would have to say that we have far fewer "bad" drivers than some other places, but I will concede that those "bad" drivers might be, on average, worse than "bad" drivers in other areas.

[boiseguy]

Originally Posted by Syringaloid

Try driving in Utah and you will like Treasure Valley drivers. Utah drivers are the absolute worst with no regard for other drivers safety and no regard for the law either. And the ironic thing is some of them have LDS bumperstickers on their vehicles, yet they drive like crazed banshees.
I bet that a lot of bad drivers in the Treasure Valley are transplants from somewhere else. But then if there are some old timers who drive slow, let them, they grew up here and have every right to drive slow But I don't live in the suburbs and use the freeway on a daily basis. I just use city streets, mainly in the downtown and east boise area and the drivers are courteous, for the most part, and move at a steady pace. When I am in West Boise.....I notice the difference in driving habits...big time.

YES! Utah drivers are insane.. hence "mormon assult vehicles"
there's 4 feet of snow, and honda civics flying by at 90 miles per hour...

[southerngirlie]

I was JUST talking to my husband about this. Boise drivers are the worst and I've lived in several states and driven across county alot. Definately the worst part about living here. Today was the worst so far... maybe the rain?? And the 84 being 2 lanes most the way .... I swear they drive in the passing lane just to prove something. Then when you finally get around 'em they speed up on you. Get a clue... it's not personal. Either move or speed up. It's not a contest.

[Deselminator]

Well being from Iowa I can tell you that the drivers here are no better. Every day when heading to work traffic is backed up at a certain intersection because even though there are 2 left turn lanes, only the right one gets used! Let me tell you how pissed off I get when I see that every morning! I realize the people are only using that particular lane because they have to turn right about 1/2 mile down the road they're turning onto, but still there are 2 lanes for a reason! I also frequently am going about 50 - 60 on Highway 6 in town (I like to speed, what can I say ) and some idiot pulls out in front of me and starts driving like 15 mph, even though the lane is clear behind me as well. So that problem definitely doesn't only happen in Boise!

[Anchorless]

Originally Posted by southerngirlie

I was JUST talking to my husband about this. Boise drivers are the worst and I've lived in several states and driven across county alot. Definately the worst part about living here. Today was the worst so far... maybe the rain?? And the 84 being 2 lanes most the way .... I swear they drive in the passing lane just to prove something. Then when you finally get around 'em they speed up on you. Get a clue... it's not personal. Either move or speed up. It's not a contest.

No kidding.

I avoid driving as much as I can because of this - people here have no idea what a passing lane is.

That, and people here pull out in front of you something uncanny. Actually, there have been a significant amount of fatal accidents because of these types of drivers.

It's sad, frustrating, and I would hope things begin to change.

[zedd]

Originally Posted by southerngirlie

I was JUST talking to my husband about this. Boise drivers are the worst and I've lived in several states and driven across county alot. Definately the worst part about living here. Today was the worst so far... maybe the rain?? And the 84 being 2 lanes most the way .... I swear they drive in the passing lane just to prove something. Then when you finally get around 'em they speed up on you. Get a clue... it's not personal. Either move or speed up. It's not a contest.

I would say the drivers here are often bad due to being oblivious. But that doesn't bother me as much as much as drivers that are bad due to their aggressiveness and/or craziness. I spent a few days in South Florida (Miami area) and the drivers there were just nuts. Always driving 90 on the freeway, cutting you off, weaving, it was unreal. I'll take the typical 2C/2O driver doing 50 in the left hand lane any day!

[boi2socal]

Yes, living in SoCal I can honestly tell you that driving in Boise is quite a bit scarier than driving here. I think this is mostly because of poorly designed/congested roads coupled with bad drivers. People in Boise do not know how to merge and seem to think they can pull out onto any street at anytime. I really think the area needs to invest in landscaped medians with larger intersections to allow u-turns so people aren't pulling out all over the place. Chinden, Eagle, State, Glenwood, Fairview, etc. all come to mind. I much rather have an extra 2 minute detour for a u-turn than sitting for 10 minutes to safely cross traffic (or die crossing traffic).

I've also noticed people in Boise enjoy tailgating no matter what lane your in. Perhaps because they're macho and that lane belongs to them? Not sure. This generally happens with giant SUVs or trucks.

[STRMCSR]

Plus, add the cell phones. I wish Idaho would enact a law similar to what California just passed. Anyone driving a vehicle is required by law to use a hands free device. You will get pulled over in California if they see you holding a phone behind the wheel.

Try observing the amount of people with a hand to their ear, especially down eagle rd. during rush hour. I was waiting at a light at Eagle and Franklin and I purposely counted how many people were on the phone during the light cycle. I counted 68 drivers with a cell phone in their hand.

It is a wonder why people can't drive.