driving in California/California drivers, the end of a myth : a French driver's experience (live in, restrictions)

[impala666]

It`s more about big city driving,try driving in London,Paris or Rome..... mental just the same as LA.

[RobE]

The OP also neglected to mention that when you get more than four raindrops, the accident rate in L.A. and OC seems like it triples.

That has always amazed me. I grew up in California, have been driving for about 35 years now and never had an accident. I haven't even had a traffic ticket in maybe 15 years and only a half a dozen total. I now drive in the rain all the time in Washington state and never had a problem with it.

Running red lights isn't something you see that much of except for areas like Sunset Blvd or other major city streets, where traffic moves so slowly that you basically have to wait until it turns red before you can then execute your left turn after pulling out in the middle of the street, A good rule of thumb, though, due to all the car chases, is to wait a beat after the signal turns green just to make sure somebody isn't barreling through the intersection against the red light while being pursued.

As for all the hostility on the road, that is likely a function of the crowded conditions. A study was done on the social effects of crowding in either the late 1960's or early 1970's and animals of all stripes, including humans, become more agitated as the crowding intensifies.

Oh, and I wouldn't go flipping the bird on California freeways. You might get that digit shot off or worse.

My mom has been hit twice by illegal alien drivers in CA. They are largely unlicensed and tend to hit and run as a result.

Yeah, the 15 to Vegas is like Death Race 2000. But try Montana sometime. It's basically the world's longest drag strip. I also took a trip up to Bishop one year (field trip for a college class) and if you weren't going 80 you had other drivers climbing up your backside.

The worst driving I have seen, though, was in Korea. Red lights get routinely ignored and they are generally very aggressive. I have seen some left turn lane jumping you wouldn't believe there. Drunken driving there is a huge problem (as it is in Japan). I wouldn't want to have to drive there for all the tea in China.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Things I despise:
- Lack of autobahn etiquette - passing on the right, hogging fast lane, etc (in Europe, they give tickets for this, but here, it's the norm!)
- "Souped up" (mostly just exhaust mods to make more noise) small, older Japanese cars (with the odd Euro one) with tons of after market crap added on, weaving in and out of traffic, in 2nd gear, winding it out, but not really going much faster than the flow of traffic (I guess this is supposed to be fun?)
- People who don't know how to merge (worst case, ones who actually come to a complete stop on the ramp, rather suddenly!)
- People with obvious night blindness, who yet drive at night, with no eye ware, creeping along at 45 on the freeway
- People who apparently do not own a pair of shades, who suddenly freeze up like a deer in the headlights, squinting, with shade down, hand up trying to block the sun, repeatedly tapping the brakes for no real reason other than fear of the unknown.
- People who did not learn to drive until their 30s, who barely learned enough to get their license and pass the test, then do nothing to improve (these are mostly those who immigrated as adults from Asia)

Sorry if this comes off as non PC. Nearly all of what I listed would not fly in Europe.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by BayAreaHillbilly

Things I despise:
- Lack of autobahn etiquette - passing on the right, hogging fast lane, etc (in Europe, they give tickets for this, but here, it's the norm!)
- "Souped up" (mostly just exhaust mods to make more noise) small, older Japanese cars (with the odd Euro one) with tons of after market crap added on, weaving in and out of traffic, in 2nd gear, winding it out, but not really going much faster than the flow of traffic (I guess this is supposed to be fun?)
- People who don't know how to merge (worst case, ones who actually come to a complete stop on the ramp, rather suddenly!)
- People with obvious night blindness, who yet drive at night, with no eye ware, creeping along at 45 on the freeway
- People who apparently do not own a pair of shades, who suddenly freeze up like a deer in the headlights, squinting, with shade down, hand up trying to block the sun, repeatedly tapping the brakes for no real reason other than fear of the unknown.
- People who did not learn to drive until their 30s, who barely learned enough to get their license and pass the test, then do nothing to improve (these are mostly those who immigrated as adults from Asia)

Sorry if this comes off as non PC. Nearly all of what I listed would not fly in Europe.

You score 100%. All those things are true.

And let me add,

(1) Out of state drivers who come from states where you can't turn right on a red light.

(2) People who meekly move up 3 feet in the left turn lane, and won't move forward until the light turns red. People, at least two cars can turn left, but only if the first car moves far enough forward to allow the second car to enter the intersection.

[dogmom]

Are you all still talking about this???

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Here's another one. You are driving along and get closer to the beach. You get into the fog belt. There's a tiny bit of drizzle. Not even enough to wet anything. And yet, the traffic inexplicably slows. As you slowly make your way through, as one of my old buds termed it, the "pack of grovellers," you see there are about 3 or 4 drivers for whom this small bit of drizzle is a apparently terrifying.

[rachelinala]

uhh is someone from FRANCE seriously talking about American driving habits???

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Another one. You are driving down a freeway through a hilly part. There are always a fraction of drivers who apparently do not understand Newtonian Physics. Up the hill, slower, slower, slower, down to 50MPH. Down the hill, faster, faster, faster, almost fast enough to get popped by the CHP. My pappy taught me, son, up the hill, gun it a bit, down the hill, ease up ... :-)

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Oh and how could I forget this one. Let's say you are driving through a construction zone where they have the concrete barriers pushed pretty close to the left edge of the fast lane (or, the freeway ran out of expansion room and they sacrificed the median side shoulder). There is always a sub population who get absolutely petrified by that wall. They slow way down. But oddly, they don't get out of the fast lane. This behavior by a couple or three drivers has been known to jam up the entire freeway.

[BayAreaHillbilly]

OK, I'm on a roll. This one is also a classic, I call it truckapassophobia. There is a subpopulation who are utterly afraid to pass a semi on the left. They are about to pass, then they slow way down, seeming to get locked by a strange magnetic field about half way up the trailer. There they sit, blocking all other traffic from passing. They remain utterly mesmerized, half way up the truck. The only way to break the spell is flashing the beams, or, in some cases, the truck actually speeds up at some point and the lock is broken.