Questions about bad NC driving (Charlotte: live in, to move, license plate)

[marvinnative]

It's a conspiracy...rural southern drivers, especially the natives, are trying to make everyone mad enough to return to the perfect place they moved from.

Signed, Rural-Southern-Native

[himain]

I come from Miami so this barely applies to me as the driving is 20 times worse down there.

[ChelleC]

Originally Posted by ilivincharlotte

Perhaps, I should have clarified...it's not in Charlotte that I have seen these poor driving habbits (those drivers are actually somewhat more courteous) but in the outlying area...specifically Salisbury, Albamarle, Kannapolis and Concord.

ok, now I'm just sitting here laughing. I'm from Rowan County. I have lived here most of my life (that's Salisbury/Kannapolis). 15 years ago, the population of Salisbury was less than half of what it is today. When we went out to a restaurant there was a greater than 80% chance we'd know half of the people there. In fact, the only restaurants we had were the fast food chains, Pizza Hut, Western Sizzler, some mom and pop type places and a seafood place. We didn't get the illustrious Salisbury Mall until the late 80's. That was pretty much it.

I'd like to think we natives are pretty darn good looking, but really, we're not breeding like rabbits. I happen to work in Salisbury and more than half the people I work with are transplants from Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania or Illinois. Not only that, Salisbury is basically a suburb of Charlotte. If you come down I-85 there is pretty much a continuous line of growth from Charlotte, through Concord/Kannapolis and into Salisbury. The same thing is happening on the I-77 corridor with Charlotte, Huntersville, Cornelius, Mooresville and into Statesville.

Furthermore, I've travelled quite a bit over the US and have never been in worse traffic or more scared for my life than I have been driving through Boston, Philadelphia or Washington DC.

There are a few things I could point out about the Northern drivers such as:

1) The lines on the roads are just a suggestion. If you don't like the lane you're in there is no need to signal and no need to look around to see if anyone is in the next lane. Just floor it and swerve.

2) If anyone takes more than .00000002 seconds to proceed through a green light you should lay down on your horn until your battery goes dead. In fact, feel free to go ahead and give it a test honk when the cross traffic light turns yellow so the people ahead of you can be prepared for green in your lane.

3) Those white, rectangular signs with the foreign writing on them that say something like "SPEED LIMIT 55" are for amateurs. We all know that as long as everyone is going 92 mph the cops won't be able to sort just one of us out. Proceed with herd mentality until you hit something...hard.

4) If you're late for a sale at your favorite clothing store you should definitely pull into the fast lane behind whomever is there and begin weaving side to side. The free hand you have available (the other one is occupied with talking on your cell or flipping the bird) is great for flashing your lights. Everyone knows your time is more valuable than anyone else's. Once you're in the fast lane do NOT move over under any circumstances until you reach your exit. At that point, cross three lanes of traffic in one move. All those other drivers should be thankful you flipped your turn signal on before yanking the wheel hard right.

5) If there is a traffic jam and you see that the people in front of you are at a dead stop and unable to proceed without either transforming their vehicle into a tank and running over the top of everyone else or sprouting wings, feel free to begin yelling, using hand gestures and honking your horn to urge them to do so. It's only a matter of time before an act of God allows your car to split through traffic like Moses parting the sea.

At this point, I'm just happy to make it home safely every night. I feel like I've been playing a game of "dodge car" by the time I get there.

Honestly, I just think you're trying to tick people off. Nice that you changed your entire opinion after everyone in Charlotte pointed out that the city is made up of mostly transplants. Good luck with making your point...whatever it happens to be.

[Emma77]

I propose that they make mandatory bumper stickers for your car that state what state you came from..then people can feel free to judge alllllll they want about who sucks at driving

[aag-charlotte]

Originally Posted by lovesMountains

SIGH ~ Since natives and southerners now make up less than HALF the population in Charlote you can hardly blame these driving problems on us. Why not ask all those aggressive drivers I see with out of state plates?

Good questions - and since there are alot of transplants here, even if the car has NC tags, where did they learn to drive?

One week ago, driving down S Tryon at about 9:30pm. Black truck coming the other way while I was trying to make a left turn across traffic. Black truck. It's dark. No lights on. I see this kind of thing all the time. I very nearly turned across traffic as it was bearing down on me.

The whole 'no blinkers' thing drives me nuts.

And I've gotten very, very good at telling when the idiot in front of me is on their cell phone and not paying attention from the way they're driving. Weaving in an out of traffic. Slowly crossing the center line, or just casually changing lanes. You people need to get bluetooth headsets before you kill someone.

/ end rant

[pbigs]

. Why do they not use turn signals AT ALL? They will stop in the middle of the street and just sit there, only to make an unannounced turn.



YOU ARE SO RIGHT I rarely see anybody use turning signals. And when they do decide to turn on the signal their already in the intersection.

[MysteryMT]

Originally Posted by bs13690

My own questions:
6. Why do people drive without their lights on?

Given the current economic state, I feel that I can save money using the lights of people in front of me or coming towards me. This will help reduce my electric bill. I also think that this is a Greener approach to driving.

7. Why do people drive in the wrong lane in parking lots?

If I have to circle around to the next lane and come back up again, someone else will steal MY spot. Also, I'd like to throw the green movement back in your face...it takes less gas for me to cut up the wrong way then to drive around in pointless circles...think of the polar bears that I'm saving.

8. Why are there so many places that have signage saying "right lane ends" when it is a right turn only lane?

I don't really know, but maybe the polar bears get a cut of the profits when the State makes a sign, so I'm still saving them.

Please be more considerate before killing polar bears.

[SunnyKayak]

[barndog]

for the love of god.

this native north carolinian is starting to understand why her native north carolinian father is not so crazy about the transplants.

never quite understood before but hey! if you stay on this board long enough, things sure start to become clear.

if you don't like the driving, the accents, the entertainment, or the food...

the highways that run into the city also run right back out.

[Hoagie58]

No one mentioned the pinheads that drive thirty miles an hour in the right hand lane,and then cut in on the off ramp. I see this from 2-3 cars minimum,daily,at 85 and Billy Graham. Of course, yesterday I also saw the parking lot 85 becomes when 60 and 35 meet. Seriously people, is your time thatmuch more valuable than everyone elses??