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Manhattan is a complete shock to the senses from a driving experience even for other big city drivers just due to the amount of people and vehicles sharing space. Still large cities with big cores like Philly, DC, LA, Boston etc.. one still need to be super aware and you best know how to parallel park... quickly.
Now in the grand scheme of things... NYC is a walk in the park. Had the "luxury" of being a taxi passenger in Manila, Philippines and I may have said a prayer or two
Yes places overseas are much worse. I’ve heard cities in India are the worst driving anywhere in the world. I saw a video where an American had an accident in one of these cities and the locals attacked him for it when they learned he was an American.
The worst place I've been is Lima, Peru. It is insane - much worse than in Rome or in US cities. There seems to be some kind of horn and lights signalling system that only residents know what it means. I never saw anyone stop at a stop sign. Back in the day of the Shining Path fighting and various city gangs you could be kidnapped at stop signs so nobody stopped after a while. There were 400+ bus companies operating in the city. Pedestrians were like penguins trying to cross the street -- one person steps (or pushed?) off the curb and if he survives then they all rush out into the street. It all seemed to work...never saw an accident or even many dented cars. It is mostly the same 24/7 except fewer pedestrians late at night.
Driving in the US is a cakewalk compared to other places in the world. For starters there's lane discipline for the most part outside Manhattan. Try driving in China at uncontrolled intersections and those wide roads, Vietnam with motorbikes everywhere, heart of London with narrow streets and confusing layout, busy roundabouts with no lanes in various cities (Mexico, Paris). We have it good here.
Main difference between driving in low density suburbia/rural areas vs big cities/dense inner suburbs is pedestrians. Many folks drive as if they dont exist, in a big city that may land you in jail sooner or later.
NYC isn't too bad. I do acknowledge that it is a very aggressive driving city, but definitely something most can handle or adapt to. I just take it as there are double or triple the amount of aggressive drivers that I'm used to in Atlanta. Which is so what, NYC is a big, densely packed, traffic clogged city. And we all have somewhere to get to, like anywhere else, get to it! As long as you are not driving like a lost tourist, NYC shouldn't be too scary for drivers.
Driving is local. You may be a great driver in your town or city, but be very bad in an unfamiliar place. That is kinda human nature for the most part.
Very few drivers can navigate a new city with any brilliant precision.
So I guess I don't really understand the question. Do driver's have different abilities? Yes. Do driver's sometimes hesitate and make a wrong move in an unfamiliar location? Yes. But because someone may have some difficulty in a new surrounding does not necessarily make them a bad driver.
Do you think anyone that passes a driving test from the DMV in any of the states would be able to confidently drive and park anywhere in the United States? Specifically talking about busy urban areas like Manhattan, LA, DC, Chicago.
Umm no. I think there are people who pass who shouldn't even be driving anywhere.
NYC isn't too bad. I do acknowledge that it is a very aggressive driving city, but definitely something most can handle or adapt to. I just take it as there are double or triple the amount of aggressive drivers that I'm used to in Atlanta. Which is so what, NYC is a big, densely packed, traffic clogged city. And we all have somewhere to get to, like anywhere else, get to it! As long as you are not driving like a lost tourist, NYC shouldn't be too scary for drivers.
In Manhattan, it is actually the pedestrians that you have to watch out for on those gridded streets. They don’t even stop crossing when your light is green. Some of them don’t even look.
Do you think anyone that passes a driving test from the DMV in any of the states would be able to confidently drive and park anywhere in the United States? Specifically talking about busy urban areas like Manhattan, LA, DC, Chicago.
"Confidently" driving anywhere requires some familiarity with the area where you're driving. So to answer the question, yes, I think anyone who is licensed to drive in the states can confidently drive anywhere else in the states with some practice. But if you're from rural Montana and that's the only place you've driven, it's going to be a challenge to drive in Manhattan the first few times. But most drivers will eventually get the hang of it (even if they don't actually like doing it).
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