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I say that the driving culture here is like a trail mix...you get quite the mix.
In this area, we have plenty of speeders. I may be considered one of them. I typically go 5 miles over the speed limit on city roads and 10 over on the interstate (that's because that's the typical flow of traffic). I have a feeling that the cops are going to be cracking down a bit more. Just last weekend, a 20-year old and a 44-year old woman were speed racing, going about 80 on a highway and struck a car with a much beloved college professor and her young daughter. Both died. A 13-year old boy--a passenger in the 20-year old's car--died the next day. Sadly, people do speed race a LOT around here on city roads.
On the contrary, you have very slow drivers who don't have a clue. I get so frustrated when I drive into South Carolina because everyone seems to drive 10 below the speed limit on all roads--rural, suburban and urban. There's much more of a cop presence, though.
I was having a discussion with my brother recently about the misconceptions people have of NYC drivers. I won't deny that we're aggressive; we most certainly are, but that does not mean we're bad drivers (on the contrary, I'd say we're very good drivers as we're used to having to be hyper-aware of our surroundings when behind the wheel). In NYC, aggressive driving is the norm, so nobody takes it personally if they're cut off, which happens all the time. What may seem rude to outsiders is just standard to us. Someone from Nebraska was saying that its polite to roll down your window and say thank you when someone lets you in. This is a really funny concept to me.
Anyway, I'll be traveling cross country soon and I was wondering what the driving culture is like in different areas of the country.
(As an aside, why are there so many Florida drivers all over the place? Every state I go it seems, I see Florida plates.)
I tend to agree about NY drivers - which should really come as a shock, seeing as I'm from here, right? One thing about NY drivers is that we drive fast on highways and major arterials, but on side streets and areas with many pedestrians we tend to go slower (sometimes out of necessity, but still). Another thing I like about NY drivers is that we usually - not always, but more often than people in much of the country - signal. We're just very, very aware of our surroundings.
Rest of the country (where I've driven, anyway): The rest of the northeast and Chicago is pretty similar to New York. They tailgate a lot in Chicago, though. I agree about the erratic nature of Florida drivers, and that in the Bay Area they tend to drive fairly slow. SoCal might be the worst I've experienced - nobody EVER signals and they're very aggressive about left turns. They drive pretty fast, but I get the impression that they're not very aware.
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
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Originally Posted by neonwattagelimit
One thing about NY drivers is that we drive fast on highways and major arterials, but on side streets and areas with many pedestrians we tend to go slower (sometimes out of necessity, but still).
This reminds me of something that happened the other night. I happened to wake up at 4am in the middle of the night for some reason. All of a sudden I heard a car zoom so fast my apartment. They must have been doing about 80 mph. I'm only 3 buildings away from a light too. Anyway, my first thought was "where are the cops?!" just 2 seconds later, I saw flashing blue lights zoom by too Something must have happened that he was speeding away so fast.
This reminds me of something that happened the other night. I happened to wake up at 4am in the middle of the night for some reason. All of a sudden I heard a car zoom so fast my apartment. They must have been doing about 80 mph. I'm only 3 buildings away from a light too. Anyway, my first thought was "where are the cops?!" just 2 seconds later, I saw flashing blue lights zoom by too Something must have happened that he was speeding away so fast.
So some s*** was goin' down last night in Astoria, eh? (I saw the "first exit off the Triborough in Queens, and put two and two together...a buddy of mine lives around there, great neighborhood). Anyway, don't want to hijack the thread, so, ahem, carry on...
Location: Concrete jungle where dreams are made of.
8,900 posts, read 15,926,305 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neonwattagelimit
So some s*** was goin' down last night in Astoria, eh? (I saw the "first exit off the Triborough in Queens, and put two and two together...a buddy of mine lives around there, great neighborhood). Anyway, don't want to hijack the thread, so, ahem, carry on...
It was last week sometime. I wonder what happened. And yes, that's where I live, it is a great neighborhood
I tend to agree about NY drivers - which should really come as a shock, seeing as I'm from here, right? One thing about NY drivers is that we drive fast on highways and major arterials, but on side streets and areas with many pedestrians we tend to go slower (sometimes out of necessity, but still). Another thing I like about NY drivers is that we usually - not always, but more often than people in much of the country - signal. We're just very, very aware of our surroundings.
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NY has the best drivers period. First of all, most people do not own cars so there are less senior citizens and weekend drivers on the roads.
The second because of NYPD involvement people generally observe traffic laws including signaling turns and lane changes. Driving in NY is difficult due to congestion (I used to drive a cab while in college) yet manageable unlike other areas where people are not so organized and simply try to bend rules to their advantage. NYPD also really watches for missing bulbs and mirrors which is not the case in some other cities.
I am in Chicago now and can't believe how bad Chicago drivers are: no signalling, no respect for traffic lights (people make left turns after the light changes), stop changes and follow no rules. For instance most drivers in Chicago does not follow the "keep-up-with-the-traffic" rule, block lanes driving too slow, change lanes and slow down for no good reason etc... Driving in Chicago is a no-holds-barred experience, for instance when people enter roads from side roads they pull up to the median blocking all traffic and forcing their right of way... Also, too many people are using cell phones while driving and that alone plus the terrible state of most roads and highways (potholes!!!) is a nightmare...
I would put most Chicago drivers back in driver's ed classes to teach them about keep-up-with-traffic and signal-your-turns-and-lane-changes rules...
All this makes driving in New York as compared to Chicago a much more pleasurable experience. Now I really appreciate NY drivers Oh, I see many more accidents in Chicago than in New York. Most of them really stupid fender benders due to lack of understanding or following basic driving rules.
If you honk at another driver in Tennessee, you're probably from Florida, California or the northeast. Don't do it if you come to my state.
What is wrong with honking? I am honked at sometimes when fail to notice light change or something. You should not take it personally, honking maybe a warning or a reminder. I honk and do not they offence at people honking at me, when you are stopped at the light and there fifty cars behind you every second counts, if not for you then for the drivers behind you. Big part of being a good drivers is understanding that you are NOT alone on the street and your behavior directly affects other drivers.
I was used to Chicago driving, in which I had apathetically resigned myself to the idea that I would probably die in a car at some point. You know, doing 100mph at every possible place, running red lights, going the wrong way down one way streets...
I've never actually owned a car, but I've taken taxis often enough.
Here in Sao Paulo, the traffic never moves enough for me to have noticed "driving culture".
There are only two kinds of drivers in the world. Jerks who go faster than me, and idiots who go slower.
Here in Texas, the speed limits are very high, and everybody drives below the limit. It's very rare to see a car going over 70 in a 70 zone.
The worst drivers in America are in West Virginia. They will give you absolutely nothing. They drive like bats out of hell on those narrow winding mountain roads, as if they are the only car on the road. But it's not as bad as it used to be. Years ago, WV drivers drove the same way on much worse roads, but they were doing it in going down hill in overloaded coal trucks.
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Something must have happened that he was speeding away so fast.
(I saw the "first exit off the Triborough in Queens, and put two and two together...a buddy of mine lives around there, great neighborhood). Anyway, don't want to hijack the thread, so, ahem, carry on...
Oh, I see many more accidents in Chicago than in New York. Most of them really stupid fender benders due to lack of understanding or following basic driving rules.
