Houston Drivers Study (Galveston, Conroe, Tomball: wedding, school, shop)

[Dopo]

I have always used my turn signals, when I use them here people always try to block me. At this point when I use them I mean "here I come mother......"
Truck drivers act tough... Until they run into a $1000 car and a driver that doesn't give a s......

[kchryies]

Now ya'll know daggone well if you put on your signal is some places, you will never be able to change your lanes...Running, before I tell on myself

[Chris V]

Originally Posted by elleari

I've driven all over the country and haven't seen a place where people make a conscious effort to block you from changing lanes if you have your blinker on - until I came to Houston. We don't just have rude drivers, we have hostile drivers. I learned. Now I don't use signals and pass on the shoulder like the rest of 'em now.

Same here, it took me a while to figure that out, and then the left lane driver. If I wanted to pass, I had to swerve to the right. Only in Texas.

Jus to today, I am in the middle lane, clear and open ahead, some dumbass pull out, but he didn't stick to the right lane. He pull right in front of me and drivin slow and on the phone. I honk at him. And he honk back.

There are a lot of reasons why houston has bad traffic, bad drivers and road rage. But I gotta be on my computer to type a long list.

Now, it will only get worse,

I have lived in So cal, Florida, the Midwest, Boston,been all over the u.s But back here at home
I jus had to shake my head

[Dopo]

When you drive North on I-45 from Research Forest Dr. (The Woodlands) all the way to 1488... about 4 miles of highway
The easiest way to pass cars is on the right lane

Nobody drives on the right lane in that area for whatever reason.
I swear it works 9 out of 10 times.

[bu2]

Actually the title is misleading. They surveyed speeding, tailgating, cutting off people and slamming on brakes. Actually not speeding can be rude!

There's noplace where the drivers are ruder than NYC. They just don't get to speed much and therefore don't slam on brakes much.

Houston drivers aren't polite, but they don't hold a candle to NYC.

Atlanta 2nd is pretty ridiculous. People there are so polite they are dangerous. You never know when they will slam on their brakes to let someone in.

[Neo45]

I blame it on people from other areas. I still see people attempting to drive fast and quick while smart but then you have idiots slamming their brakes to get on freeways and while they're on the freeway for no reason. Or taking 10 minutes to turn into a parking lot from a street. Before anyone attacks me for being mean to transplants, I've been in the car with many Houstonians who have been here most or all of their lives and none of them drive like this. They're all quick and cautious. This includes old senior citizens which is why I'm convinced its transplants who are creating this mess

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Neo45

I've been in the car with many Houstonians who have been here most or all of their lives and none of them drive like this.

let's go straight to the point....
who doesn't use turn signals? Houstonians or transplants?
Because back in Missouri you get a ticket if you are caught changing lanes without using your turn signals.

[TexasTony]

I like to blame it on the law enforcement in Houston. The problem is that if people see that erratic behavior on road such as tailgating, breaking red light, switching lanes without signals, overspeeding etc doesn't get punished, more and more people try doing it . I have seen people driving at insane speeds on beltway 8 or Grand parkway. I use a radar detector myself but I would never drive at that speed which would jeopardize the safety of people around me. I have seen people break traffic light every day deliberately. Worst of all are the tow trucks. I have never seen a tow truck driver who thinks traffic rules are applicable to him.

The comments about hostile drivers are true. I used to carpool with some coworkers who were from different countries in Asia, Africa & south of the border. Some of them were even surprised when they saw the driving conditions in Houston. Some of them could even relate to how things were similar to back home.

[slingshot]

My cousin was a Houston Police Officer for 17 years. He told me it was too dangerous to pull someone over on the freeway and that he got tired of having to call for an language interpreter so he could issue a ticket.

[ChocolateBabz]

I could be a hundred miles from anyone on a country road in the middle of nowhere and I still use my indicators, it's a habit and a good one in my opinion. I can't tell you how many times I have been crossing lanes, indicator on, check my blind spot and some idiot will try to merge from another lane with no indicator and obviously not looking where they are going.

I also have to agree that pick up drivers are some of the worst drivers, from merging and speeding to cutting across lanes to 'make their exit'. I have had 3 fender benders in 3 years, 2 at stop lights and one at a stop sign, 2 were pick up drivers and one was a guy who apologized as 'his brakes needed looked at'.

I have never driven anywhere where people tailgate so close at such speeds.