driving in California/California drivers, the end of the myth : a French driver's experience (Los Angeles: vacation)

[the one]

Originally Posted by greggd

On this very board, as I recall, there are posters who have stated they go either 55 or 65 mph and refuse to move over for faster traffic.

i knew it!!!! its the pits. some drivers just suck! jerks, not moving over!
as for the crazies with all the tailgating mess, well they suck too. but in my experience as someone who regularly commutes via bus and car between Alta y Baja Cali i can say that i seen it all. both good and bad.
and i am positive it is the same way in europa

i would hate to generalize all italian or euro drivers as impatient because some of them zip around in their lil vespas, splitting lanes and jump on sidewalks. or because some of them dash thru stops in their cars thinking its gunna hurt less or run me over any less because its the size of an lunch box.

and they never look to the right (or left) for pedestrians. crazy impatient euros!!!!!

now tell me is there any sense in generalizing like that? im sure not all drivers are like that. i bet you if we complained they would say the same thing we are all saying... it takes getting used to. you gotta deal with the bad, deal with the good. just suck it up.

besides mon frenchy, if you think LA drivers are bad, then you'd probalby mess your pants 3 X's over in la capital/DF/MEX...

[orthopodfrancis]

I'd have to say that the O.P perfectly characterized California driving. Man do I hate those people who are so timid that they wait for the light to turn red before turning. Many lights I'm waiting for 5 seconds or so before I can make my turn on a green light.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by gildossantos

Last year, my girlfriend, my best friend and I spent 3 weeks in California for vacation ... During our trip, we drove in absolutly all kinds of roads : 10-lane congested urban freeways in LA and SF metro areas, desert rural roads, meandering forest roads, urban one way streets, avenues and boulevards, 2-lane highways, 3-lane (one is the passing one) roads, 2x2 roads with or without dividers, during the day, the night, etc.

Here are the widespread road behaviors we noticed on the California roads :

1-speeding : it's a sports practiced by 100% of californian drivers ; the speed limits? pff forget about them!!

2. Red light running : in San Fransisco and LA, it seems to be a widespread habit to run red lights even 5 seconds after the light...

3. tailgaiting : well if you do the speed limit like us, it is unavoidable to have cars only a few feet of your bumper...

4. cutting in front of your car : widespread behaviour on the freeways, despite the rear mirrors, a great number of california drivers behave as if they were alone on the freeway...

5. turn signal and changing of lanes : the turn signal??? What for???...

6. keeping a safe distance between cars : again, what for?...

7. (no) enforcement : complete lax! what are the highway patrol officers doing...

Actually, the behaviors we noticed in the California roads were similar to those of French drivers until 2003 when the governement said "enough" and launched a strong set of measures to fight the anarchy on the roads...

So I'd like to have the opinion of california drivers on the forum. Have you ever drive in european roads recently? What do you think of the european drivers? What do you think of the behaviors of your counterparts in California roads? of yours too?? Do you also frequently notice the kind of behaviors I report above in your daily commutes etc? How are california drivers compared with the other states? is CHP another myth or do these guy really exist ?

I hate to say it but I see all that every day on the LA freeways and surface streets. It is fully as bad as you claim, maybe worse. It's surprising we don't all kill everybody else every day, but we don't. LA is the rudest place I've ever driven and I've lived here my whole life.

I've never driven in Europe. I had the common sense to let others drive. Maybe you should have done that here.

I don't see this is a Europe vs. CA thing. If you don't like driving here, don't drive here. Or step in and fix it. I don't really care what you drive like in Europe. I'm sorry you didn't have a nice driving experience here. If I return to Europe (not likely) I think I'll again let others drive.

[stilldirrty]

LA driving isn't too bad actually. (FROM what I've witnessed anyway, but LA driving in general is dangerous) Compared to the East Coast. Like New York, Hartford, Boston. LA isn't that bad.

But in Europe people generally drive better, because of the whole "big" brother issue. There are photo cameras there, so if you are speeding there. You get trapped, and get your ticket in the mail. Happens that way in Germany.

In Europe, drivers are insane though. lol

But I heard the ratio. US to Europe. US gets 4 to every 1 car accident in europe. (That is what someone told me, I am not sure how correct it is)

[straight outta camden]

To VII: the French drive on the right, just like in America.

California drivers (SF and a couple of other areas excepted) are really not that bad. A bit dreamy, with a tendency to drive out of lane, but not as lawless as suggested. Try Arizona or--my personal driving hell--Colorado.

[Lovehound]

The real problem driving in urban areas of California is that traffic is often very heavy and drivers are not only very aggressive but also very impatient, probably late and in a hurry, or annoyed because they're bored driving and would rather be at their destination. Because of all that they do things that relaxed people in no particular hurry would never do. Driving in California is a competitive sport. If you're not at the head of the pack you're going to get cut off all the time. That is the fate of moderate drivers. Sane drivers actually get punished by the a**h***s for not being insane. There's just too many drivers, too many cars, too many people trying to get from "A" to "B" at the same time, and not enough lanes, not enough roads. And to top it all off, not enough cops to make the drivers obey the laws.

I have a kind of fun game. I really f*** with their heads by being courteous. I see a driver trying to enter the street from a parking lot and not succeeding, I stop and signal them to enter in front of me. It really blows their minds!

From what I've seen in heavy traffic in other American cities, Los Angeles isn't really that much different. It's not Los Angeles to blame; it's human nature. Too many cars, too few roads, too much hurry.

[JTGJR]

Originally Posted by Lovehound

Too many cars, too few roads, too much hurry.

Too much hurry is what really gets my panties in a bunch. Someone blows by me doing 50 in a 35. Of course he's/she's, once again, right next to me at the red light. Again, 0-50mph from there to the next time we're next to each other at the light.

Applies to the freeway too. Why are so many people in such a hurry to get into the traffic jam. Weave in and out of lanes for 5 miles only to end up 2 cars ahead when the traffic stops.

On and on it goes.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result . . . the definition of insanity.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by JTGJR

Too much hurry is what really gets my panties in a bunch. Someone blows by me doing 50 in a 35. Of course he's/she's, once again, right next to me at the red light. Again, 0-50mph from there to the next time we're next to each other at the light.

Applies to the freeway too. Why are so many people in such a hurry to get into the traffic jam. Weave in and out of lanes for 5 miles only to end up 2 cars ahead when the traffic stops.

On and on it goes.

Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result . . . the definition of insanity.

Don't forget the guy who rides your bumper, then passes you on the right, only to ride the bumper of the guy that's in the lane next to you going the same speed but 10' ahead.

[Lovehound]

Originally Posted by JTGJR

Too much hurry is what really gets my panties in a bunch. Someone blows by me doing 50 in a 35. Of course he's/she's, once again, right next to me at the red light. Again, 0-50mph from there to the next time we're next to each other at the light.

Applies to the freeway too. Why are so many people in such a hurry to get into the traffic jam. Weave in and out of lanes for 5 miles only to end up 2 cars ahead when the traffic stops.

There's only one way to deal with that. You just gotta let it go, let them by and hope it won't be too long until they're out of your sight. You have to just calm yourself down and think about something else. Otherwise it just gets you all up tight and before you know it you're driving just like them. And I admit, this works for me only about a third of the time. The rest of the time I find myself driving aggressively too.

You see that's the problem. If everybody drives safely and moderately then everybody is cool. But if some people start driving aggressively and rudely they get many of the drivers around them to become aggressive and rude too, and then those newly aggressive drivers get more drivers annoyed enough that they become aggressive too.

Pretty soon it's just you and me driving sanely, and I'm not so sure about you!

[calipoppy]

I can not stop laughing...the OP seems to think that LA drivers actually "CARE" what other people think about our driving.

If you understand the basics driving as a tourist, you will be ok.

Tip #1 - If you (a) don't know where you are going (b) are sightseeing or (c) just plain driving at a snail's pace, then STAY IN THE SLOW LANE which is the far right lane.

Tip #2 - Stay off the roads during peak rush hour (7am - 9am and 4pm -6pm)....you are in our way. We are trying to get to and from work, we may be running late and just plain not in the mood to deal with the slow poke in front of us who will NOT drive with the flow of traffic.

Tip #3 - Understand the concept of the "Flow of Traffic" - you can actually get a ticket for driving too slow and impeding the flow of traffic. Trust me when I tell you that the police(CHP or whomever) would rather everyone drive 5 miles over the speed limit than have one car driving 15 under the speed limit.

Tip #4 - All I can say to a tourist driving in CA is "when in Rome..."