I'm scared of driving in MD. (Baltimore: insurance, how much, house)

[Chris-Kim]

Having lived in Westchester, NY for 7 years, I recently moved to Howard County. Well, I'm scared of driving here. My office is in Balto, so I take 32 and 95. Drivers seem more aggressive and reckless than NY drivers. They change lanes a lot and speed like maniacs. Even on local roads I observe the same behavior. The worst is 95.

I had driven very frequently on interstate highways in the NY, NJ, CT areas and to and from Manhattan. And I had never felt scared of driving there.

Do I feel this way because I'm not familiar with MD traffic conditions? Or, are MD drivers generally considered terrible? I don't mean to offend MD drivers at all. I just want to know if my observation is correct.

[cutgarden]

Don't worry, you'll get used to us. Actually, I live in Carroll county, so when I drive through Howard/MoCo it can be a bit of a shock, and that's not even at rush hour. But other times, it's no different at all. I am surprised a little bit though, I had always heard Jersey drivers were the woist... the woist, Jerry! Anyway, welcome to Maryland.

[dawnlajoie]

Jerry -
You are not alone. We moved here in May and I refuse to leave the house unless I absolutely have to because the drivers here scare the bejeezus out of me. I moved from Virginia, and we don't exactly have the best drivers in the world either. I think part of it is unfamiliarity and the fact that the drivers here are quite rude and aggressive.

[NJ2MDdude]

Originally Posted by Chris-Kim

Having lived in Westchester, NY for 7 years, I recently moved to Howard County. Well, I'm scared of driving here. My office is in Balto, so I take 32 and 95. Drivers seem more aggressive and reckless than NY drivers. They change lanes a lot and speed like maniacs. Even on local roads I observe the same behavior. The worst is 95.

There would be no need for fast drivers to zig zag if the slow drivers stayed to the right. I was taught to use the left lane for passing, but many drivers seem to think its their right to block cars from passing on the left.

[Chris-Kim]

I wasn't talking about fast drivers who had to zigzag to pass slow drivers. I was talking about drivers who were zigzagging to pass others driving at 75 mph on I-95. Well, if 75 is considered slow in MD......

[GotSandGal]

You have drivers from the states of top 4 most expensive auto insurance rates driving around here.
III - Auto Insurance
Drivers from NY, NJ and DC relocated to Maryland. No offense but I lived in NJ for a year, NJ Turnpike traffic is not better than 95... that's 7 years ago.

[tercel95]

I thought that MD drivers were definitely on the aggressive side but I have no complaints after moving to FL... I would take aggressive over incompetent any day... We get all the worst drivers down here because FL is even more transient than MD... I never thought that driving in MD was that bad... Keep your foot in it on the beltway and drive defensively and you should be good...

[westsideboy]

The key to driving in metro Maryland is knowing what you are doing. In places with less cars and more time drivers can get away with driving slow in the left lane, or not knowing who as right-of-way at an intersection, or spotting your exit late and braking and shifting 2 lanes over, etc. Not in Maryland. Lots of people need to get somewhere fast. My experience is that it isn't the car going 85mph on I-95 that is the danger, it is car going 55mph when everyone else is going 70mph.

My best advice is to create space for yourself. Sometimes that means going faster than the speed limit, sometimes it means having to stay in a left, right or middle lane longer than you want.

[taconis]

You will develope a sense for when people are going to cut you off and be prepared for it. Also, you will also get a feel for how much space to leave between yourself and the person in front of you. Unfortunately, you will get used to it. On the bright side, you will sharpen your own driving skills because of it.

I currently live in NC and would take the MD drivers any day. People here don't use their turn signals and the majority of them tailgate. Last week we had two multi car pileups because of the wet roads and trailgaters.

[Jtech]

I moved from Long Island to Baltimore Area. I've noticed the same thing. Baltimore Area seems to be polluted with assriders.

I don't understand how an area can be full of people who thinks its ok to drive this way.