Drivers in upstate New York

[CampingMom]

Originally Posted by i'minformed

Hyde Park isn't really upstate NY.....just thought I'd throw that out there. But yes its true. people in the NYC region are pretty harsh drivers.

Well, Hyde Park used to be Upstate until everyone from downstate relocated here-now they think Dutchess is a suburb of NYC. Our area is overrun with bad drivers who speed, cross the double yellow, don't stop for pedestrians in crosswalks(in NYS law) and this is all on our country roads-not even the interstate. Tailgaiting and racing up Rt.9 is a everyday thing. Heaven forbid you have to STOP for a stop light, nope just floor it. And apologies the the nice people who moved here-but it's some of the downstaters who are the worst with the driving(reading their license plate frames to see where their cars came from tell all)-everyone is used to driving in and out and fast down there.

[shibainu]

A big thing I noticed is turning with out using the turn signal in upstate ny

[Rikrich]

Originally Posted by jfkIII

oooops...my bad...I was addressing Mainegirl!

Easy on the CAPS, Rich....you might cause an accident!

Ooops! Sorry about that JFKIII! Have a good one!

[stc123]

you think upstate is bad? go to long island. we moved becuse of the mean and aggressive drivers!!

[Minier]

got off the road to let those individuals pass me because I was tired of being virtually tailgated by some of those same drivers.

You were probably being tailgated because you were going too slow. Were driving AT the speed limit or below? You can't do that. The unspoken rule is that you go 10-15 above the speed limit . Next time you'll know what to do!

Sorry you had a bad experience ... people around here are actually very nice. But, yes, we drive over the speed limit and we want to get where we want to get. I hope it wasn't me tailgaiting you ... I try not to do it, but sometimes i can't help myself when someone's going 42 on a 45 zone! You should be going at least 50.

Route 9 is ridiculously bogged down by traffic lights ... to make it from Cold Spring up to Vassar or even the Poughkeepsie Mall it's stop and go madness with the lights every 10 feet from each other. Makes a girl a little rushed and a little pissed off.

\And note HYDE PARK/DUTCHESS COUNTY IS NOT "UPSTATE"

It's not? I've lived here 7 years and still think of it as "upstate". Having grown up in the city all my life, I think of anything past Yonkers as "upstate" LOL.

And, no, I didn't bring my "aggressive" driving skills up from the city ... I never drove a car before moving up here. So I'm Dutchess County trained.

[JoshNHR]

True but the mindset remains the same. I love the way people drive in "upstate" New York because you can get to places pretty quickly and people are PREDICTABLE. It's very easy to tell how people will drive or react to a situation once you've driven with them for a few years. As JFK mentioned, the worst part about driving in New York are all the out of state or country (Canada) drivers who try to fit in and drive as people do in New York. It's a bit of an art and skill so if you aren't from here or haven't driven here for a few years then stay to the right side and let us go by!

In my experience NJ drivers tend to do 55 mph EVERYWHERE (we have 65 mph zones up here!), never brake until the last minute and always ride in the left lane doing 55.

Pennsylvania drivers are just slow but tend to stay in the right lane and let you pass most of the time. I have more of a problem with the truck drivers hawking the left lane on I-84 than I do with PA drivers.

Virginia drivers are one of the worst I've ever come across. In Virginia you need to know three things when driving:

1) They have guns.
2) They brake for no reason as it is a means of constant braking which seems to be a rule of thumb down there.
3) Good luck trying to merge or change lanes. With everyone else braking and flooring it every five seconds there is little room to "get in".

The New York way seems to be that you NEED a new, fast car that can outpace all the economy and commuter cars because you will be stuck in traffic and forced to weave in and out of open gaps to get anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. No wonder there are so many BMWs in the NYC area!

[phakpa juma]

I think this problem is not only in NYC, we have to face this problem every were in the world, but i think all are not same, there must be good one also.

[walt305]

Originally Posted by averagenyjoe

I just read somewhere that NY is either the worst or 2nd worst state for bad drivers.

CNN did a piece on bad drivers across the nation and NY was ranked #1 for the worst drivers. I think NY was #1 ,NJ was #2 ,and RI was #3.

[mikesuicide]

Stay out of the left lane and you will be fine