Is it just me, or? OC drivers are jerks. (Los Angeles: neighborhoods, live)

[killer2021]

Not saying that all OC drivers are jerks but it seems like there are a lot of them. Here are a list of things that OC drivers do that make me mad.

1) Constantly tailgating. If I slam on my brakes, how the hell do they think they are going to stop in time?

2) Not using indicator. If you don't tell me your getting over, how the hell am I suppose to slow down and let you in?

3) Always going 5-10 miles above the speed limit. If the speed limit is 40, just do 40. You don't need to do 45 or 50, okay? Same story for the freeway, the speed limit is 65, don't do 70-80+ MPH. If traffic is heavy, reduce speed.

4) Always in a rush. If you need to be on time, please leave early. For christ sakes, I am tired of walking some place and the guy making a right turn cuts me off as I get the white ,"walk" symbol. I've seen numerous times where another car has almost hit a pedestrian (they don't look) by trying to cut the red light before it turns green. Let me tell you, it definitely sends chills down your spine watching a kid cross the street and the other cars not wanting to wait.

I've always wondered why some streetlights have crossing guards even thought there is a signal. Now I know why. PEOPLE DON'T WANT TO WAIT! I am sure some kid had to die before they actually put those crossing guards there too.

Anyone had any similar pet peeves? or experiences?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Yeah people are idiots. To go along with your #4, if you actually DO stop for a pedestrian, you get honked at by the ashhole behind you. Well excuse me for not committing vehicular manslaughter to save you 10 seconds.

Then there's the people that think the freeway shoulder is their personal lane to be used for passing people at 40 mph when traffic is bumper to bumper. Those are the ones that make me wish I had a minigun on my roof.

[ocexpo]

Compared to Los Angeles,

OC is as easy as driving on a country road in Nowhere, Kansas.

[Coldjensens]

always in a rush is the best description of the entire OC lifestyle.

However other things are more prevalent elsewhere. Ever drive in Boston?

In Michigan tailgating is an art form.

In OC most drivers seem to be rushed and often distracted, but if they are thinking, I find them to be more polite than drivers in many places. It just seems more and more unusual to find drivers that are thinking about what they are doing in OC

[Charles]

I don't think it matters as much in what county or city you are driving in as much as the time of day, the amount of traffic, and the design of the highway or street. If those conditions are close to the same in any place, the driving experience will be about the same. I've seen it in Denver, Buffalo, Nashville, Columbus, Huntsville, DC, the Bay Area, Houston, etc. There are some studies that have shown that so and so city's drivers are the rudest, but the difference in rudeness between the most rude and the least rude is practically in the noise.

Allstate Newsroom - News Releases - Who Ranks Best Behind the Wheel? (http://media.allstate.com/categories/7-news-releases/releases/3931-who-ranks-best-behind-the-wheel - broken link)

It's Official: Area's Drivers Among Rudest in the U.S. - washingtonpost.com

[Consider_Again]

I agree with a couple of the posts above. OC drivers are surprisingly considerate, all things considered. Compared with Houston, OC drivers are very good. The way I see driving in OC and LA is that there are just too many cars on the road and the probability of contacting a rude driver is higher due to concentration, but overall they are polite.

As far as driving fast, the hwys in SoCal are big and nice and well suited to driving “fast”. I have no issues with how fast people drive here. I just wish there were more instances when you could go faster instead of being packed in traffic going well below the speed limit.

[bhcompy]

if you dont like how i drive move your slow butt out of the fastlane then!

[Avalon08]

I lived in OC from 99-01 and found the drivers there and even up in LA to be very courteous. Everyone drove fast, of course, but they didn't tailgate, they let you in if you signaled, they didn't honk and they NEVER gave you the finger. Even my elderly mother commented on how courteous they were to her, even when she had no idea where she was going.

WELL....that's all changed now. I visited OC this past summer. Drivers are still speeding but now tailgating and weaving in and out of lanes. Lots of big-a** trucks trying to intimidate you. I was on a surface street in Tustin, driving slowly while looking for a certain sidestreet. I was in the right lane and the driver behind me was extremely agitated, even though he could've just passed me in the other lane. Eventually, he passed and then a few blocks up, turned right onto a sidestreet -- and gave me the finger while turning! What has happened to my dear, sweet, easygoing OC....

[happ]

You certainly described the traffic in LA [all the above & more]. This is not to be taken as racist but in some parts of the city the drivers are the complete opposite. They drive 10-20 miles under the speed limit on busy city streets & make right-hand turns from the left lane Asian neighborhoods have there own set of habits & a person better not ever be in a hurry because the snails-pace traffic will make you go crazy!

[hsw]

95+% of drivers suck everywhere...unlikely to ever change

Simple solutions...

Live as close to office as poss
Commute at off-hrs....amazing how different are the driving capabilities of those who prefer to arrive in office by 6AM, vs the slobs in 8AM rush-hr
Avoid ever going to retail places, except early on wkend AMs before the slobs are even awake
Drive some of CA's spectacular mtn roads nr LA region on a wkend AM....typically rather empty aside from a few fellow car nuts out exercising their cars....and, IMO, no better way to relax than to focus on precise driving in a scenic setting....stuff no other city in world, except SF, has available yr-round, so close to where many live and work