Utah Drivers (most dangerous, vs., moving)

[irman]

Originally Posted by Juice.

I disagree with everyone here. I used to live in Los Angeles, and my god, if you can't handle the traffic in Utah...

I assume that this thread was about Utah drivers, and NOT a comparison to other drivers elsewhere.

If you really want to compare, drivers form all over, go visit South East Asia, especially Indonesia, then get back and tell me LA drivers are bad.

It is not that one can not handle the traffic here, but I assume the rudeness of some drivers, where they *think* they are the only ones on the road, is upsetting to some of us.

Originally Posted by SouthernBelleInUtah

I am usually 2-3 mph under the limit, in the far right lane of a 3-lane (each side) road. They want to speed, they can go around, not tail-gate.

Let's say Southernbelle needs to go 25 miles.
At 65 mph she would arrive after 23 minutes.
At 63 mph she would arrive after 24 minutes.
Oh my gosh ...... she wasted 1 minute ....
Just imagine she does that twice a day ....
Oh my gosh .... all that wasted time, she could have been doing *better things* ....
Uhmm, but maybe ... maybe she has a longer time enjoying her life doing just what she is doing now ...

Originally Posted by markg91359

Just because there is a speed limit doesn't mean its always safe and appropriate to drive that speed. There are a number of situations where its not. Heavy traffic, bad weather, and the presence of pedestrians are all situations where one may have an obligation to drive at a reduced speed. Far too many people act as though the presence of a speed limit gives them an absolute right to drive at that speed. Its not true.

Some drivers may be uncomfortable driving the speed limit. If a road has multiple lanes of traffic and that driver is willing to travel in the righthand lane there is nothing wrong with them going slower than the posted limit.

Maybe those speed signs should be amended to read :
UPPER SPEED LIMIT or MAXIMUM SPEED LIMIT

[5280milehiguy]

Interesting comments, and yes, this thread is about UTAH drivers, comparisons to other areas not really needed though interesting.

I am sorry to hear Southernbelle had serious injuries from someone else's negligent driving. We should all think about that the next time we're out there trying to make a mad dash to catch the yellow light, or not yielding to oncoming traffic or traffic that have the ROW.

The more I think about it, the more I am convinced it's not a issue of distracted driving (though the cell phone usage behind the wheel should be a law), or people being too busy, and it's not an issue of which church you belong to. I think it just comes down to bad city planning. Look at the intersections in downtown, or even the area around downtown, up to the U, down to S-house, down on 3rd West, etc. Do you notice anything in common with these intersections? They all, for the most part, look alike. I think drivers go through an intersection as if they've seen the same intersection, hundreds, even thousands of times, and therefore they proceed as they normally do at each intersection, not bothering to check to see if there are peds in a xwalk, or yield to traffic with the ROW before turning on red. I've noticed sometimes a driver will briefly stop at the intersection just as the light turns red and turn right just as opposing traffic gets the green.

I think I'll call it the Homogenous Intersection Effect. Signs are also in short supply. Would be nice to see signs like "Yield to Peds when turning" "No turn on Red" "Stop here on Red" placed on corners with higher pedestrian traffic and other congested intersections.

A more expensive option might be to install a pair of right turn signals at various intersections, with Red and Green right turn arrows. Anything different to break up the monotonous SLC intersection might help make drivers be aware of their surroundings.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

Well, I was hit head-on by a drunk minor at night, who was driving up an incline in my lane. As I came over the top, she hit me. Not much to do with SLC or UT other than she'll get light legal penalties. Her car was totaled and her mom's insurance doesn't have high enough limits to cover all the damages to my car, my passengers, and me - even though it was still "minor injuries."

But I do agree about poor planning. I've never seen a city with so few left turn lights! And almost daily I see a fender-bender where someon made a bad decision at an intersection.

[irman]

Getting just a bit *off topic*, but I do agree with some *poor planning*.

If you are not familiar enough with the city lay-out, you WILL miss the turns you should have taken since the signs are not quite lined up.
1 - Drive south on 215 from the north until you come up on the turn off for the airport. If you watch the signs, you WILL miss the turn off since it looks like it will be the next one, and not the one *just there*.
2 - Many intersections, *do not line up*, meaning, if you are in the left lane, you may end up in the right line across the intersection.
3 - I do not think Utah knows about what we call in other places *the green wave*. You can actually drive along a busy main thoroughfare and miss all the red lights, IF you drive a certain speed.
I often drive south and north on Bangerter, and I almost know how fast/slow to drive to *make* the lights. Does not work at all the times off day though .... However, they (the traffic planners), were kind enough to add those amber warning lights to show you the upcoming light change to red .. but then they only have them at SOME positions ... Why ????

My thoughts are that IF these conditions are improved, the driver's attitude will not, simply due to NO proper and formal instruction requirements as stated before in my post.

LBNL, Cars can be 40 dollars cheaper IF they just leave out the turn signals, because very few use them here, so why even install them ??
Do people even realise that they must also be used during a lane change (AFTER you check if anybody is on your right or left) ??

At a red signal going left ...
Do people know that, if you are in the front, you should drive forward as far as possible so that anybody behind you will have a chance to turn left besides you ??

@ southernbelle: I hope you did not mind using you as an example ?

Originally Posted by SLCrising

We should all think about that the next time we're out there trying to make a mad dash to catch the yellow light, or not yielding to oncoming traffic or traffic that have the ROW.

Again the time factor here. Next time you ARE sitting at a red light, really measure how long you have to wait. You may be surprised how short it really is .....

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

No problem and I do get 1/2 way into the intersection so I can go when the light turns red for me! Not fair but that's what you have to do here.

[Lamborgotti]

I have noticed that usually 3 or 4 cars try to go left once the light is red, even though only one is legal. Other than that, I've still failed to see most of the problems described. I completed driver education just last year so I became very observant of the laws and proper procedures. I always signal, check, yield, and do all the necessary stuff. They taught us everything we need to know, and fortunately most of the people around me do what the law requires, there are just a few exceptions which I don't really blame people for doing.

[teraval]

I lived in Utah for ten years before moving here to Austin. I have to say the drivers are worse here. I actually miss driving in Utah.

[Keliko]

Great topic.

I live in West Valley and travel to South Salt Lake for work, it seems like no one knows how to drive out here. They will go 5 miles below speed limit in the furthest left lane, go 60 mph on the furthest right lane, no signaling whatsoever, signal when its not needed, slam on the brakes and stop traffic to figure out where they are going, sit at left turns with green light and a green arrow on the bottom till you honk at them, run through red lights 3 seconds after the light turned red, etc...


The worst is when, in one movement, move from the left turning lane, to the right lane at the cross walk, or from the furthest right lane, to 3 lanes over in the left lane, while trying to complete a illegal u-turn or a left turn on red...I never had to be as cautious as a driver until now. I probably avoided 3 accidents last week...though one was out in Draper when a idiot next to me decided to migrate over to my lane at a intersection when he was in the left turn lane...

Also, a lot of people in West Valley, my friend is an police officer out here, do not have insurance...and I doubt a lot of them even have a driver's license...while trying to get a lady's information when she reared me, she was speaking Spanish the whole time and her cousin was begging me not to get the cops involved, and then her 3 "scary looking" brothers showed up...

[flyinlow]

OMG, so many issues with Utah drivers.
A few months ago I had the mispleasure to be stuck between two "flatlanders" on a flight from Salt Lake to Minneapols and endured two hours of listening to a tirade called "the mormon block" which, evidently means "you are in my way and get the fxxk out", and it seems to matter not which lane you happen to be driving in.
I am a life long resident of Utah but have worked in states from CA to KY most recently in Phoenix AZ. first in the mid seventies and again between 2003 and 2006 and I must say the population in Phoenix in the 70s (mostly native) and the population most recently non-native is the civility of the populace. People who move here seem to adopt the attitude "I have just discovered the west, now you natives get out of my way"
While driving on the freeway, and it doesn't matter which lane I am in, I will be "tailgated" by an SUV or some high-end automobile usually displaying license plates from out-of-state while I am going only ten miles over the speed limit, only to pass these very same vehicles going up a hilly canyon (I-80 to Park City) with the driver doing barely 20MPH in the inside lane. So if you want to criticize my driving may I suggest two things first our traffic laws are not mere suggestions, and second learn to drive in our conditions I.E. hilly and curving and snow bound roads will be encountered, so get a grip and take a driving course.
You are welcome here as long as we are welcome to stay.

[irman]

Originally Posted by flyinlow

our traffic laws are not mere suggestions,

I heard it said different ......

Hej our traffic laws are laws, not just a philosophy .....