Letter to San Antonio Drivers (Dallas, Alamo: crime, house, subdivision)

[Deep Forest]

Originally Posted by voyager674

i know what you mean, whenever i initiate my blinkers it seems like its a signal for the other driver to speed up in an effort to keep me from changing lanes in front of them. its nice to know however that everyone posting is a perfect driver....

On San Antonio roads it is never wise to "telegraph" your intentions. Remember there is always someone looking to run you into the ditch...

[cr1039]

Are you all kidding? San Antonio has the most awful drivers ever. People drive too slow, stop at yield signs, stay in the right lane when not turning, put on their signals "1/4 mile in advance" and don't take the next opportunity to quickly and swiftly merge into a new lane without braking. Oh, and people here ride their brakes, brake when laying off the gas would do and I have even had people stop in the middle of the road while they had a green light so that a person could make a left! Really!

[rd2007]

you left out a few things cr1039, but that did a good job of covering most of them
all 99.9% true too. Myself and a few other people are the only things keeping it from 100% truth.

BTW, I don't think anyone here has claimed SA had good drivers. It's pretty much the first (or second if it's REALLY hot out) thing people notice when they arrive in the city.

[Steel Man]

Originally Posted by rd2007

you left out a few things cr1039, but that did a good job of covering most of them
all 99.9% true too. Myself and a few other people are the only things keeping it from 100% truth.

BTW, I don't think anyone here has claimed SA had good drivers. It's pretty much the first (or second if it's REALLY hot out) thing people notice when they arrive in the city.

I did in other threads. Believe it or not, there are good drivers in San Antonio. They're the ones you don't complain about (under the radar so to speak) and don't notice. If everyone were a bad driver, then you'd have total gridlock with tens of thousands of accidents. Believe it or not, if you avoid accidents then you're halfway to being a good driver.

[parkk]

I was north bound on I-35 just north of 1604 and needed to get into the right lane from the center lane, after I put my turn signal on the car to my right and behind floored it to keep me from getting in. Then the car in from of him had to slow down so the car that blocked me rear-ended him! Unbelievable!

I guess I will never understand that way of thinking / driving?

[rd2007]

There are good drivers here, about 20 or so I think. The rest drive like the example parkk just gave. I would be interested in knowing if that was a woman that sped up so they couldn't change lanes. I have noticed a very large increase in this lately and every time it has been a woman. I'm not trying to say anything more than exactly what I said. I have no idea why it's always been women, but it has and it's pretty much a daily thing now. They speed up to try to stop you from going around them and if they succeed, they slow down until you try again.

[sapphire]

We got bidness to take care of.

dinner
laundry
kids
bills
cleaning
lovin'
our day never ends
cut us some slack out there

[majormadmax]

For all you early morning commuters who like to sleep in during their drive to work, the right lane is perfect for you as the rest of us who are awake would like to pass on the left like the law prescribes!

Thank you in advance for your cooperation! And if someone is tailgating you because you are braindead in the left lane, it is probably me, so wave!

Cehers! M2

[Sarah-Jane-Again]

I'm British and moved to San Antonio from England in October 2007 - until moving here, I'd never been to America before) and I noticed immediately the difference in the drivers over here. I can only speak for San Antonio and it's surrounding cities, but I agree completely that in general, 90% of the drivers here are complete arse holes. It's TRUE... they DO speed up as soon as they see someone's indicator go on - it's happened to hubby and me on so many occasions, I've lost count.
50% of them don't like having another car within 50 feet infront of them, while the other half love nothing more than to drive with their nose shoved halfway up ya bumper! Doesn't matter what speed we're going (usually about 10 MPH over the speed limit, if I'm honest!), there's always someone right on our tail, but ironically, you put ya turn signal on to move over and let them pass, but no one will let you over cus they don't want anyone in front of them!! S.A drivers DO suck!

PS.... Another thing I've noticed is just how many ignorant so-and-so's here like to sit chatting on their cellphones, completely oblivious to their surroundings. What is the OBSESSION with cells here, or is that America in general??

[majormadmax]

SJA

I lived in the UK and the last time I was back there was November 2004. I had ridden a motorcycle over from Belgium and even though you still drive on the wrong side of the road (), I felt safer riding there than I would anywhere in the US! But when I was stationed there in the early-to-mid 80s I learned that it is pretty tough to get a drivers license. My girlfriend had failed her test a few times before she passed, and her father (a retired PC), said that was not uncommon.

In the States about the biggest challenge in getting a drivers license is parallel parking. If you can somehow manage that, you will most likely pass your test. And law enforcement here is more about revenue than increasing the safety of our roads. I will get pulled for doing 15 over the speed limit but the police won't bat an eye at the idiot driving ten miles per hour under the limit in the left lane talking on their cell phone, or young children standing on the front seats of cars, or the biggest death trap vehicles driving down the road.

We could learn a little from the UK, such as laws prohibiting talking on cell phones while driving, MOTs and speed cameras! But I doubt that will ever happen...

Cheers! M2