Seattle really has terrible and rude drivers - kind of got the gist now that I have lived here for almost 3 yrs (Tacoma: transplants, how much)

[SunAndRain808]

https://komonews.com/news/local/rain...-study-reports


This is also my post that I have posted couple of years ago about a jerk driver in Kirkland area who almost hit me while crossing the street IN a marked crosswalk..


Are drivers in Kirkland and Bellevue that rude? - I almost got hit by driver while in crosswalk

I have noticed that drivers here like to speed up in their lane to not give a person a chance to merge in front of him or her. For example, if I am waiting at a stop light, and then the light turns green and I want to merge into the adjacent lane, prick driver in the next lane would also speed up to let me into his/her lane.

Not just me. Another person who also moved to Washington noticed that drivers here in Seattle don't let people merge. Really weird.

Why are drivers so unwilling to let others merge in front of them?

While living in Pierce County in Puyallup, I have noticed that the jerk drivers are the drivers of large pick up trucks. Typically fat, bald, white guys while unshaven beards,... think that they own the road. I also see some of those pick up truck drivers here on the East side too. But not as commonplace compared to Auburn/Puyallup/Tacoma/Lakewood areas.

Yup, and another poster who made a thread couple of years ago also had issues with pick up truck drivers. And no, I doubt that the pick up truck driver in this thread below is a transplant.

What's up with drivers here?....

^^ Typical pick up truck driver who thinks he or she owns the road. And no where in this country have I seen this kind of garbage-style driving. Only here in Seattle.

However, here in Bellevue, the jerk drivers are the ones with their BMW's, Audi's, Mercedes, Lexus, Tesla's,....basically expensive cars speeding, cutting people off, weaving in and out of traffic.

There was an instance where I was at an intersection, waiting for the light to turn green. There was a BMW in front of me, and into the other lane adjacent to the BMW clunker, was another vehicle.
When the light turned green, the car in the other lane was driving faster than the BMW jerk in front of me was driving slowly. I wanted to get home quickly because I worked a long night shift and was tired. And this was a Saturday morning. Not a busy weekday morning. I merged into the adjacent lane to bypass the BMW since BMW driver was driving like a turtle. Guess what? When I tried to drive pass the BMW and attempt to merge in front of the BMW the jerk presses his gas pedal to accelerate to not allow me to merge into his lane. I eventually had to merge back into the lane behind the jerk BMW who then began to drive slow again. I am getting sick and tired of these jerk drivers here in Seattle.

I can see why Seattle is a temporary city for a lot of people to move here.

And for Pete's sake Seattle drivers, please use your damn turn signal when turning into another intersection or turning into a driveway!!!

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On the other hand, I have visited Portland, Oregon back in December coz a friend of mine from California decided that he wanted to take a weekend trip to Portland.

Boy, was I surprised how much BETTER people down there drive compared to the ditzy, rude, disorganized drivers here in the Seattle / Puget Sound region.

[pnwguy2]

Most cities that are growing bring in a lot of different driving styles. I think most would say natives are actually quite polite and know the rules of the road. Not to say there are not some poor native drivers in the city.

As for Portland vs. Seattle drivers, you probably are right. Bigger cities tend to create more rudeness, but I can honestly say, Portland drivers share some similar bad habits.

[CityWok]

I've found that people complain about drivers pretty much anywhere you go, but out of all the places I've lived, Seattle has some of the most courteous drivers I've seen.

No doubt the growth has made things worse than they used to be, but complaining about it won't change anything. Don't get mad. Just accept the fact that yes, there are idiots on the road. They're everywhere. Every day I experience some sort of behavior that amazes me, but then eventually it doesn't. Just drive defensively and don't let it impact your mood.

By the way, visiting a place is really not enough to get a sense what the drivers are like in an area. I've made that presumption myself. You really have to be there long term to make an accurate comparison.

[pnwguy2]

Originally Posted by CityWok

I've found that people complain about drivers pretty much anywhere you go, but out of all the places I've lived, Seattle has some of the most courteous drivers I've seen.

No doubt the growth has made things worse than they used to be, but complaining about it won't change anything. Don't get mad. Just accept the fact that yes, there are idiots on the road. They're everywhere. Every day I experience some sort of behavior that amazes me, but then eventually it doesn't. Just drive defensively and don't let it impact your mood.

By the way, visiting a place is really not enough to get a sense what the drivers are like in an area. I've made that presumption myself. You really have to be there long term to make an accurate comparison.

Exactly spot on.

[grega94]

well I'm a native driver, so I don't know the driving culture in other parts of the country, but on this forum I always hear about complainers, but they always contradict one another, some say we drive to slow, others say we drive to fast, some say we are rude, others say we are too considerate to the point of being undeceive. So I guess it's all about what you are used to.

As far as drivers that don't let people merge in front of them, well there is a high chance that they are just inconsiderate a**holes, but there could be other conditions. For instance I know I've done this before, a driver wants to merge in, and I notice that behind me there are no cars, so I speed up to let him merge behind with out me having to press on my breaks. It could also be response to what to them appears to be you cutting them off?

Now one thing that I do notice is that drivers here tend to not understand the zipper method when two lanes merge. A lot of times people will try to merge way earlier and sometimes there will be several cars merging at the same time causing a huge back up. Or how cars take turns from each lane (right, left, right left etc.) but sometimes there will be a car that wants to cut ahead, or a very considerate driver lets an extra car go ahead.

Then another thing that annoys me is that during stop and go traffic I try to drive at a slow but steady speed and try not to use the breaks, but this means that at times there will be quite a bit of room that develops in between me and the driver ahead, and a car behind me will pass me and take that spot just so that they can tail gait the next driver.

[pnwguy2]

It is called "The Seattle 500"...it means placing a vehicle ahead of yours to save exactly 3 seconds on their commute!

[Count David]

I spent most of October in Seattle, driving a lot.

The only thing I can say is that I was a lot more lead foot there than I am here in Denver. Drivers here are awful, the amount of stupid stuff I see here....good gosh.

Best drivers IME are in Oregon and in the Detroit area.

[Flightoficarus87]

One thing I've noticed - people tend to complain about drivers in just about every city.

That being said, the thing with Seattle that can make the roads quite a bit of a circus is simply a mix of varying (and incompatible) driving styles here, most likely due to a mass influx of transplants over the past decade or two (and especially within the past 5-6 years or so) who bring their driving habits with them. Any way you slice it, aloof 50-55 mph left lane campers, and leadfoot speed demons on a mission sharing the same road is never a good mix. That's why I always appreciate the polite drivers I come across that much more.

I will still say I prefer driving in other cities where more people tend to be on the same page when behind the wheel - and also places where people actually use turn signals!

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by Flightoficarus87

One thing I've noticed - people tend to complain about drivers in just about every city.

That being said, the thing with Seattle that can make the roads quite a bit of a circus is simply a mix of varying (and incompatible) driving styles here, most likely due to a mass influx of transplants over the past decade or two (and especially within the past 5-6 years or so) who bring their driving habits with them. Any way you slice it, aloof 50-55 mph left lane campers, and leadfoot speed demons on a mission sharing the same road is never a good mix. That's why I always appreciate the polite drivers I come across that much more.

I will still say I prefer driving in other cities where more people tend to be on the same page when behind the wheel - and also places where people actually use turn signals!

I agree, the high percentage of transplants means a variety of driving habits, but also drivers unfamiliar with our roads. More importantly, the number of immigrants that never drove in their previous country. Here in Sammamish, for example, we often see cars with a "NEW DRIVER" sticker on them and in most cases it's not a teen, but an adult from India.

[CortezC]

Originally Posted by Count David

I spent most of October in Seattle, driving a lot.

The only thing I can say is that I was a lot more lead foot there than I am here in Denver. Drivers here are awful, the amount of stupid stuff I see here....good gosh.

Best drivers IME are in Oregon and in the Detroit area.

You know, I spent a week or so in Detroit a few years back. I thought the drivers were pretty good too. High speed merges, they move over, use their turn signals, etc.