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Which country has the last scary traffic? On a related note, which country is the best for driving in?
I would have to say it's the U.S., in specific the more sparsely populated parts of Minnesota and the rural interstates. The interstate system is a motorist's dream. In many parts, you can just set the cruise control and drive 100 or maybe even 200 miles without a worry. No wonder why "road trips" are such an American obsession - American cars with their cruise control, automatic transmissions, and roominess and comfortable seating (in many cases even for passengers) seem to be made for them unlike the cars from any other country, which are often never driven 10-20 miles out of town and have obnoxious manual transmissions and a lack of cruise control.
What's wrong with manual transmission? When I'm on the open road, I just shove it in 5th and forget about it. It also allows you more control over the car and I find it better during bad weather (snow for example).
Least scary traffic, I would have to say the UK. British drivers are generally very courteous and will allow you to merge safely, will generally indicate and will usually stop for pedestrians. I do not rate the US very highly at all. Just look at your number of traffic fatalities compared to ours as a % of the total population. Still, it varies region by region. I generally found the drivers on the west coast to be much better than those on the east coast, the worst being in cities like Boston, Miami and New York.
Least scary is Vatican City. Rome is scary though.
Another candidate is Bhutan, because there are no traffic lights and just one intersection with an assigned traffic officer.
I would have to say it's the U.S., in specific the more sparsely populated parts of Minnesota and the rural interstates. The interstate system is a motorist's dream. In many parts, you can just set the cruise control and drive 100 or maybe even 200 miles without a worry. No wonder why "road trips" are such an American obsession - American cars with their cruise control, automatic transmissions, and roominess and comfortable seating (in many cases even for passengers) seem to be made for them unlike the cars from any other country, which are often never driven 10-20 miles out of town and have obnoxious manual transmissions and a lack of cruise control.
I would say it's a motorist nightmare. The streets in other countries are much smoother and you don't feel like the next pothole is finally going to tear your tires apart. Also, it seems like almost no one sticks to the "passing on the left" rule so when there's a lot of traffic you have to concentrate much more than in, say, Germany.
Cruise control exists in other countries too. So do automatic transmissions. Automatic is just not widely used because it's merely considered an aid for old people who are incapable of using the stick shift. In the US, I still often drove cars with a stick - more fuel efficient and you have much more control over your car. I still feel uneasy when I drive an automatic car and feel how it shifts by itself.
Last edited by Rob702; 01-12-2013 at 03:34 AM..
Reason: typpo as usual
I think the latin countries are just far too fierce they need to calm down and seriously take a chill pill. I sometimes wonder where the hell they are going that they have to rush rush rush? And why do they always want to hare everybody? You should see the way those italian americans go on, absolutely nuts. Watch RHONYC and look Bethany Frankel or Jill Zarin.
Maybe Bermuda, where the speed limit is 22 mph, and even slower in some built up areas. But I've heard that motorbikes ignore the speed limits (and all other traffic laws) and have become a menace. Imagine owning an old car that has never been driven over school-zone speed.
There is probably no country in the world where the road system is capable of handling even half the present traffic load, except maybe Nortk Korea or Cuba.
Of any significant country, Sweden has the lowest per-capita risk of traffic death, 1/16 of the rate for Eritrea. Of minor countries, oddly, Marshall Islands has the lowest traffic death rate, and the nearby Cook Islands has the highest. Here's traffic in Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands
Mongolia. Its the most sparely populated country in the world and its cities are built in a very communist style with large freeways and plenty of apartment buildings.
Also countries that do not have many cars and are sparsely populated would fit this bill
Driving is completely different in several countries. What you aren't wont to is frightening.
I found driving in Italian a couple of French city’s scary initially however when a few days it’s ok.
For the locals it's no huge deal, but place them in LA on the 405 at time of day and that they could realize that scary.
I found driving in European country quite quiet from the beginning as compared to therefore. Cal.
Probably the smallest amount scary would be rural components of the U.S..
However there's plenty of aggression bordering on violence on the roads in America. As a traveler and cyclist I actually have ne'er had folks swerve at Maine, open doors purposely, or throw stuff at Maine in the other country.
Most fatal accidents here tend to occur on country highways. I think the combination of narrow two lane highways (one lane going either way), twists, turns, inclines, trees, fatigue and speeding especially is one of the main reasons. Alcohol also plays a factor.
Tokyo and Japan in general. Even though Tokyo is crowded, the drivers are courteous, civil and orderly.
The worst driving would be in Los Angeles, which is complete chaos and many folks completely disregard the traffic laws and enforcement of the traffic laws is nearly non-existent. It's the "Wild Wild West" at it's finest. The drivers in China (Beijing) rank right up there with many of the drivers in LA, complete disregard for traffic laws.
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The streets in other countries are much smoother and you don't feel like the next pothole is finally going to tear your tires apart. 
Also, it seems like almost no one sticks to the "passing on the left" rule so when there's a lot of traffic you have to concentrate much more than in, say, Germany. 
In the US, I still often drove cars with a stick - more fuel efficient and you have much more control over your car. I still feel uneasy when I drive an automatic car and feel how it shifts by itself.
