To the rude drivers: If someone goes out of their way to be nice on the road, wave thanks (Austin: rental, college)

[HappyTexan]

Originally Posted by AustinAaron

You ever been in a "4-way standoff" at a stop sign in CA/NY? Exactly.

No..what happens ? I can only imagine..NYC folks are extremely aggressive drivers. Anytime I go there to visit family I NEVER drive.

[iceshots]

What I like down here is that using a turn signal to indicate you need to change lanes is not an invitation (or challenge) to the other driver to speed up and cut you off. Here people actually back off and let you change lanes.

In Toronto I would never use a turn signal until I had the room to switch lanes, and then it would come on as a warning that I am moving. If you put in on "requesting" room to change lanes, they just block you right out. "Plenty of room behind me."

[mickey65]

But what I've noticed A LOT of since I've lived here (and I'm from California), are those who are stopped at a side road or corner and wait until you are about six feet away and then just pull out in front of you! No, they couldn't do it when you were a mile away, it's as if they wait until you get closer and closer before they pull out in front of you! Not a lot of that in California, and I have to say folks in California drive a WHOLE lot better than they do in Texas!

[brattpowered]

It's probably due to the amount of newcomers here. When I first arrived, I was pleasantly surprised by "the wave" but it took me a while to get used to incorporating it myself.

It's all about the local customs. Where I'm from it's discourteous to impede the flow of traffic by not taking your right of way, driving in the left lane at a slower rate than people driving in the right lane, or pulling out in front of someone who is traveling because they are entitled to have others adjust their driving for them (what mickey65 mentioned). Here, people get their panties in a bunch if you don't coo at them by waving. It's a petty thing to get angry over, but hey-- it's Texas.

[CATXTransplant]

I'm a beeper - that's why I had to take my website off my car :0)

[nomore07]

Originally Posted by mickey65

That is pretty much the impression I get when I get that little "waggle" thing after being cut off, and they usually get a blast of my horn and only a small part of my hand waving back in return at them! Yeah, rude I know - but I value my life more than getting killed by some idiot who is in a hurry to get to a store or somewhere else that they think is going to jump up and fly away if they don't hurry!

I must agree. How can people think making a dangerous split-second merge into 10 feet of space is acceptable just because they wave? Apparently a gross misunderstanding of what "friendly driving" means. Friendly driving is avoiding stupid stunts that endanger me and other drivers nearby. It does not mean being a selfish jerk, then smiling and waving to make things "OK".

I guess some are too focused on a faux social display to realize cars do not stop on a dime... and they are not paying for my brake work. Perhaps the next time it happens, I won't bother to use the brakes.

Originally Posted by mickey65

But what I've noticed A LOT of since I've lived here (and I'm from California), are those who are stopped at a side road or corner and wait until you are about six feet away and then just pull out in front of you! No, they couldn't do it when you were a mile away, it's as if they wait until you get closer and closer before they pull out in front of you! Not a lot of that in California, and I have to say folks in California drive a WHOLE lot better than they do in Texas!

I've noticed it too. Very careless. I've driven in larger cities where traffic is faster yet not as dangerous. Makes you wonder how many are deliberately trying to cause a collision for insurance money.

Originally Posted by brattpowered

It's all about the local customs. Where I'm from it's discourteous to impede the flow of traffic by not taking your right of way, driving in the left lane at a slower rate than people driving in the right lane, or pulling out in front of someone who is traveling because they are entitled to have others adjust their driving for them (what mickey65 mentioned). Here, people get their panties in a bunch if you don't coo at them by waving. It's a petty thing to get angry over, but hey-- it's Texas.

Good point. Traffic cannot grind to a halt every time someone wants to play a game of cherades through the windshield. I've seen drivers sit at intersections for a politeness pantomime contest, often they're not paying much attention to the other cars or traffic nearby. I've seen lines of cars or trucks sweeping down the freeway waving, gesturing, or trying to communicate through the windows, oblivious to anything or anyone else on the road. It's the type of driving you'd expect from teenagers, not grown adults with driving experience.

When someone is piloting a 3000+ pound block of metal through city traffic, it's hardly the appropriate place or time for socialite gestures. Being polite behind the wheel is not simply a matter of smiling and waving like a used car salesman. It also means paying attention and not putting others in danger merely for the sake of appearance.

[Austin_living]

I just had to comment on this, having recently moved to Austin from Southern Calif. My husband and I are really enjoying Austin and we find the people to be very nice, friendly and courteous, in general.

As much as we love the city, we have been floored with the drivers! We are amazed with the "me first" mentality and don't really understand what the issue is. I've heard more horns honked and have seen more cars cut others off in the last month than I have in my entire life! We've driven the packed LA freeways for ten years and never experienced the lack of consideration that Austin drivers have. I think much of it is due to the poor infrastructure of the highway system here in town...it is very true that the roads were not built for the number of people that now occupy them. However, I think driving in Austin would be much more enjoyable if people exercised a bit more of the "drive friendly" mentality.

Austin is a great place...the driving is my only complaint!

[capcat]

Originally Posted by Austin_living

I just had to comment on this, having recently moved to Austin from Southern Calif. My husband and I are really enjoying Austin and we find the people to be very nice, friendly and courteous, in general.

As much as we love the city, we have been floored with the drivers! We are amazed with the "me first" mentality and don't really understand what the issue is. I've heard more horns honked and have seen more cars cut others off in the last month than I have in my entire life! We've driven the packed LA freeways for ten years and never experienced the lack of consideration that Austin drivers have. I think much of it is due to the poor infrastructure of the highway system here in town...it is very true that the roads were not built for the number of people that now occupy them. However, I think driving in Austin would be much more enjoyable if people exercised a bit more of the "drive friendly" mentality.

Austin is a great place...the driving is my only complaint!

Austin drivers come from all over, though. Hard to tell where those behaviors were learned. Maybe here, maybe not.

[TexasHorseLady]

Exactly. I think that's actually the main problem (because I have noticed the degradation of driving over the past decade or two) - too many people from too many different places with too many different driving styles (honking? That's something you do exceedingly rarely, and only with very good, life or property-threatening reason), all thrown onto the same roads and all thinking their way is the best way and everyone else should adjust to how things were done wherever they came from. Guaranteed recipe for chaos.

There's a reason for the old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," and it should definitely be applied to driving.

[Jennibc]

Originally Posted by TexasHorseLady

Exactly. I think that's actually the main problem (because I have noticed the degradation of driving over the past decade or two) - too many people from too many different places with too many different driving styles (honking? That's something you do exceedingly rarely, and only with very good, life or property-threatening reason), all thrown onto the same roads and all thinking their way is the best way and everyone else should adjust to how things were done wherever they came from. Guaranteed recipe for chaos.

There's a reason for the old saying, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do," and it should definitely be applied to driving.

Actually, has anybody considered that it has little to do with the locale and more to do with a rise in narcissism in our culture. I went back to law school when I was older and was attending classes with many people fifteen years younger than me. The other older students and I were stunned at how the 22-25 year old set behaved.

Austin has always been a young city because of the university presence. I wonder if it is just social mores of a younger generation raised without standards of civil behavior that we were.