[nhctguy]

I haven't actually read each of the posts but I thought the topic sounded interesting. My opinion, having lived near hartford, fairfield county, and now new haven is that the drivers in southwestern CT (Greenwich-New Haven) are somewhat more aggressive on the whole as compared to drivers in other parts of CT. I think of it as an NYC effect - essentially the further away from the city that you get, the more relaxed people are when driving. Again, not trying to stereotype but just an observation. In fact, my driving habits change depending on where I am (New Haven driving requires that you not drive as passive as you would in say Vernon - afterall, if you don't merge into a lane on your own, you probably aren't going to be let in.)

[sliver203]

Don't drive stupid - CNN.com

[Greenleaf]

Thanks for posting the link to CNN. Interesting (and frightening) information.

[Crimzin]

Originally Posted by nhctguy

I haven't actually read each of the posts but I thought the topic sounded interesting. My opinion, having lived near hartford, fairfield county, and now new haven is that the drivers in southwestern CT (Greenwich-New Haven) are somewhat more aggressive on the whole as compared to drivers in other parts of CT. I think of it as an NYC effect - essentially the further away from the city that you get, the more relaxed people are when driving. Again, not trying to stereotype but just an observation. In fact, my driving habits change depending on where I am (New Haven driving requires that you not drive as passive as you would in say Vernon - afterall, if you don't merge into a lane on your own, you probably aren't going to be let in.)

I know what you mean. City drivers can be by far the biggest *******s. Every time I drive on the highway in the city every exit is backed up by idiots trying to merge in to the exit lane at the last second and cutting people off.

However, where I live in Fairfield County I find the slow drivers to be a lot more dangerous than the fast ones. Frankly, the drivers I see driving faster speeds like I do tend to be the ones who seem to really know the rules of the road. They understand the right of way, they're not swerving all over the road, etc - honestly, many people are driving fast because they know what they are doing. Meanwhile, the drivers crawling along at 35 in a 40 seem to be the ones who couldn't stick to half of the road if their life depended on it. They're also the ones whose heads seem to be out in space every time they pull up to a 4-way stop. Dear Idiots, please learn the simple right of way laws before you crawl your sorry ass into an automobile. When you have the right of way and you try to wave me on, you are not being nice you are OBSTRUCTING THE FLOW OF TRAFFIC and asking for an accident to happen. This is especially true when your car has TINTED WINDOWS, so I can't tell if you're an idiot waving me on or worse: an idiot on their cell phone who's just not paying attention and is going to plow into me when I go. Love, Crimzin.

[SteelCityRising]

Idiotic driving is NOT unique to Connecticut, my dear Nutmeggers. Here in Scranton I-81 is now at more than twice its intended capacity, and rush-hour traffic now crawls bumper-to-bumper at 4:30 PM on weekdays between Downtown Scranton and its southern suburbs on what I've now dubbed "The 81 Freeway" to parody what people in L.A. affectionately call their clogged arteries.

A large part of the problem, as has been stated before is that there is simply too much of a mix of different driving styles on the roadway. Younger people tend to have more hectic schedules and are often in more of a hurry to multi-task and arrive at their destinations much more quickly than elderly drivers headed to the Old County Buffet for the early-birds' special during the evening rush. Tailgating is an awful problem in Scranton because the speed limits on our freeways are only 55 miles per hour when people in the RIGHT LANE usually travel at about 65-68 miles per hour the way it is. Occasionally you get some old fart in a Buick or Cadillac merging into the passing lane and doing the exact same speed as those in the right lane, which only compounds issues with road rage and tailgating. Furthermore, I know there are also drivers out there like my mother who INTENTIONALLY go slower while being tailgated and tap their brakes every two seconds just to tick off the tailgater and aggravate matters. I happen to often tailgate others myself because you do NOT get into the passing lane if you do NOT intend on passing people in the right lane. That's just idiocy, and I reward that foolishness by riding the rear bumper of that person. If they want to play vigilante by going so slowly in the passing lane to slow traffic and "play cop," then let them feel guilty to know that they're the same ones causing our massive rush-hour gridlock by refusing to move over. People speed so much on I-81 because they know it is far too congested for police officers to enter the roadway from the median to pull them over.

As daily traffic counts here approach 100,000 vehicles on an outdated four-lane roadway, I'm sure daily accidents resulting from aggressive driving are only going to continue to deteriorate. Couple this with the idiots in pick-up trucks who refuse to use their turn signals when merging, and it's no wonder why there is so much aggravation around here. Trust me when I tell you that Connecticut does NOT have the market cornered on awful drivers. For as bad as I think many drivers are here in Scranton though, they are saints compared to the ones in North Jersey during the evening rush when overstressed PA commuters are trying to shorten their two-hour commutes each way by driving like maniacs! YIKES!

The commuter rail link from Scranton to New York City couldn't come soon enough!

[AnthonySA]

Having caught this thread, I think that bad driving is a global epidemic -- not limited to CT, NY, etc.

I say that because there has been a bad driving thread on nearly every CD City/State forum.

Just remain a defensive driver, and pack a little patience with ya -- and your trip will go easier

[HeadedWest]

Originally Posted by AnthonySA

Having caught this thread, I think that bad driving is a global epidemic -- not limited to CT, NY, etc.

I'm pretty sure you're right.

However, in CT the problem is exacerbated by a series of decisions that did not allow the highway system to expand with an increase in population combined with no expansion or extension to rail or other commuting alternatives.

[spark240]

Connecticut is between NYC and Boston. You get a blend of New York hyped rudeness, with Boston distracted cluelessness. A New York driver will cut you off, at high speed, with inches to spare, because he doesn't give a ----. A Boston driver will do the same thing, because he never even noticed you were there. In Connecticut, you'll get some of both.

I agree that you can find bad drivers everywhere, but it's a matter of proportion. I don't know about any part of California, but I've experienced most other parts of the country, and I maintain that the New York-Boston axis, including Connecticut, is THE worst.

[spark240]

Originally Posted by Greenleaf

If the party is merging abreast of me, I slow down to let them go ahead of me.

While I support much of what you said, I think it's a bad idea, as a driver in an established travel lane, to change your speed to accomodate somebody merging. It's their responsibility to scan the speed and arrangement of traffic in the lane they want to join, and to match their speed to an available spot. The only mandate of courtesy on drivers already in the lane is to not bunch up (that is, leave a good space in front of you) so that there ARE spaces to merge into.

[skytrekker]

Drivers in Connecticut are no better or worse then drivers elsewhere. They at times seem preoccupied or 'Lost in Space' but are rarely aggressive, mean or rage filled. The I 95 corridor from New Haven to New York is no picnic, with heavy congestion, and many short tempered aggressive drivers, who show no mercy.

Driving in larger metro areas and cities is worse, Boston is very tough, NYC is far worse, the Washington DC area is horrific and California's three largest metro areas perhaps the most congested. In the San Francisco bay area-they drive fast and will cut you off without batting an eye. Road rage is high here- but is far worse in L.A and Orange county where the traffic is the worst I have encountered anywhere.