Turn signals (live, floor, to move)

[Secret Dove]

Out here in PA no one uses their turn signals, not even my own father. I'm consistently yelling at him to use his turn signal. I always use mine, I don't think theirs one time that I haven't.

I can't count how many times I've almost been hit by a merging car or a car changing lanes without looking. Sometimes I feel like I'm invisible! All I do is lay on my horn and they get out of my way! It's quite fun actually! LOL

[dustinsn3485]

Originally Posted by Secret Dove

Out here in PA no one uses their turn signals, not even my own father. I'm consistently yelling at him to use his turn signal. I always use mine, I don't think theirs one time that I haven't.

I can't count how many times I've almost been hit by a merging car or a car changing lanes without looking. Sometimes I feel like I'm invisible! All I do is lay on my horn and they get out of my way! It's quite fun actually! LOL

This is where this question stems from. I ride a motorcycle and try to be aware as possible, but just never know when someone is gonna decide they want to be in the lane I'm in and give no indication that they're coming over.

This is also the reason I wear a reinforced toe boot as well as a hard plastic knuckle glove. Both will prove effective in denting body panels and removing mirrors should it ever be necessary.

Alternatively, I spend as little time as possible on city streets and highways. I make a mad dash for the countryside.

[Secret Dove]

Originally Posted by dustinsn3485

This is where this question stems from. I ride a motorcycle and try to be aware as possible, but just never know when someone is gonna decide they want to be in the lane I'm in and give no indication that they're coming over.

This is also the reason I wear a reinforced toe boot as well as a hard plastic knuckle glove. Both will prove effective in denting body panels and removing mirrors should it ever be necessary.

Alternatively, I spend as little time as possible on city streets and highways. I make a mad dash for the countryside.

I understand what you're talking about! I wish people were more cautious when changing lanes. The one thing I can't stand is when someone all of a sudden decides to change lanes and they don't care if you're in the lane or not, their coming in!

I don't know what the roads are like in Nashville, but around where I live the roads are really narrow, when you drive you can literally check mailboxes while you go by if you really wanted to! Learning to drive around here was not fun. My poor father use to pray that I wouldn't hit the mailboxes on the side of the road or go off the side of the road!

[Secret Dove]

Take a look at this!





DMV Driver's Exam Failure 2009




20th Worst Driver State: Delaware

Average test score in 2009: 76%
Average test score in 2008: 78.9%
Average test score in 2007: 77.7%
Note: Congratulations Deleware, your score is worse than last year.



19th Worst Driver State: New Hampshire

Average test score in 2009: 75.9%
Average test score in 2008: 77.9%
Average test score in 2007: 76.1%
Note: The study showed that men were more likely to pass the driver's exam than women.



18th Worst Driver State: Ohio

Average test score in 2009: 75.6%
Average test score in 2008: 78.9%
Average test score in 2007: 76.5%
Note: People who took the test in Ohio had the most trouble on questions revolving around yellow lights and safe following distances.



17th Worst Driver State: Kentucky

Average test score in 2009: 75.5%
Average test score in 2008: 78.2%
Average test score in 2007: 76.8%
Note: Almost everyone who took the test knew what a solid line meant. Congratulations, except that your overall test score sucked.



16th Worst Driver State: Pennsylvania

Average test score in 2009: 75.4%
Average test score in 2008: 77.2%
Average test score in 2007: 73.7%
Note: The lowest average test scores came from the Northeast. I guess the rest of the state has just gotten used to dodging Amish buggies.




Don't forget to watch the road when driving. She must be from Louisiana.


15th Worst Driver State: Louisiana

Average test score in 2009: 75.3%
Average test score in 2008: 76.4%
Average test score in 2007: 75.4%
Note: Older drivers scored higher on the test.


14th Worst Driver State: Tennessee

Average test score in 2009: 75.0% (tie)

Average test score in 2008: 77.3%
Average test score in 2007: 76.1%
Note: The lowest scores in Tennessee came from younger drivers (18-24). Big surprise there.



13th Worst Driver State: Mississippi

Average test score in 2009: 75.0% (tie)

Average test score in 2008: 75.7%
Average test score in 2007: 76.1%
Note: The highest driving exam scores came from white males over the age of 45.



12th Worst Driver State: South Carolina

Average test score in 2009: 74.8%
Average test score in 2008: 77.1%
Average test score in 2007: 76.3%
Note: Congrats South Carolina, your test scores dropped over 2%.



11th Worst Driver State: Maryland

Average test score in 2009: 74.8%
Average test score in 2008: 76.8%
Average test score in 2007: 77.1%
Note: Almost everyone who took the test (93%) had never heard of "pay as you go" car insurance.



It's all fun and games until you get into a car accident. Then, in this case, it's *still* fun and games...


10th Worst Driving State: Connecticut

Average test score in 2009: 74.4%
Average test score in 2008: 77.3%
Average test score in 2007: 75.8%
Note: Way to go...your test scores dropped almost 3% from last year! Did Northeast PA rub off on you or something?



9th Worst Driving State: Florida

Average test score in 2009: 74.1%
Average test score in 2008: 78.6%
Average test score in 2007: 76.3%
Note: Due to the plummeting movement of Florida's scores, it went from rank 26th last year to rank 9th this year.





If you are a bad driver, please read this sign and obey. Just please pull over first.



8th Worst Driving State: District of Columbia (Washington DC)

Average test score in 2009: 75.5%
Average test score in 2008: 78.2%
Average test score in 2007: 76.8%
Note: Ahh the nation's capitol is representing! Sure it's not technically a state (as much as it wants to be), but I can personally testify to the uber-suckiness of it's drivers.
At least it moved up from rank 2 last year...



7th Worst Driving State: Massachusetts

Average test score in 2009: 73.8%
Average test score in 2008: 75%
Average test score in 2007: 72.7%
Note: Some test takers *might* have been from Connecticut. At least that's what someone from Massachusetts will tell you when the read how SUCKY their scores were.



6th Worst Driving State: Rhode Island

Average test score in 2009: 73.6%
Average test score in 2008: 76.9%
Average test score in 2007: 72.8%
Note: It's not looking good for Northeast US...



5th Worst Driving State: Georgia

Average test score in 2009: 72.7%
Average test score in 2008: 75.5%
Average test score in 2007: 74.7%
Note: Wshew, just when we thought the Northeast had it bad, the South came to the rescue.



4th Worst Driving State: California

Average test score in 2009: 72.4%
Average test score in 2008: 77.3%
Average test score in 2007: 77.5%
Note: Congrats, you had a huge drop-off in your test scores. But are we really surprised? California allows for motorcycle lane-splitting and even makes it against the law for a woman to drive while dressed in a housecoat.



3rd Worst Driving State: Hawaii

Average test score in 2009: 72.7%
Average test score in 2008: 75.5%
Average test score in 2007: 74.7%
Note: Oh c'mon let's not be so hard on Hawaii. With all the beautiful scenery and perfect weather who says you also have to pay attention to the road too?



2nd Worst Driving State: New Jersey

Average test score in 2009: 71.5%
Average test score in 2008: 69.9%
Average test score in 2007: 72.7%
Note: Good work New Jersey, last year you were the #1 worst driving state.





Poor driving in NY will land you a broken beamer



1st Worst Driving State: New York

Average test score in 2009: 70.5%
Average test score in 2008: 74%
Average test score in 2007: 71%
Note: Great job keeping Northeast US on the radar for the poorest drivers, New York. This is the second time in five years that you have been the state with the worst drivers in America, and that's no easy feat.

[TNNative]

I'll take Tennessee drivers over the drivers in Nassau ANY DAY. No turn signals...no one has sideview mirrors there. They are all knocked off.

[IngleDave]

This has nothing to do with turn signals, but over the past few days on I-24, I've encountered no less than 2 cars driving down the interstate with no lights on after dark. Everybody so far has been on the phone. I try to let them know and they look at me like I'm crazy, so everybody, please, this is the time of year for this. Idiots abound. Be very careful before changing lanes right now. It's nuts.

[reyna75]

Originally Posted by boingolover

Generally speaking, people in the lane have right of way over people merging. Those yellow merge signs are typically meant for the on-ramp. It's certainly the polite thing to do to get over and allow people to merge when possible, but it's not legally required, and it's not even always possible.

Yeahhh, I'm not sure what crappy driver's ed class that person went to, but you are stating the law correctly, boingolover.

[truckeepups]

Originally Posted by Secret Dove

Take a look at this!


4th Worst Driving State: California

California allows for motorcycle lane-splitting and even makes it against the law for a woman to drive while dressed in a housecoat.

If you click on the link Secret Dove provided for Strange Laws, these are 2 for TN:


In Tennessee, it is against the law to drive a car while sleeping.

In Tennessee, a law exists which prohibits the sale of bologna (sandwich meat) on Sunday.

So......... I'm out out late on a Saturday night (dozing at the wheel and not using my turn signals) speeding to the grocery store and running those signal using slow as molasses drivers into the ditch so I can stock up on bologna before the stroke of midnight! Oh my......

[Coney]

Does the bologna police make a lot of arrests at Noshville on Sundays?

[septimus]

Conversely the low pass rates could mean the drivers in those states are better since bad drivers aren't able to pass the test. It took me 5 tries to pass the driver's test (I did get 100% all 5 times on the written portion).

I'll take a northeast driver any day over a TN driver. The number of times I've almost died at OHB and Hillsboro coming through the light when someone on OHB turns right on red without looking is amazing.