A Note to Transplants... (Washington, Arlington: home, DMV, live)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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Lot of clueless drivers here. Hogging the left/passing lane while not passing anyone causing tailgaters and weavers, hanging out at lights, running lights, chillin in b k in spots, very fast drivers..the blinker thing, I haven't noticed it more here than anywhere else. I've lived/driven in many places and all seem equal with regards to lack of blinker.
I'm from here and don't care where you're from. Don't drive like an idiot and we are good. I'll leave a small gap where appropriate and if you aren't an idiot, you'll be fine. I'm not stopping in the road and sending an engraved invitation to move over. Don't ride the left lane like Barney Fife making those young whippersnappers obey the law. Be predictable. Use your signal to indicate your intentions. If you screw up and miss your turn, suck it up and go to the next exit or intersection and if needed pull into a parking lot to get your bearings instead of stopping or slowing to 10 mph below the speed limit to turn around in the road. Realize everyone else is trying to get somewhere too and they expect certain things.
As someone who handles insurance claims here, I can think of a few driving habits - or quirks - that are clearly native to NC that I could live without (and would drop the accident rate considerably if they went away)....but every place has something, and I guess I will take them over aggressive driving.
My sister and I always laugh that we when we go back to NY with our NC plates we practically get run off the road because people think we must be bumpkins.
First of all, I am a transplant. I moved here in 2000 and LOVE living in NC. When I first moved here, having grown up in Florida, I brought my driving habits with me. In Florida, if you turn on your signal people will charge ahead to make sure you don't get in front of them. So you just zip in and out of traffic and drive very aggressively for your own protection.
But once I had been here in NC for a while, I noticed that people were nice on the roads. They let you in, not only if you signaled, but even if they noticed you needing to get by. People wave and smile. North Carolinians are generally very kind and courteous, even on the road when you don't know the person next to you.
My point here is...when in Rome. :-) Please try to adopt the NC culture because that southern hospitality makes everyone's life nicer. I've noticed the roads are much more populated with aggressive drivers. Slow down. Pay attention to the people around you. Treat them like you would want to be treated.
Welcome to North Carolina. :-)
I have lived in NC and now I live in FL and let me tell you something!!!
You hit the nail on the head! The drivers here in Florida are freaking nuts. They remind me of the drivers when I lived in the northeast. And we were the drivers in the northeast first, before we moved to NC and we could not believe how courteous the drivers were. We did exactly as you suggest and adopted the kind & courteous driving style.......although it was easy for us as we were from the country, so we never had the super aggressive driving style the city folk had.
As someone who handles insurance claims here, I can think of a few driving habits - or quirks - that are clearly native to NC that I could live without (and would drop the accident rate considerably if they went away)....but every place has something, and I guess I will take them over aggressive driving.
My sister and I always laugh that we when we go back to NY with our NC plates we practically get run off the road because people think we must be bumpkins.
People who don't ever - ever - believe they are wrong for hitting someone in the rear.
People who think if they are backing out of a parking spot, it is their God given right to do so without looking behind them - everyone else needs to watch out for them and stop and let them out.
Accidents that aren't accidents - they are "just a bump-up - not an accident - there was no need to call the LAW".
Aside from this I've never experienced people putting in claims for EVERYTHING - things that never would have occurred to me or apparently anyone up north like using their insurance to replace their key that they lost and things like that. It's been an adventure for the last year.
Most of this stuff is way more prevalent in the western part of the state.
Where I come from, the rules at a four-way stop are:
1) Those not turning get to go first
2) Those turning right get to go second
3) Those turning left go last
Are you sure about that? Normally, at least here in NC and in Ohio where I learned to drive, if two people get to a stop sign at the same time, the one to the right gets to go first. Otherwise, you go in the order that you arrived at the stop sign (I am referring to a 4-way stop).
Last edited by goldenlove; 04-24-2016 at 06:35 AM..
I feel 10x safer driving through the Triangle than I do in Damnville. It's a special kind of hell here (which defies logic since Damnville is just a pissant compared to Raleigh or Durham). I used to think the Triangle was hell to drive through when I lived near Goldsboro and used to drive to Raleigh every now and then. Not anymore!
(Disclaimer note for CapitalsaturnfanBlvd and Francois: I'm originally from NC and I speak as a non-yuppie, non-yankee, non-lemming. I come in peace. )
Where I come from, the rules at a four-way stop are:
1) Those not turning get to go first
2) Those turning right get to go second
3) Those turning left go last
You're making a very good case for people needing to re-up their driving test every "x" number of years
Not trying to pick on you specifically but every day I am confronted with people who have no clue about the rules of the road. Throw in all the distractions of life nowadays and it is a truly scary situation.
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