The worst drivers in the nation? (San Diego: car insurance, inspections, live in)

[dak3]

Originally Posted by mricu

- At 4 way stop signs: dirver's not knowing the "Right of Way" rule, or even the rules of a 4 way stop. Many go out of turn and then give the person that was following the rules the finger, the face or even the honk.

I hate this one. For the past 8 years I lived downtown and recently moved to Chula Vista (Otay Ranch). I have seen this so much more since moving. I'll come to the stop sign first, make my complete stop, and then a car will pull up to one of the other signs after me and end up leaving before me! Even more infuriating when they're turning into the direction I'm going so ultimately cut me off. And it's not as if I'm taking an unusually long stop. I'm just, you know, ACTUALLY STOPPING and not just rolling through. So frustrating.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

I have seen several drivers actively smoking a bowl while driving, just saw it last week coming down the 15. Sketchy

I was on patrol in a marked black and white back late 80s and the passenger in a car we pulled up next to was torching a blunt. The driver took one look at the cruiser and yelled to the guy who slowly tried to put it down. Idiots.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

The weirdest thing I ever saw - no joke - was a guy playing a fricking trumpet while driving down the the S-Curve on I-5 during rush hour.

Then there was the time my husband and I were in rush hour traffic on the 5 in Orange county and the guy next to us opened his door, pulled down his zipper, and took a p*ss out the door while continuing to drive down the freeway. Granted, the traffic was only going about 30 mph at the time, but it takes a man with good aim to do that!

I might be able to top that. Saw a deaf couple arguing in the car, both of them hands flailing away signing. The car was all over the place. The woman driving barely touched the steering wheel for about 1/2 mile.

[BlakeJones]

Originally Posted by dak3

I hate this one. For the past 8 years I lived downtown and recently moved to Chula Vista (Otay Ranch). I have seen this so much more since moving. I'll come to the stop sign first, make my complete stop, and then a car will pull up to one of the other signs after me and end up leaving before me! Even more infuriating when they're turning into the direction I'm going so ultimately cut me off. And it's not as if I'm taking an unusually long stop. I'm just, you know, ACTUALLY STOPPING and not just rolling through. So frustrating.

#1 road compliance problem is the cops. In general the only driving regulation they enforce is speeding. If cops started enforcing rules against driving in the passing lane, making a turn out of sequence at the intersection, not signalling, etc.. you would see road behavior change real fast.

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by BlakeJones

#1 road compliance problem is the cops. In general the only driving regulation they enforce is speeding. If cops started enforcing rules against driving in the passing lane, making a turn out of sequence at the intersection, not signalling, etc.. you would see road behavior change real fast.

I would agree with this statement, in general, I don't feel like I am constantly having to watch out for the police while driving around SD. I feel that the cops are pretty relaxed when it comes to traffic violations and the only ones that ever seem to be pulling people over are CHP on the freeways and just for speeding usually.

When I go back to my home state of Texas, I feel like the police are everywhere pulling over everyone for any little thing.

I prefer driving here versus there.

[Lockdev]

I've driven all over the country, and the only place that really sticks out to me as being worse than any other place is Sacramento.

By far the craziest, most aggressive driving I have ever seen.

Hampton Roads Virginia is pretty close to sticking out too, but it is only a small segment that are insane drivers. The "thug" culture is alive and well there and with it comes no regard for human life. There's a certain segment of the population that all seem to drive 100mph+, weave in and out, etc. There seems to be a major traffic blocking accident at least 3-4 days of the work week there.

I remember being bulldozed on my motorcycle there. Some ill-mannered urban youth hit me while going 40+mph in a parking lot. I was turning into a parking spot. Totally sucked but I got to experience what human flight was like.

The best drivers I have encountered were in Salt Lake City and west Michigan. They drive very fast, but not aggressive.

[JohnAlt]

I forgot one: drivers that yield the right of way when they have it.

When I try to turn left on a green light (no arrow), it seems like 90% of the time if a car is turning right from the opposite direction it will yield to me. I'm waiting for the other driver to complete the turn so I can go and the other driver is waiting for me.

It must be a lack of understanding that the car turning right has priority over one turning left if both have a green.

[brogrammer89]

Reckless and rampant drivers are pretty much scattered all over the US let alone the whole world. I can only speak for myself having lived in New England practically all my life and near the tri-state areas (New York, Dirty Jerzeyy, Connecticut) and I've had a fair share of asshats on the road. But the classic one is driving 40+ mph in the passing lane haha

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by RickRN

Even though, I haven't visited every state in the country, I'm completely convinced that San Diego ranks in top 5-10% in various "bad driver" catagories.

I fear driving on secondary roads, main arterials, and freeways in SD County.
A day does not go by, when I shake my head in disgust, honk my hornor, flash my lights, curse an erratic driver under my breath(or out loud in some cases).

My experience with really dangerous, reckless drivers is mostly centered in North County in cities such as Carlsbad, Encinitas, Leucadia, and San Marcos.

1. Weaving in and out of lanes
2. Rapid lane changes
3. No use of signals while turning
4. No use of signals while changing lanes
5. Running red lights
6. Sitting to long when the traffic signal changes from Red to Green.
7. Texting while driving
8. Driving 45mph in a clearly marked 25mph zone
9. Waiting to the very last minute to get over while driving on a four lane road changing to a two lane road.
10. Not obeying the freeway on ramp lights
11. Racing to be the first onto the freeway when the onramp lights are in non peak mode

It's a disgrace. Local law enforcement focuses too much on speeders and not enough on dangerous and erratic drivers.

Have you driven in Texas much? Or in the parking lots in AR. Here, in AR people crawl on the surface roads and use the parking lots for drag racing practice I think.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by RMESMH

A better metric would also incorporate miles driven into the calculation. San Diego driving isn't a picnic (I used to live in Orange County), but I've driven all over the 'Lower 48' and, IMO, the worst/craziest drivers are in the southern half of Florida, followed by the metro where I live now....Houston.

And sq miles and total number of drivers in that area. SoCal in general will be at the top of the list due to the crowding. Now I will agree that So FL has a problem, but CA is bad as well when we consider the pressure put on people to get home in horrendous traffic due to the crowded freeways that go for a distance much longer than in Miami and the surrounding areas.

Plus look where the biggest problem is age wise.

From the CDC site:

. To assess patterns in MVC death rates for persons of all ages and for those aged 15–24 years, in recognition of the elevated risk for this age group,

It ain't the old guys in SoFl or CA.