Why are Seattle drivers such a--holes? (living in, safe, relocate to)

[pwright1]

My east coast driving habits will always be with me so if you see me on the road, get the hell out of my way.

[be_parker2007]

weve only been living up here for about 7 months and i can see where everyone says that people are horrible drivers up here...and i saw where someone said something about atlanta...and Atlanta is no where near as bad as it is here....atleast theres some southern hospitality and no jerks bunching up so you cant pass....i get so stressed when im driving here i just hate to even get out.

[seattlerain]

I think the problem is that everybody thinks they are the best driver around and nobody else knows how to drive.

Again, most of the drivers in the Seattle area came from somewhere else, Atlanta, Michigan, California, Texas, Virginia, etc...

[Seattlemom]

Originally Posted by pwright1

My east coast driving habits will always be with me so if you see me on the road, get the hell out of my way.

I loved it! Go on with your bad self

[Seattlemom]

Originally Posted by seattlerain

I think the problem is that everybody thinks they are the best driver around and nobody else knows how to drive.

Again, most of the drivers in the Seattle area came from somewhere else, Atlanta, Michigan, California, Texas, Virginia, etc...

Now those transplants know how to drive..unlike the natives which is about 50/50.

[seattlerain]

Originally Posted by Seattlemom

Now those transplants know how to drive..unlike the natives which is about 50/50.

Yeah, whatever...

[toughguy]

Originally Posted by The A-Team

You are definatly from seattle allforcats. Definatly lol. But i like to focus on whats really there rather than whats in my head. I'm not crazy i swear! But for real allforcats...in all reality that makes no sense and has nothin to do with whats goin on...just confusing!

I thought Allforcats was from NYC? Correct me if I am wrong.

[jzend001]

has anyone driven in both seattle and miami? Id like to know which one you think is worse. I live in miami and today alone an old lady was driving on both sides of the road (nearly hitting me), a guy on his cell phone going 15 miles an hour and hitting the brakes at every crossroad even though there were no stop signs, and a HUGE tractor trailer nearly killed me (he was going about 50 miles an hour on a 30mph residential road and I was stopped in the road with my blinker on waiting to make a left hand turn. instead of stopping behind me like a SANE person and waiting five seconds, he decided to swerve onto the bicycle lane and grass to the right of me ,still going 50mph, to go around me. he was so close that I had to check when I got home make sure he didnt actually side swipe me.) This all happend within a 30 minute period travelling only a 13 mile distance in north miami. Yesterday a canadian lady stopped in the middle of the road, put her left blinker on, waited for the traffic in the other lane to clear so that she could turn left, and finally when the traffic was clear for her to turn left, she turned off her blinker and continued going straight. Is seattle this bad?

Also, I always hear about how bad the seattle commute is. I used to drive to school from ft. lauderdale to boca raton (about a 25 mile distance) on I-95. It took me 40 minutes if I left at 6:30am. i drove once during rush hour and i seriously felt like someone was going to kill me even though were were bumper to bumper. Is seattle like this too?

Also, I know that seattle gets a lot of rain, but how hard does it rain? In florida sometimes it gets so bad you cant even see the road. you just put on your hazard lights and follow the ones on the car in front of you.

Ive never been to seattle, but it cant be worse than all that I just described....right?

[rayneinspain]

I'm an ex-pat Washingtonian (native) who moved to Indiana one year ago. I also travel as a consultant.

I remember what drivers were like before half of California moved north...and after driving in Cali, I totally understand why the caliber of WA driving plummeted. Sorry but they're nuts!

Turn signals appear to be ignored to some extent everywhere, worst in CA, IA, IN, MN.

I think the main culprit now is simply the congestion. Everyone is trying in vain to get somewhere, and it takes 3 times as long as it should...tempers flare. Plus, people there just seem to be more indignant when they're behind the wheel. Not sure if it's the traffic stress or not.

Having been away from Seattle-area traffic for a year, I can breathe easy. Even Dallas rush-hour traffic was a breeze by comparison.

[romulus]

If anyone wants to meet a__hole drivers, they need to come down to south Florida, especially Fort Lauderdale and Miami. If you are driving in South Florida you need to watch: they will change lanes with no blinkers, will shift to the left lane with 40 miles/hour on the free way and will do it while you are coming with 75 miles/h and will do it while there are no cars in front of them on middle lane, if you are crossing the road on pedxing and it is green for you do not feel so safe cause a left or right turning car will run you over and if you are lucky they will just curse at you because you are on their way, everyday there are multiple hit and runs, a lot of un-insured cars in traffic etc. South Florida, according to the stats and surveys gained the honor(!) of "rudest drivers nationwide" while Seattle Drivers were choosen the most polite drivers in the nation along with Portland Oregon. I was in Seattle last september for a week, and it was not bad at all. Is it really bad that people are driving within speed limits?