Have Texas drivers got so bad that even the rural parts of the interstate feel dangerous now? (Houston: live in, vs)

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

Interstates full of people that originated in the urban areas...so yeah...angry, aggressive drivers that are jerks.


No real surprise there....

I lived in a small town in the Ozarks for a whole decade
And there’s more idiots there than people would like to admit
The difference is that idiots in the country don’t get to be on the news.

[Boots23]

Why?
13-year-old was driving truck involved in crash that killed 9 in Texas, officials say
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/texas-c...er-identified/

What’s to blame for the increase in Texas traffic-related deaths?
Published February 22, 2022 at 6:03 PM CST
https://www.tpr.org/podcast/the-sour...related-deaths

Texas Department of Transportation reports highest road fatalities in 40 years
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/stor...ts/7062890001/

Safer cars, safer tires, more rigorous training and testing, more stringent DWI criteria...

yet, Why?
(and why Texas?) There is a very understandable answer to this. Sorry to say.

3m+ accident free miles for me, but each mile I drive in Texas is far more dangerous (nearly 2x accident rate / 100k miles to my home state) and I realize and prepare for that. (I'm trained in specialty rural trauma EMS patient stabilization)

Neighbor's daughter was driving a church van that got hit head-on in east TX about 4 yrs ago. She's been in and out of surgery each month since then.

I drive this road nearly every day I'm in Texas...
NTSB investigates Texas church bus accident that left 13 dead
By Steve Almasy and Tina Burnside, CNN
Updated 3:36 PM EDT, Thu March 30, 2017
https://www.cnn.com/2017/03/29/us/te...ent/index.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJW99uVe-N0

https://www.txdot.gov/apps/eGrants/e...s/HSP_FY22.pdf

[RMESMH]

Originally Posted by elnina

Texas drivers?
Drivers are drivers in the US. Every state complaints about their and think THEIR are the worst.
Probably due to poor drivers education, disregarding traffic laws, lack of courtesy and general entitlement attitude.
I don't think they are any worse than in other states. We have just very congested cities and the patience is wearing thin.

I'm a California native who lives in the Houston metro, and I've also lived in Nevada. I've driven in every state except AK and HI. There are a number of nutso drivers in the Houston metro, and in other large metros in Texas. Even given that, IMO, the worst drivers are in Florida (especially I-75 between Bradenton and Naples, the old Federal Hwy 17, and the Miami metro), and I've driven all over Florida....from Pensacola to Amelia Island to Key West.

[Dopo]

NOBODY
Talks about the sh:tty design of Houston’s highways entrance and exit ramps
The fact that we have so many entrance ramp that “dump” the driver into the right lane of the highway.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Dopo

NOBODY
Talks about the sh:tty design of Houston’s highways entrance and exit ramps
The fact that we have so many entrance ramp that “dump” the driver into the right lane of the highway.

There are some bad design elements, yes. I am not convinced that they account for the majority of serious crashes on major highways. I am frankly more concered about bad design elements on local streets and "stroads" that pose dangers for pedestrians.

In contrast, I am increasingly convinced that people use the "bad design" argument to disingenuously deflect from bad driver behavior, particularly excessive speeding. Have you not seen the news about how casualties from crashes have dramatically increased in TX over the last 2 years? Do you think that has come from "bad design" that has suddenly appeared during that period?

Not buying the "log in thine own eye" argument people use against TxDOT as deflection.

[Need4Camaro]

As someone who's driven all over the country, we do have alot of areas where there are very high speed limits and questionable design standards.. ..we have a major lackluster of right turn only lanes on high speed arteries (55 MPH + zones) which means if a car behind you is not paying attention / tailgating, ect.. ..and you have to brake to make a right turn and cannot move out of the general flow of traffic, well... ..you get the idea...

Then there's our work zones... Texas SQUEEZES you tightly in the lane at construction sites and some of them also have fairly high speed limits. Add rain and poor visibility as well as a tractor trailer and things can get really fun.

As for accidents.. ..I'm willing to bet more of it is caused due to distracted driving than speeding. You can be doing 5 under the limit and still have a wreck if you're nose down dabbling in your phone while the car just rolls itself where it wants to go. Driving at high speeds by todays standards of automobiles is actually fairly safe AS LONG AS you're paying attention to the road and your surroundings. The car doesn't just suddenly lose control over itself just because you're driving fast, things go wrong because you're not anticipating other drivers, entities adjacent to the road, and your surroundings adequately. That or you're driving significantly faster than the general flow of traffic.

[LocalPlanner]

Originally Posted by Need4Camaro

As someone who's driven all over the country, we do have alot of areas where there are very high speed limits and questionable design standards.. ..we have a major lackluster of right turn only lanes on high speed arteries (55 MPH + zones) which means if a car behind you is not paying attention / tailgating, ect.. ..and you have to brake to make a right turn and cannot move out of the general flow of traffic, well... ..you get the idea...

Then there's our work zones... Texas SQUEEZES you tightly in the lane at construction sites and some of them also have fairly high speed limits. Add rain and poor visibility as well as a tractor trailer and things can get really fun.

As for accidents.. ..I'm willing to bet more of it is caused due to distracted driving than speeding. You can be doing 5 under the limit and still have a wreck if you're nose down dabbling in your phone while the car just rolls itself where it wants to go. Driving at high speeds by todays standards of automobiles is actually fairly safe AS LONG AS you're paying attention to the road and your surroundings. The car doesn't just suddenly lose control over itself just because you're driving fast, things go wrong because you're not anticipating other drivers, entities adjacent to the road, and your surroundings adequately. That or you're driving significantly faster than the general flow of traffic.

No question that distracted driving is a terrible problem and very unsafe, especially on high-speed roadways / highways. The question is, did distracted driving radically increase the last two years? I find that doubtful, myself.

[michaeltx9412]

I used to think Texas had the worst drivers. Then I realized I was wrong after having extensively travelled all over Florida.

[Raider Scott]

The truth is...bad drivers are everywhere. Texas is NOT some sort of stand out on this, sorry.


I see bad drivers in m any states I travel to. There is no place any worse or better than the other, sorry!

[DabOnEm]

Originally Posted by Raider Scott

The truth is...bad drivers are everywhere. Texas is NOT some sort of stand out on this, sorry.


I see bad drivers in m any states I travel to. There is no place any worse or better than the other, sorry!

Nah there are places worse than others. Sure there are bad drivers everywhere but there are several things that will affect the driving practices of a certain area: average age of drivers + range of driving age (Florida has way more seniors driving on average than other states for example), presence of law enforcement, terrain/geography, road design, local traffic laws, local traffic customs (like people in California who stay as far left as possible in the right lane so cars are still squeeze by and make a right turn or lane-splitting motorcycles), transplant vs native population, international immigrant population, density, pedestrian levels, etc. It all makes a difference.

This is why you can take someone from a big city like LA or Houston or Dallas and drop them in a small town in Alabama and they wouldn't feel uncomfortable driving. Do the same thing with that small town Alabama person, and initially they will likely feel overwhelmed by all that goes on in LA or Houston or Dallas traffic. I've heard this a countless amount of times from family members who live in small towns that visit a big city.