Which city/state has the worst drivers?

Chicago drivers are aggressive, but that doesn't always equate to being
the worst.

I forgot to mention Dallas-Ft. Worth.

Unbelievable is all I can say. You would be safer in a NASCAR race.

Imagine a wall of cars all doing 75 mph with a separation of 10' between
each car. Good luck changing lanes to reach your exit. You have to think
about lane changes miles in advance because you ain't getting ahead of anyone.

 

LMAO. I guess there's something to be said for predictability...

 

I agree. Aggressive drivers tend to be decisive drivers. It's the indecisive ones I worry about...

 

Off topic. But thank you for your contribution.

 

Couldn't agree more. Having driven the Dan Ryan many a time, I count Chicago drivers among the best...

 

I call it assertive driving. And I believe it is not only the best in terms of getting where you need to go quickly, but also the safest--due to the predictability. Absolutely. Chicago to the Rust Belt through the the Northeast (except Pennsylvania yikes!)

 

Tailgaiting someone when you have several open lanes you could use to pass them isn't "assertive". It's being a jerk.

 

They're just plain rude. They'll tailgate you for miles when there's no traffic to speak of (I mean being so close you can't even see the grill in your rearview). Instead of passing in an open lane, they just expect you to get out of their way. Doesn't matter if you're in the lane where you belong navigationally, or that you're already driving 20 MPH over the posted speed limit.

Once they get good and pissed they'll finally zip around you, honking and giving you the finger.

I was never so glad to leave a city in my life.

Maybe I see it differently because I live here. My commute is bothersome not because of the distance I have to travel, but because of the idiots I have to put up with on my way there and back. They think because it's not the expressway that 35 mph is appropriate, despite the speed limit being 55 mph. Heaven forbid they should spot a raindrop or a snowflake. Around Ann Arbor you also get a lot of city drivers who have one speed, regardless of the posted limit, road & weather conditions, traffic, etc.: 45 mph. They're in your way when it's 55 mph, then driving like maniacs when it's supposed to be 25 mph. Winter is terrible - you get all the fearless people with 4-wheel drive who practically run you off the road in snowy weather, and fraidy-cats who panic and drive 25 even if the road isn't slick.

And no turn signals. They brake before changing lanes, and then if you're extremely lucky they might put on their turn signal after they've already made the lane change. They don't stop to check traffic before pulling out, either. They'll pull right out in front of you so that you have to brake for them, drive slower than molasses in January, then make a left at the next turn with no signal. My opinion: If you're in that much of a hurry to get in front of me, you (*)(*)(*)(*) well better move your ass out of my way.

 

Italy is the worst I've seen (God rest that traffic policeman, very brave of him to attempt to direct rush hour traffic standing on a little stool like that). Even in France, bumpers are for bumping and the people we knew drove miles every night from the local hostelry after drinking and plenty of it. Malta is horrific. Peru is terrifying.

 

This ain't Europe. We don't have the infrastructure to travel by train outside major metro areas, and often enough not within them either. There's been talk of high-speed rail, but it always gets shot down because of the cost. With the state running huge deficits, no one wants to pay for it. I have about a half hour commute by car. Can't get there by train or bus.

 

Everything is so far apart in US, Euros can't get the concept until they are there. You really need your cars.

 

Are we talking left lane here? Or another open lane?

 

Truth. My family hosted a Japanese exchange student when I was in high school. It was an eye opener for him the first night he arrived when we had to drive a few hours to get home from the airport. He later remarked that he had dreams of seeing the great landmarks of the U.S.A., but hadn't stop to think how far away places like Washington DC, New York City, San Francisco, etc. were from Michigan. Likewise astounded that my parents and I had never been to any of those places. (I've since been to DC and NYC, but not SF).

 

As long as we're not talking about the left lane then I agree.

OK, one vote for Michigan! LOL.

 

We're talking more than one open lane on both sides, on the expressway. I was driving more or less in the middle.

 

There are many statistics about this, though.



Almost every African counry is way dangerous -- you ought to be courageous to drive on the roads, if there are any to begin with -- and that's saying nothing actually. Sometimes you better get off the the road.

Cars without brakes, etc. The most normal thing. People built their houses/shack in the middle of the road! OK -- not the most normal thing, even for Africa, but it does happen a lot (there isn't any room anymore in the cities, plus it provides a good and solid fundaments to built something on).

Outside the West, it's "eat, or get eate."

In my opinion African folks are the most greatest of them all: self-reliant, courageous, etc.

The same for traffic -- they even built their own roads in the middle of the rainforest (and charge you money, of course it costs you more when you're white -- everything become 10x more expenisve when your white, but it still is cheap though. Not always, some things are even more expensive as they are here).

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGZO0HWZxec"]A Rural Road in Congo[/ame]

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I used to commute from Needham MA to Cumberland RI--I would have LOVED a rail commute. Then I moved to LA and REALLY missed I-95. LOL.

 

Indeed. Driving from New York to Los Angeles is like driving from Lisbon to Bucharest...

or from Brussels to Kiev... AND BACK!

 

I don't know if Wisconsin has the worst drivers, or if they have different rules of the road. They seem to think that the left side of the road is the slow lane. They are also bad with turn signals, and they don't know that you are supposed to yield to pedestrians in crosswalks. I know the cheese heads hate us people from Illannoy because they think we drive like (*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)(*)s, but it's just a misunderstanding of the rules of the road on their part.

 

different rules is an understatement. farm tractors on the interstate?! WTF?!!

 

Yeah, jerks everywhere. But still, try Seattle... just TRY to get by someone--they will slow down the second they realize you want to pass to block you from finding a space to get around... and then as soon as you DO find that space, they hit the gas the moment you move to the right to get around them... very juvenile. Subaru Forester is the worst offender in this regard. Followed by white (usually) middle-aged man in pickup truck. Followed by Honda Odyssey.

I once passed a 50-something hippie dude in an Odyssey w/ Grateful Dead stickers--he was 10MPH BELOW the speed limit in Kirkland, WA. As soon as I could safely pass him, I went for it and he, of course, mellow tolerant hippie that he was, floored it so I couldn't get around him. Well, I pushed on anyway and made it by--what do you think he did? Do you think he took another bong hit, shrugged his shoulders and said "whatever man?" No, no, no. He got UP ON MY ASS, honking his horn, flipping me off, flashing his lights. You'd think I'd just raped his puppy. We round a bend, him still glued to my bumper and now driving my speed (10 over) and there, on the side of the road, a motorcycle cop with a radar gun. I jammed on my brakes to get close to the speed limit and I guess this pissed off Jerry Garcia even more because--I'm assuming he didn't see the cop--the moment I did, he shot right around me--illegally in the non-passing zone--and then, of course, jammed on his brakes and slowed us both back down to HIS speed--10 MPH below again. By this point, we'd passed the cop who was already coming up behind me with lights going. I figured I was popped for speeding. I pulled over to the side and awaited my punishment--you know where this is going--he shot right by me and nailed David Crosby just a piece down the road. As I passed them both I remember thinking "I hope he does have weed in the car."

 

Heh, yeah, Sconnies are pretty bad too. By the way, they don't just hate you, they have a special nickname for you. I'm sure you know what a FIB is!

 

OP coulda fooled me, sounded like any city anywhere.
Been to Detroit and almost started cursing, Paris and almost had a heart attack, and a few other cities t/o the US and Europe.
Cities are the worst in rudeness, but slow pokes are just as much a hindrance.
Midwest, depending on the season, watch out for farmers examining the fields while driving, and Texas, dear sweet TX, watch out for old guys in huge cowboy hats and cigars.
Worst...Cincinnati during rush hour, politest...London, England.

 

I drove from Corpus Christi to Houston along the Gulf Coast, and they actually MOVE TO THE RIGHT to let you get by!

What you don't understand about Seattle is the typical Seattleite's passive aggressive leanings really come out on the roadways and if you are just a typical normal person (like me) it is really ridiculous. there's a timidity, acceleration when the light turns green is so tentative sometimes I wonder if the person at the front of the line has stalled. Nobody will turn right on a red light. They drive 10-12 MPH BELOW THE POSTED SPEED LIMIT CONSISTENTLY. GUUUUUHH~!~~~~~~~~!!!~~~~!!!!!!

When I meet people in Seattle who are from somewhere else, the first thing we always do is commiserate about the drivers. It's like "OH... MY... GOD... I know! Are you kidding me? Really? Is this for real??????"

So, yeah, there are idiot drivers everywhere, that's for sure. But in most places at least you'll find a mix of idiot drivers and pretty decent ones. In Seattle, it is consistently bad, all days, all times. You really have to experience it to see what I mean.

 

It's becoming increasingly difficult for me to understand how on Earth this is possible?

Why do Americans keep on accepting this crap?

Sure Belgium, technically speaking, has a high population destiny -- but we don't live on top of eachother. No, we live lifestyles as comfortable as, let's say, Americans. Belgium basically is one big "small town". If we can have this -- why can't you? It doesn't make sense to me.