Regional bad driving habits
 

I was reading the thread on tailgaiting and it seems that perhaps some of the observations about dangerous and unsafe driving habits might be more prevalent in certain areas. It's a big country - but it seems we all have different bad habits some of which are peculiar to our locales.

For example, I'm from the NY City area, and New Yorkers are notorious for not signaling turns. Massachusetts drivers seem to have no concept of right of way. Typically they will come to a traffic circle (there they are called a "rotary") with a yield sign; but the entering vehicle either will not yield or will come to a complete stop when unnecessary. New Jersey drivers can be known for aggressive lane changes (earning them the name of "Jersey cowboys"). Floridians are often elderly and often visually impaired, but they still retain licenses and drive (on the sidewalks?). Etc. How is it in your state? :confused:

Well it seems if you were to write a book titled "How to get the worst gas mileage from your car" it would describe the driving habits I see most people doing in my area...

For the most part, people drive pretty good here. There is one thing that annoys me, at a stop sign, the country folk seem to believe that the first person at the stop sign gets to go first, and this includes when one of them is turning left. The law says the person turning left must yield. But often the other drivers will wait and wait to let you go first, even if you are turning left in front of them. This is annoying when I am turning left, I know that if there is an accident it will be my fault.

Stereotypes don't need to be limited to state plates. Patrons of fast food restaurants are often in a hurry (bad for their MPG and mine), will brake late and turn in without signaling, and drive off like they have a sandwich in one hand.

Folks with student parking passes won't give you any trouble once they fly past you at PSL+20. Hmm, I used to drive like that.

Pickup trucks are more likely than any other vehicle class to drive exactly the speed limit. That's sometimes bad for your mileage, and sometimes good.

Even in upstate NY, you'll find a small percentage of the population makes themselves known by flying up on you and riding your bumper if you're going only 5mph over the speed limit. This probably has the effect of making all the drivers in the state faster and more aggressive.

If you want to see every bad driving habit, just come to eastern Virginia.

regards
Mech

When I drove in the US, my parents once called me a Russian taxi driver. But when they saw me negotiating the streets of Warsaw, they called me a hero. As soon as their adrenaline level came down.

I'm not a kamikaze driver, but it seems like everyone around me is.

Texas pickup trucks that tailgate you at a range of two feet, even when there's an open lane to the left. Invariably it's a modified and lifted truck with brighter-than-the-sun headlights. :mad:

I'm seeing more of this than ever in my area. We have lots of immigrants here (many are unlicensed) and many of them are clueless about right of way. About 10 years ago this state was liberally issuing drivers licenses with very low requirements for driver's education. The result is a multitude of unskilled and uneducated drivers.

True, at stop sign intersections the first person to stop gets to go first, but between others not signaling their intent to turn and not knowing who has right of way it's aggravating. People think they are being 'polite', but their uncertainty can be hazardous.


I once knew someone from western Virginia who said that drivers in her town had a habit of stopping at green lights. (I'm glad I don't live there! :rolleyes:)

I do not know if the law is different in IL but in KY the above is only correct when the left turning person has a stop sign and the other does not.
From the DMV drivers manual for KY:

"Other special right-of-way laws to follow are:

Drivers turning left must yield to oncoming vehicles that are going straight
or turning right.

Drivers entering a traffic circle or roundabout must yield right-of-way to
drivers already in the circle.

Drivers on a minor road must yield to drivers on a main road.

At a 4-way, 3-way, or 2-way stop, the driver reaching the intersection and
stopping first should go first.

When two cars reach an uncontrolled intersection at the same time, the
car on the right should have the right-of-way."

If at a multi-stop intersection it is first there has the right away unless one direction has no sign.

What I have noticed is elderly drivers drive two different ways, the men turn without signaling and sometimes without looking, the women slow down almost to a stop at times to change lanes on the highway or to read the sign to see if that is there exit.

Ohio drivers are some of the worst drivers I have been next to.