Why do Americans drive so fast?

[meisterjohnny]

Originally Posted by Aero

Everyone in Southern California drives like they stole their cars! Very frustrating when a red light is up ahead, I'm braking to capture the energy in my battery, and they are still nearly ramming me. No wonder we have so many heart attacks in this country!

It's so true. Other than NY drivers, I feel SoCal drivers are super aggressive relative to the US.

Orange County. Must have too much money to burn, and an over-inflated ego of "LOOK AT ME ROAR PAST YOU AND SLAM ON MY BREAKS at the red light."

[vacationtime247]

Chicago ain't no stroll in the park either. 12 lanes of congestion and 1 minor fender bender shuts the whole operation down.

Oh and NorCal isn't much better than SoCal. Drive the 199 from Crescent City to Grants Pass. Up, down and hairpin turns. Someone always trying their luck at 70 mph 90 degree turns into the twisties.
VT247

Originally Posted by meisterjohnny

It's so true. Other than NY drivers, I feel SoCal drivers are super aggressive relative to the US.

Orange County. Must have too much money to burn, and an over-inflated ego of "LOOK AT ME ROAR PAST YOU AND SLAM ON MY BREAKS at the red light."

[crashnzuk]

There are lots of good points here, and lots of scaredy cat, nanny, control others lives nonsense too. Most of it boils down to free will. If there isn't a big enough consequence, either by cost or law or whatever, people will do what they do. My biggest complaint is lack of common courtesy and being aware that there are other people using the same road at the same time. If you want to travel slowly, stay out of the way of faster moving vehicles. My golden rule is this, if you are being passed on the right, YOU are in the wrong lane.

For those who think everyone should be a hyper-miler, could you imagine how much worse rush hour would be if everyone were trying to p&g?

Travis..

[pgfpro]

Originally Posted by vacationtime247

Chicago ain't no stroll in the park either. 12 lanes of congestion and 1 minor fender bender shuts the whole operation down.

Oh and NorCal isn't much better than SoCal. Drive the 199 from Crescent City to Grants Pass. Up, down and hairpin turns. Someone always trying their luck at 70 mph 90 degree turns into the twisties.
VT247

I with ya!!! My wife and I went on our vacation through there. I felt like I was in a race or something. People passing on the shoulder etc. Plan scary.

[H-Man]

Originally Posted by pdizzleccc

I've seen it in maui also. Granted I've always assumed it was to remind all the tourists to not drive 30 on a road posted at 55. My largest issue with people and their driving habits is the inability to pick a speed. I typically set my cruise at 58-62 and leave it there for the duration of my highway journey if there is traffic and I cant P&G. I can never figure out why some people drive 55 till you move over to pass then they speed up to 70, then you get back behind them and slow down again.

I've wound out my car to 20 MPH over the speed dealing with those people (not proud of it, just annoyed by the people who do 50 until you try to pass them, then they speed up until they are at 85.

As for the freeway driving? Even when I am doing 75 in the fast lane, I still can beat EPA highway as long as my engine is in good maintenance, so I try to raise the high speed fuel economy since the cheaper the 65 MPH (normal speed for long trips) traveling is, the more day trips can be done. It may not be the most fuel efficient, but if I can get better FE at the speeds most people drive, it will show that FE can be brought up without compromising on speed.

[Joggernot]

Hee, hee...I have been known to get beside these people and see how fast they will speed up. Get to their blind spot and just so they can see your car out their side window and they will continue to speed up. Stay there as long as it is safe. Got several up to 90 mph that way, but didn't get to pass

[Arragonis]

I'm based in the UK and drove in California and MN a few years ago on an extended family tour. I didn't find that Americans drove that fast. Dumb sometimes but no more than they do here.

In California we did trips to the woods just north of San Francisco on the windy roads there and even in an American "soft whale type car" we were still being held up by locals even in European models (mostly German).

In MN we did a trip from the airport to a town about ~200-250 miles from the twin cities to stay with friends and I did normal UK Motorway speeds. I found I was passing more people than passed me. What seemed odd and slightly stupid was the way I would encounter an SUV sitting in the outside lane of a completely empty road forcing me to pass on the inside, obviously driven by special people.

When we arrived we were asked how long it had taken and when we looked at our watches and told them there was a lot of teeth sucking, and wondering how we hadn't been stopped for speeding. Even the guy in the house "over the road" with a brand new Corvette in the drive wondered how we got away with it. I can't answer that, we did pass police cars parked every now and again and even passed a few people who had been stopped.

I can only assume that it was my naturally cool and calm approach as an Englishman that impressed the colonial authorities that this was someone who knew what they were doing...

[aerohead]

Entropy drives the entire U.S. economy.Hundreds of $billions are made each year from all the waste.
Those that could affect a change are feeding at the same trough.
There's no incentive for anything but very slow incremental change,as investments are moved from extinction-directed markets to emerging markets.
"The business of America is Business."

[gone-ot]

Stupidity travels at the speed of light; common-sense is much, much slower.