Is driving that bad in the USA?
Discussion
After reading latest JC blog (the other one not Jesus) he says
So after this I think they are the worst drivers from a large 1st world country. Not places like India and Mexico where driving is constantly like the film Death Race but as I said for a large 1st country they are really bad at driving.
JC said:
I still maintain, however, that the Americans are the worst drivers in the world, due mainly to their belligerence. You can be in the middle lane of a busy motorway, and no one will let you into the inside lane, even though it's perfectly obvious you wish to leave at the next exit. You indicate, you plead, you beg and then when the slip road is upon you, you are forced to make the move. And it always provokes a torrent of hand gestures, horn blowing and - as often as not - light machine-gun fire.
And this got me thinking, from last time I was there I remember a lot of horn papping, seeing people get 'cut-up' and I saw 2 accidents in 2 weeks! I've only seen 2 accidents in 20years here in the UK. So after this I think they are the worst drivers from a large 1st world country. Not places like India and Mexico where driving is constantly like the film Death Race but as I said for a large 1st country they are really bad at driving.
You only have to turn on the local news in the morning to see the number of crashes each morning... http://www.8newsnow.com/category/29972/beat-the-tr...
Driving in the states is a doddle. He is vaguely right about one thing, however. In the UK, when you are entering a motorway from a slip road, people will, on the whole, move to the middle lane to allow you to get into the inside lane. This is quite normal. In the US, I found them to not do that at all, and would just continue, in their lane, even if the middle lane is free, and they could see you from a mile away.
Other than that, no issues at all.
Other than that, no issues at all.
Nick Grant said:
You only have to turn on the local news in the morning to see the number of crashes each morning... http://www.8newsnow.com/category/29972/beat-the-tr...
Haha oh dear. yes they are very rude , no idea on staying in the slow lane but i didnt have a problem driving there as i was in a mates F250 so i just went where i wanted to go , i also rode a MZ 312 from LA to San Diego 2 - 3 times up and back and it was not to bad i just sat on 100 mph and kept away from the idiots
I've driven thousands of miles in the US over the years, including 1600 miles touring California last year. I didn't really see any worse driving in the UK, but perhaps they are a bit less polite than us. To be honest, that just made me pay a bit more attention.
Plus, they have 48-lanes per road so it doesn't matter if someone swerves into another lane
Plus, they have 48-lanes per road so it doesn't matter if someone swerves into another lane
PSBuckshot said:
Nick Grant said:
You only have to turn on the local news in the morning to see the number of crashes each morning... http://www.8newsnow.com/category/29972/beat-the-tr...
Haha oh dear. I have driven a lot in America and i don't know if they are the worst in the world but theres no ettiquette, common sense or best practice.
You can overtake in any lane, tailgaiting is beyond a joke, very few people feel the need to indicate to change lanes, people dash across multiple lanes in 1 go, phonecalls txts or emails are part of driving also.
What he says about making your exit is pretty true but u realise after a short time that you need to be as aggresive as possible when changing lanes.
You can overtake in any lane, tailgaiting is beyond a joke, very few people feel the need to indicate to change lanes, people dash across multiple lanes in 1 go, phonecalls txts or emails are part of driving also.
What he says about making your exit is pretty true but u realise after a short time that you need to be as aggresive as possible when changing lanes.
I've posted on here before saying I did 1,200+ miles in California/Nevada/Arizona recently and found driving in the US far nicer than driving here.
Did a few freeway miles and found it easier to drive than UK moroways as there was less variations in speed, most people were travelling 70-75mph.
Even found most of the big truck drivers very good, when travelling across the desert there could be pretty strong crosswinds which would make the trucks wander a bit on the road. When you went to overtake them they'd always move as far right as they could to give you as much space as possible.
Maybe I was just lucky ......or maybe my hired black Dodge Charger with tinted windows and New York plates looked too "drug dealer" for people to want to get in my way!
Did a few freeway miles and found it easier to drive than UK moroways as there was less variations in speed, most people were travelling 70-75mph.
Even found most of the big truck drivers very good, when travelling across the desert there could be pretty strong crosswinds which would make the trucks wander a bit on the road. When you went to overtake them they'd always move as far right as they could to give you as much space as possible.
Maybe I was just lucky ......or maybe my hired black Dodge Charger with tinted windows and New York plates looked too "drug dealer" for people to want to get in my way!
JC said:
You can be in the middle lane of a busy motorway, and no one will let you into the inside lane, even though it's perfectly obvious you wish to leave at the next exit. You indicate, you plead, you beg and then when the slip road is upon you, you are forced to make the move.
The difference is there's no such thing as flashing someone to let them in - I don't think the headlamp flash function is even fitted on most (perhaps all?) cars in the US - and people tend not to wave at you either. So you just have to go for it, which seems agressive, but it's how they do things. I've driven pretty extensively in various parts of the US and can't recall any particular issues. As someone else said, the fact that everyone tends to drive at the same speed is a bit odd at first.
I've driven in Washington state and Florida.
To me, drivers over there are in a coma like state. Slow moving, slow accelerating, a gallon of sugary drink; you'll get there in an air conditioned daze.
I only saw two people actually driving rather than...wafting I suppose you'd call it, the whole time I was there. It is a very different experience! I also saw crashes that had just occurred. If you look at the statistics, their crash rate is significantly worse than ours.
I think it is the lack of bends and the horrendous 35mph speed limits on many roads that make it frustrating. That and the high level of Police presence. Speeding (even minor speeding) didn't seem to be half as common as in the UK.
To me, drivers over there are in a coma like state. Slow moving, slow accelerating, a gallon of sugary drink; you'll get there in an air conditioned daze.
I only saw two people actually driving rather than...wafting I suppose you'd call it, the whole time I was there. It is a very different experience! I also saw crashes that had just occurred. If you look at the statistics, their crash rate is significantly worse than ours.
I think it is the lack of bends and the horrendous 35mph speed limits on many roads that make it frustrating. That and the high level of Police presence. Speeding (even minor speeding) didn't seem to be half as common as in the UK.
I have driven right across the US on various road trips and driving in the US is MUCH easier than in the UK.
Once you get over the ridiculously sharp freeway exits and the righht filters, it's easy.
Also, their sign posting is superior to ours.
However, American drivin can be dull if you are on freeways.
Once you get over the ridiculously sharp freeway exits and the righht filters, it's easy.
Also, their sign posting is superior to ours.
However, American drivin can be dull if you are on freeways.
What he says is definitely true of LA but becomes less so as you get further from the coast. You can't really learn much about their driving from a holiday, but having lived there the biggest problem is that most drivers in LA consider having to drive a waste of their valuable time, so they read, eat, drink, watch movies, put their make-up on, in fact pretty much anything other than look where they're going.
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