Driving in America
Discussion
SubaruSteve said:
Just come back from America on a short break and I cannot believe how courteous and well they all drive over there. Is it just the south that is like this or are all American drivers seemingly super friendly?
The Americans have much better manners than we do, period.What they must think of our rude, arrogant attitude when they visit us I dont know. I am ashamed of us sometimes.
I've driven extensively in south Carolina, north Carolina and Alabama and have never had a problem. Alway friendly, always let you out of junctions.
Maybe the threat of a gun in the back of the car acts as a threat and hence everyone is friendly???
I do enjoy driving over in the states.......
Mike
Maybe the threat of a gun in the back of the car acts as a threat and hence everyone is friendly???
I do enjoy driving over in the states.......
Mike
Some of the driving I saw on the Atlantic City Expressway between Philadelphia and Atlantic City defied explanation, it was so bad. People reading the paper at the wheel, tailgating (and I mean quite literally half a car length from the car in front tailgating) at 80MPH, etc and so on.
Some Americans are very polite, but then so are some Brits. Some, particularly in service industries, seem to be very polite because they do the artificial "how are you/have a nice day" >plastic smile< thing, whereas over here the service comes with an explicit, rather than an implicit snarl.
I'm led to believe that the pleasantness gets more real and less painted-on as you go towards the mid-West.
Also, having been a Brit in America, I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the majority of Americans love you. Or at least your accent.
Some Americans are very polite, but then so are some Brits. Some, particularly in service industries, seem to be very polite because they do the artificial "how are you/have a nice day" >plastic smile< thing, whereas over here the service comes with an explicit, rather than an implicit snarl.
I'm led to believe that the pleasantness gets more real and less painted-on as you go towards the mid-West.
Also, having been a Brit in America, I don't think it's an overstatement to say that the majority of Americans love you. Or at least your accent.
Friendly, courteous and incompetent, is my experience of American driving (mostly from Arizona). They generally let you out of junctions, etc. but the number of times I've seen upside down SUVs in the middle of a dual carriageway beggers belief.
I even once had someone ask me "how I learned to do that" after reverse parking in a car park.
I even once had someone ask me "how I learned to do that" after reverse parking in a car park.
kambites said:
Friendly, courteous and incompetent, is my experience of American driving (mostly from Arizona). They generally let you out of junctions, etc. but the number of times I've seen upside down SUVs in the middle of a dual carriageway beggers belief.
I even once had someone ask me "how I learned to do that" after reverse parking in a car park.
Lol! Yes, I parked in a carpark and noticed I was the only one who had reversed in!I even once had someone ask me "how I learned to do that" after reverse parking in a car park.
They do tend to be more polite on the roads, but the driving standards can be a bit special. I remember driving through Florida and seeing people wander actually off the road and onto the dirt on the left hand side of the 'fast' lane on two or three occasions. One was a huge big rig, which is sort of understandable - if mildly terrifying - as it may have been his 23rd consecutive hour of driving or something, but the other two were normal cars.
SubaruSteve said:
...I was the only one who had reversed in!
I think you could get a ticket for that in some states 
If you have the misfortune to get stopped for a minor traffic offence, you'll also find the Police are much politer than our plod and use a common-sense approach sadly lacking in Blighty.
FaineantFreddy said:
I think you could get a ticket for that in some states
If you have the misfortune to get stopped for a minor traffic offence, you'll also find the Police are much politer than our plod and use a common-sense approach sadly lacking in Blighty.
Nope - Most anal traffic cop I've ever encountered was in New Hampshire... Obviously forgot to bring "Good cop" partner with him... If you have the misfortune to get stopped for a minor traffic offence, you'll also find the Police are much politer than our plod and use a common-sense approach sadly lacking in Blighty.
I suspect there's a big divide between the NE states and the others though...
M.
The worst driving I've ever encountered was from New Jersey drivers, and friends from NJ tend to agree. On one occasion at a toll booth on either 295 or 95, I witnessed someone in a minivan trying to barge their way into the correct lane a few cars ahead of us, and when the other person wouldn't give way they actually pushed this smaller car out of the way to get in!
Hee hee - this sounds like one of my work collegues when he came back from the US having been on holiday - "you never see any jams, it's lot better than here . ."
Yes, because you came out of the hotel when the rush hour has been and gone, was my reponse to him.
Drive in the commuting periods morning and evening and be prepared to see a whole load more crap, selfish combative driving than you would ever see here in the UK. I've worked in the US from California, Texas, up through Georgia, Ohio and New York with a little bit of Canada too. Managed to survive most of it - the multi-way give-ways (think roundabout without the roundabout) nearly got me once. And as for the driving standards once it rained . . . I bet the repair shops prayed for rain ;-) I did like most people's reaction to freeways jams around Fort Worth/Dallas - simply drive up the bank at the side and onto a surface road ;-)
Mind you, as, unlike here, I was getting paid for my travel time, I wasn't so bothered about it over there. Nothing else to do, so bring on the traffic ;-)
Bri
Yes, because you came out of the hotel when the rush hour has been and gone, was my reponse to him.
Drive in the commuting periods morning and evening and be prepared to see a whole load more crap, selfish combative driving than you would ever see here in the UK. I've worked in the US from California, Texas, up through Georgia, Ohio and New York with a little bit of Canada too. Managed to survive most of it - the multi-way give-ways (think roundabout without the roundabout) nearly got me once. And as for the driving standards once it rained . . . I bet the repair shops prayed for rain ;-) I did like most people's reaction to freeways jams around Fort Worth/Dallas - simply drive up the bank at the side and onto a surface road ;-)
Mind you, as, unlike here, I was getting paid for my travel time, I wasn't so bothered about it over there. Nothing else to do, so bring on the traffic ;-)
Bri
There are pro's and cons for both. In the Uk people will pull out at a motorway sliproad on the whole, in the US they won't. In the US some one will happily plod along in the outside lane doing 60, and won;t even consider moving to the inside lane, despite a line of cars behind them. People will stop in car parks. Peds have the utter right of way. They can be so bloody slow, however, in the US. Infuriatingly so, however, because of that, I find it a far more relaxed drive.
SubaruSteve said:
Just come back from America on a short break and I cannot believe how courteous and well they all drive over there. Is it just the south that is like this or are all American drivers seemingly super friendly?
I do a lot of driving in New York and Connecticut. They are all nutters, far worse than the UK. People routinely severely tailgate each other, its considered normal practice so nobody seems to get irate about it. It is also normal to be constantly overtaking / undertaking as you carve your way through the traffic. Undertaking isn't illegal so can be quite disconcerting at times. There are frequent multiple car pileups on the I95 that joins CT to NY.So basically no, everyone drives like a lunatic over here.
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