Okay, first this isn’t an IMHO “Who has the worst drivers?”-type thread.
I’m just wondering if drivers in different cities do actually observe different driving habits. That is - can a dangerous driving activity “catch on” in one area, but not another? It certainly seems that way to me.
In five years of living in Louisiana, I’ve never had someone pass me on the shoulder of the Interstate. On a trip to Texas yesterday, however, it was done to me twice at different times just in the 80 miles or so from Beaumont to Houston. That road also had a posted speed limit of 55 which was universally ignored. I was doing 70 in the 55 and (in addition to numerous other vehicles) an oversized load blew by me like I was standing still! I passed exactly one car on a crowded Interstate that whole time, and I was always driving 65-70.
Around here, there are a lot of people who stick to the limit and most of those who don’t are only 5-10 mph above. Of course there are exceptions to that, but then there are maniac drivers everywhere.
Another example concerns a widespread trend I saw while living in Pennsylvania. On a two-lane road, one vehicle is stopped waiting to turn left across the road. The vehicles behind him that are going straight all drive slowly around him on the shoulder. I like this practice, but I’ve never seen anyone in Louisiana do it. That makes me hesitant to do it myself down here, for fear that it might be illegal.
Are there actual laws about minor traffic situations like this? If so, does the lack of those laws in one region make people there more likely to adopt these practices, or is it dumb luck that they become common in one region, but not another?
Whoops. Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I wanted to clarify that “minor traffic situations” comment. Obviously passing someone on the shoulder is illegal everywhere. I was referring more to my second example when i said that.
About 15 years ago I knew someone who’d driven across the country and he described with distaste the “sanctimonious bastards” of the farm belts who scrupulously observed the speed limits. I haven’t driven in that part of the country myself, but it seems to me if there’s the outside possibility of a cow lumbering across the road, or a tractor, it probably is a good idea not to speed.
I’ve noticed that using turn signals in Indiana seems to mean, Please close the gap in the direction I am signalling and for the love of all that is sacred do not let my car into that lane. In Illinois this behavior is rare by comparison.
Los Angeles area and the San Francisco area are very different. People from LA hate the way people drive up here. We leave all that space between cars. Ask any Angelino. What about it, Johnny LA?
By San Francisco area I mean cities actually around the bay. Not from the outlands (Concord, Martinez, and all those other cities back east).
Peace,
mangeorge
I always thought ‘my city’s drivers are cooler than your city’s’ drivers was a bunch of bs. Then a few years ago I drove (myself) for the first time to another city, pittsburgh - and I almost died 3 times in one weekend. Of my 4+ years of driving, I’ve been in maybe 5 near-accidents, and 3 of them occured in that weekend. They’re fucking crazy there.
Houston is very much a “driving” city. It is big and spread out and everyone has a car (or truck). People spend a lot of time on the roads and consequently they know where they are going and are aim to get there quickly, since it is usually a good distance from their home. The freeway is integral, and thus you will see fast speeds and impatient drivers.
I live in Baltimore now and it is halfway maddening how no one seems to know where they are going and seems in no hurry to get there. The freeway system is laughably inconvenient, and therefore one is banished to the surface streets, where people are reluctant to take advantage of “shortcuts” such as the ones the OP mentions.
I think the physical characteristics of a city’s roads can often determine driving styles. The greater average distance people are driving, the more shortcuts they will be liable to take.
I’ve noticed that in rural areas where the roads are narrow and hug the sides of mountains, that whoever gets to a wide spot first pulls over to let the car coming the other way get by, and that the other driver raises a hand from the wheel in a “thank you” gesture. In rural Pennsylvania, where my family is from, tractors always have the right of way (at least, that was true through the late 70s; I haven’t been back there in 20 years).
I learned to drive in Arizona, where passing on the right is perfectly acceptable; I never knew it wasn’t everywhere until I had out-of-state visitors remark on it.
My BIL is a native Southern Californian and he does those famous “horizontal lane changes” that scare me like no other driving maneuver I’ve ever encountered. :eek:
I noticed that a lot in SC, when we first moved over there. I also noticed a lot of “Yes, I know I am turning right, and only plan on driving 40 mph, while you are easily going 55; and I understand that there are no cars behind you for as far as I can see, but I MUST PULL OUT OF THE PARKING LOT IN FRONT OF YOU.”
We came from TX, where I did notice the “passing on the shoulder” thing a couple of times, but most of the time (The operative word here is “most”) when there is someone holding up traffic with a slower speed, they will move over to the shoulder and let others pass. I like driving in TX, probably because that’s where I grew up and learned to drive, and I am used to it. Houston is one of my favorite places to drive, because, like someone else mentioned, people know where they’re going, and they want to get there.
The best way to guage this is to drive in different areas. Some of the worst (most unsafe) driving I’ve seen is in northern VA, in the metro DC area. I’m sure there is major variance in areas depending on demographics. Check out Florida areas that have mostly retirees, for example.
Worst driving I have ever seen was in Athens Greece…I saw four accidents in three days, one was a taxi that hit a pedestrian and the taxi driver got out of the car and screamed an the man laying in the street for being so stupid.
That said, New York drivers are nutcases. Stop lights seems to mean little to them, turn signals non-existant and car horns are musical instuments. I never saw the police stop anyone for these minor infractions.
I also lived in LA…there is a reason for drive-by shootings…and godforbid there should be three drops of rain…but nothing comes close to trying to turn left. There are almost no left turn lights and people just don’t know how to do it.
Now, however, living in Las Vegas, I can claim bragging rights to cowboy driving mentality. There is not a night that goes by without the major 11:00 news story of deadly accident.
You said you didn’t want “my city is worse than yours” regarding driving.
In Las Vegas, you have several million tourists, rental cars being driven by people from all over the world and only a few major highways.
I win.
While HorseWife and I lived in central Texas she was stationed at Ft. Hood. She took some driving course on the base and was told that on some highways the shoulder was also known as a “courtesy lane”. If you saw someone that was overtaking you, you were supposed to pull over into this lane and allow them to pass. On the one highway nearby where the shoulders were apparently for this purpose (although not apparent to me, there was no signage of any type) I was passed several times on the right shoulder. I could never convince myself to drive in the “courtesy lane” as there were driveways and mailboxes there and what were you supposed to do if you rounded a bend and someone was a little ways outside their driveway waiting to get on the highway. Very strange and dangerous in my opinion.
I agree with both DMark and Violet, LV has some of the best and worst drivers around. In the non-tourist parts of town you won’t find better laid out or wider streets around and generally courteous drivers (local residents). The Strip and highways, however… GAH!!
I think that this is a good example of what the OP is asking about. In the nebulous part of Texas called “Central Texas”, it is very common–and indeed, expected–for slower cars to pull over into the shoulder to allow faster cars to pass. This is true even if the “slow” car is going ~65 mph!
However, this practice is (AFAIK*) illegal throughout all of Texas and I had never observed it in Far West Texas (where I’d wished many times that they’d adopt said practice) or anywhere else–in Texas or out. But everyone in Central Texas “knows” that this is what you are supposed to do (so say many friends and family I’ve known from Central Texas, including my wife, who grew up there).
I learned to drive and spent my first 14 years as a driver in Northeast Ohio. Two years ago we moved to the DC area, and I had to make a lot of adjustments both in my own driving habits and in reacting to those of other drivers. Here, it’s not uncommon for someone changing lanes to take 3-4 lanes at once, from the right lane all the way over to a left turn lane, and traffic be damned. That blew my mind – that would never have happened on I-480 outside Cleveland, unless the driver had a death wish.
Atlanta’s traffic, especially on the interstates, is best characterized as “the indianapolis 500.” Probably because if its not backed up for several miles you’d best go for it. Be careful. Here in Nashville it is commonly understood that yellow caution lights mean “accelerate” rather than “slow.” Watch those intersections!
What about it, Johnny LA?