# Is there any place in the US that the drivers AREN'T bad? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 12, 2012, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313 "2012-01-12T17:43:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FlyingDragonFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c89c15/32.png) [@FlyingDragonFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlyingDragonFan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/21 "2012-01-13T15:26:20Z")
Drivers in Denver are pretty decent. Generally polite, patient, and not reckless. There’s usually a couple who I would say are going too fast for the conditions, especially when there’s snow, but most people know to slow it down then. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Surb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ce73a5/32.png) [@The\_Surb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Surb)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/22 "2012-01-13T16:05:46Z")
> [@FlyingDragonFan](#): > > Drivers in Denver are pretty decent. Generally polite, patient, and not reckless. There’s usually a couple who I would say are going too fast for the conditions, especially when there’s snow, but most people know to slow it down then. I’d like to second that. People here tend to be courteous, let you merge, stop for pedestrians, and signal. But **Jesus Fucking Christ** stop driving 5 miles under the speed limit in the left lane on I-25! I swear everyone out here is stoned! It snows here every year so learn how to fucking drive in it. I must be the exception to **FlyingDragonFan’s** “generally” 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/23 "2012-01-13T17:33:41Z")
Portland, OR has the nation’s [most courteous drivers](http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2009/06/survey_portland_drivers_nation.html). [This study](http://www.allstatenewsroom.com/channels/News-Releases/releases/seventh-annual-allstate-america-s-best-drivers-report-reveals-safest-driving-cities) says that Fort Collins, Co has the safest drivers, while Phoenix is the large city with the safest drivers. ---
**Author:** ![Hyperelastic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Hyperelastic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hyperelastic)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/24 "2012-01-13T18:14:20Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Give me LA any day for its drivers – they let you merge in from on-ramps, let you get out to off-ramps, and stop for pedestrians. It’s true that you have some extreme behavior (like shootings !)), but that’s because you have such a large population that you get samples from several sigma out from the mean. LA does have surprisingly polite drivers. But they do drive fast. My theory on that was that traffic is almost always too heavy to permit driving the speed limit, so they never got used to the concept of voluntarily limiting their speed. When traffic is heavy, they drive as fast as they can - about 30 mph. When traffic is light, they drive as fast as they can - about 90 mph. However, they never seemed to learn how to drive in rain, or at least they forgot how each year. The first big rain of the year, you’d have cars skidding across the road like a hockey puck on ice. ---
**Author:** ![Mosier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ea924/32.png) [@Mosier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mosier)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/25 "2012-01-13T18:37:20Z")
I must shamefully admit I have done literally all of the things mentioned in this thread regarding bad driving. I have skidded through a red light in the rain, even. Terrifying! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/26 "2012-01-13T18:58:41Z")
Northern New England drivers are pretty good especially when you compare them to the ones with Massachusetts plates on the same roads. People in New Hampshire will come to a dead stop as soon as they think someone might want to cross the street. They also know how to drive in harsh conditions themselves and, if you get into trouble, it really won’t very long before two guys in a pickup truck stop to help. ---
**Author:** ![ENugent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/4af34b/32.png) [@ENugent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ENugent)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/27 "2012-01-13T19:05:08Z")
> [@FlyByNight512](#): > > Plus everyone knows how to drive in the rain. I agree with most of what you said about Seattle, except this. I still cannot believe how traffic snarls in the rain, or the clueless idiot divers, or the rubberneckers. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/28 "2012-01-13T19:22:56Z")
I am convinced that with a big enough pile of bananas I could train a chimp to pass the American road test I am not really all that surprised that Americans are pretty bad all over. ---
**Author:** ![SCSimmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e495f1/32.png) [@SCSimmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCSimmons)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/29 "2012-01-13T20:21:59Z")
North Texas doesn’t seem to have more than its share of bad drivers, IME. They sure love to drive fast, but not that many drive stupid. They sure do get funny when it snows, though, for some reason. My least favorite place I’ve ever driven in was northern New Jersey. I spent two weeks there at a company training class, and during those two weeks saw the two stupid driving decisions I’ve seen in my entire life. Not to mention the constant stream of low-grade moronic driving. ---
**Author:** ![ecoaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/85e7bf/32.png) [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/30 "2012-01-14T04:35:34Z")
Vermont and Salt Lake City. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/31 "2012-01-14T14:17:21Z")
It’s pretty good here. Sure, people speed, and there’s the occasional stop sign that’s in such a bad place that stopping is ill-advised, but most people seem to otherwise follow the traffic laws. I can only once in my life remember someone running a red light, even when the number of cops is so small around here that you know when they aren’t around. The only real problem is people not knowing how to drive in snow, thinking their four wheel drive makes them invincible. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/32 "2012-01-14T15:38:05Z")
> [@Clark\_Cello](#): > > Macinac Island. Hey, I got it even if no one else responded. 🙂 Actually, I’m from Michigan and I’ve never really thought people here are all that bad at driving. In fact, everywhere I travel in America, it seems like people drive fine. I guess I’m easy to please. ---
**Author:** ![JoelUpchurch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f05b48/32.png) [@JoelUpchurch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoelUpchurch)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/33 "2012-01-14T16:18:02Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > It’s pretty good here. Sure, people speed, and there’s the occasional stop sign that’s in such a bad place that stopping is ill-advised I’m curious about these bad stop signs. I know intersections where coming to a full and complete stop isn’t necessary, but where stopping is actually a bad idea? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/34 "2012-01-14T16:43:37Z")
Another vote for Portland drivers being really, really laid back in general. People actually drive under the speed limit on secondary roads. So I like that a lot. OTOH, that might drive (!) some more aggressive types crazy. It’s in the eye of the beholder. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/35 "2012-01-14T17:50:38Z")
I had no problems driving around NorCal. Mountain View, San Jose, Napa, Monterey, even through Oakland and San Francisco. Traffic was heavy but people were super cool about letting me switch lanes. Seattle didn’t seem bad. Cleveland is ok. We’re all good in the snow. A lot of rubbernecking tho, so lots of slow-downs. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/36 "2012-01-14T18:02:07Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > Northern New England drivers are pretty good especially when you compare them to the ones with Massachusetts plates on the same roads. People in New Hampshire will come to a dead stop as soon as they think someone might want to cross the street. They also know how to drive in harsh conditions themselves and, if you get into trouble, it really won’t very long before two guys in a pickup truck stop to help. Nah. As someone pointed out in a thread last year, NH drivers are polite to the point of being dangerous, literally dangerous. I know I’ve had more than one close call caused by someone who has done something stupid while trying to be nice to another driver, such as wave a delievery truck to back out of a driveway across two lanes of traffic without checking to see if the left lane was clear, or unexpectedly coming to a stop in 50mph traffic - with two broken brake lights, which makes it hard to tell they’re stopped when coming on them from around a curve - to let someone out of a parking lot. We’re all safer when people act in a predictable manner rather than be nice. ---
**Author:** ![littlespeedysuperbike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@littlespeedysuperbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/littlespeedysuperbike)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/37 "2012-01-14T18:20:17Z")
The SCCA holds what’s effectively a layman’s driving competition every year in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is a contest of driving skill; the difference between cars in autocross is much smaller than the difference between drivers. By far the most successful regions, in terms of number of trophies and wins per number of entrants, are Massachusetts and northern Ohio. Smaller concentrations exist in north and central Texas. I’ve pretty much found that to be true on the roads. Sure, we’re aggressive, but we don’t crash much and don’t crash hard when we do. Another place I’ll single out for excellent driving is St. Louis, MO, where daily rush hour traffic stays at 70 MPH no matter how heavy it is; three feet between cars, and no daily calamity, indicates that your average St. Louis commuter would be just fine at Talladega. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/38 "2012-01-14T18:28:47Z")
Iowa! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2012, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313/39 "2012-01-14T20:36:39Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Nah. As someone pointed out in a thread last year, NH drivers are polite to the point of being dangerous, literally dangerous. I know I’ve had more than one close call caused by someone who has done something stupid while trying to be nice to another driver, such as wave a delievery truck to back out of a driveway across two lanes of traffic without checking to see if the left lane was clear, or unexpectedly coming to a stop in 50mph traffic - with two broken brake lights, which makes it hard to tell they’re stopped when coming on them from around a curve - to let someone out of a parking lot. We’re all safer when people act in a predictable manner rather than be nice. I lived in NH long enough (4 years) to know that drivers there are so much better at driving in bad weather (even rain) than Midwesterners (at least in Louisville and Cincinnati) that I’d still consider them better overall drivers. I’ve seen people do things like you describe all over the US. Every area has its share of incompetent drivers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-any-place-in-the-us-that-the-drivers-arent-bad/609313.md?page=1)