How do people drive over there?

[ImprezaAddict]

Here, in Colombia, I must admit people drive REAL badly. I mean, motorcycles are going through the sidewalks, cars cutting through stations, etc...

Here's something "scary":

Its marked. An SUV actually mounted the bycicle road thing as a "u turn".

So tell me: How do people drive over there?

 

[Tulok]

To Be honest... where i am at, people are generally conservative, and there are big planter is the middle of the roads.e Most bad driving goes on at night, or when there is construction.
The major worst/most common problem is people not using turn signals, and pulling in front of your car. In the big cities, you cant pull any stunts, but it is scary none the less.

 

[Barracuda]

Where i used to live in New Hampshire, we'd have the massholes come up from mass and they drove horribly, cutting you off, no turn signal, etc... One thing most new englanders shared was switching across 4 lanes at a time though. My cousin would always joke around "you know your from new england when you can switch 4 lanes in under 5 seconds"

In florida where im stuck now, its mostly a the dumb blonde in an suv on a cell phone, a silly ricer, or just the occasional random jack***.

 

[scoobyonline200]

I've seen the 405 FWY turn into the start of the Belgium Gran Prix in 1998. Such as it did on the 710 FWY a few years ago because of fog. Mostly the bad driving happens in Downtown L.A where I drive to through everyday to work. You have people who drive 10 miles under the speed limit, while others are slip streaming off each other trying to beat red lights like crazy! its insane. But I bet there's worst out there. Oh yea another place, where I've seen REAL bad driving, is in Juarez Mexico.

 

[YSSMAN]

That reminds me of what we call a "Michigan Turnaround" (also known as a "Michigan Left")... Here is what we see on the road-sign:

Basically, you have to turn left to turn right. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense at first, but it eases up the traffic levels. Only problem is that it can be a royal pain in the ass when you're running late.

...Anyway, most drivers are idiots if they aren't me. I don't care who you are, where you're from, or what you do for a living... You're bound to do something stupid, and for God's sake, stop doing it in front of me...

Plus, I don't even have to be in a car to have it happen. As an avid cyclist, I'm always appalled by the driving performance of people and how they choose to deal with those of us on two-wheels, of which clearly have the right of way.

 

[Philly]

I will never forget the guy that came in to talk to our driver's ed class that said Seattle has some of the worst road rage out there.

We have things like SUVs going 85 in a 60, people weaving through traffic, and an overall higher aggressiveness of drivers. Then there are the ricers and the other idiots who are anywhere in the US.

Suburbia is pretty intense, too. In one day, I saw many cars run reds and do lots of other stupid stuff.

 

[TuneRVisioN]

Over here, theres alot of road rage, and if you go to Pelham Bay Park, you would occasionally see 40-60ft busses drive all over the side walk. I'm a big part of NYC's road rage, I tend cut in front of people and slow down a bit in front of them then floor it. Also I run red lights a few times and sometimes drag race down Boston RD or Bruckner Expressway Service Roads. Sometimes I wonder how I'm still alive with all my dangerous stunts. My MR2 is slightly modified, and can make quite some noise from it's puny engine, I think it's pulling out about 135HP after engine wear though, maybe below that.

 

[Tulok]

LA is the worst ive ever seen, a strategy is to not use your turn signal, and just start moving in if you need to get somewhere, it really works...

 

[Sage]

 

[TuneRVisioN]

Ohh man thats terrible. I wish I lived there, looks like fun. Where is this? the Tuk-Tuks reminds me of the ones I see in Burnout 3.

 

[Omnis]

"You're a traffic engineer? What the hell is that?"

 

[ExigeEvan]

Look in the bottom corner when there is 1:34 left to play. A pedestrian gets stuck between a car and a bike!

 

[TuneRVisioN]

Wow he didn't even flinch, that must be very typical in India... They don't even run when cars/bikes are that close to hitting them. India is dangerous and dangerous = fun.

 

[Gonz013]

So tell me: How do people drive over there?

Pretty good here in Australia. People generally stick to the rules and are (mostly) friendly and polite, despite the growing traffic problems.

 

[SS69]

people in Dallas are dicks. Everyone drives fast, everyone drives aggressive. You need in the next lane over? Prepare to fight for it. You're only doing 80 on the highway? You'll soon become good friends with the guardrail. People are selfish when it comes to driving around. It's as if people get into their cars in the morning expecting to get screwed over on the road, so they go out with the mentality to screw around everyone else before everyone else can screw them. It's screw or be screwed in Dallas. I hate Dallas.

 

[Kylehnat]

I will never forget the guy that came in to talk to our driver's ed class that said Seattle has some of the worst road rage out there.

There are plenty of reasons for that. My main beef with northwest drivers (Oregon and B.C. drivers are included here), is that they drive incredibly timidly. They drive slow, they drive cautiously, and surprisingly, they act oblivious to everything going on around them. Holding up 16 cars because you're going 10 mph under the speed limit? No worries; we're too polite here to honk at you. My favorite NW driver stunt is the rolling roadblock. On a four lane freeway, it is not uncommon to have four cars side-by-side, all going 58 miles per hour. People here think that a speeding ticket will land them in prison. Everyone also seems to be scared of rain, which is a bit counterintuitive, as the roads are wet 60% of the year. All of this pussyfooting is incredibly annoying and unnecessary.

And then there are the assholes. Why just today, an older man and his wife in a BMW honked at me because I didn't feel throwing my baby into oncoming traffic in order to get around a bus. He got the finger. At the next stoplight, I crept away when it turned green. He passed me in the intersection. For that, he got two fingers, a long lay on the horn, and some extra-curricular harrassment afterwards. For being in such a "polite" city, he was sure in hurry on a Sunday afternoon. Probably late for the early-bird special at Denny's. I hope he choked on his scrambled eggs.

There is no rage here.

 

[Sage]

My favorite NW driver stunt is the rolling roadblock. On a four lane freeway, it is not uncommon to have four cars side-by-side, all going 58 miles per hour. People here think that a speeding ticket will land them in prison.

Heh, here it’s the exact opposite: if you try to “slow down” to 70 mph on the freeway, you’re just waiting to get run over. I try as often as I can to drive 70 so that I don’t have to worry at all about getting a ticket, but the flow of traffic on SoCal freeways is so fast that often it’s safer to go 75 or 80. I’ve been tailgated many, many times when going above 80 mph.

 

[Aquendwato]

It's good most the the time, with the odd person insisting on driving like a jackass. Common moves are passing you only to slow down and driving incredibly slowly in the carpool lane. Although every year when the first snowfall comes everybody completely forgets how to drive.

 

[YSSMAN]

Heh, here it’s the exact opposite: if you try to “slow down” to 70 mph on the freeway, you’re just waiting to get run over. I try as often as I can to drive 70 so that I don’t have to worry at all about getting a ticket, but the flow of traffic on SoCal freeways is so fast that often it’s safer to go 75 or 80. I’ve been tailgated many, many times when going above 80 mph.

Try driving between Lansing and Detroit and highway speeds on average go well above 85 MPH for most people. I know the last time I was in Detroit, we were doing 90 MPH with traffic, and we were still getting blown-by rather easily.