Which U.S. City Has the Worst Drivers?

[agentsteel53]

The Tampa Bay Area has its share of awful drivers as well. It must have something to do with Florida traffic engineers. Also, the signal timing is terrible, compounding the issue.

yep.

126 traffic lights on US-441 in Orlando from when I started counting to when I stopped.

I got a green for six of them.

[Revive 755]

Given my somewhat limited travels recently, I will go with Denver.  Somehow the drivers there seem worse than anywhere else including and between Chicagoland and San Francisco.

[catch22]

Boston.  In my experience (45 years of driving), nowhere else comes close.

[bugo]

Tulsa, Oklahoma.

<end of thread.  there is no greater example.>

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

Tulsa, Oklahoma.

<end of thread.  there is no greater example.>

Tulsa is no worse than anywhere else I've been.  I'd say everywhere is drifting toward parity with everywhere else in terms of stupid drivers anymore.  There are pockets of really bad ones, such as Alabama, but by and large, everyone has gotten so bad there practically isn't a comparison anymore.

[agentsteel53]

I think everyone's answers are gonna depend on whether you hate maniacs (generally too fast or aggressive) or idiots (generally too slow or inattentive) more.  I'm okay with maniacs; it's the idiots I can't stand.

Miami somehow manages to combine the psychotic behavior of maniacs with the bovine behavior of idiots.  it's kind of a neat achievement from a theoretical perspective, but it sucks to actually have to work with.

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

I am always more annoyed by idiots.  Especially people in cars who want to go 60 on the freeway when the limit is 65 or more.  Why 60?  What's wrong with 65?  Why do you have to be just slow enough to be in my way and just fast enough to be a pain in the ass to overtake in my 62mph truck?  I figure there are probably 40,000 trucks on the road governed to 61 or 62, so people really should run 65 at least if the speed limit permits, or if you're that worried about fuel economy and/or you feel your car isn't up to 65+... run 55, so we can get around.

Don't get me started on the ones who want to go around 60, but can't maintain their speed, and always conveniently seem to speed up to 63-64 (over my governor) when I get out to pass them, then slow to 58 or so when I get back behind them...makes me wish I was Bruce (of Bruce Almighty) or Magneto, so I could just pick them up and place them behind me.

[agentsteel53]

40,000 trucks on the road governed to 61 or 62

I think I've found the source of the problem.

who the Hell ever decided that governors are the way to go?  it's fine to run 62 on cruise control as a good compromise between fuel efficiency and getting to point B quickly.  but if you need to speed up to 67 for a few moments to avoid creating congestion, why does some pencil-pusher in a faraway office forbid you from doing so?

[Crazy Volvo Guy]

40,000 trucks on the road governed to 61 or 62

I think I've found the source of the problem.

who the Hell ever decided that governors are the way to go?  it's fine to run 62 on cruise control as a good compromise between fuel efficiency and getting to point B quickly.  but if you need to speed up to 67 for a few moments to avoid creating congestion, why does some pencil-pusher in a faraway office forbid you from doing so?

And to think, the ATA is pushing for mandated governors on all trucks.  (They're also pushing for a return of a 65 NMSL; google it.)  I have a solution to the problem: laws in every state that say any person(s) who decree that a fleet of vehicles should be equipped with governors has to submit to having that same governor installed on his/her personal vehicle(s) for as long as he/she decrees that said fleet should be governed, or said fleet cannot be governed.  Regardless of whether they work at a trucking company or an insurance company.

Governors would be a thing of the past within one month of implementation.

[agentsteel53]

Governors would be a thing of the past within one month of implementation.

no; these people would just drive rental cars, or their buddy's automobile, or something.  owners of large corporations are great at finding loopholes.

[briantroutman]

who the Hell ever decided that governors are the way to go? ...why does some pencil-pusher in a faraway office forbid you from doing so?

It's part of an overall trend toward drivers becoming less independent, less skilled, and eventually, completely superfluous. In fact, an ATA director recently commented that completely automated trucks were "close to inevitable". (http://bit.ly/1egQXPF)

In the mean time, drivers are seen as more of disposable commodity as their routes are preplanned, movements tracked by GPS, all actions registered in electronic logbooks, and speed controlled by a governor.

As fuel prices rise, highways become more crowded, and manufacturers and consumers demand just-in-time deliveries, the domino costs of an inefficiency, carelessness, or imprecise timing skyrocket. And when you're in the Walmart-like business on making billions in the aggregate out of a fraction-of-a-cent margin–as the trucking companies are–you implement these kind of command-and-control tactics.

We're long past the days of They Drive By Night–a great movie if you've never seen it.

Which U.S. City Has the Worst Drivers?

I second and third South Florida as a metro area.

I don't think it's been pointed out yet, but I've also noticed a dichotomy in any given metro as a whole and "city drivers" specifically–drivers in the urban core vs. the suburbs. I end up driving in the city (in SF) at least a few days a week, and there's a big difference in the drivers here vs. the Bay Area in general.

[agentsteel53]

as far as SF drivers go, actual locals seem to be excellent, but the tourists are pure shit.

it doesn't help that San Francisco is probably the most driver-unfriendly city in the US. 

(also, their bicyclists transcend "maniac" and bury the needle well past "reckless".)

[Brandon]

Governors would be a thing of the past within one month of implementation.

no; these people would just drive rental cars, or their buddy's automobile, or something.  owners of large corporations are great at finding loopholes.

So are politicians and their lobbyists.  Coming up with stupid laws never stopped Congress (both houses) from passing them and the President (name your favorite party) from signing them.  Look at the NMSL and how long that piece of shit stood on the books until its final repeal.

[empirestate]

I don't think it's been pointed out yet, but I've also noticed a dichotomy in any given metro as a whole and "city drivers" specifically–drivers in the urban core vs. the suburbs. I end up driving in the city (in SF) at least a few days a week, and there's a big difference in the drivers here vs. the Bay Area in general.

I point out above the distinction between Manhattan and outer-borough NYC drivers, which is essentially the same effect, even if for different reasons than in other metro areas. You do then get further variety as you get out into the suburbs proper, and even some variation between different suburban areas: NJ, CT, Long Island and mainland New York.

[Brian556]

I currently live in Lewisville, Texas, and the drivers here aren't all that bad.
 
I visited Florida, and didn't notice the drivers being particularly bad.

Denton, Tx has to be the worst, and the demographics of the residents lay a role. Mostly college students, senior citizens, and Mexicans. All horrible drivers. Combine that with bad streets, it really is a horrible place to drive.

In Lewisville / Flower Mound, the demographics are better, and not coincidentally, so are the drivers.

[texaskdog]

Driving to Emporia Kansas this weekend was refreshing.  In Kansas they know how to drive in the rain.  Plus they use their turn signals.  Even up there all the people who didn't use them generally were Texans.  Had one jerk cut me off while switching lanes many times.

[realjd]

I think everyone's answers are gonna depend on whether you hate maniacs (generally too fast or aggressive) or idiots (generally too slow or inattentive) more.  I'm okay with maniacs; it's the idiots I can't stand.

Miami somehow manages to combine the psychotic behavior of maniacs with the bovine behavior of idiots.  it's kind of a neat achievement from a theoretical perspective, but it sucks to actually have to work with.

You're on the cusp of having figured out Miami traffic. There's a synergy between the idiots and the maniacs. The maniacs drive maniacally to get around the idiots, and the idiots drive like idiots because they're scared of the maniacs. It's a well balanced equilibrium between the two and most people adopt one of the two styles very quickly.

I much prefer Miami driving to Orlando. Orlando has the Miami-style idiots and maniacs but the influx of tourists with their "unique" driving habits brought from other parts of the country and world keep that predictable equilibrium from being reached.

[formulanone]

Miami somehow manages to combine the psychotic behavior of maniacs with the bovine behavior of idiots.  it's kind of a neat achievement from a theoretical perspective, but it sucks to actually have to work with.

You're on the cusp of having figured out Miami traffic. There's a synergy between the idiots and the maniacs. The maniacs drive maniacally to get around the idiots, and the idiots drive like idiots because they're scared of the maniacs. It's a well balanced equilibrium between the two and most people adopt one of the two styles very quickly.

I much prefer Miami driving to Orlando. Orlando has the Miami-style idiots and maniacs but the influx of tourists with their "unique" driving habits brought from other parts of the country and world keep that predictable equilibrium from being reached.

Which is why Tampa and Jacksonville are comparative oases of civility compared to the other two metro areas.

Gainesville-area drivers are quite polite, although appear to be frequently drunken...although that's a metro area of roughly 200,000 people on an average school day, at best.

[Scott5114]

Driving to Emporia Kansas this weekend was refreshing.  In Kansas they know how to drive in the rain.  Plus they use their turn signals.  Even up there all the people who didn't use them generally were Texans.  Had one jerk cut me off while switching lanes many times.

Kansas has good drivers, for the most part. In the Kansas City area there are a few lunatics (of the type that bomb across three lanes and the gore at 90mph to take an exit). But they're probably about as common as in any other city that size.

[Brandon]

Driving to Emporia Kansas this weekend was refreshing.  In Kansas they know how to drive in the rain.  Plus they use their turn signals.  Even up there all the people who didn't use them generally were Texans.  Had one jerk cut me off while switching lanes many times.

Kansas has good drivers, for the most part. In the Kansas City area there are a few lunatics (of the type that bomb across three lanes and the gore at 90mph to take an exit). But they're probably about as common as in any other city that size.

I didn't notice too much of the bombing across the lanes when I went to Kansas City last Saturday.  I found most of the drivers there to be slow, sticking to near the limits.  Maybe it's because the bombing across the lanes is so flipping common in Chicago that anywhere else seems quiet by comparison.

[hm insulators]

I've never been to Florida, so I can't give an opinion on the drivers there, but Los Angeles has the worst drivers as far as I'm concerned.

[Scott5114]

Driving to Emporia Kansas this weekend was refreshing.  In Kansas they know how to drive in the rain.  Plus they use their turn signals.  Even up there all the people who didn't use them generally were Texans.  Had one jerk cut me off while switching lanes many times.

Kansas has good drivers, for the most part. In the Kansas City area there are a few lunatics (of the type that bomb across three lanes and the gore at 90mph to take an exit). But they're probably about as common as in any other city that size.

I didn't notice too much of the bombing across the lanes when I went to Kansas City last Saturday.  I found most of the drivers there to be slow, sticking to near the limits.  Maybe it's because the bombing across the lanes is so flipping common in Chicago that anywhere else seems quiet by comparison.

It's definitely quieter than Chicago–you might see only one such lunatic in a trip across town. It does seem mildly more crazy than somewhere like Oklahoma City, but the effect is somewhat canceled out by having fewer situations that provoke dangerous behavior (like sudden lane drops, weaving, insufficient merge space, etc.)