Driving on a major highway

I live in NJ and have traveled around the US and it seems to me that people from NJ/NY (metro area) 80% of the time are @ssholes, and yes me being one of them. I find myself at times being abrasive, or at least thinking in that light.

A local paper ran this article today:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/nj_state_cops_launch_two-week.html


You have to check out the video.

Curious as to what/ how other people perceive people from this area. And or if you guys feel the same way about drivers in your area.

Don't know. But since the video is about annoying drivers I will mention what annoys me just as much. When I am the middle or slow lane and I am stuck behind a really slow car and I have my turn signal on to move into the left passing lane waiting for an opening to come along and the cars behind me change lanes getting behind that line and not letting me get over. I mean if I see the guy in front of me trying to get over I don't come up beside him and cut him off. Sometimes car after car will do that before one guy finally changes lanes and then waits to let me in.

Being from the NY/NJ metro area originally, I wouldn't say that the drivers in the area are necessarly a@@holes. They are, however, usually fairly aggressive. I really don't find it a problem - you can usually predict what they will do in almost any given situation. If you're prepared for it, it's much easier to deal with. What really scares me is the drivers here in RI. As a collective, they're generally clueless. If you really want to screw with a RI driver, give them a rotary or even worse, a 4-way stop. I've seen 4 people sitting at a 4-way stop, all of them trying to wave each other on.....It took several minutes to get all four through the intersection. Yield signs are also baffling to RI drivers. The highway departments have started stenciling yield sign shaped white signs on the road that is supposed to be yielding......they still don't help.

Metro areas seem to be uniformly worse than rural areas. This has been consistent where ever I've lived in the US. This may be nothing more than population density, but I rarely see people speeding on secondary roads or running stop signs in small towns.

Firstnten said:

I live in NJ and have traveled around the US and it seems to me that people from NJ/NY (metro area) 80% of the time are @ssholes, and yes me being one of them. I find myself at times being abrasive, or at least thinking in that light.

A local paper ran this article today:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/10/nj_state_cops_launch_two-week.html


You have to check out the video.

Curious as to what/ how other people perceive people from this area. And or if you guys feel the same way about drivers in your area.

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Na its just you Jersey drivers that are the problem...

People are very aggressive drivers here and that is a fact. I have had people pass me on the shoulder on interstate 84 . Reminds me of a conversation with the buss driver when we were in Italy . I asked him about people driving the wrong way, passing on turns, scooters passing between on coming traffic and the bus . He said " Ohh the signs and markings on the road they are just suggestions"...

but at least everyone expects it there .

springer said:

Na its just you Jersey drivers that are the problem...

People are very aggressive drivers here and that is a fact. I have had people pass me on the shoulder on interstate 84 . Reminds me of a conversation with the buss driver when we were in Italy . I asked him about people driving the wrong way, passing on turns, scooters passing between on coming traffic and the bus . He said " Ohh the signs and markings on the road they are just suggestions"...

but at least everyone expects it there .

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It's is exactly like this in Malaysia. And whats worse is there is a 7 to 1 motorcycle to car ratio and a automatic car/bus/truck is at fault mentality with the authorities.

I like the decal but perhaps an RPG would be more effective.

Growing up and learning how to drive on Long Island, I really appreciated that video. I'm glad to see that there are some people out there who advocate for proper lane use. I drive a fast car. But that doesn't mean that I get in the left lane and stay there. I was raised and taught that the left lane is the slow lane, the middle lane is the travelling lane and the left lane is the passing lane. In NY/NJ/CT (more areas too I'm sure), if you're on a 2-lane road, there are signs that say "Keep Right. Pass Left." How hard is that to understand?

If someone is travelling in the left lane and I get behind them, I'll look to see if there is someone in front of them that is slower, and they're just waiting to pass. However, if there is no one in front of them, I give them until they pass the first opportunity to move over, and then I'll flash my high beams just once or twice to ask them to move over. If they don't respond, I wait for my chance to pass them on the right, which I hate doing because it really shouldn't be done.

I don't think I'm driving aggressively by doing the above.

NJ and PA run one of these "crackdowns" against some infraction or other every six months or so. I know because my MIL forwards the articles every time they are announced. They always use supporting stats as reason for the crackdown. What's hilarious is if you add up the percentages these infractions total something like 300% of the accidents on the road. 33% caused by tailgating, 70% by speeding, 90% by distractions, 66% by aggressive driving, and the big one 195% of all accidents are caused by drunk driving.

I believe that massaged statistics are the real cause of most accidents in this country, depending on the agenda of the politician. And that the real motivation is more often revenue generation or political posturing than public safety.

I like the aggressive driving of the East Coast. I lived in Ohio for a few years and there drivers were often passive to the point of being dangerous. Countless times I saw onramps to highways that were backed up onto the main road because people at the front stopped dead instead of merging.

Also, the concept of an accelerating lane change is completely foreign out there. Nearly every time I saw someone change lanes from a slow lane to a faster lane they themselves would slow down 10 mph during the lane change.

The one time they would accelerate is when they saw someone trying to merge in front of them.

Another maddening tendency is when people would come to a near stop on a six lane highway to turn right into a parking lot. It is like they have no clue that traffic behind them is nearly colliding trying to avoid them.

Out here, aggressive driving is the norm and things move smoother in my opinion. People accelerate when changing lanes, they speed up to merge on highways, the passing lane tends to move faster. They turn quickly. All aggressive tendencies and all safer than the alternative in my opinion.

GilaMinumBeer said:

It's is exactly like this in Malaysia. And whats worse is there is a 7 to 1 motorcycle to car ratio and a automatic car/bus/truck is at fault mentality with the authorities.

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I wish it was like that here. Its always the Motorcycles fault until proven other wise.

JohnnyO said:

Growing up and learning how to drive on Long Island, I really appreciated that video. I'm glad to see that there are some people out there who advocate for proper lane use. I drive a fast car. But that doesn't mean that I get in the left lane and stay there. I was raised and taught that the left lane is the slow lane, the middle lane is the travelling lane and the left lane is the passing lane. In NY/NJ/CT (more areas too I'm sure), if you're on a 2-lane road, there are signs that say "Keep Right. Pass Left." How hard is that to understand?

If someone is travelling in the left lane and I get behind them, I'll look to see if there is someone in front of them that is slower, and they're just waiting to pass. However, if there is no one in front of them, I give them until they pass the first opportunity to move over, and then I'll flash my high beams just once or twice to ask them to move over. If they don't respond, I wait for my chance to pass them on the right, which I hate doing because it really shouldn't be done.

I don't think I'm driving aggressively by doing the above.

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I pass on the right all the time on multiple lane roads, what else are you going to do if they insist on driving 10 MPH under the speed limit in the left lane? Usually after the 4-5th car quickly passes them from behind and then immediately get in front of them they usually get the message they are P'n off a lot of people. I really hate when they drive the same speed as the guy in the lanes next to them and block everyone with no way to pass any of them. Can't they see the traffic jam in the rear view mirror and the open highway in front of them and understand they are a problem?

I passed on the shoulder once, I was wrong to, but after about 7 miles of being at the tail end of a traffic jam, no turns just trees, like 30 MPH under the speed limit with no relief in sight for many more miles I couldn’t take it any more and cracked. I was by myself. After passing the slow driver at the front he pulled down a dirt road on the right. Now all the cars I just blew by on the shoulder were gaining on me so I pulled off the road at the next turn the next chance I had afraid someone would get my tag and report me. I waited 5 minutes and returned to the road. Still can’t believe I lost my cool that day.

I also hate people who use the right lane ending to get well ahead of all those who already merged over. All they do is make the rest of us wait even longer. Only way to beat that is to join them but I will have no parts of screwing other drivers like that. When the lane finally end they get P'd when people don't want to let them in, like you have to. Hey, they knew the lane was ending, so it did, so now they have no road to drive on they are on the shoulder.

I try my best to avoid traffic.

Why be stuck on a backed up interstate going 20 mph in road construction when you can take back roads or side streets to your destination. Or at least go around the backed up area and merge on farther up the road.

If for some reason taking a slightly longer route takes a bit longer, I'll still go that route just to keep it stress free.

McKBrew said:

I try my best to avoid traffic.

Why be stuck on a backed up interstate going 20 mph in road construction when you can take back roads or side streets to your destination. Or at least go around the backed up area and merge on farther up the road.

If for some reason taking a slightly longer route takes a bit longer, I'll still go that route just to keep it stress free.

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That is the thing though in the congested parts of NJ, if one route is jammed they all are. Another problem is trying to go around often winds up in kind of a dead end (water, RR tracks obstacle) that brings you back to the same road to get to where you need to go.

Rural Oregon has its downsides, but one trip to Porkland's traffic is all it takes to reset. Although most of the really bad drivers are from Washington. They live there to avoid the Oregon income tax and drive on studded tires 6 months out of the year, chewing the roads up big time.

NY/NJ is one thing... I have a good bit of experience driving there but its usally been fairly late at night...

Don't get me started on Massachusetts though....

I grew up in the NY metro area, lived in Minnesota for a few years, and now am in California. NYC drivers are terrible, but outside of the city, I find that they are among the most respectful of "keep right except to pass", which is, IMO, the most important rule of the road.

Minnesota drivers are timid and don't know how to merge. Californians? Terrible drivers... slow, sloppy, self-righteous, incompetent, and don't know how to use turn signals... Among the worst in the country, IMO.