American Drivers Suck

[Summerwolf]

Drivers suck everywhere. Be responsible for your own actions.

Watch russian dash cam videos, have a laugh.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by UFO

The 'zipper' merge is totally lost on US drivers, they just want to squeeze ahead of whomever they can. Plus, most drivers feel that a merge lane (where the lane ends) is their very own VIP lane where they can simply drive to the end of it and cut everyone else off.

Originally Posted by mdm

A properly executed zipper merge involves driving to the end of the merge lane and doing the the zipper only there (but not beyond the end of the lane). If you merge earlier, unevitably someone from behind you will use up that empty space and pass you.

I don't think that's what he's saying. In Houston, fuckers in the travel lanes will whip over into the merge lane, speed past ten cars and cut back in. They do this because they think they just "won" ten contests between them and those other cars. The useless cops do absolutely nothing about this. I've actually seen a cop sitting in the wedge between the ramp and traffic, watching people do this.

Meanwhile morons who don't understand how to merge in will stop 1/3 of the way down the acceleration lane with their blinkers on, because they're afraid that if they go all the way to the end the assholes down there who don't want to let them back in will block them, and they're not up for the test of wills to see whether the assholes are willing to hit them (which some are). So you have a chaotic mix of assholes who shouldn't be in the acceleration lane in the first place driving onto the shoulder to get around morons who should go to the end of the lane to merge in.

Houston is the stinking fungus infested taint of America.

Originally Posted by mdm

My experience from DC area is that maybe 25% of drivers understand zipper merge. But as my friend used to say, "just south of DC the civilization ends", so we are under heavy influence of the leones (or dracones) ;-)

I lived there for four years. I thought they did a pretty good job with zipper merges until a tourist made the mistake of venturing out in rush hour.

[G-awesome]

watching traffic in really dense urban areas in india and southeast asia scares the shit out of me but its fascinating. It's pure organized chaos. Rules barely apply but as long as the driver drives steadily and in the intended direction, no accidents happen. It's when you make an unpredictable move that ends up causing mayhem or someone gets killed

[mdm]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

I don't think that's what he's saying. In Houston, fuckers in the travel lanes will whip over into the merge lane, speed past ten cars and cut back in.

Ah Ok. I don't see many of those here, but there are some.

Originally Posted by extrashaky

I lived there for four years. I thought they did a pretty good job with zipper merges until a tourist made the mistake of venturing out in rush hour.

Another intersting things I've seen here is bus drivers in the travel lane who move their bus partially into the merge lane well before it ends to prevent people from merging late...

[UFO]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

That depends on where you are. If you drive in the northeast corrider (NYC to DC), they understand the zipper merge concept and will stagger accordingly as long as you get on in there and don't lag back with your blinker on. I actually like driving around NYC, because in general nobody's actively trying to be an asshole, they're just not putting up with any bullshit from other drivers.

In contrast, your locator says you're in Katy, TX. The Houston area is one of the biggest piles of assholes I've ever visited. They go out of their way to make sure other people know they're "winning" traffic. Merging in front of one of them is an affront that must be prevented. If it can't be prevented, it must be avenged.

Those people actually do understand the zipper merge concept. They just don't care. They are so hell bent on winning traffic that they actively try to defeat the zipper merge just for the momentary feeling of victory when you get forced out. It's that way all over Texas, but the traffic volume in Houston cranks it up a notch.

Yeah, it's amazing how I can catch up to cars on the freeway but the second I go to pass them we're both suddenly going the same speed. I'll flick the cruise control up a few MPH and, low and behold, we're still both doing the same speed. It's the same as merging, it's as if being passed will bring embarrassment on their family.

I have driven in quite a few other states in the US and I do have to agree that Houston is probably the worst place I have ever driven.

[geezerbrzeezer]

Most people just want an unscathed A to B. The problem is that the current standard of licencing is inept, and that the asshat drivers really stand out to the degree that the issue becomes emotionally charged. But, for every asshat you observe on the road, there are a thousand people just trying to survive the daily grind (please, not an actual statistic), and make it safely day after day.

Anticipate that the asshats will always exist everywhere, identify them in as timely a manner as possible, create/maintain a safe buffer, and in the event of a close call, employ 'no harm, no foul' logic, for your own stress mitigation.

[geezerbrzeezer]

Originally Posted by ogrowup

I was on a 65mph road, and pulled up behind an older pickup doing 55ish. I gave him a quick high beam blip to indicate I was in the passing lane behind him. He responded with slowing down AND turning on 2 very large and bright driving lights mounted to his rear bumper. If there was a D-Bag Hall of Fame, he'd have his own wing, along with the guy who almost hit my son.

Okay, I get and mostly agree with your opinion re American drivers.

But, given your opinion, how could you possibly expect that a glaring example of this fraternity would understand 'flash to pass'?

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by UFO

Yeah, it's amazing how I can catch up to cars on the freeway but the second I go to pass them we're both suddenly going the same speed. I'll flick the cruise control up a few MPH and, low and behold, we're still both doing the same speed. It's the same as merging, it's as if being passed will bring embarrassment on their family.

It's this Texas thing about winning. They don't really want to go faster. They just don't want you in front of them, because that implies they lost.

And for people who think they experience this in other parts of the country, it's not quite the same thing in Texas. In most states, if someone speeds up when you try to pass, you can call them on it by either speeding up abruptly or slowing down. Although there are some outliers, in general those people will pretend it wasn't intentional, that they weren't trying to be assholes, and they'll leave you alone. In some cases it might take a few tries, but usually they start to feel guilty about their behavior and back off.

In Texas, people accept the challenge and double down, making it very obvious they're trying to block you or keep ahead of you, and seemingly EVERYONE does this. People will pace you for miles, speeding up and slowing down as necessary to keep irritating you and trying to trap you behind slower moving traffic. They will do spectacularly stupid things to try to block you in. If you drive here, at least once every time you venture out you'll find yourself saying, "What an asshole!" This entire state is filled with them.

Example: Near my house there's a six lane road (three each direction) with a curve in it, and although the speed limit is 45, people usually slow down to about 35 on that curve. I had a clear lane on the far right but needed to get over to the left at an upcoming intersection, so I sped up to the speed limit to go around the cars in the left two lanes. As I passed the guy in the brodozer in the center lane, he took that as a challenge and slammed down the accelerator to block me.

I sped up to 50 to fake him out, and he took the bait. Then I slowed abruptly to cross behind him. I had a good car length between us when I swung in behind him (he thought he was "winning"), and when he saw what I was doing, he slammed on his brakes and actually skidded a little to try to cause me to hit him. This car being as nimble as it is, I was already around ahead of him on the other side before he could make another move. He hit the accelerator again and gave me the finger as he went by.

I experience something like this every day. Just yesterday I almost got to witness a guy in a minivan rear-end the guy in front of him to keep me from getting to an exit off a highway. I try my best not to ever telegraph my intentions, because as soon as you do some piece of shit here will try to win by blocking you.

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

Most people just want an unscathed A to B.

In most places that's true. Not here, though. They look at A to B as an opportunity to win traffic.

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

But, given your opinion, how could you possibly expect that a glaring example of this fraternity would understand 'flash to pass'?

I agree. I never flash at someone in front of me. It's not saying, "Excuse me, please let me pass." It's an open challenge for vehicular warfare.

[JD001]

Originally Posted by Summerwolf

Drivers suck everywhere. Be responsible for your own actions.

Watch russian dash cam videos, have a laugh.

Drivers who think they can drive will always blame the other drivers as they don't see their own mistakes. I suppose this also applies to other areas of life, boneheads will never see errors of their ways!

[Silver Cervy]

Originally Posted by mdm

"Left lane= pass slower cars, then get the hell out of left lane"


Because they have laws that explicitly require doing that, as well as prohibit passing on the right.

In many US states, you are not required to get out of the left lane, and if you do, it's much less strict than in Germany (or Europe in general). And passing on the right is generally allowed on multilane highways.


So it's not only about the drivers, it's about the laws.

Except that most states have an explicit law that says "Slower traffic keep RIGHT." They even post signs out in the freeway, and I have seen officers enforce it right in front of me.

Now, I'm relatively young compared to most people in this forum, but I like to think that I'm a good driver compared to most. I've seen people do crazy shit on the streets and it's taught me to treat everyone around me like they are out to get me.

Oh, and that stereotype that women can't drive? It's completely true. (Not all of them, of course.)

[Silver Cervy]

Also, speeding is almost never the cause of an accident, unless it's some bozo doing 70-90 in a 45 or less, which rarely happens if at all. It's amazing how the government is convinced that speeding is connected to ignorant driving, when in most cases it's the fast drivers who are more aware of themselves and what's going on around them, meanwhile truly ignorant people are texting, eating, doing make-up, and doing all sorts of things while driving and they never get pulled over.

[NemesisPrime909]

Originally Posted by ogrowup

environment.

They tailgate. A lot. Especially Suburbans.

You have this issue too?

Every time I get tailgated it's almost always a Suburban, a Silverado, or a really old Ram

I think the worst experience I had with a tailgater was when I was in the right lane but apparently not going fast enough for this Earlier model Ram. the guy passes me and then brake-checks me. Now I could deal with this normally (Roadrage is a real thing). This guy however had modified his ram with those gaudy diesel stacks in the truck bed. so when he stepped on the gas again, i was blinded by black smoke.

Random Thought

It baffles me how police will target import cars with exhausts but won't target these trucks that billow black smoke.

[JD001]

^^^^nothing to do with home grown vs Jap rubbish??

[spdfreak]

Originally Posted by UFO

Yeah, it's amazing how I can catch up to cars on the freeway but the second I go to pass them we're both suddenly going the same speed. I'll flick the cruise control up a few MPH and, low and behold, we're still both doing the same speed. It's the same as merging, it's as if being passed will bring embarrassment on their family.

I have driven in quite a few other states in the US and I do have to agree that Houston is probably the worst place I have ever driven.

This could certainly be the "winning" mentality as someone mentioned. But that's assuming they're being intentionally malicious.
I think, at least around chicagoland, obliviousness is more likely the case. I call it parasitic speed control. Whatever the car next to them is doing, they do. You surely don't expect them to actively monitor their own speed, do you? That takes energy!
It's the reason you'll find yourself behind 2 cars, one in the right and one in the left lane, side by side, for miles and miles. It's not like they're sticking it at the speed limit and turning on cruise control, either. Sometimes their both doing 2mph under, sometimes 5 over. But nevertheless, they're stuck with each other. Lovers.
It's like a magnetic pull. I'll pass a guy doing 45mph at 50mph. He'll speed up as I go by and we'll be stuck. (because he loves me) But if I gas it real quick and put 20 lengths between us, all of a sudden he slows back down to 45mph and disappears behind me. PARASITIC SPEED CONTROL IS A THING I'm tellin ya!

Originally Posted by Silver Cervy

Also, speeding is almost never the cause of an accident, unless it's some bozo doing 70-90 in a 45 or less, which rarely happens if at all. It's amazing how the government is convinced that speeding is connected to ignorant driving, when in most cases it's the fast drivers who are more aware of themselves and what's going on around them, meanwhile truly ignorant people are texting, eating, doing make-up, and doing all sorts of things while driving and they never get pulled over.

I don't even think the government thinks speeding is dangerous. They do know that they can make a ton of money by ticketing for it because so many people do it. So those laws will never change.
There's a good portion of the public that thinks speeding is dangerous, though! As (some) people get older, they get more timid and scared. They see someone fly by them on the highway, they get freaked out. I think that's what it comes down to. They're taken by surprise by something they don't understand and say "that person is going to kill someone." Unwarranted fear, but it's still fear. As long as there are old people, there will be people supporting lower speed limits.

Now back to bad drivers specifically in the US. Nah, humans gonna human. You'll find great drivers and crap drivers all over the world.
Drivers ed is certainly lacking in the states. Improvement there could help things a bit. I'd honestly push for a standardized autocross test to be mandatory for your license. Same car, same cone layout, same time limit. Nothing crazy, just something that proves you can maneuver a car in an emergency situation.