American Drivers Suck

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by spdfreak

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.

This is definitely true in many parts of the country. People do unconsciously speed up to match the speed of vehicles around them. (They do it while walking, also. Go to a place where there are lots of people walking around and test it out.)

The difference in Texas is that it's not subconscious, or if it starts out subconscious, it doesn't stay that way. In other places people matching your speed subconsciously will slow down once they realized they sped up, especially if you speed up a little more. Not in Texas. They will actively pace you, waiting for an opportunity to zip ahead of you and then box you in. There's absolutely no way the bullshit I see here every day is obliviousness.

Originally Posted by spdfreak

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.

When I worked in television, we went out to cover a driver's ed course for teenagers sponsored by a motorsports company. The kids started the day in the classroom learning about how contact patches behaved under acceleration and braking. Then they moved to a cone course to put what they had learned in action. Finally they had upset training in a skid car on a wet surface, recovering from spins and slides triggered by the driving instructor. This company was trying to convince school boards to contract with them for driver's ed training instead of just relying on PE coaches who didn't know a lick about driving.

So why not hire them? Because: 1. It costs too much, and 2. School administrators are scared shitless of liability issues. "This is the way we've always done it" will hold up in court as a defense if a kid crashes after taking the course. "The skills course is better" is not a defense when some kid accelerates through a turn, ends up in the hospital and says, "But that's how they taught us to drive at school."

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by JD001

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

They haven't made 7 movies about criminals racing diesel trucks yet.

[mdm]

Originally Posted by spdfreak

Drivers ed is certainly lacking in the states.

I haven't had experience with US drivers ed, but I had to pass drivers exam in US, specifically in VA (for some stupid reason VA allows for non-exam license transfers from France and Germany, but not other European countries). It was scary how simple it was. I had to show I can bay park and I drove maybe 2-3 miles in very light traffic, with right turns only. All six of them, including exiting and reentering the DMV property. That was basically it.

Also, once I was asked to accompany someone who was about to drive to her exam. She had learner's permit, so she needed a licensed driver in the car. She had no awareness of her speed, on a 50-mph road she drove 70 when downhill and 30 uphill. She also had no awareness of surroundings, lanes, other cars. She almost sideswiped a van. I was sure she would fail the exam miserably, but she passed.

She even told me that at some point during the exam she was told to turn on the next intersection, but she did not and told the examiner that she was afraid to change lanes at that moment, so she decided to go straight. She passed anyway.

[Silver Cervy]

Originally Posted by mdm

I haven't had experience with US drivers ed, but I had to pass drivers exam in US, specifically in VA (for some stupid reason VA allows for non-exam license transfers from France and Germany, but not other European countries). It was scary how simple it was. I had to show I can bay park and I drove maybe 2-3 miles in very light traffic, with right turns only. All six of them, including exiting and reentering the DMV property. That was basically it.

Also, once I was asked to accompany someone who was about to drive to her exam. She had learner's permit, so she needed a licensed driver in the car. She had no awareness of her speed, on a 50-mph road she drove 70 when downhill and 30 uphill. She also had no awareness of surroundings, lanes, other cars. She almost sideswiped a van. I was sure she would fail the exam miserably, but she passed.

She even told me that at some point during the exam she was told to turn on the next intersection, but she did not and told the examiner that she was afraid to change lanes at that moment, so she decided to go straight. She passed anyway.

My driving exam wasn't nearly as easy. I can't remember all the little details, but basically I had to do a 3-point turn, turn right out of the DMV and immediately move to the farthest left lane to turn (and this was on a major road with a 55 mph speed limit), then u-turn and drive for around 2 miles, u-turn again and come back.

I failed my first time because apparently I went a little too far off the road during my 3-point and when I turned right I didn't give myself a wide enough gap to move over to the turn lane.

[ogrowup]

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

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'?

Good point, but hell, I've been driving for 46 years, you'd think these asswipes would have at least seen it on tv or something...

[Irace86]

Studies have demonstrated that men are slightly better than women at driving, but most studies suggest that we are equally capable, that it mostly lyes in practice and general eye/hand skill. With that said, we have a lot of fatties here who lack athletic ability, but in the States the worst drivers besides the elderly and cocky (usually teen) idiots, are the Asian women. They will kill you.

Insert women parking fail videos now...

[JD001]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

They haven't made 7 movies about criminals racing diesel trucks yet.

Yes indeed however there are a few horror movies with diesel trucks and flatbeds.

[geezerbrzeezer]

Something just occurred to me.

The common denominator in all these interesting replies is what we're driving.

Think about it. Fella driving the expensive 4x4, the redneck in the old pickup, the kid who thinks his clapped out hatchback is kickass, soccer dad's minivan full of chillun', the uninsured punk driving junk - the list can go on and on.

Although our rides could be classified as slow, cheap and small, they are perceived as exotic to the uninitiated due to their styling and relative rarity, and they look bloody fast. They garner attention, they have 'road presence', and there is an immediate envy factor upon sighting one of us, especially if we're perceived to be a 'threat' (such as needing to merge).

I think that we experience an abnormally high amount of pejorative interference merely as a result of the way we look.

It is clearly road ragism.

[cdrazic93]

ya know, im starting to think the world sucks at driving.

[WolfpackS2k]

It's the governments' fault. State and Federal level. None of them give a shit about requiring actual driving education before getting a license. There's no requirement to understand how the laws of physics work with regards to a 4 wheeled vehicle. Shit man, there's no requirement to perform an evasive maneuver or panic stop. It would be funny if it weren't so sad.

Driving is not a right. And having to basically just pass a written exam about traffic laws before being able to legally drive a 6,000 lb vehicle is borderline criminal in my opinion. Gross negligence without a doubt.

[fang_gt86]

Here's what I've witnessed in my 14 years of driving in Texas:

- Only 40% of drivers check their rearview mirrors

- Only 40% use turning signals for switching lanes/exit/turning

- Only 50% do complete stop @ stop signs or turning right on red

- Only 30% of drivers will switch lane for you when entering highways. The rest are just plain lazy, doesn't care or just can't see you.

- 70% drive at least 10mph over posted limit

- 30% drive at least 20mph under posted limit - mainly on highways

- 40% drivers ride the left lane regardless of traffic behind them

- 60% of drivers are on their phone while driving

- 20% putting on makeup, eating/drinking or other form of related distractions

- 50% of Prius owners drive faster than me

[WolfpackS2k]

A big reason many people have such contempt for speed limits (and this applies almost exclusively to highway roads) is that, as mentioned, the limits and ticketing is done not for safety, but for revenue.

If it were really about safety then the penalty for speeding 10+ over the limit through a residential neighborhood would be significantly higher than going 10+ over on an empty interstate road in the middle of nowhere. Hell, in several states anything over 80 mph is grounds for a reckless driving infraction.

[mdm]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

Hell, in several states anything over 80 mph is grounds for a reckless driving infraction.

And going 20 over the limit, like 75 on a nice wide interstate, can get you the same. On the other hand, the same state (VA) does not allow speed cameras, which are one of very few methods to curb speeding on residential roads that actually work.

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by geezerbrzeezer

Although our rides could be classified as slow, cheap and small, they are perceived as exotic to the uninitiated due to their styling and relative rarity, and they look bloody fast. They garner attention, they have 'road presence', and there is an immediate envy factor upon sighting one of us, especially if we're perceived to be a 'threat' (such as needing to merge).

I think that we experience an abnormally high amount of pejorative interference merely as a result of the way we look.

Maybe a little, but I see the same nonsense when I'm driving my beat up Jeep. People are just rude and stupid.

The only real difference is that people are more likely to tailgate the BRZ. That's where the TapTurn comes in handy. Maybe half to 70% of the tailgaters will back off when I hit my wig-wag strobes, but only because it confuses them. Whenever I get around to mounting my Supertones, I'm considering relocating the stock horns under the rear so I can honk backwards at them.