Drivers needed please

[Brilhasti]

Originally Posted by Illona

Done!

After having driven in the UK and the US, I find UK drivers much more cautious and courteous.

Really??? Wow, what part of the US were you in?

[Nelwenie]

Done, but dont blame me on the consequences
Nel

[Illona]

Originally Posted by Brilhasti

Really??? Wow, what part of the US were you in?

Big boring novel inc...

I'm an American. I was living in Scotland for a year. Moved back to the US a year and a half ago...here is my summary of driving in the US according to the states I lived in

1. California (born and raised) - northern california (San Francisco!) - driving like fast aggressive pricks to get in front of you. Once in front of you, they slow down to the speed limit. WTF?

2. California - southern california (Los Angeles) - it's like a video game. It really keeps you on your toes. Love the 24 hour car pool lanes...esp the ones that take you right into disneyland park.

Overall assessment of CA drivers - they can be stupid, inconsiderate, etc...but the reflexes are a lot faster and more trained. There is also a marginal difference between northern CA drivers and Southern CA drivers. Northern cali is all kind of this odd slightly hippie crowd, save the earth, etc...yet they refuse to use any kind of public transport or carpool. go figure. Southern cal is all about image and they are not ashamed to say, "screw car pools, I'll drive my big gas guzzler so I don't have to share mycar with other peeps."

3. Nevada (las vegas) - the only place I've lived and my insurance rates went up 60% thanks to the 24 hour bars and casinos. Drivers are from everywhere, making the town completely transient, so patterns and habits were nearly impossible to predict. Afterall, Las Vegas is the #1 destination for criminals when they are released bc it is hard to keep track of anyone in that city. The only thing that is predictable about drivers in Las Vegas, "they're all these people from little towns in the US, proceed with caution"

4. Illinois (chicago) - crazy, crazy drivers. Constant red light runners. They are were, imo, aggressively courteous. Drove like nuts on every surface street, honked horns if you were not creeping forward seconds before your light was turning green and the cross traffic light was changing to yellow, but would stop on a dime for pedestrians who were not using a crosswalk. (Note, in CA, people stop for the peeps in a crosswalk, but if they are not in the crosswalk, they were fair game. Not that i'm talking from experience...lol)

5. Arizona (Metro Phoenix area) - wow...the only place I've been flipped off for being in the fast lane, doing 100 mph - because I was driving too slow. Drivers in Arizona are *notorious* for being in the far lane over, notice their exit is 1/4 of a mile away and then cutting across 5 lanes of motorway traffic and at times going across shrubbery to get to that exit. I kid you not on that. To that end, there are about 2-3 accidents everyday on the same freeway. God help Arizona when it rains. I stay home when it does...people freak out and there are more accidents on the roads.

Please note for all of the above...using indicators are merely decoration. Pretty shiny lights! And if indicators are used, they usually tend to go in the opposite direction of the used indicator. Make no mistake that I am not a fast aggressive driver. I am more of an offensive driver. I pay attention to what is going on around me and I focus on what I think another driver may do. I have to be even more alert now that it is winter in Arizona - the dreaded snowbird season. People from all over the coldest parts of the US and Canada come to spend winter here - it's a luverly 20-25C. Snowbirds get overwhelmed by the native AZ drivers - they slow down when they should speed up, they get confused over intersections...bloody old people.

For fun, I should post a pic of my AZ drivers' license - see if you can spot the oddity on the license (no not my pic or weight, bite yer tongue tamabish).

UK - there are fast aggressive drivers, but they use indicators and pay attention overall. When I've used my indicator, I was pleasantly suprised that no one sped up to fill in the gap!

When I was training with a driving instructor in the UK, I remember doing a 3 point turn and as I was reversing (going much slower than I normally would), a car pulled up behind me, blowing his horn trying to get me to hurry up. I put the car into first, flipped the guy off and mouthed "F*CK YOU!!!" to him. My instructor, who was a nice girl from Wales, said, "that is NOT what you should do when you take your test." The guy who had been impatient certainly wasn't expecting what I did because I could see the look on his face - shock. hey - if you are gonna dish it, you'd better be able to take it.

I told hubby what I had done when he came home that night. He said, "Well, at least we live in the UK and I don't have to worry about you being shot for your actions."

Ok, I'll shut up now...I'm actually sleepy, so going to bed.

[Darx]

God help Arizona when it rains. I stay home when it does...people freak out and there are more accidents on the roads.

And, if you think that is fun ... heaven help you if it dares to snow in Southern Arizona. They have no clue how to handle even half an inch so their solution is to drive faster to get where they are going. I recommend a bomb shelter for those rare occasions.

[Scarz/Obsqura]

Done.

[Brilhasti]

Ok assignment is complete now :-)

Many thanks to everyone who took the time to participate, much appreciated.

Bril