Standards of driving in USA

Advanced Driving across North America
Playtent
Posts: 209
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 3:00 pm

Standards of driving in USA

Postby Playtent » Mon Nov 09, 2015 2:34 pm

Having been here for a few weeks now I have to say the driving in general is atrocious.
The reactions to everything is so late, with drivers causing stationary queues in relatively light traffic through not reacting to a situation and braking late. You can get sea sick from all the stop starts. The roads I've driven are all good out in Florida but now I'm in New York it's a different matter!

Drivers seem to use their phones all the time, even in new cars which must have Bluetooth, I'm seeing driver after driver with a phone held up to their faces on speaker phone or just texting. Everyone appears to be doing it! The road conditions are terrible with pot holes that make the UKs roads look fantastic. I can't figure out why they have no lane discipline as it just slows everyone down when you have 4 or 5 cars abreast traveling at the same speed for mile after mile! Then when gaps appear, it's like a race track with everyone heading for the gaps with no one letting you out. If you stuck your indicator on and waited, you'd be waiting for ever. You just go for it, foot to the floor and get the gap before the next person.

When I picked up the hire car and put my foot down it was quite a shock, but it turns out it's an 8 seat SUV with a 6.2l V8 and 420hp! I didn't work out why you need that much power in a people mover until I got out on the roads and headed for the gaps in the traffic. Much less power and you might as well walk as you'd be stuck all day in the same lane.

At least I haven't had a crash yet!

TripleS
Posts: 227
Joined: Tue Sep 29, 2015 5:39 pm
Location: Briggswath

Re: Standards of driving in USA

Postby TripleS » Mon Nov 09, 2015 6:32 pm

Playtent wrote:Having been here for a few weeks now I have to say the driving in general is atrocious.
The reactions to everything is so late, with drivers causing stationary queues in relatively light traffic through not reacting to a situation and braking late. You can get sea sick from all the stop starts. The roads I've driven are all good out in Florida but now I'm in New York it's a different matter!

Drivers seem to use their phones all the time, even in new cars which must have Bluetooth, I'm seeing driver after driver with a phone held up to their faces on speaker phone or just texting. Everyone appears to be doing it! The road conditions are terrible with pot holes that make the UKs roads look fantastic. I can't figure out why they have no lane discipline as it just slows everyone down when you have 4 or 5 cars abreast traveling at the same speed for mile after mile! Then when gaps appear, it's like a race track with everyone heading for the gaps with no one letting you out. If you stuck your indicator on and waited, you'd be waiting for ever. You just go for it, foot to the floor and get the gap before the next person.

When I picked up the hire car and put my foot down it was quite a shock, but it turns out it's an 8 seat SUV with a 6.2l V8 and 420hp! I didn't work out why you need that much power in a people mover until I got out on the roads and headed for the gaps in the traffic. Much less power and you might as well walk as you'd be stuck all day in the same lane.

At least I haven't had a crash yet!


If you do, and of course I hope you won't, you can always blame it on the UK's dreadful driver training regime. That is to say, a dreadful regime for training drivers, not a regime for training dreadful drivers, IYSWIM. :lol:

sussex2
Posts: 732
Joined: Mon Sep 28, 2015 11:43 am

Re: Standards of driving in USA

Postby sussex2 » Sun Nov 15, 2015 10:36 am

The I 95 between Miami and West Palm Beach is probably the worst road I have ever driven on for driver discipline.
What you have to do is throw your feelings out of the window and, whilst retaining a sense of self preservation (largely lacking locally) adapt, within limits, to the local 'style'.
That said the level of politeness to pedestrians puts ours to shame pretty much all over the country; more so in Canada where the driving is generally no better.
ps Roads in New York State and more in the city are renowned for being bad.
The emphasis is on keeping the traffic moving so they are rarely closed to repair such things as crash barriers and potholes - unless in desperation.


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