Run into any bad drivers lately? I need to bitch...

[jonesieQ]

I'm sick and fucking tired of these out-of-state drivers/tourists pouring into our town like locusts and bringing their nasty driving habits with them. They don't read signs, run lights & stops, barge into line, slow down - speed up - slow down - speed up, whenever they feel like it, like they're the only ones on the road. Those are the ones that really get me.....they're entitled somehow...they can cut you off, ride your tailpipe, block your way, take up two parking spaces, threaten pedestrians, but are in no way accountable.... because...???? I need answers.

I'm on the east coast where the drivers are notorious for being some of the worst in the country. And I'm no push-over...I drove in and around Boston and Wash. D.C. for years without having an accident (in fact, I've never caused one)...I broke the law every single day...bullied when I had to...was civilized when deserved...etc. But now I'm living in a small town in a laid back state where folks are almost always considerate, and it's soooooo pleasant. I still break the speed limits when I drive, and pass on the right as I'm reading the sign that says "no passing on right", jump lanes if I need to, drive with bare feet, etc. But not at the expense of other drivers!

Commiserators wanted.

[wolf]

We get a lot of people from New Jersey and Maryland too. I feel your pain.

This is one of the reasons that I like the fact that I do a good bit of my driving late at night.

[jonesieQ]

I guess if you're around Philly, you know about tourists. Here though, where the population is so small, they often outnumber us on weekends! Not as bad as Cooperstown, but close. We get MA, NY, CT, NJ - those are the worst. I wish I could do my driving at night, but sidewalks around here roll up at 9, 10 pm.

[xoxoxoBruce]

snip~but are in no way accountable.... because...???? I need answers.

Because they are on vacation.

[jonesieQ]

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Because they are on vacation.

And their brains and consideration went somewhere else.

[wolf]

(If they are really bad drivers, wouldn't they have to run into you?)

[jonesieQ]

Originally Posted by wolf

(If they are really bad drivers, wouldn't they have to run into you?)

True...and they will if I giv'em half a chance! It's a gd derby out there!

[primal muse]

i really think its that way any where you go. people for the most part are dumb and shouldnt be trusted to operate machinery.

[jonesieQ]

Sad, isn't it? I'm figuring out that it's more than the driving though...it's also because many of these folks have bought 2nd homes here. They've driven the cost of real estate sooooo high that the natives have trouble affording to buy. I know on a statewide level this is good news...more taxes, bigger budget which, in this state, helps everyone. And it does have a good trickle-down economic impact. But it's sad for the ones who live here and run the economy to be priced out of their own market.

[primal muse]

that is sad and wrong on so many different levels.

Grew-up in FL, so I'm used to it. Driving defensively fixes it, doesn't bug me.
Of course, I can't drive any longer, but that has only been recently.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by rkzenrage

Grew-up in FL, so I'm used to it. Driving defensively fixes it, doesn't bug me.

Yeah, they're certainly "a bit off" down here behind the wheel. Yet, nothing beats the turn lane confusion I encountered not once, not twice, but three times while driving in Atlanta: watching a driver pull into the center turn lane and then sweep back across two or three lanes of traffic in order to make a right. They also seem to fully intend to make a right, too, as they even have their right turn signal on and twice there was no left to make. How the hell do you get your license and mistake the center lane as being required for any and all turns?

Surely, natural selection will weed these people out. Sadly, they'll probably be removing some good drivers from the pool as well.

Seakdivers -- you in Skagway?

[glatt]

From the other side, have you ever been somewhere and just didn't understand what the hell all the locals were doing?

I was in Canada last year, and they had some weird thing where you could sometimes turn left when the light first turns green. But there was no left arrow. The oncoming traffic would sit there waiting for me, and cars behind me would honk to get me to turn left, but there was no left arrow, so I thought the oncoming cars would start at any time and smash me up if I turned. I hesitated just long enought to lose whatever magic opportunity I had, but pulled out anyway, cutting off oncoming traffic and pissing off everyone behind me who got trapped.

I spoke to someone later that day about it, and I think they said there was like a flashing dot or something in the green light that meant I could turn left.

Anyway, I'm usually a good driver, but wasn't that day.

[Stormieweather]

Here in Clearwater, FL we have a causeway that takes people, many of them tourists, out to Clearwater Beach (aptly named). It's the only way to get there without driving north or south a few miles to another bridge and then crawling back up/down the beach road to Clearwater Beach. It was always a nasty bottleneck just over the bridge at the intersection where the causeway met the north/south beach road and the downtown area. So city planners decided a roundabout (ala England, but in reverse) was the solution.

With a giant, view blocking, fountain in the center...

There were two lanes...an outer lane which forced an exit with lane dividers to the next road and an inner lane which allowed you to circle until you reached the road you wanted, whereupon you moved to the outer lane and automatically exited.

Sounded good in theory, but was a disaster in practicality. No one could understand the multiple lane changes required, they weren't able to merge politely, and you couldn't see what was ahead due to the lovely fountain.

So far, there have been more than 500 accidents at the roundabout, which was touted at its opening as the greatest ever built in the U.S. The site "has been very good for business," says James McKeever, manager of nearby Pinellas Auto Body & Service Inc, which had one of its own tow trucks hit there. The frequency of accidents is eight times higher at the roundabout than at the intersections it replaced. City officials say the crashes are less severe, primarily because cars are now moving more slowly.

In Clearwater, disoriented drivers smacked into each other or into the fountain at the an average of almost five a week. Tires squeal, horns honk and brakes screech as drivers try to make their way through the loop.

For a short period of time, I lived in an apartment right next to the roundabout. It was always a source of entertainment to watch the natives and tourists alike attempt to navigate around it.

I never had any problems with it, but then I have traveled in England and the Middle East, where not only are there roundabouts, but they drive on the other side of the road!

Stormie

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Stormieweather

With a giant, view blocking, fountain in the center...

The majority of the public voted to have the roundabout removed. Instead, the city negotiated to remove the fountain in the hopes that it would "improve visibility". Right.



Geniuses. The fountain is the only thing that makes the roundabout decent.

The site "has been very good for business," says James McKeever, manager of nearby Pinellas Auto Body & Service Inc.

That's classic! The roundabout is also good for other businesses, too, since you can't escape the island after 5pm or at all on weekends thanks to traffic. They'll never replace it with a simple intersection -- local restaurants and hotels will lose too much business.

God, I hate that thing. The moment a drawbridge opens, you're stuck for at least twenty minutes.