Are Utah drivers any worse than other drivers?
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Duck Rodgers
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The out of state students are absolutely horrid drivers in Provo, especially when you mix in weather coniditions. I don't think on a general level I have noticed much of a difference though, just the normal variations you would expect when population density and road qualities differ in differing places.
Archie Moses
Well-Known Member
The Bay Area is pretty bad. There's a reason there's a stereotype about Asians being bad drivers. You also have to deal with guys driving Miatas.
I think drivers here are about average.
I do, however, think driving skills have gone way down hill over the last 10 years and I think the reason why is because so many people are using their cell phones while they drive. Just talking on a cell phone impairs people to the same degree as someone with a BAC of 0.14, almost twice the legal limit as far as alcohol goes. So, in essence, we're driving around with a bunch of impaired drivers.
The result is different, however, because these cell phone drivers are not getting more aggressive, as you might see with a drunk, but instead they are just loosing awareness of their surroundings. Doing things like swinging wide, not using turn signals, drifting into other lanes, going slower than the flow of traffic, not moving to the right on the freeway even though they've got a line of cars stacked up behind them. Stuff like that.
The result on me is I become more aggressive because I'm sick of them getting in the way and impeding traffic due to their own selfish ignorance. I don’t think I’m the only one, either. So half the drivers are driving around oblivious and the other half are driving around pissed that no one else is paying attention.
I do, however, think driving skills have gone way down hill over the last 10 years and I think the reason why is because so many people are using their cell phones while they drive. Just talking on a cell phone impairs people to the same degree as someone with a BAC of 0.14, almost twice the legal limit as far as alcohol goes. So, in essence, we're driving around with a bunch of impaired drivers.
The result is different, however, because these cell phone drivers are not getting more aggressive, as you might see with a drunk, but instead they are just loosing awareness of their surroundings. Doing things like swinging wide, not using turn signals, drifting into other lanes, going slower than the flow of traffic, not moving to the right on the freeway even though they've got a line of cars stacked up behind them. Stuff like that.
The result on me is I become more aggressive because I'm sick of them getting in the way and impeding traffic due to their own selfish ignorance. I don’t think I’m the only one, either. So half the drivers are driving around oblivious and the other half are driving around pissed that no one else is paying attention.
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//r00t 4 Jazz
Well-Known Member
I agree with Duck, I usually joke just cause it's Utah County & Provo but really the constant off & on again construction probably doesn't help but at any rate I tend to find myself more annoyed in Utah County then SL County.
Also closer you get to military bases and throwing different driving styles together makes for a crappy commute.
Also on my recent trip to Vegas and AZ I would say that they're worse and it's easily explained away by more populated areas combined with higher vacation destinations equals higher chance of idiot drivers. But my god I never seen so many people go from the entering ramp/lane to the far left passing lane cutting off cars in multiple lanes along the way so quickly and only too drive slower/slow down once they got there in my life.
Also closer you get to military bases and throwing different driving styles together makes for a crappy commute.
Also on my recent trip to Vegas and AZ I would say that they're worse and it's easily explained away by more populated areas combined with higher vacation destinations equals higher chance of idiot drivers. But my god I never seen so many people go from the entering ramp/lane to the far left passing lane cutting off cars in multiple lanes along the way so quickly and only too drive slower/slow down once they got there in my life.
I don't know if it's bad... I think it's just an overcrowding/lack of parking problem.
But yes, the Miata thing is a problem...
Chad Feldheimer
Well-Known Member
The only people who really annoy me in Utah are the ones who insist on driving 100MPH+ and tailgate you in the fast lane when you are going 80+ with nowhere to get over because the middle and right lanes are driving the speed limit. Chill the hell out and just wait a minute until there is a reasonable gap for me to get over so you can continue your pursuit of the land speed record.
kwb
Well-Known Member
That's exactly what my friend had to do when I visited him. Seems like we spent more time just moving his car than anything. When he'd see some one move their car that was by his apartment, he'd grab his keys and literally sprint out the door and down the road to grab the parking spot.
The whole cellphone thing scares me. Especially with young drivers. A lot of these kids don't listen to their parents and treat them like crap. So when their parents tell them not to text and drive, they will because they can and they will do it out of spite. I just hope I'm not the target for them while they are not paying attention to the road.
Ok, I'll try to stop doing that.
Chad Feldheimer
Well-Known Member
Were you the one in the F250 or the Dodge Ram?
no, the red WRX
//r00t 4 Jazz
Well-Known Member
I'm kinda one of those except I don't tail gate and I realize/understand people need to wait for a gap, at least your going 75-80mph and not doing 60-65 in the passing lane those people piss me off and I may not be cordial and wait for a gap I will take the gap and pass them since most are oblivious or don't care whats behind them anyway.
Also Chad it annoys me when being tailgated (but then who likes any tailgating for any reason) like you said and when you get over to let them in front of you they end up going slower then you, again since I'm usually one of the people going over 85mph+ I don't get people in front often but it is very annoying.
Chad Feldheimer
Well-Known Member
No you guys tend to weave in and out of traffic. The trucks are the ones who seem like they want to drive right over the top of you.
//r00t 4 Jazz
Well-Known Member
Weavers annoy me a little bit as well but I'll be honest in my younger years I was one of them most likely, now days I still do but only when I know I can make significant progress through the 4 lane road block.
Yeah I don't weave. It's too embarrassing when you weave aggressively only to end up right next to the same people over and over again. Plus, I think people notice and try to get in your way for their own amusement. If there is a big wide opening to the right I will jump on it and move up to the next cluster of cars down the road.
The rolling road block is alive and well in Utah. That is one thing I think is worse here than most other places.
LogGrad98
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I am sure that Utah drivers are no worse than other states, but there are a few things I see more in Utah than any other state I have lived or driven in (close to all of the lower 48, the driving part at least, lived in 8).
First, the "you can merge in front of me when you pry that piece of asphalt from my cold dead fingers" attitude. I get this the very most from soccer moms in vans. Honestly, lady, eventually all of the 15 cars backed up behind me will have to merge, and it won't make you late to the primary function if you let one car in front of you. Same goes for lane changes. I came around a lady in a van once on the freeway and signaled to move over so I could get to my exit. I had plenty of time and space (other than her van maybe another 4 cars in sight). I was a good 2 car-lengths ahead of her when I signaled. She shot forward and closed that gap fast and glared at me as I slowed down to drop behind her to get to the exit. Then she promptly slowed back down to the speed she was going before so I had to hit my breaks.
Second, the truck thing (already mentioned). It blows me away how all logic, reason, and driving skill drops completely out of some people's brains when they get behind the wheel of a 20 foot high truck. Apparently the turn signal is broken in every truck in Utah, I can't think of the last time I saw one actually signal on the freeway before drifting across 2 lanes of traffic nearly clipping the tail-lights of the cars in front of them. Really, if you are coming up on my in the middle lane of the freeway, and I am going 10 over the speed limit already, you can change lanes ANY TIME IN THE ENTIRE HALF MILE you covered to reach my position. But no, they all wait until they have to scrape paint off your fender to slide by you. These are also the prime offenders of my third Utah driver gripe.
Third, turn signals in Utah are all stuck or broken and Utah drivers have no idea how to make a left turn. I kind of figured out from my experience in my "first" section above why they don't signal. If you do, you alert the other drivers to your intentions so they have time to thwart your evil attempts to wrest their personal asphalt away from them. You *******!! The left-turn thing I used to attribute to old people, now I think people are just stupid. It seems like every time someone turns left into a street with 2 lanes they turn into the far right lane, which is illegal. Often they do this, then move back to the left lane, without signaling of course. One of the scariest experiences I have ever had on the road was just this scenario. I was in Ogden turning from Washington onto 12th street (turning right). I had green and there was not much traffic. As I made my turn a huge Ford barreled through the intersection, turning wide left, blaring his horn as he nearly took off the front of my car (he did actually hit me). In fact he almost hit the curb he turned so far to the right lane. He actually stopped, which shocked me, then proceeded to swear at me for 10 minutes while we waited for the cop to show up, telling me how stupid I was that I couldn't see that he was turning. Three witnesses stopped with us and, of course, the guy got a ticket, and freaked out about it.
Yes, everywhere you can find bad drivers. I just find the things listed above as egregious in terms of safety, driver knowledge, and sheer arrogance/stupidity and rarely have I seen them in such abundance as in Utah.
[/venting]
First, the "you can merge in front of me when you pry that piece of asphalt from my cold dead fingers" attitude. I get this the very most from soccer moms in vans. Honestly, lady, eventually all of the 15 cars backed up behind me will have to merge, and it won't make you late to the primary function if you let one car in front of you. Same goes for lane changes. I came around a lady in a van once on the freeway and signaled to move over so I could get to my exit. I had plenty of time and space (other than her van maybe another 4 cars in sight). I was a good 2 car-lengths ahead of her when I signaled. She shot forward and closed that gap fast and glared at me as I slowed down to drop behind her to get to the exit. Then she promptly slowed back down to the speed she was going before so I had to hit my breaks.
Second, the truck thing (already mentioned). It blows me away how all logic, reason, and driving skill drops completely out of some people's brains when they get behind the wheel of a 20 foot high truck. Apparently the turn signal is broken in every truck in Utah, I can't think of the last time I saw one actually signal on the freeway before drifting across 2 lanes of traffic nearly clipping the tail-lights of the cars in front of them. Really, if you are coming up on my in the middle lane of the freeway, and I am going 10 over the speed limit already, you can change lanes ANY TIME IN THE ENTIRE HALF MILE you covered to reach my position. But no, they all wait until they have to scrape paint off your fender to slide by you. These are also the prime offenders of my third Utah driver gripe.
Third, turn signals in Utah are all stuck or broken and Utah drivers have no idea how to make a left turn. I kind of figured out from my experience in my "first" section above why they don't signal. If you do, you alert the other drivers to your intentions so they have time to thwart your evil attempts to wrest their personal asphalt away from them. You *******!! The left-turn thing I used to attribute to old people, now I think people are just stupid. It seems like every time someone turns left into a street with 2 lanes they turn into the far right lane, which is illegal. Often they do this, then move back to the left lane, without signaling of course. One of the scariest experiences I have ever had on the road was just this scenario. I was in Ogden turning from Washington onto 12th street (turning right). I had green and there was not much traffic. As I made my turn a huge Ford barreled through the intersection, turning wide left, blaring his horn as he nearly took off the front of my car (he did actually hit me). In fact he almost hit the curb he turned so far to the right lane. He actually stopped, which shocked me, then proceeded to swear at me for 10 minutes while we waited for the cop to show up, telling me how stupid I was that I couldn't see that he was turning. Three witnesses stopped with us and, of course, the guy got a ticket, and freaked out about it.
Yes, everywhere you can find bad drivers. I just find the things listed above as egregious in terms of safety, driver knowledge, and sheer arrogance/stupidity and rarely have I seen them in such abundance as in Utah.
[/venting]