Driving in the US - Bad drivers

[cathydisneynut]

Just passing through but wanted to drop my two cents on the way.

Orlando is the scariest place I've ever driven in the US (not that I've driven outside of the US including Canada or Mexico). Leaving out the drivers from other countries, drivers from different areas inside the US definitely do not drive alike. If your driver is from an urban area their habits will reflect the local customs (high speed tailgating in heavy traffic for Atlanta residents for example). If your driver is from a rural/barely inhabited area you should also watch out for unexpected lane changing and self centered behaviours because they just aren't used to other cars being on the road.

I've found the best trick to getting around Orlando safely is to buy a map and avoid I-4.

Never had any problems with the I-4, maybe we've just been lucky?

 

[Red-Snapper]

I agree 100% that the standard of driving in Orlando has got a lot worse than it used to be - noticed it very much this visit.

Including the closest near miss I have ever had there where I was signalling to turn left into a restaurant on I drive - a pickup truck (obviously not a rental) overtook me on the LEFT (he was actually in the lane for oncoming traffic) as I turned - he blared his horn at me for some reason !!

 

[basas]

I agree 100% that the standard of driving in Orlando has got a lot worse than it used to be - noticed it very much this visit.

Including the closest near miss I have ever had there where I was signalling to turn left into a restaurant on I drive - a pickup truck (obviously not a rental) overtook me on the LEFT (he was actually in the lane for oncoming traffic) as I turned - he blared his horn at me for some reason !!

Yeah- there are some crazy drivers...best just to ignore them and attempt to stay out of any road rage! I just heard a news-story on the TV yesterday (our ABC/NBC/CBS stations come from Minneapolis) where a driver was passing someone and the guy he was passing started making all kinds of hand gestures. The guy who was passing started laughing. The passenger in the other car pulled out a gun and fired three times leaving the guy (who was passing and laughing) in critical condition! Crazy!

 

[Stinson]

OK, so I took your comments to heart, and today I honestly tried to be polite and courteous to other (Boston) drivers. As one fellow attempted to push into my lane on the Southeast Expressway, I eased-off a bit and waived him into my lane ahead of me. I was being VERY nice, but he thought I was "gesturing" and responded in kind. At another point, I yielded to a driver that wanted to enter my lane, which was moving faster than the other lanes, and when other drivers saw this, sensing that I might be weak or wounded, several pushed right in ahead of me. And so it goes.

 

[cleo]

Stinson, we have a second home in a small town in the mid-west. Everyone knows everyone (well, mostly) and if someone cuts off another driver they could find out it's their neighbor or their child's teacher, so people are usually pretty courteous. It's hard to come back to Orlando and the crazy driving of a lot of overdone tourists and not take some of their awful behaviours personally. But I feel better when I don't act the way they do. Not that it doesn't tick me off royally when someone behaves like a brute.

Big city driving is definitely different. I guess it takes cops in elf suits to get people's attention, hopefully with the resulting enforcement of the law so that things eventually DO change.

 

[Kilted_Yank]

As someone who regularly drives on the madhouse roads around Washington, D.C., I can tell you that the drivers in Orlando, while sometimes crazy (mostly from unfamiliarity) don't have a patch on our lunatics here!

See you in August!

Bill

 

[basas]

As someone who regularly drives on the madhouse roads around Washington, D.C., I can tell you that the drivers in Orlando, while sometimes crazy (mostly from unfamiliarity) don't have a patch on our lunatics here!

See you in August!

Bill

Oh yes...driving on the Capital Beltway was a pleasure I tell you

 

[cleo]

D.C. Yikes. And Yikes again! That's some scary driving. Boston runs a close second.

 

[manning]

Hi from the USA.

I have an aunt I don't like driving with me. I observe the 2 second distance rule between cars and she insists on I get on their bumper in fear we will miss the light. Learning from getting rear ended it is not good to sit on top of the car in front of you (you'll get pushed into the car in front of you) she will get upset I'm half a car length behind. Drive 5 MPH over the limit and why are you going so slow. Now here is the odd part, she is a retired magistrate who use to adjudicate traffic violations.

 

[PaulaSB12]

For these of you in the USA how about an idiots guide to driving. I am going to Florida for a solo trip in September, did it this year but didn't drive. Next year I am thinking of bringing my sat nav system (I can get a map of Florida for it) and having a car for part of the trip. So an idiots guide to driving in Florida would be much appreciated, if you are wondering why I have just brought a sat nav system its because I have the homing instincts of a dead duck.

 

[Sleepy]

Have any of you ever driven in Naples, Italy? You would be grateful for the problems in Orlando.

 

[Chester's Mum]

It's a tourist town. Be kind. Be understanding. People are looking for exits, street names, etc. I am from Glasgow, but grew up in Niagara Falls, Ontario (tourist Mecca), now live in Toronto. Tourists are notoriously bad drivers. It seems we lose a lot of our intellingence when we leave our home town.

I personally find Orlando to be exceedingly confusing, and am always a little out of sorts while driving there.

If you think Orlando is bad, try driving around Toronto at rush hour.

 

[Chester's Mum]

As someone who regularly drives on the madhouse roads around Washington, D.C., I can tell you that the drivers in Orlando, while sometimes crazy (mostly from unfamiliarity) don't have a patch on our lunatics here!

See you in August!

Bill

OMG

Drove through Washington D.C. at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Was worse than Toronto at 5pm rush hour. Why aren't all those politicians in bed? I thought they partied all weekend.

 

[basas]

OMG

Drove through Washington D.C. at 10 a.m. Sunday morning. Was worse than Toronto at 5pm rush hour. Why aren't all those politicians in bed? I thought they partied all weekend.

They're all going to church!

 

[Chester's Mum]

They're all going to church!