AmerLisa

They're pretty bad, aren't they? :scared:

I've come across bad drivers in a few different states and of course the UK. It scares the crap out of me (literally) over here when I see someone driving and talking on their cell phone at the same time - you just know they are NOT paying attention to what they're doing. In fact I've been nearly run down a couple of times.....morons!

Dan725

Never were truer words spoken. I have been all over the world and by far and away the most ignorant, rude f**king utterly shite driving I have ever seen, anywhere, combined with the worlds crappest traffic laws and system is in the US, and particularly Florida.

Its no joke that I have seen better driving by truckloads of pissed up Serbs and Croats shooting at roadsigns on the way to shooting each other on icy mountain passes in Bosnia than your average utterly w**k American driver. I'd even trust a Cairo taxi driver or Afghan who doesn't know how to drive a car more than the average American driver (who also doesn't know how to drive a car, the test being a lap round the car park!).

Yet despite their utter, utter disregard for anyone else on the road, hogging down bigmacs, coffee and blabbing on their stupid phones, if you are a speeder, your average american driver thinks you are dangerous. When I lived in Germany, I used to blast around the autobahns at upwards of 150mph on/in various cars and motorbikes, and felt perfectly safe, wheras here, I get worried about changing lane because you can guarantee that some tit will put their foot down the minute you indicate just to make sure you can't get in. Hmm, thinking about it, its obviously my mistake, indicating! I'd best not do it in future, and thus follow suit with everyone else!

I used to like driving and now I hate it. In fact, driving here ranks just behind getting no time off for me!

Rant rant rant!

Edit: Re the stop light thing, a couple fo years ago my now wife and I were driving along, and she did dare to stop on a red. A second or so later the 90 year old mypoic bastard behind ran straight into us. Case in point there!

paddingtongreen

On a state by state basis, NJ drivers, especially when they come over the river, but on a local basis, I never saw anyone worse than Boston drivers.

BigDavyG

Good post apart from one thing - how the **** can driving at 150mph on a public road be safe ??
I don't give a toss how good a driver you are - at those speeds one mistake by an idiotic fellow road user and you are toast - fact.

Rodney you plonker

That's pretty funny. He is obviously deaf, dumb and blind though if thinks the US roads are any better.

On a side note.
I know it is now considered politically incorrect to use the word dumb, and that we should use mute instead, but I DO mean dumb on this occasion.

Elvira

Let's hope he meant kilometers...

Dan725

Without starting a pissing contest of any kind, I have passed Police advanced driver course and have had to drive on that course and in the course of my former work for HM govt at similar speeds in the UK, so I'd like to think that I have a proven ability about making such a judgement call. Course or not, some others can make this call, some cannot. Not every driver is equal.

As regards Germany, I grant you that there are some horrific crashes on the autobahn, however, statistics say they are the safest roads in the world. The standard of driving in Germany (and I could stretch that to some other Euro countries as well, not UK, however) is far higher than elsewhere. Equally horrific crashes happen over here or elsewhere, at lower speeds.

Surely the statistics prove that it is not the speed that is the biggest problem, its the general driver training and attention to detail at the end of the day. Which is what you get with the arseholes over here. If they all started doing 150mph, it'd look like WW3 had just happened.

Simply saying "At those speeds if something happens you are toast" is not enough for conclusive proof that speed alone is terrible. Otherwise, all traffic police, other emergency service, racing and rally drivers would be dying on a daily basis, and while anyone can have an accident, the rate is much less than with Joe public. Surely, because speed alone is the killer, and ability has nothing to do with it, this group would have more accidents, right?

Its akin to saying "If someone crashes their truck into you at the traffic lights, you are toast". Or "If you slide on a patch of black ice at 30mph, you are toast". Like I said, I felt much safer on the German autobahns than anywhere else I have driven. I did not say it was wise to do 150mph here there and everywhere, however, to drive as conditions allow is a far better ethos than to drive to speed limits if the driver has the ability to do so.

BigDavyG

You've rather missed the point - your driving ability is not the issue here - its the ability of the other drivers who share the roads or autobahns with you.
Of course the role is speed in road accidents is greatly exaggerated and the ability of the drivers concerned seems to always be overlooked, but then again that rather goes to prove my point does it not

Dan725

No I haven't missed the point Davy, with this last short post of yours, rather, I think we are on the same page exactly.I said if people drove around here at 150mph, it would be WW3. I said that some people in Germany do drive around at 150mph, yet they have the safest roads in the world. Ergo, its exactly as you say, in Germany the others who share the roads with you are also generally skilled drivers.

You originally said "If you do 150mph and have a problem you are toast." I said, "As you can also be toast at half and even a quarter of that speed". But I see we agree on the overall point.

BigDavyG

I agree with that though you have less 'wiggle room' if the shit hits the fan at 150.
Still, as we largely seem to to agree no point in banging on about it

johnny nofrfolk

If you see a car from Belgium, avoid at all costs.

Rushman

I'll tell my mate in Antwerp to be vigilant.

krizzy

NJ drivers every time...

Angry White Pyjamas

I remember when I was doing my police advanced driving (3 week) course. There were 6 of us in 2 unmarked Beemers scooting over the yorkshire moors near Pickering at upwards of 120mph practising pursuits. We dropped to around 80mph at one point and some geezer in his Subaru shot passed me (I was in the rear "chase" vehicle) slotted in between us and the other unmarked infront. The instructor got on the radio to them and suggested we practice a hot stop...so I stick the front blues on, the car infront sticks on his rears and we pull the Subaru over between us. The poor guy shit bricks.

Irn-bru

too true sadly. I just can't get over how you can change lanes here on the inside and the outside and that they don't signal. Mostly we don't do that in the UK!