What the berkeley is wrong with people

So I just got caught up in some of the worst highway traffic I have dealt with in a long time.

First I am in a construction zone doing 10 over (45 zone)to keep up with traffic. While on a right hand curve (in the left lane with concrete barriers on my left) a Dodge conversion comes flying past me with the driver pouring a bag of Doritos in his mouth and proceeds to swerve into my lane. By the time he corrects himself, the speed zone is gone, I clock it up to 80 to get away from the van and the crazies behind me.

Next I'm coming up on a semi in the right lane (still on the left lane) about to pass when an Expedition comes out from out of nowhere in the right lane and cuts me off at 80 mph to get around the semi.

A few minutes later I come up to another group of cars and my exit is in a couple miles. I get past part of the group and there is an opening for me to squeeze over. I see a Challenger weaving through traffic in my side view and as soon as I hit my signal to get over, he comes flying up the right lane thinking he is going to get around me but instead ends up blocking me and I have to speed up squeeze in between a semi and a Saturn. The Challenger goes flying by me probably doing 90+.

I go to get off the exit, the Saturn honks, and the people all flip me the bird.

My nerves are shot right now.

That really doesn't seem all that unusual. What flavor Doritos were they?

Nacho Cheese

I see you're in Illinois. Have you ever been to Boston? I'm from Wisconsin and, although I grew up distrusting Illinois weekender drivers due to the higher percentage of shiny happy people doing the things you outline above, I'll never say they are idiot drivers again. Not after living in Boston for 2 years. The jackass percentage here is up a decent amount from the midwest, but the shockingly incompetant driver percentage is off the charts. I'm seriously curious if they teach people to drive with the racing game Burnout. Ya know, the one with the slow motion crashes?

Also nacho cheese is the best Dorito. No question. If you disagree, you're wrong.

I have been to Boston, but I wasn't driving.

Consider yourself lucky! It's a great city if you don't care about cars or driving one bit. While driving it's almost 1 shiny happy person or incompetant driver per minute.

The way you feel about Illinois drivers is the way I feel about Indiana drivers.

Growing up here we came to hate the way Indiana drivers drove. Then I moved to Ohio for 3 years.

Lets just say, when I get mad at an Indiana driver, I just remember my time in Ohio and my anger subsides.

I'm sorry...

If shiny happy people in traffic bother you, you probably shouldn't drive yourself into the DC area either...

I think I just hate city traffic. I'm guessing a good number of Illinois drivers that made me mad when I was in Wisconsin were from Chicago. I plan to avoid driving in any larger city as much as possible in life, i'm just stuck living in one for school. Also, my parents moved to Indiana once. They moved back to Wisconsin almost immediately. I don't think they mentioned the drivers, more so the piles of horse crap and buggies everywhere...

I like driving in Boston, just drive like a total ass and you fit right in.

Atlanta's been well behaved, just fast as hell the times I've been there. My hometown is full of people who have a vague grasp of proper turn procedure and all drive Donks.

No E36M3, this morning pulling onto I-5 and the right lane (and half the runoff area) was being occupied by an old lady doing a berkeleying crossword puzzle while weaving all over at 50MPH...

burbs of chicago are prob the worst I've ever seen...

but driving though Louisiana is right up there (had to drive though a few times on that trip from FL to TX and back

donalson wrote: but driving though Louisiana is right up there (had to drive though a few times on that trip from FL to TX and back

Ugh, I-10.

Just like someone else said, I think its city driving in general. I can't wait to move far, far, away.

B430 wrote: I like driving in Boston, just drive like a total ass and you fit right in.

Dang right, but just like I can't bring myself to beat the e36m3 out someone else's car, I can't bring myself to drive like a total bostonian. I think the main problem around here, though, isn't being an ass (though there certainly is that), but being incompetant/ignorant of how to drive. It's not their fault, the roads don't make sense either, and I think driver's ed is seriously lacking. I have a friend who grew up here, and he's among the best boston-area-born drivers I know, yet he's never heard of almost every non-obvious driving law I mention.

The idiots were out on their usual weekend forays out of NYC, heading north to experience the quaint charm of upstate NY while annoying everyone who actually lives there. I encountered a succession of SUVs and minivans being driven (and I use that term loosely) side-by-side up the Taconic (a very twisty and hilly parkway that dates back to the 1930s) at 5-10 under the limit by panicky drivers who couldn't keep a lane, at least not while having their attentions occupied by children, food, drink, cellphones, the radio, squirrels, chipmunks, trees, clouds, and who knows what else. My girlfriend said it was like a group home was having a day outing and decided to give everyone cars as they left.

Most of these twits don't drive at all except when they escape from the city. If you see a Zipcar or similar short-term rental on a nice weekend, watch out: it will crawl up the hills, weave across lanes, brake ridiculously hard into every corner, and then fly away at 90mph on the straights. It's a wonder more of them don't die spectacularly.

You must understand that at some point we all have been "the other" driver to another. So as a group, yes, we are not at our best. As individuals we are sometimes better, sometimes worse. Problem is we meet us all on the road everyday!

vwcorvette wrote: You must understand that at some point we all have been "the other" driver to another. So as a group, yes, we are not at our best. As individuals we are sometimes better, sometimes worse. Problem is we meet us all on the road everyday!

I've never been the one eating a salad while driving, though.

ISalad. As in bowl and fork. Each of which requires a hand. I swear I saw this.

Boston: We call them ma$$holes for a reason.

I love Massachusetts driving. It is just like wheel-to-wheel racing but on the street

This is why I love driving in Detroit, 0 traffic enforcement, just drive faster than everybody else and you can ignore them.

Bostonians make Jersey driver's look like saints..

Thats what I hate about living in Alberta (actually I hate most things about it) so much traffic enforcement (revenue generation) in the cities everyone drives around like they are 85 years old and zones out, not paying any attention to their surroundings. Unless you want to merge. then they try and block you, and get all upset when you cut them off. If you didn't step on the gas as soon as I put my signal on you wouldn't have had to slam your brakes when I did as I signaled I was going to do you berkeleying moron.

Phew, I thought it was just me.

I was pulling into the local Walmart when an Audi wagon was shortcutting through some parking spaces perpendicular to the direction I was heading at about 25 mph The old biddy driving the Audi looked and saw me coming, but insisted on heading across the lot.If I hadn't slowed down to let her through, I woulda met her right in the drivers door.

DoctorBlade wrote: Atlanta's been well behaved, just fast as hell the times I've been there. My hometown is full of people who have a vague grasp of proper turn procedure and all drive Donks.

Does it involve coming to a complete stop to turn even with no oncoming traffic? That always bugged me.