Jeremy Hansen wrote: > On another note, I have a bit of an axe to grind with the "Utah drivers" > stigma that has already been mentioned. To be blunt, I think it's total > bull. > > ### THIS IS A RANT. COMMENCE TO IGNORE. ### > > I have driven in many different parts of the country, as doubtless many of > you have and, in my experience, there is no shortage of seemingly > incompetent drivers anywhere.
In my view, the problem isn't usually incompetence, it's just a mismatch of driving styles. Different regions of the US seem to have different styles. If you know your region well enough, you can tell what other drivers are going to do by subtle hints that constitute a form of body language, and you can make corresponding safe choices. If you drive in a region where drivers give different hints, you're not going to see the hints and you'll get frustrated. I noticed this especially in DC, since DC has the combined traffic of several states. Maryland drivers behaved a little differently from Virginia drivers, and when they came together, mayhem ensued. New York City is an especially interesting place to drive. There are so many taxis that the taxis define the driving style. When I drove there, I mimicked the taxis and discovered I could have an easy time in the middle of apparent chaos. A lot of people need something to do while driving. One of my favorite things to do is predict what the cars around me are going to do. It's a kind of game. That way I learn people's styles, potentially avoiding crashes, and I identify overconfident and underconfident drivers so I can steer clear of them. Shane /* PLUG: http://plug.org, #utah on irc.freenode.net Unsubscribe: http://plug.org/mailman/options/plug Don't fear the penguin. */
