Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site isucs1.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!whuxlm!whuxl!houxm!ihnp4!stolaf!umn-cs!isucs1!roy From: roy@isucs1.UUCP Newsgroups: net.flame Subject: Re: L.A. drivers Message-ID: <318@isucs1.UUCP> Date: Thu, 13-Jun-85 08:53:53 EDT Article-I.D.: isucs1.318 Posted: Thu Jun 13 08:53:53 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 23-Jun-85 04:07:14 EDT Sender: notes@isucs1.UUCP Organization: Iowa State University Lines: 86 Nf-ID: #R:sdcc3:-284000:isucs1:5700007:000:4612 Nf-From: isucs1!roy Jun 11 12:09:00 1985 So you all think places like L.A., N.Y. and Boston have the worst drivers? HA! Having lived most of my life in the N.Y. area, I have driven in N.Y. (including Manhattan during rush hour), Boston, Baltimore, and D.C. I've also driven in Chicago and Minneapolis, and been in traffic (though not driving) in L.A. You know where I've found the worst drivers? IOWA!! Let me elaborate on this. In the cities, I have found drivers to be rude and aggressive, but rarely have I found them not to have control over their vehicles (when sober) or to have no concept of how to interact with other drivers. This is usually the case in Iowa. The drivers here don't know how to stay within a lane on the road, regardless of how crowded it is or how fast traffic is moving, and they often cross over the double yellow line (yes, into the oncoming traffic lane) if the road curves. These farmers can plow their fields in such perfectly straight lines, but put them in a car and they can't go in a straight line for anything! I think they get rattled by going more than 3 mph and by having other vehicles around. They also have no concept about interacting with other vehicles. This comes in two distinct flavors, both used by most drivers at different times. The first is where the driver is totally oblivious to others on the road. This includes wandering out of lanes, changing lanes without looking, turning corners without checking for oncoming traffic or pedestrians, driving 20 mph in the passing lane (often when there isn't anyone in the right lane), not using blinkers, etc. I don't know about you, but I'd much sooner face rude, aggressive drivers than ones who don't know what's going on around them. The other flavor is a total mistrust and overcompensation for others on the road. This may be due in part to the previously mentioned occurrences, but not to the extent that it occurs. This flavor isn't particularly dangerous, but it's aggravating as hell! Consider, for example, an intersection with stop signs for all four directions. Someone stops at it and sees another car coming on the intersecting street half a block away. Of course the first person could be through the intersection before the other car gets there (providing it doesn't speed up too much), but it will wait until the car stops at the intersection. At this point, there are two cars stopped at the intersection, and they can't figure out who should go first! This really happens all the time here. Another example is where one street has a stop sign and an intersecting one doesn't. When there is a car stopped at the sign, obviously waiting for a car on the other street to pass, the moving car will slow down just to "play it safe." Of course it isn't slow enough to prevent an accident if the stopped car decided to go -- just slow enough for cars further back to catch up so that the waiting car will have to wait longer. The same thing happens when a pedestrian is trying to cross the street. What is the reason for this? One is that the people here simply haven't had much experience driving or interacting with others in general. Another is that many are old and often can't see or hear too well, not to mention their reflexes being shot. I read (I forget the source) that the average age in Iowa is the second highest in the country. I think the first was Florida or Arizona -- someplace where a lot of people retire to. A while back on 60 Minutes there was a segment about the old drivers in Florida. Well, the problem is at least as bad here. Age isn't everything, though, since the younger drivers are pretty bad, too. The only thing that prevents there from being a lot more accidents than there are is that the population density is so low. Before I get flamed for overgeneralization (I hope it's not too late!), I realize that the above doesn't apply to ALL the Iowa drivers, and that other places have some drivers of this caliber, too. The problem is that the proportion, and even the absolute number, here is considerably higher than other places I've driven. If you've only driven through Iowa on one of the interstate, you may feel that this is inaccurate, but the interstate consists mostly of people who drive a lot or are from out of state. Try driving through some of the towns or even the "big city" Des Moines (chuckle, chuckle) to see what I mean. Has anyone else in a rural community experienced this situation? Roy Rubinstein csnet: roy@iowa-state usenet: isucs1!roy "Anything before Wednesday noon is still Monday morning." - RSR