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This is the same rhetoric from many transplants, especially those from the Eastern & Midwestern states. They love the weather, but hate the drivers. Keep in mind that our driving habits are largely the result of the weather that you like so much. Constant sunny, clear days with little rain, no ice, or other road hazards make it a lot easier to drive fast, and even reckless. That, and our transportation system, which generally consists of wide streets & freeways. It's the opposite of Boston or Chicago where the roads tend to be narrower, and the weather is much more inclement.
I don't find the drivers in Arizona to be any better or worse than back east. It's probably a draw. No matter where you go people always complain about bad drivers without taking into consideration their own driving habits. You'd be surprised that the winter doesn't slow people down out there. When I got out of high school I worked for my town's highway department. During the winter I was assigned as a spotter for the plow truck driver. We'd be out plowing snow in some of the worst conditions yet there would still be people out on the highway driving as if it were a bright and sunny day. They're in a hurry and they have no fear.
I went to a trucking school back there and learned how to drive tractor trailers. Most of my driving lessons were in the City of Poughkeepsie. I can't count how many times I've been cut off while driving an 18 wheeler because people don't want to get stuck behind a truck. The biggest problem with that is that you don't even know that they're behind you until they make their move. Then pull out, race up along side and cut you off at the last minute before making their turn. Then there's people lingering in your blind spot and refusing to pass. People refusing to allow enough space for wide turns at an intersection. You're going down a two way street and people opening up their doors and jumping out the drivers side without even looking. When you're sitting 8 feet up in the cab you have no way of knowing that anyone's in those vehicles that are about to exit. My wife and I always wanted to do that as a husband and wife team. We figured that it would be a great way to see the country and earn a living while doing it. I went for 26 weekends by that time I've had enough. Oh well at least I got to experience what it's like to drive a truck and see things from a trucker's vantage point.
What I hate the most are tailgater's especially on narrow winding roads and there's no place to pull over. While out on the highways I'll always look for a safe place to pull over and just let them go. What really annoys me is when they have plenty of room to pass and instead they'll still be three feet away from my rear bumper no matter how fast I'm going. I don't consider myself to be either a fast or slow driver. I drive with the flow of traffic and never under any circumstance tailgate another driver.
Last edited by Ex New Yorker; 07-24-2022 at 12:28 PM..
This is the same rhetoric from many transplants, especially those from the Eastern & Midwestern states. They love the weather, but hate the drivers. Keep in mind that our driving habits are largely the result of the weather that you like so much. Constant sunny, clear days with little rain, no ice, or other road hazards make it a lot easier to drive fast, and even reckless. That, and our transportation system, which generally consists of wide streets & freeways. It's the opposite of Boston or Chicago where the roads tend to be narrower, and the weather is much more inclement.
Drivers here are no worse than anywhere else with comparable conditions. So many xplants come from smaller towns, small cities and rural areas that they really have no experience in big city traffic. People in cities are in a hurry and are aggressive and that is true anyway in the world. You want laid back and slow - stay in Podunk - or the far right lane.
Drivers here are no worse than anywhere else with comparable conditions. So many xplants come from smaller towns, small cities and rural areas that they really have no experience in big city traffic. People in cities are in a hurry and are aggressive and that is true anyway in the world. You want laid back and slow - stay in Podunk - or the far right lane.
Nope. Has nothing to do with "big city traffic," or "laid back," or road conditions, or speed in general. Lived in Philly and Boston before here and for 30+ years was on the road 325 days a year for work. Driven extensively in pretty much every major city on the planet.
Highways in Europe are faster than in Phoenix, but nobody is weaving or cutting recklessly across 4 lanes 100 ft. before their exit.
City streets in Chicago or Houston or Atlanta are not driven like a series of 1/4 mile drag strips between lights.
And nowhere else has even a small fraction of the red light runners there are here.
I just now walked over to a light on 7th St near my house and sat on a big rock on the corner and watched traffic for a half hour or so. Every light cycle at least one car ran the light, usually more than one in both directions. And the number of cars doing over 60 was astonishing. A couple motorcycles went by that had to be doing over 80. With side streets and parking lot entrances every few yards that's wrong no matter how wide or straight the road is.
^Most of the really bad drivers are young adults that are living and making very questionable life decisions to begin with. Then they get behind the wheel.
I just now walked over to a light on 7th St near my house and sat on a big rock on the corner and watched traffic for a half hour or so. Every light cycle at least one car ran the light, usually more than one in both directions. And the number of cars doing over 60 was astonishing. A couple motorcycles went by that had to be doing over 80. With side streets and parking lot entrances every few yards that's wrong no matter how wide or straight the road is.
No excuse for running red lights, but driving habits in general are not going to change unless more traffic cops are put on duty. Even then, most cops likely won't pull over speeders, unless the speed is excessive, or they're doing something else which is more serious. Going 60 MPH on a wide thoroughfare in a suburban location with a good traffic flow isn't too unusual, and not really unsafe unless the drivers are inattentive or impaired. Somebody who is intoxicated, overly medicated, or not paying attention is a traffic hazard, regardless of how fast or slow he/she is driving.
What Ex New Yorker said earlier was very true. Bad drivers exist in all 50 states & all over the world, and complaining about other drivers is common no matter where you go. The thing to ask yourself is: are you another person who watches the way others drive without taking your own habits into consideration??? If drivers here bother you that much to where you feel the need to sit on a corner & track what everybody else is doing, I don't know what to say, other than you must have been bored beyond belief!
While drivers in all big cities are pretty aggressive and contemptuous of anyone who impedes them, there is a difference in Phoenix and it could be lethal. Phoenix drivers are all carrying guns.
No excuse for running red lights, but driving habits in general are not going to change unless more traffic cops are put on duty. Even then, most cops likely won't pull over speeders, unless the speed is excessive, or they're doing something else which is more serious. Going 60 MPH on a wide thoroughfare in a suburban location with a good traffic flow isn't too unusual, and not really unsafe unless the drivers are inattentive or impaired. Somebody who is intoxicated, overly medicated, or not paying attention is a traffic hazard, regardless of how fast or slow he/she is driving.
What Ex New Yorker said earlier was very true. Bad drivers exist in all 50 states & all over the world, and complaining about other drivers is common no matter where you go. The thing to ask yourself is: are you another person who watches the way others drive without taking your own habits into consideration??? If drivers here bother you that much to where you feel the need to sit on a corner & track what everybody else is doing, I don't know what to say, other than you must have been bored beyond belief!
I have a neighbor that's just like that. The speed limit in our neighborhood is 25 miles per hour. Indeed there are some people that race through the neighborhood. Our street is narrow to begin with and there's just enough room for two vehicles to pass each other going in the opposite direction without putting one vehicle into the culvert. What he did was steal some trafficade barriers from a road construction sight and placed them about 4+ feet out into the road thinking that it would slow people down.
All that he accomplished was creating a traffic hazard as people would have to swerve to avoid hitting them and pissing off everyone in the neighborhood. Sometimes you'd have to come to a complete stop in order to allow another vehicle to pass. It was like a game of chicken. Another time he sat out in his driveway with a fake radar gun pointing at any vehicle that drove past. This went on for about two months until finally I called our county sheriff who sent a deputy, spoke to him, took the barriers away and that was the end of that.
Even though the speed limit in our neighborhood is 25 mph. I usually slow down to about 15 mph. There are no sidewalks and there are always people out walking their dogs. Most are on a leash, but some are not. Other times people just back out of their driveways without even looking. Then there are the wild animals that come from out of nowhere, coyotes, rabbits, javelina etc. Along with people that let their cats and dogs run loose, some intentional others by accident.
We had the same thing in New York with people speeding through residential neighborhoods. I don't think that any community is immune from that? Except we didn't have as many wild animals to watch out for in a residential neighborhood. The biggest problem was deer on some of the major highways especially at night. There was one accident where a deer went through the windshield of a Chevy Blazer killing both the driver and passenger. I used to dread when we had an early morning or late at night commute. Not only did you have to pay attention to traffic but look for the reflection of the headlights in the deer's eyes.
Although it's fun to talk about bad drivers about the only thing that you can do about them is watch out for them for your own safety and if at all possible just let them go and keep your distance. They're bound to cause an accident someday.
Last edited by Ex New Yorker; 07-25-2022 at 08:01 PM..
^Most of the really bad drivers are young adults that are living and making very questionable life decisions to begin with. Then they get behind the wheel.
Today we have the problem of cell phones and texting while driving adding to the other's like stuffing their faces while driving. I often have to wonder who the hell are these people yakking away or texting to all the time? What the hell did people do before they had those things? I've also seen people driving with their pets in their lap. It always seems like a lot of people are in big hurry to get nowhere? You see them weaving in and out of traffic, cutting people off only to see them stopped at the next traffic light as you pull up right besides them.
Running red lights is dangerous & criminal, and should never be condoned. I'm talking mainly about the speeding, which many transplants describe as aggressive or reckless. It's easier and actually safer to drive fast here if traffic conditions allow for it, and it's largely due to our "phenomenal weather". Obviously, conditions here are a lot different from cities like Boston. I'm not saying Phoenix drivers are anything to brag about, but we need to take the bitter with the sweet.
Whether it's Phoenix, New York City, LA, Chicago, Boston or any other large city where you have a lot of people crammed into a small area. It's a lot easier to spot bad drivers and there's a lot more to pay attention to. The more crowded the city the more bad drivers you have.
When we moved out here I rented a box truck loaded with everything we might need until the moving trucks arrived. The worst place that I remember driving through was Akron, OH. It was not so much the other drivers as it was the amount of traffic. I had a GPS that was telling me to go one way and the signs pointing to another. I was in the wrong lane and could have ended up in Cleveland when I was supposed to be staying on 76 towards Barberton. Fortunately I was able to get in the right lane before the exit. But it was damn close. The rest of the trip was uneventful.
Drivers in LA area are fast and aggressive. In Phoenix they're the same, only dumber. It's the worst thing about living in Phoenix besides the heat.
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Horrible drivers.
