Worst places to drive..... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

Plantman · #1 09-09-2003, 10:10 AM

Looking for some opinions of the worst places to drive in the US.

I live in Miami and I have never seen such a combination of poor planning, congestion and by far the worst, inconsiderate drivers I have seen. That and the fact that just about every driver here seems to think they own the phone booth.

I used to think that drivers in NYC were bad. I have come to believe that they are just aggressive drivers who know how to drive. as opposed to drivers who do not know how to drive.

The new thing now is to have these kids with dvd players installed all over the cars.

I recently was driving behind a pos 1991-5 Honda Civic going 45 mph in the left lane of the Florida Turnpike. As I passed the guy on the right, I noticed the Motherf@#$%! was watching a dvd player that was installed where his rearview morror should be.

It's not bad enough that people are allowed to talk on cell phones while they drive, now they drive while watching TV.

It is not very uncommon here to leave your house at 6 in the morning to take kids to school and see my neighbors walk out of the house,back out of the driveway, and drive all the way to work on the damn cell phone. What coud you possibly have to say?

Another example, I was stopped behind a person at a stop sign and waited for about 2 minutes for them to pull out. They didn;t so I blew my horn and the ***** waved her hand at me to inform me that she was on the phone, signalling to me that I was apparently interrupting her conversation.

Even the damn cops are on cell phones as they drive.

Do other cities tolerate such blatant and dangerous cell phone use by drivers?

I have been to NYC recently and the cell phone using community is much more educated that here.

Everybody and their kids have cell phones here and it;s getting worse and worse.

Have you ever seen:

People waiting for the bus while on a cell phone.

Riding a bike...cell phone in hand.

Running on the treadmill at the gym

Sitting at dinner with the phones volume as loud as can be bothering other patrons

Standing on line at Wendy's while talking on a handsfree set and ordering lunch, explaining to the caller, I'm not speaking to you, you are not fat, I just supersized my fries at Wendy's"

Women on line at the bank, doing the same thing they did at Wendy's, except this time it's a teller dealing with money.

People talking while in the movies.

Sorry for the rant.

Thanks for listening. I gotta go, my cell phone is ringing.

Later

fahrgewehr2 · #2 09-09-2003, 11:01 AM

There are several delis I frequent which will not acknowledge you until you are off your phone. If you are on the phone, you get no service! I think its a great idea. I will be a happy man when cell phone use while driving is made illegal.

Worst roads? Its hard not to hate the beltway.

Mike

Plantman · #3 09-09-2003, 11:28 AM

I have a great idea...no shoes,no shirt, no service can be replaced by "If you are on your cell phone, go eat somewhere else.

Jim Anderson · #4 09-09-2003, 12:25 PM

Screeeeeeeech, Bang, I have to hang up now

Kestas · #5 09-09-2003, 01:18 PM

Worst Roads?.... right here in SE Michigan. Lost three rims in the last three years - all in the same stretch of road in my commute.

On the bright side, Detroit freeways are relatively good to get around during rush hour, not like some big cities I've visited or lived in.

#6 09-09-2003, 01:24 PM

The worst piece of highway that I can think of is highway 70 west of Indianapolis. The heavy truck traffic keeps the road in a state of disrepair. Their are so many heavy trucks that they own the highway. And what about these truckers who pull out to pass another truck and just ride along next to each other for miles at a time?
In St Louis, we have hiway 40 eastbound(it has been renamed to hiway 64 for god knows what reason) which passes over hi-way 70/55 in downtown St Louis but makes no connection to them. You have to drive through downtown city streets if you want to make the connection.

sohj · #7 09-09-2003, 01:32 PM

Boston for the drivers' unpredictability.

The Beltway for obvious reasons.

LA for shear stupidity (I was driving up 91 through MA once and saw, on an otherwise EMPTY road, a wagon going about 50 mph in the far left lane -- 3 lanes to choose from, 65mph zone -- said to passenger "That chick's driving like she's from LA." I got up close and saw a plate frame from some car lot in Santa Monica. Go figure. Brother-in-law told me NOT to step on the brakes, but to coast when slowing to save gas. And that he was taught this in Drivers' Ed.

Uh, sorry, I think I'd like the people behind me to know I was slowing. I've had to teach my husband how to drive properly. Also, I get hounded by his LA family for my "dangerous aggressiveness" but the Boston family ASKS me to drive them around!!

)

NY for its aggressiveness, but I'm used to it and drive like that, too.

New Jersey for the apparent custom of giving those coming INTO the roundabout the right-of-way over those ALREADY IN the roundabout.

The whole NE Corridor for the huge quantity of timid women who don't know how to use exterior mirrors in large SUVs bought by their overprotective husbands.

Haven't driven in Miami. Having read that, I don't plan to.

Really, really like driving in Germany. Only like driving in Italy when I'm well-rested.

edited to add: just remembered the Penn. tpk. Damn that's horrible.

jcd · #8 09-09-2003, 01:51 PM

Route 80, New Jersey, Rush Hour, nuff said

JCD

#9 09-09-2003, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by PaulC
Ah, you haven't lived unless you navigate the Schuylkill Expressway in Philadelphia during Monday morning rush hour. Last year, I was an intrigued spectator to a woman in a red Sunbird convertible who literally screamed for 25 minutes at the sluggish traffic, while alternately flooring the accelerator and brake pedal. Her behavior was finally rewarded when she nerfed the semi in front of her and removed a few extraneous pieces of trim from the front end. The blase semi driver didn't even bother to stop.

I have never driven this road without seeing a freshly-flattened Japanese compact being winched onto a flatbed.

It's quite likely that the semi driver never knew that he had been rear ended. A puny little car isn't going to transfer much energy to 40 tons of tractor trailer combination.

#10 09-09-2003, 02:24 PM

As for worst places to drive, as a former trucker the following come to mind in order:

New York and surrounding area: You had BETTER be paying attention to the signage WELL in advance of the exit It's far too easy to end up on the wrong highway with no way back around. The local drivers aren't too easy on unfamiliar drivers either.

Miami, Florida: Well, it's already been mentioned in the thread, as to how bad it's laid out, and how horrible the drivers are. It's also the only place where I've ever been forced to run people off of the road to make a required exit, despite a MILE of both signalling my need AND attempting to merge only to be blocked by some idiot who doesn't want a truck in front of them.

Atlanta Georgia. Roads themselves aren't too bad. The drivers though make Texans seem laid back.

L.A. and San Fransisco. Too many cars, and rush hours capable of making saints swear. The highway system itself wasn't too bad once I got used to it. (went to L.A. alot)

Chicago: If you drive trucks, GET DIRECTIONS. Low bridges are the norm, and you don't want to get stuck under one. You MUST get directins in AND out of most freight docks there.

Most other cities fall into the general realm of tough to get around in untill you get a general idea of their systems. All large cities suffer from TMC (too many cars).

yal · #11 09-09-2003, 03:21 PM

I agree with all that has been said about NY, NJ and PENN LOL

I always warn people about the signs when they get to NY, we can't seem to make up our minds on using route numbers or local slang to describe a road. After all how many people from other places know what the hell the Sunrise, GCP or LIE is

mikemover · #12 09-09-2003, 03:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Diesel Power

Atlanta Georgia. Roads themselves aren't too bad. The drivers though make Texans seem laid back.

Hey, we're not all bad drivers, we're just just in a hurry! :p On the interstates around here, we view speed limits as "suggestions".

Our roads are very good for the most part...far better than the highways in many states and cities that I travel to.

The city is growing at a much more rapid pace than the roads can handle, though...so many parts of town are a NIGHTMARE at rush hour, especially if it rains, or there's an accident. You have to know what areas to avoid at those times...

I second the sentiments about NYC/NJ area...I love visiting, and playing there with my band, but getting around that place is INSANE...the antiquated, poorly maintained, and overcrowded road system there is HELL, and all the damn toll booths make the congestion FAR worse.

Mike

#13 09-09-2003, 03:41 PM

Toll booths, Thats right mikemover. It seems that as soon as the traffic thins out and you start to make progress, they throw up another toll booth to tax your forward progress.

We have it so good here in the midwest by comparison.

The Guy · #14 10-06-2003, 10:42 PM

da beltway

#15 10-06-2003, 10:52 PM

Yes Atlanta drivers dont take the speed limit too seriously. It gets very dangerous on 285 when you 6 lanes of traffic including semis moving at 75-85 mph...

that is when the traffic isnt stopped like most of the time.