I’ve very recently moved back to California after living in Washington State for two years. As when I moved to Washington, I am currently struck by just how different driving styles are in the two states:
- In California, the speed limit is generally regarded as an absolute minimum (unless traffic congestion restricts speeds to below the limit). If the speed limit is 65 mph in an open freeway, the flow of traffic will likely be 70-75, and cars going 80+ mph will not be uncommon. In Washington, however, the vast majority of drivers will drive almost exactly the speed limit.
- Most drivers on California freeways will sort themselves out by desired speed, with slower drivers tending towards the right lane and faster, more aggressive drivers tending towards the left. Washingtonians will drive in any damn lane they feel like, regardless of speed; it’s not uncommon to see several cars all driving side-by-side, each going 60 mph.
- If you need to merge into a densely-trafficked lane, Washingtonians will let you in very readily. Californians will cheerfully run you off the road rather than risk you getting to their destination two seconds before they do. Using a turn signal in California is regarded as a sign of weakness.
- Drivers will cut you off in both states, but the attitude is very different. Californians know they’re engaging in rude and dangerous behavior and take appropriate precautions, but Washingtons simply assume that you intend to let them in and will merge directly in front of you with careless abandon.
I’m not sure which style is better. The Californian style seems more natural to me, but that’s probably just because I learned to drive here.
I’ve driven a little bit in Oregon, but not enough to get a feel for Oregonian driving culture, and I’ve never driven in any other state. How do driving styles differ in states where you’ve lived?
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In Seattle, people wait until the last possible second to brake. The first day I lived here I almost rear-ended three different people because I was following them at Detroit distances. You’ve gotta give ‘em more space. Also, they drive surprisingly poorly in the rain considering that Seattle is known for raining all the damn time. The first rain after summer, just give yourself an extra hour to go wherever you’re trying to go.
In Detroit, the attitude is, "We built ‘em, we know what they’re capable of."
In North Texas, we have both types. The speed limit idiots try to do rolling roadblocks on the highway, while the speeding maniacs tailgate them mercilessly trying to get around. The State Troopers went on a kick enforcing the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" law (we have one in Texas) but it didn’t seem to have any significant effect.
It has actually gotten worse since Katrina and the massive influx of LA drivers. They are easy to identify because unlike other North Texas drivers, traffic lights and lane markers are mere suggestions to them, which they ignore regularly as they careen in random directions at random and constantly changing speeds.
I had a friend from LA tell me it is because they are permanently drunk, and I have started to believe it.
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If you’d like to learn the peculiarities and peccadilloes of different states’ drivers, come on down to the Washington, DC area and stay for a few months.
Each driver brings his/her regional custom and bad behavior. They combine on the highways and city streets amusingly, particularly if you throw in things completely unknown in their native regions, like snow, ice, or heavy rains. I guarantee that you will be using the names of various deities in vain continually and loudly.
Throw in the fact that the motor laws in DC, VA, and MD aren’t quite the same, either, and you wonder why more people haven’t died bloodily on the streets.
It’s almost as much fun as watching suburbanites try to parallel park in the city! This is a skill that may have been acquired to pass a driving test, but as it remains unused in the ‘burbs, it remains a trying exercise that blocks traffic and dings cars parked nearby
I’ve lived in the suburbs all my life, and I learned to drive in California where parallel parking isn’t even on the test. I’ve since learned how to parallel park (a necessity, as I’ve got friends who live in Seattle proper and I needed to parallel park when I went to their houses), but I’m not very good at it and I avoid it whenever practical.
Hawaiians drive sloooow – for good reason, as a lot of Hawaiian roads are hugely dangerous with blind turns, random rockfalls, flash floods, etc. But if there’s a bit of good, straight road, like the valley roads in Maui or the road to Lahaina, they’ll drive like bats out of heck. And nearly everyone drives a huge SUV…
It’s the only place where I’ve seen 10mph speed limits – and realized anyone going that fast was taking dangerous liberties with Darwin. I was even on a single-lane road with a 5mph speed limit – and since it was cut in a rockface, it was only wide enough for a single car – while being a two-direction road.
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More road stuff: things get interesting where you have "light runner" culture versus "light jumper" culture. I noticed that in Arizona and Utah, people jump lights, while Californians run lights. This gets dangerous if people from one culture meet the other.
(A “light runner” goes through after the light has turned red, while a “light jumper” goes through before it has turned green…)
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I think the "California driving style" depends on where in California.
I live in the Bay Area, and it does not seem that bad around here.
Before I moved to Washington, I lived and worked in Orange County and frequently drove through Los Angeles for weekend trips to San Luis Obispo. I currently live in the Bay Area (I’m working in Mountain View and commuting from temporary corporate housing in San Jose). Bay Area driver are significantly milder than LA/OC driver, but their style has much more in common with LA/OC than with the Seattle area.
As a pedestrian, I have noticed something similar. Drivers will run you over everywhere, but for different reasons.
In DC it’s because they have something more important to think about. "So I told the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary that the Deputy Assistant Undersecretary would block — was that a bump? — would block release of the report…"
In Colorado, it’s the code of the West. "If a man can’t make it to the other side of of the road, he shouldn’t step off the curb. Yep, there’s the bump."
In the Midwest they just aren’t paying attention. I had a guy in Columbus, Ohio drive through a cross walk into an intersection, throw it into reverse, and knock me down as he returned to his starting position. His immediate remark was, "You aren’t supposed to be there." Whereas backing out of an intersection the wrong way through a crosswalk is acceptable.
In Boston, it’s morality. "I’M GOING TO A WORLD PEACE THROUGH LOVE DEMONSTRATION! YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO CROSS THE STREET IN FRONT OF ME! FASCIST!!"
Outside of Boston, it’s because they can tell you’re not from there, e.g. from the next town over. "Tourist!"
I spent a winter in France. They certainly will run you over there. But, either because of the language and cultural barrier, or lack of time, I never figured out why.
If you want excitement in your life–and high insurance premiums–live in a place where the guiding principle is "God wills it".
Mirrors, brakes, turn signals, horns… all decorative accessories, to be used for amusement only, not for anything useful.
One of my biggest problems when I first moved here and commuted.
I live in Maine – when the light turns yellow you better stop immediately or you will go thru a red light. Do that in Boston and you’ll get rear ended!
Oregon drivers are almost exactly like Washington ones.
John: Lemme guess… Miami?
I was actually thinking ‘the Middle East’, but Miami works, too!
The first time I tried to get on a highway in Ct. I almost rear ended a driver stopped at a yield sign with no traffic to yield to, which pretty much was standard practice.
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