In the comments to my blog about how to drive part 1, a few of you mentioned how bad some drivers are. Claire said that South Western drivers are the worst. I've heard that Southern drivers in general are the worst. I can't say for sure because I've never spent much time in those areas, but I thought I'd blog about what I know.
The worst drivers that I've experienced were in Rhode Island. And the strange thing is, the driving goes back to normal the second you cross the state line. The bad driving doesn't leak over to Connecticut of Massachusets. I've never understood why this is.
Some of the more memorable RI maneuvers:
The Rhode Island Snake - When waiting in the left turn lane at an intersection without a turn arrow, gun it as soon as the light changes, and cut off the oncoming traffic as you make your left turn. They've got brakes, don't worry about it. But you alone do not make up the snake, it's the 3-7 cars behind you that follow in your wake that complete the "Rhode Island Snake". The snake can only be broken by a car with a CT or MA license plate.
The Rhode Island Crawl - Say you want to turn right onto a main road, but traffic doesn't have a gap large enough for you to merge into safely. What do you do? Slowly crawl your car out onto the main road to the point that traffic has to barely swerve to miss you. After a few cars, you will see someone slow down slightly because they are unaware of what you intend to do (or maybe they know and respect the Rhode Island Crawl). When you see them slow down, nudge out a bit more and watch them slow down more. After 2-4 nudges, you will have oncoming traffic slow enough that you can gun it to make it in. Of course by this time you are also blocking enough of the road that people will have to face oncoming traffic to get around you. And those cowards aren't gonna do that!
I often wanted to spend a day at an intersection with a camcorder. I'm convinced that in a 5 hour span you could record at least one accident, and 20+ near misses. As you drive around any major RI city, you are bound to see a few accidents each day. Such is the life of the Rhode Island motorist.
3 comments:
Maybe that's why the capital's called "Providence!" I'll have to visit RI someday and try for myself!
Never done RI. However, I have seen some of their signature moves out west. Having traveled the country, I can only say that in each state the worst drivers are the Hotel Van drivers. Ya. The guys shuttling you to and from the airport. Any hotel chain. I've heard some of the worst (first person)stories about drinking and driving from these guys. One in Eureka used to point out where all the head-shops were. One in Boise parked it in the left turning lane after he heard a siren. He had plenty of time to get to the right, but the fire engine then had to snake (ha ha) into oncoming traffic to get across the intersection. Many lives were risked. I could go on for hours.
As part of the conditions of my current reign as 5th worst driver in Utah, I don't believe that I am allowed to make comment on this post. They say they'll take my crown if I criticize Rhode Island as it is the birthplace and current home of the Awards. Sorry, Adam!
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