Survey Says Iowa Drivers Are Some of the Rudest in the U.S.

[TBoneTX 45,570]

Quote

Survey Says Iowa Drivers Are Some of the Rudest in the U.S.

Aaron Young
ayoung2@dmreg.com
Published 9:26 a.m. CT July 17, 2017
Updated 8:33 a.m. CT July 18, 2017

Iowans aren't very nice drivers, a new survey promoting better driving habits in the U.S. shows.

Iowa earned a D when it comes to having the most courteous drivers, Kars4Kids.org reports through its summer driving awareness campaign, Drive Human.

Even worse, the state recorded an F for not letting cars merge in front of you and the use of turn signals.

"Iowans are not nice to slow drivers but will respect your need for speed if you try to pass them," Kars4Kids.org said.

Overall, Iowa placed [...]

[Story continues here:]

http://www.press-citizen.com/story/news/2017/07/17/iowa-driving-kars-4-kids-united-states-survey/483899001/
 

 

Edited July 18, 2017 by TBoneTX
to fix formatting

[IAMX 3,055]

Out west things are more open so I can see why something like this benefits the west. Things are extremely congested out east. Can't explain Iowa though.

[bcking 3,157]

Surprising because in my head the image of a road in Iowa has a single car, a tractor, and maybe a cow in the way.

[TBoneTX 45,570]

50 minutes ago, bcking said:

a road in Iowa has a single car, a tractor, and maybe a cow

In some of the less-traveled rural areas, this is pretty accurate.

The Interstates and other major highways are like anywhere else.

When another driver is courteous, a prevalent act is to raise your index finger off your steering wheel to acknowledge it.

[CaliCat 3,957]

50 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

In some of the less-traveled rural areas, this is pretty accurate.

The Interstates and other major highways are like anywhere else.

When another driver is courteous, a prevalent act is to raise your index finger off your steering wheel to acknowledge it.

Oh! I thought it was the middle one! LOL.

[Dashinka 24,628]

I have never understood road rage or rude drivers.  I remember during my fire department days at times having to close off a road due to a serious accident or a big fire, there were always several drivers that tried to drive around us, or ask us to simply let them through.  One time it was a twelve year old that was killed on his bike and we were helping out the police with traffic, my response to those drivers was that this boy had a much worse day then them and they can deal with a little inconvenience.

[Randyandyuni 2,682]

5 hours ago, CaliCat said:

Oh! I thought it was the middle one! LOL.

That is massachusetts

[OriZ 3,157]

1 hour ago, Bill & Katya said:

I have never understood road rage or rude drivers.  I remember during my fire department days at times having to close off a road due to a serious accident or a big fire, there were always several drivers that tried to drive around us, or ask us to simply let them through.  One time it was a twelve year old that was killed on his bike and we were helping out the police with traffic, my response to those drivers was that this boy had a much worse day then them and they can deal with a little inconvenience.

While I don't get rude or ask to go through but just quietly find a detour, I have to say certain situations can be quite irritating, especially roadwork. In Israel they do most roadwork at night, so I hate here when I have to wait for silly flaggers. Also when the freeway is backed up due to an accident it frustrates me the effect someone else's lack of driving skills has on my day TBH. 

 

16 minutes ago, Randyandyuni said:

That is massachusetts

Seems like Mass scored pretty well though, don't ask me how or why. I believe they are at #21, VT is #9 but if you go into the link that's in the OP, then at the bottom they have another link for the full survey. Then the site it takes you to has the full list as well as the questions they were based on and you can answer your own quiz there too. My answers gave me a "you drive like a multi tasker" lol whatever that means. Some of the questions there have some flaws though; For example, one question is if you use your turn signal when merging or changing lanes.I'm assuming that if you say yes they consider you a "courteous driver". However many people around here seem to think that if they put their turn signal on for 1/2 a second and then change lanes all is ok and the person in that lane not only noticed they did this but decided to let them in. I consider that to be pretty rude though, but maybe that's just me. I might be a "multi tasker" but that's a risk I'd never take...that's how accidents happen and that is(partly) why I end up paying the price for someone else being stupid on the road when I'm stuck on the freeway.

[IAMX 3,055]

I imagine New Yorkers speeding is partly justification for that annoying toll freeway that spans much of the state. The other part greed on the state governments part.

 

Driving in Calgary is definitely a different thing.. people here are so ridiculously patient and slower drivers. One thing that endlessly bothers my wife is how slowly people merge onto freeways. They sit below freeway speed for quite a while coming from onramps.

 

Wife was also spoiled in Ontario by all the GTA onramps being on the right side, whereas in Alberta its a toss-up on left turns..

 

The drivers in the GTA are extremely aggressive. What shocked me is immigrants are even worse. They're bad and dangerous, which explains why the insurance rates are ridiculous -- accidents waiting to happen.

 

The Bay Area in California was rather easy.. if you're going to drive the speed limit or under, be in the slower lanes. It's rather safe so long as you don't irritate fast drivers. Was also always simple to tell illegals from everyone else, they'd be driving in the fast lanes in a small beat-up truck, 5 miles under the speed limit, truck bed full of cleaning supplies, and cab packed to the brim with people.

Edited July 19, 2017 by IAMX

[OriZ 3,157]

32 minutes ago, IAMX said:

I imagine New Yorkers speeding is partly justification for that annoying toll freeway that spans much of the state. The other part greed on the state governments part.

 

Driving in Calgary is definitely a different thing.. people here are so ridiculously patient and slower drivers. One thing that endlessly bothers my wife is how slowly people merge onto freeways. They sit below freeway speed for quite a while coming from onramps.

 

Wife was also spoiled in Ontario by all the GTA onramps being on the right side, whereas in Alberta its a toss-up on left turns..

 

The drivers in the GTA are extremely aggressive. What shocked me is immigrants are even worse. They're bad and dangerous, which explains why the insurance rates are ridiculous -- accidents waiting to happen.

 

The Bay Area in California was rather easy.. if you're going to drive the speed limit or under, be in the slower lanes. It's rather safe so long as you don't irritate fast drivers. Was also always simple to tell illegals from everyone else, they'd be driving in the fast lanes in a small beat-up truck, 5 miles under the speed limit, truck bed full of cleaning supplies, and cab packed to the brim with people.

Yes! HERE TOO! They are all TOO slow and timid. And I say if you can't handle hitting at least 50mph on the ramp and at least 60-65 within 5 secs of being off the ramp stay off the friggin freeway and go drive behind a plower. At times I swear people are afraid of their own shadow, but yet when it comes to the turn signal thing that I mentioned....

 

 

 

[TBoneTX 45,570]

It's irritating to have to go all the way into the right lane of the freeway just to get back in the left lane.

Perhaps the rationale of the turtles who populate the left lane is, "I plan to drive far slower than everyone else, so I'll get in the left lane to stay out of everyone's way."

[IAMX 3,055]

44 minutes ago, TBoneTX said:

It's irritating to have to go all the way into the right lane of the freeway just to get back in the left lane.

Perhaps the rationale of the turtles who populate the left lane is, "I plan to drive far slower than everyone else, so I'll get in the left lane to stay out of everyone's way."

You'd love BC then.. their cops are very ####### about enforcing the "slower people stay right" aspect of traffic laws. I've literally seen people driving the speed limit yanked from the left lane for slowing down a congo line of speeders.

 

So I suppose trying to think of it from their perspective, they must see passing on the right as something that's dangerous.

Edited July 19, 2017 by IAMX

[TBoneTX 45,570]

Sounds like heaven.

If I were a trafffic cop, I could make a career out of issuing tickets for "impeding."

However, I once asked a cop about why more such aren't issued, and he said, "It's a challenge getting to them [to pull them over]."

[OriZ 3,157]

5 hours ago, TBoneTX said:

It's irritating to have to go all the way into the right lane of the freeway just to get back in the left lane.

Perhaps the rationale of the turtles who populate the left lane is, "I plan to drive far slower than everyone else, so I'll get in the left lane to stay out of everyone's way."

lol. Or the ones that stay in the left lane because they think they're driving just a wee bit faster than another car that's like 5 miles away but they won't drive in the right lane until they actually reach that car. Or the ones(not on the freeway) that need to turn left in 5 miles and are afraid they're not going to be able to get in that lane when they need to.

Edited July 19, 2017 by OriZ

[Dashinka 24,628]

Here is an interesting article I read that is relevant to this discussion.

 

Driving would be awesome — if it weren't for all the other drivers, am I right?

For example: Traffic on a major thoroughfare is heavy and moving slowly; only a handful of cars creep through the intersection during each light cycle. Impatience grows and more and more motorists try to sneak through on yellow. Eventually, they get so desperate they start stacking up mid-intersection and remain there after the light turns red.

Does the Zipper Merge Fly With You? (Poll)

Now the cars trying to turn left into that lane can't, and they start stacking up, blocking traffic in the other direction, too. Pedestrians can't cross in the crosswalk. Order breaks down. And I become Bill Bixby, angered beyond control (despite my polite admonition that you wouldn't like me if this happened), complete with tortured expression and preternaturally enraged eyes. Now something else is turning green — and it ain't the traffic signal. These degenerates, these sociopaths, these ... these ... fellow passengers to the grave, as Dickens put it, have committed one of the driving don'ts that torques me off the most. DON'T BLOCK THE $*%&@ INTERSECTION!

What say we vent together? Let's just get it all out there on the table for some therapeutic car-related catharsis (car-tharsis?). The following is a list of annoying driving behaviors that get the Cars.com editorial department revved into the red (and by all means, let your own frustrations fly in the comments section below):

 

Mike Hanley, Research editor: Territorial drivers. You know the ones; they don't let you merge even when there's nowhere else for you to go. Like it's really going to matter if you're in front or back of me while we're stuck in the middle of this traffic jam? Intersection blockers. Also, tailgaters. This is annoying in general (and also unsafe), but it's especially aggravating if you're going the speed limit or higher. Just chill.

• Jennifer Newman, assistant managing editor: Drivers speeding up when you're passing them on the highway. Usually, I'm midway through passing the slower car when its driver suddenly decides to speed up.
• Matt Schmitz, news editor: Drivers who can't seem to maintain a consistent speed on interstates. Man, you and I have leapfrogged 10 times over the past 50 miles, and I know it's not me because my cruise control has been set to the same speed the whole time. I assure you, dude, if I arrive before you at the far-flung destination to which we're evidently both headed, I won't consider it some personal victory.
• Joe Wiesenfelder, executive editor: People who pull into the rightmost lane at a stoplight so they can get ahead of the other cars when the light turns green. This guy's already a jerk for his intentions, but the real problem is he prevents cars behind him from turning right on red. If he were to stay out of that lane, countless right-turn intenders wouldn't have to wait through the whole light cycle.
• Ali Oswald, editorial intern: Not pulling over for an emergency vehicle. What in your life is so important that you can't take three seconds to pull over to help save another person's life? Also, pulling to the side of the road and not putting on your hazards. Pulling over is OK, but let me know you don’t plan on moving so that I can proceed around you.
• Jen Burklow, copy editor: Drivers who turn left from the right lane and right from the left lane on a four-lane road, careening across several lanes of traffic. OK, so you came upon your next turn and realized it at the last minute. Big deal. Go around the block, or to the next exit, and try it again rather than endangering everyone else around you.
• Kelsey Mays, consumer affairs editor: People who drive 5-10 mph under the speed limit, looking aimlessly for something while slowing all traffic behind. Bonus points for signaling a couple times when they think they found it. This idiot has decided to take a Sunday drive during a Tuesday rush hour. Which makes sense, because no one who dallies this much could possibly have a job. I hope he gets a ticket.
• Bill Jackson, assistant managing editor: Those who pass on the right. Before everybody says I drive too slowly: I'll be in the right lane of a three-lane highway and see someone several hundred yards ahead in the center lane. In Illinois (Cars.com is based in Chicago) the car coming to pass, no matter if the entire highway is clear from here to Green Bay, will always pass on the right. Also: Car drivers who blow through stop signs and yell at bikes because "you all blow through stop signs." No we don't. (In fairness, my other pet peeve is bike riders riding the wrong way on one-way streets.) Also(!): People who pull up to a toll booth and ask for directions.
• Paul Dolan, visual designer: When you are trying to pull out of a parallel parking space or pulling out of a gas station, you have the nose of the car out, you have the blinker on, you are clearly waiting to pull into traffic and instead of leaving a little room for you to pull in, another driver fills that space between cars as though you are completely invisible. Also: When there are two lanes, but the right lane is a right-turn lane and someone uses that lane to pass a long line of cars only to pull into the left lane in front of everyone.
• Lindsay Frommer, multimedia intern: It bothers me when people have the option and open opportunity to make a right on red and they don't.

https://www.cars.com/articles/2014/07/bad-driving-habits-that-drive-us-mad/