Originally Posted By: andrewg
Originally Posted By: lovcom
Originally Posted By: andrewg
The trip through that region was really a wake-up for me. Ordinarily I can handle most any traffic...even though I do get stressed at times. But LA traffic is something that must be driven to believe. It's the way they truly have no regard for their own life....let alone the lives of others. Very self centered in a way. It's as though the vehicle is an almost physical reflection of themselves....or at least how they want to be perceived (the whole 'attitude' thing I guess....makes no sense to me why having an attitude is a commendable thing).
Not trying to be overly critical of LA....but as a side note I didn't find the areas I drove through to be particularly attractive as portrayed in media. I also noticed the interstates in California seem to allow pedestrians (many homeless....I call them bums) to wander along on the shoulder with shopping carts and such! Strange place.
(I think I posted this thread topic in the wrong forum location....can somebody move it to the proper place? Thanks.)
The strange thing is, I could have said the same exact thing about drivers in your Seattle area. I spent 4 months there on a temporary IT project, and I found the drivers to often be angry, and road rage was all around me all the time. In Los Angeles, people drive aggressively, but sanely and they most often use signals, and they are safe, even as they are aggressive.
We’re now in Nashville, and what we see here is that these people do not know how to merge onto or off a freeway. They constantly drive on the zebra stripes painted between on and off ramps. They almost never signal either.
And it seems most drivers tailgate here too....horroring at 70+ MPH...
I wish I would have had my girlfriend record a vid of the lack of signals (cops included) and reckless driving. Seriously, I enjoy driving and looked forward to the experience of LA driving. I don't know if you are just trying to paint a more positive picture of the freeway driving in LA.....or you just have a different impression. I have no motive to put down the area....but just gave an honest description of EXACTLY what I went through. I can't understand AT ALL how you can say they use signals when at least from what I saw 90% did not (I actually counted....yes, I am anal at times).
You are correct that Seattle drivers are angry and full of rage. No argument there. And yes....many merge like fools. But for you to say that it is 'sane' with drivers going through LA traffic at 80 plus mph (very common....many much faster) is beyond me. The word 'safe' is another term I find misplaced in that area. Motorcycles weaving down the dotted lines.....merging at 80 plus with no signals and crossing up to four lanes in a single move...tailgating ANYBODY in the left two lanes REGARDLESS how fast you are going....and pedestrians walking along the shoulder.....ah...no sir, that stuff is not safe at all. Seattle drivers are poor indeed.....but at least when I arrive at my destination I don't feel like I was in the movie "Death Race".
I guess my main question is this....why don't you people down there just obey the traffic laws if you claim to be 'safe'? Laws mean NOTHING down there (at least on the freeway....including the CHP).
Going faster than 80 is not only unsafe but it's also a great way to waste gas which is why I can't justify doing it, at least not for more than a minute or so. Some folks just don't care about public safety or fuel economy.
