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Mind if I gripe about Utah driving?


MustardSeed

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My husband has two places where his temper gets the best of him as well as any competitive nature, one is sports and another is driving.   Born and bred Utah.  When I tell him a car is making me nervous, his solution is not to back off, but change lanes and speed up to pass it.  He is much better after decades of me and his kids complaining.

I hear this is not unusual. 

Then add in the foolish, imo, choices for road construction.  Maybe trying to save money or interfere with private property by going with curves when it should be straighter or trying to do too many things in an intersection rather than using more overpasses or exits?

OTOH, the lower rates of drinking means the roads are safer. 

However, Utah may not be the worst:

Quote

Maybe it's the heat causing road rage, but four of the top 10 states in our study are located in the Southeast," said study author Derek Miller, who examined factors such as arrests for driving while intoxicated, speeding tickets, deaths and the percentage of people with auto insurance compared to the number of (presumably licensed) drivers.

Here's a list of the worst, and the reasons why:

1. Florida. Floridians Google "speeding tickets" and "traffic tickets" more than any other state. They also have the second lowest number of insured drivers in the nation.

2. Mississippi. The state had the fifth-highest number of deaths resulting from auto accidents and the 12th highest rate of DUI arrests per driver in the country. Like Florida, relatively few people are insured.

3. Oklahoma. When it comes to states with many uninsured drivers, Oklahoma has more than its fair share: Only 74 percent of its drivers are insured. It also has one of the 15 worst scores in DUIs per thousand drivers and the number of people killed per thousand drivers in auto accidents.

4. New Jersey. The Garden State has the second-most deaths per driver.

5. Delaware. New Jersey's neighbor and rival for worst drivers in the mid-Atlantic region, Delaware is the only state with more deaths per driver than New Jersey.

6. Alabama. This state has bad scores all around.

7. Vermont. It leads the nation in DUIs per driver with 50 per thousand drivers.

8. Tennessee. The state is one of the least insured states in the country, with 20 percent of drivers not having car insurance. Tennessee also has the 18th highest number of deaths per thousand drivers.

9. Texas. It has the highest percentage of deaths from drunk driving at 40 percent.

10. Nevada. Nevada is the third-worst state for traffic and speeding tickets, as well as being the 17th worst state for DUIs.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/which-state-has-the-worst-drivers-in-the-us/

Edited by Calm
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The 10 Cities With the Worst Drivers

Oakland, California

Alexandria, Virginia 

Providence, Rhode Island

Springfield, Massachusetts

Los Angeles, California

Glendale, California

Worcester, Massachusetts

Boston, Massachusetts

Washington, D.C.

Baltimore, Maryland

 

https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/slideshows/the-us-cities-with-the-worst-drivers

 

Edited by Calm
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 I will say that I don't like driving in Utah and then I hear about how horrible other state's drivers are. I guess it makes them feel better.  I get scared stopping if the light isn't fully red. I have been almost hit many times. I get honked at for it. It's my biggest complaint about Utah. Unless the light is red and has been red, you don't stop. 

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https://www.ksl.com/article/46684670/598-crashes-uhp-makes-yet-another-plea-to-slow-down-following-horrendous-weekend?fbclid=IwAR2m2IpQW16-7CPWW5mKXrvO265bDYH6TSOU9dL9UCHC83UFkDDsVUFuX5A

Wow, it's true, we need to get our act together in Utah!!

During the 10:00 p.m. KSL news tonight, they were discussing what's in the article, they mention that they clocked a driver going 103 in a 75 MPH section of highway, in the snowy, bad weather. But there were so many accidents they couldn't go after the vehicle and give them a ticket, or something like that. Today they had another semi roll over in the same area that the a large tanker rolled two days ago. I wonder what the deal is, and why in the same spot.

Edited by Tacenda
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54 minutes ago, Tacenda said:

https://www.ksl.com/article/46684670/598-crashes-uhp-makes-yet-another-plea-to-slow-down-following-horrendous-weekend?fbclid=IwAR2m2IpQW16-7CPWW5mKXrvO265bDYH6TSOU9dL9UCHC83UFkDDsVUFuX5A

Wow, it's true, we need to get our act together in Utah!!

During the 10:00 p.m. KSL news tonight, they were discussing what's in the article, they mention that they clocked a driver going 103 in a 75 MPH section of highway, in the snowy, bad weather. But there were so many accidents they couldn't go after the vehicle and give them a ticket, or something like that. Today they had another semi roll over in the same area that the a large tanker rolled two days ago. I wonder what the deal is, and why in the same spot.

I'm sure glad I made it home safely tonight (out of Utah!).  The weather was good and the roads clear for the entire drive.

The news article makes this comment:  "Nigbur believes part of the reason drivers don’t slow down is because they've become overconfident over the summer."  My wife made that same comment to me as we were saying goodbye to each other in Utah this morning (she didn't drive with me.  She flew home with some young family members to assist them.  I got to be the one that hauled most of their stuff :)).  As we were saying goodbye she told me to drive safely (she was concerned about weather and road conditions), and she reminded me of one time several years ago when we were driving south on I-15 somewhere between Beaver and St. George in a heavy snow storm, and along the way we were passed by faster, less cautious drivers, and later we saw several vehicles that had slid off the freeway and they were stuck in the snow in the median and on the shoulder.  Every single one of them were SUV 4-wheel drive vehicles.  She speculated (correctly, in my opinion) that they were all overconfident drivers thinking that their 4-wheel drive vehicles would compensate for the slick roadways, and so they were going too fast.  I'd like to know how many of the accidents this last Thanksgiving weekend were from people in 4-wheel drive vehicles to see if that factors into the accident rate.

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14 hours ago, InCognitus said:

I'm sure glad I made it home safely tonight (out of Utah!).  The weather was good and the roads clear for the entire drive.

The news article makes this comment:  "Nigbur believes part of the reason drivers don’t slow down is because they've become overconfident over the summer."  My wife made that same comment to me as we were saying goodbye to each other in Utah this morning (she didn't drive with me.  She flew home with some young family members to assist them.  I got to be the one that hauled most of their stuff :)).  As we were saying goodbye she told me to drive safely (she was concerned about weather and road conditions), and she reminded me of one time several years ago when we were driving south on I-15 somewhere between Beaver and St. George in a heavy snow storm, and along the way we were passed by faster, less cautious drivers, and later we saw several vehicles that had slid off the freeway and they were stuck in the snow in the median and on the shoulder.  Every single one of them were SUV 4-wheel drive vehicles.  She speculated (correctly, in my opinion) that they were all overconfident drivers thinking that their 4-wheel drive vehicles would compensate for the slick roadways, and so they were going too fast.  I'd like to know how many of the accidents this last Thanksgiving weekend were from people in 4-wheel drive vehicles to see if that factors into the accident rate.

Truth.  

My question is, is there something about Utah culture that adds to the insanity? 

I mean, I’d rather be in Iowa in the winter, driving.  I have been. Plenty of SUV drivers there, I’m sure equally over confident.   Not nearly as wreckless as what I saw in the wasatch area. 😕

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2 minutes ago, MustardSeed said:

Truth.  

My question is, is there something about Utah culture that adds to the insanity? 

I mean, I’d rather be in Iowa in the winter, driving.  I have been. Plenty of SUV drivers there, I’m sure equally over confident.   Not nearly as wreckless as what I saw in the wasatch area. 😕

That's a really good question.  I know of one member of the church (not in Utah) who is overconfident in her driving because she believes she has guardian angels watching out for her.  Even if that were true, I don't think guardian angels would appreciate all the extra hard work they would have to do to prevent people from injuring or killing themselves by their crazy actions.

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3 hours ago, MustardSeed said:

Truth.  

My question is, is there something about Utah culture that adds to the insanity? 

I mean, I’d rather be in Iowa in the winter, driving.  I have been. Plenty of SUV drivers there, I’m sure equally over confident.   Not nearly as wreckless as what I saw in the wasatch area. 😕

I think it’s learned behavior. Kids grow up watching adults drive like that and become adults who perpetuate the cycle. 

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11 hours ago, MustardSeed said:

certainly.  So why are the adults driving like that in Utah, more than (anecdotally) in Oregon and Rhode Island?

 

Probably because they grow up seeing their parents drive like that, or, for implants, because everyone else drives like that.   I wouldn't be surprised if people move here and start out as a normal driver, but that the more they are exposed to people being rude and driving aggressively, the more they justify their own rudeness and aggressive driving.  

I know that I've had to really try not to become a different kind of driver since moving here.  Part of that is because you do have to adapt to the speed issue or you can make things unsafe.  You can't always drive 5 miles per hour over the speed limit here on the interstate like you might in other places unless you are willing to consistently drive in the slow lane because you would be going so much slower than everyone else it would be dangerous. Keeping up with traffic (in good conditions) requires a certain level of speeding that isn't necessary other places.  But, the aggressive, rude driving isn't ever necessary in my opinion, though it's easy to get in that mood after a while.

Edited by bluebell
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The one thing I distinctly remember disliking about Utah drivers back when we lived there (maybe 15 years ago now), was the tendency they had for driving in packs. 

You would be cruising along in the fast lane with the rest of the 80's club, only to come up on a herd of vehicles stretching across all lanes and all driving the exact same speed.  

It was impossible to go around them or get through them, so you would end up getting stuck there, clumped up right along with them.

And now it looks like you are one of the idiots who refuses to pass anyone as well. ARGH!!!!

 

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7 hours ago, Amulek said:

And now it looks like you are one of the idiots who refuses to pass anyone as well. ARGH!!!!

Buy one of those train horns and wire it in. That will move them! Mind you , there may be mayhem as cars scatter all over.

YouTube it if you dare.

Edited by strappinglad
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6 hours ago, Amulek said:

The one thing I distinctly remember disliking about Utah drivers back when we lived there (maybe 15 years ago now), was the tendency they had for driving in packs. 

You would be cruising along in the fast lane with the rest of the 80's club, only to come up on a herd of vehicles stretching across all lanes and all driving the exact same speed.  

It was impossible to go around them or get through them, so you would end up getting stuck there, clumped up right along with them.

And now it looks like you are one of the idiots who refuses to pass anyone as well. ARGH!!!!

 

That's not a behavior that is limited to Utah drivers.  It seems to be all over the place.  I don't know if people are simply unaware of other drivers (behind them or beside them) or if they just like the company.  

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