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[KBabione]

...by being a little less neurotic about accident avoidance, I'm sure one of the crazy drivers here would total your car within a week! As my 83 year-old father continues to become less young, I have the opportunity to leave Amish country and spend more time with him in Reston. Although charging opportunities are easy here, I brought an ICE vehicle because the Rivian is just too hard for him to climb into (he has Parkinson's). Here's my list of likely accident scenarios:

• Actually slow down when the traffic light in front of you changes to yellow - It seems that most drivers here immediately gun it to get through the light (only to have to stop at the next light) and I'm sure someone on their phone behind you will not be paying attention and will rear-end you.
• Travel in the right lane - While its not perfect where I live, for the most part people turn right on red after coming to a stop (or slowing to a near stop). My experience here is that most drivers seem to slow down just enough to keep from rolling their vehicles when they make a right on red, and looking to their left for oncoming traffic is optional. I was on the Leesburg Pike (VA 7) last night around 8:30 and it was mostly empty. The speed limit is 50 MPH and that's what I was doing in the right lane. As I was entering an intersection (I had a green light), an idiot did the right-on-red trick right in front of me and I would have hit them if the left lane hadn't been clear.
• Follow posted traffic directions - When my parents first moved to Reston, Wiehle Avenue was two lanes in both directions, but there were so many accidents near Lake Anne that they restricted the northbound traffic to one lane and put in left-turn lanes. One of them is into the development where my father lives. The problem is that just past his road, Wiehle reverts to two-lane traffic and people use the turn turn lane as a jumping off spot to pass the person who had the nerve to do the speed limit around Lake Anne. Nobody seems to believe that anyone would actually turn left here:
  
• And don't get me started with the number of people around here who believe 35 MPH isn't nearly fast enough and are doing 50-60 around blind curves (like the one above if you're pulling out onto Wiehle).

I'm sure the locals can add to this list...Good luck. I'm just grateful that my father hasn't been driving for a couple years (after a driver pulled out in front of him and he T-boned them, totaling his Prius and their Lexus).

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[crmartin9]

Amusing post. I moved to NoVa this summer from the Dallas Metroplex and have actually had the opposite experience. Traffic here is much more benign than Dallas and I’m finding myself a lot less stressed out while driving now. I’ve lived in some places with reputations for bad drivers (Boston, New Jersey) and Dallas was hands down the worst. The road construction there was based on the principle of penny wise, pound foolish with incredibly narrow lanes and lack of turn lanes, which coupled with folks driving their F150s like they’re little Miatas at high speeds results in unusually high number of gruesome accidents involving overturned vehicles.

Guess it’s all a matter of what you’re used to. Traffic in Amish country must be really tranquil.

 

[KBabione]

Guess it’s all a matter of what you’re used to. Traffic in Amish country must be really tranquil.

For the most part, traffic in Lancaster is pretty pleasant. The locals get used to passing horse and buggy and we have a lot of bikers on the back roads. You're right though - it's probably about setting expectations. I spend a lot of time in NJ, NYC, and my two oldest daughters live in Salem MA. I just need to extend my awareness when I'm driving here.

 

[misterturbo]

Driving in NoVa is basically playing Russian roulette. But it's worse in Maryland.

 

[oskeei]

Lived and worked in NoVA during much of the '00s (the 66 expansion construction still haunts me) and still return frequently to area for work.

Have had a chance to drive in most of the major cities for work and pleasure. NoVA (no longer isolated to within the Beltway) by far is the most stressful places to drive due to all the aggressive and idiot drivers.

 

[R1Thor]

Driving in NoVa is basically playing Russian roulette. But it's worse in Maryland.

Growing up in PA and learning to drive in PA, of course we become complacent and accustomed to PA drivers. And in PA we have all kinds of narratives about "New York" drivers and "Jersey" drivers. At least that's what I spent most of my driving time being exposed to...

But I can say with conviction: Maryland drivers are actually the worst. Camping in the left lane, never paying attention.. IF they use a turn signal, they believe that immediately gives them the right to move (regardless of the fact that 90% of the time it means they're cutting you off). I really wish they'd all re-take a driving test. I'm probably shortening my lifespan driving to MD, but I work there, so I can't avoid it. What's worse are the southern PA drivers who also commute into MD and start adopting those terrible habits.

/endrant But with actual metric data: I have a couple of colleagues who relocated into MD and were blown away when their insurance premiums literally doubled. When inquiring as to why that was: because Marylander's are bad drivers. At least per the insurance advisors, it's because: more incidents occur in MD, more incidents with uninsured and underinsured drivers, and Marylander's are also more likely to sue if you're involved in an incident with them. It's crazy...

(PS Left lane is the passing lane. I've witnessed traffic that's been literally 2 miles long of just cars in the left lane. It boggles the mind...)

 

[NY_Rob]

For the most part, traffic in Lancaster is pretty pleasant...

We got our dog from Lancaster, he will be 2yo in Jan, and to this day he still hates loud noises and bangs (fireworks, etc..) and I attribute that to him being born and raised in Amish country till he was almost 5 months old. He's the sweetest little dog, but I don't think he'll ever get used to NY loud living.

 

[KBabione]

(PS Left lane is the passing lane. I've witnessed traffic that's been literally 2 miles long of just cars in the left lane. It boggles the mind...)

The left lane thing absolutely kills me too - all four of my daughters have had it drilled into them that you travel in the right and pass on the left. Funny story here...Last week a friend of ours was driving her 2024 Suburban (black) to BWI last week and got pulled over at 5:30 am for cruising in the left lane on I-83. She was shocked to learn that it's a law and explained to us that she was "targeted" because it's a big black Suburban (the Trooper gave her a warning). I was very happy to hear that they pulled someone over for it! I asked a State Trooper friend why they don't do that more often and he explained that it's because it's too hard to catch - they basically have to come up behind you (unnoticed) while you're cruising in the left lane.

Another thing my Trooper friend explained is that they rarely ticket speeders who are in the right lane...A little positive reinforcement!

 

[misterturbo]

Growing up in PA and learning to drive in PA, of course we become complacent and accustomed to PA drivers. And in PA we have all kinds of narratives about "New York" drivers and "Jersey" drivers. At least that's what I spent most of my driving time being exposed to...

But I can say with conviction: Maryland drivers are actually the worst. Camping in the left lane, never paying attention.. IF they use a turn signal, they believe that immediately gives them the right to move (regardless of the fact that 90% of the time it means they're cutting you off). I really wish they'd all re-take a driving test. I'm probably shortening my lifespan driving to MD, but I work there, so I can't avoid it. What's worse are the southern PA drivers who also commute into MD and start adopting those terrible habits.

/endrant But with actual metric data: I have a couple of colleagues who relocated into MD and were blown away when their insurance premiums literally doubled. When inquiring as to why that was: because Marylander's are bad drivers. At least per the insurance advisors, it's because: more incidents occur in MD, more incidents with uninsured and underinsured drivers, and Marylander's are also more likely to sue if you're involved in an incident with them. It's crazy...

(PS Left lane is the passing lane. I've witnessed traffic that's been literally 2 miles long of just cars in the left lane. It boggles the mind...)

Maryland drivers can be summed up as: Nissan or older Toyota, rolling 85mph in the left lane, on a bald front spare tire, with the front quarter panels caved in. Bonus points for passing on the right and/or the right turn lane.

 

[tk21]

Growing up in PA and learning to drive in PA, of course we become complacent and accustomed to PA drivers. And in PA we have all kinds of narratives about "New York" drivers and "Jersey" drivers. At least that's what I spent most of my driving time being exposed to...

But I can say with conviction: Maryland drivers are actually the worst. Camping in the left lane, never paying attention.. IF they use a turn signal, they believe that immediately gives them the right to move (regardless of the fact that 90% of the time it means they're cutting you off). I really wish they'd all re-take a driving test. I'm probably shortening my lifespan driving to MD, but I work there, so I can't avoid it. What's worse are the southern PA drivers who also commute into MD and start adopting those terrible habits.

/endrant But with actual metric data: I have a couple of colleagues who relocated into MD and were blown away when their insurance premiums literally doubled. When inquiring as to why that was: because Marylander's are bad drivers. At least per the insurance advisors, it's because: more incidents occur in MD, more incidents with uninsured and underinsured drivers, and Marylander's are also more likely to sue if you're involved in an incident with them. It's crazy...

(PS Left lane is the passing lane. I've witnessed traffic that's been literally 2 miles long of just cars in the left lane. It boggles the mind...)

Concur with this assessment… 10 under the speed limit merging from the right lane across all 4 lanes to camp in the left…

 

[Dave Cundiff]

Every time I drive in Maryland, I am grateful for the Washington State Patrol back home.

Perhaps 10% of Maryland drivers engage in behavior -- mostly on I-95 near Baltimore and Washington DC -- that, while illegal in both states, would get them ticketed off the road if they did it repeatedly in Washington State.

Traffic enforcement saves lives! Happy to live where I live....

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Every time I drive in Maryland, I am grateful for the Washington State Patrol back home.

Perhaps 10% of Maryland drivers engage in behavior -- mostly on I-95 near Baltimore and Washington DC -- that, while illegal in both states, would get them ticketed off the road if they did it repeatedly in Washington State.

Traffic enforcement saves lives! Happy to live where I live....

I hated the traffic enforcement in WI, where I'm from. After living in TN for the past 5 years, I've greatly respected the profession. The difference here is that enforcement focuses on keeping drivers safe; you won't be pulled over outside going way over the speed limit or in accident-prone areas, driving too fast or too sloppily. In WI, they enforced for revenue, so the officers looked for reasons to issue tickets, and their enforcement was egregious and unnecessary most of the time.

 

[RivianRiverRat]

Re: Left laners
IIRC Alabama has the law only on the interstate
If you are left laning you have to be passing at least one car in a mile

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