[dave4270]

Funny that you should mention racecars. I learned all of this in a drag racing class. I won the class from NHRA and was expecting it to be all about driving the 8 second, 160+ MPH dragster. That was some part of it, but more time was spent on how your eyes and brain work. I was the guinea pig to show the class that there is no such thing as peripheral vision. All you have is peripheral "awareness" at your disposal. "Vision" requires looking directly at something.

Those of us who ride motorcycles, learn to watch people's heads and eyes ( sometimes in their mirrors ) and know that if you do not make eye contact, you are invisible to the others on the road.

Your last sentence sums it all up. Unfortunately it describes the majority of drivers I encounter on the road. At least in New Orleans, it seems that driving is about the 4th thing people do at the wheel of a car. Texting, eating, and dancing all rank higher on an average day. And all those people assume they will "see" things off to the side in time...

Meanwhile, I'm looking for pupils.

[badpenny]

I'm from the UK and have just come back from staying a month in Louisiana, mainly New Orleans, and Georgia and have spent a few months in Georgia previously. American drivers, at least in the south, are scary. Like you say, things like using your phone and eating while driving, which are strongly frowned upon where I'm from and pretty rare to see are very common sights. Even drinking and driving doesn't seem to have the same stigma attached to it as it does here.

Drivers in general also seem to be more aggressive and will drive over the speed limit and cut each other off.

To anybody who hasn't seen it, Werner Herzog made a short film about texting and driving called From One Second to the Next which I recommend. It can be found on YouTube.

[J-dawg]

Also from the UK. Everyone I know who has spent a significant amount of time driving in the USA has commented on the generally poor driving.

Not that UK drivers are perfect (very far from it). But I've heard the same comments enough times to make me wonder how American drivers are so bad.

[mikestew]

But I've heard the same comments enough times to make me wonder how American drivers are so bad.

Lack of testing, for starters. There was a time, going on 40 years ago, that someone observed my driving and decided whether I was safe to release upon the roads. Since then, I've taken a knowledge ("written", though it's computerized now) now and then. The last time was 16 years ago when I moved to WA. They check your vision at renewal by testing your ability to check a box that says "yeah, my eyes are fine".

Add to that a lack of enforcement. As long as you don't exceed the speed limit or have booze on your breath at a checkpoint, you might go your whole life having never been pulled over no matter how much texting you do.

Here in Seattle, which I maintain has the worst drivers in the country, my current working theory of the cause of horrific driving incompetence is self-absorption that seems to be particularly rampant here. Why else would I get regularly flipped off when the light turns green and I honk at Ms. Tweets McFacebook to put her phone down and drive?

[ollie87]

I guess it's the same issue with a lot of crime in America (let's face it, when you're behind the wheel of a lethal weapon, not paying attention is murder). It's hard to police a place this is so bloody massive.

I've driven quite a few times in different parts of America and the lack of courtesy is frankly ridiculous and is almost an extension of that "I've got mine, fuck everyone else" attitude that some (not all) Americans display.

I have to say as another Brit, some of the cars I've seen on the roads of America wouldn't be allowed near a carriageway here. It's not just the standard of driving that is sketchy, but the maintenance or lack thereof too. I've driven on roads that felt way more iffy that anywhere I've been in the third world.

[dejawu]

Our driving tests are very lax. They have to be, because most people need to be able to drive to get to work, since public transit is less widespread. Difficult tests would leave them with no effective means of transportation.

It's an unfortunate situation and not one I agree with, but that's why American drivers tend to suck.

[dubya]

I'm from the southern US. Driving in the UK during a visit was a revelation. The best part was that drivers actually keep left except to pass. It makes driving so much nicer. That and using signals properly.

I didn't try driving in London though.

[J-dawg]

I was surprised by this comment, because UK drivers are actually pretty bad at keeping left on the motorway.

Motorway driving is not part of our driving test, so you can qualify without ever being shown how to drive on a 3 lane road.

It's not uncommon to see people cruising along in the middle lane, completely oblivious. Drivers are noticeably better at keeping right in continental Europe.

[ollie87]

Well it helps that undertaking is super illegal here.

[mjlee]

It hasn't been illegal since 1972.

It's discouraged in the Highway Code and an enthusiastic traffic officer could (but almost certainly won't) charge you with careless driving.

[davidf18]

UK drivers present a danger driving in the US (and visa-versa) because they are accustomed to driving on the opposite side of the road than in the US.

One can't generalize the driving habits of all American from those that drive in Georgia or Louisiana.

Compared with most countries, many American drivers get drivers education in high school as part of their high school education. In other countries they get it later in life which makes them more dangerous drivers.

[ollie87]

I'm gonna call bollocks on that one.

Maybe some are a little iffy (around the airports of Florida perhaps), but I'm not sure you realise how close/cheap to reach Europe is and how many folks will hire a car out there too.

You're not the only country to drive on the opposite side of the road to us.

[davidf18]

I have a relative that was severely injured in an auto accident by a Brit driving on the wrong side. Don't know how often this sort of things happen. It was in mountains and isolated. They guy was fatigued.

[dclowd9901]

> Those of us who ride motorcycles, learn to watch people's heads and eyes ( sometimes in their mirrors ) and know that if you do not make eye contact, you are invisible to the others on the road.

Our instructor reminded us that even this is no guarantee of a driver's awareness of you. They may have shit vision or have what to make for dinner on their mind and they're spacing out while looking at you. Fact is, until that driver is behind you, they are a danger all the way up until you pass them. (And in some cases they're still a danger, especially if you come to an abrupt stop).

Motorcycling in a city is not for the faint of heart.

[mikestew]

Those of us who ride motorcycles, learn to watch people's heads and eyes

Then shortly after those same people learn that someone can look you right in the eye while they run you over.

Watch the wheels. The wheels don't lie.