Featured Canadian vs USA drivers

i would say that the conclusion is not that they are better drivers. there are probably too many variables, and i do not think we track our population well, i'm not sure about canada.
i would love to know more about distracted driving and speed camera law differences

 

It has got really, really bad in LA, especially at night. Many people drive over 100 mph at night, and speeding and racing in the rightmost lane is common. There is no enforcement whatsoever. You never see the highway patrol. A few months ago, I saw someone in my rearview mirror approaching over 100 mph behind me in the right lane, apparently racing with several others. He squeezed between me and another car without slowing down at all and snapped off my left side mirror. It could have been far worse.

Automatic driving systems don't help at all in my case because the problem is always with the other manual drivers.

It looks like speed cameras are finally coming to LA. They were banned in California for some reason.

Speed cameras are coming to Los Angeles | KTLA

 

Around here (Canada) nobody does a legal stop when turning right, at stop signs or red lights. Even cops. It endangers both through traffic with right-of-way, AND pedestrians.

same story in the States?

 

Yep, it is called a California stop, which is also illegal in California.

Why is it called a California Stop?—#10 by Doomtrain - Factual questions—Straight Dope message board

It is especially bad on my street where there is a 90-degree turn and a stop sign. People not only completely ignore the stop sign but floor it as soon as they negotiate the turn, some quickly reaching 55 mph or higher in the 25-mph zone. Accidents and unfortunate pet fatalities are common.

 

Canadians tend to be better rule followers than Americans, and they suffer under the yoke of a more authoritarian government.
I suspect that one does not see very many arrests up there for DUI - 4th offense, and if you're a speeding scofflaw they might ACTUALLY prohibit you from driving on public streets.
Their gas is so hideously expensive that they had to invent some weird new measurement system to dole it out in quart-like increments instead of the more proper 'gallons' that first-world nations get to use.
They also tend to be more properly educated and one supposes that they do not let children as young as 14-years old drive on public roads - as do FIVE of our US states.

Canadian drivers also are less likely to view the "Fast and Furious" movie franchise as a 'how-to' documentary.

 

1. Most of the world uses the metric system.

2. No other country uses US gallons, a corrupt1on of the Imperial measurement system which IS used by SOME countries. Canada still uses miles per (Imperial) gallon in car advertising.

More countries sell fuel by litres / liters than by US gallons.

Source: Google AI,

 

I’m fairly sure @ETC(SS) ’s post was satirical.

don’t get me started about Canadian car ads that carry the torch for the venerable imperial gallon. I’m sure more than a few readers of such ads are drawn in by the roughly “25% better than US mpg” cars get up here.

 

Traffic laws are a joke anymore.

• Who drives the speed limit? Nobody.
• Who uses their blinker? Seems like about 1% of drivers.
• Who makes a full stop at stop signs? Only people with a police car behind them.

I hate driving anymore. It's a pain to even think about it.

 

Someone on our block (we know to talk to) is driving out as we’re walking home with our pooch. We’re mostly waiting to see which way they’re gonna turn. One of the two options is directly at us.

they smile and wave. We do too. No one signals.

 

I moved down here in the early 80's before fuel was sold by the litre,

 

No smiles and waves here in south central Virginia. I have seen people turn on their blinker in the midst of turning. What is the logic behind that?

I tend to the other extreme. Which ever way I go home I need to turn off a 60 mph (100 Km.H) road. When going south, I signal well ahead in the right lane as I slow down to give people a chance to pass. Traveling north, I signal in the left lane before cresting a hill because I will be slowing down to get into the left turn lane.

U turns down here in this college town are crazy. There are even some signs giving priority to u-turns over right turns.

Do you have "cashless bail" up there where those charged are just released? That runs rampant down here.

 

I like driving the Prius and RAV4 HV, love driving my ZR1 and driving a B737 is orgasmic...Canada, US or anywhere.

 

Good for you.

I don't enjoy driving anymore. I don't like cars anymore either. Too much road rage, and cars are boring appliance.

 

Some of us live too rural and need it for transportation. For me, the nearest small town is 90 miles away. The larger city is 15 miles away, well beyond walking distance, Driving adds to that too.

 

I live in a rural area too. Maybe not 90 miles from the closest small town, but I do live in what is considered a small town that is 30 miles from one smaller town and 60 or 70 miles from two towns (one east, the other west) that actually have things like fast food and clothing stores. And no, there is not much in the area of public transportation. There is no bus route to the town west of here, and the other way, towards Denver, the capital, has a bus once a day for $40 a trip one way. No taxis, no Über, etc. Owning a car here is a requirement if you want to be able to work or get food or go down to the city to see a dentist or something of that sort.

Still, I don't enjoy driving that much. I do like the sights. But people drive like maniacs on these mountain passes. I go the speed limit, but am constantly being flipped off. And while I do try to get off the road to let traffic around me, people come up and fly past as if I were standing still, sometimes around a blind corner with oncoming traffic and no shoulders. I mean, the speed limit is already 65 mph, I just don't get it.

And cars that are sold as "fun cars" are cars that simply have a lot of power that enable people to drive even more like idiots. I'd be fine with a 1940's or 50's 25hp or 36hp VW Beetle or Bus if it weren't for safety, road rage, emissions, and the cost of the things.

 

People can act like idiots whether they are behind the wheel or just in the room. That said...I do not let them control or alter my life's functions or emotions.

 

Again, good for you.

For me it's kind of hard not to when I know 13 people who, as bicyclists or pedestrians, have been ran over, not to mention the amount of people I've known who have been hit in their car.

On the other hand, what reason is there to be happy about driving? There are no more cool cars. Where can I drive just for pleasure when I have to work two jobs to make a living? Driving is just part of work, nothing else. Work is good, but what about spending time with family or friends or going on vacation or having a hobby? No time for that. Just got to drive along and get honked at and ignore the other drivers.

 

Education is a big problem. The less educated people are, the more they regard driving as a right than privilege. Those less educated people tend to have no respect for the life of others and regard their cars as a means of showing off their ego.

And unfortunately, education is becoming something more and more of an afterthought in the US.

 

I still enjoy driving a great deal. Still look forward to big family vacations like the one we took from Kentucky to South Dakota and Wyoming.
We spent two weeks tent camping in Custer State park South Dakota, The Badlands of South Dakota (surrounded by herds of roaming Buffalo --sometimes into our camp - unnerving but nothing you are going to do about it) and Devils Tower in Wyoming (some of ET was filmed there)

Also realize the clock is ticking on me and far sooner than I might like the privilege of driving may no longer be available to me due to age and infirmity. I don't look forward to that day.