LOL I found the driving style to be pretty mellow compared to LA actually.

Must be all those Californians that sold their homes for big bucks in the 80s and 90s and moved to Colorado.

lcarreau wrote:

The chart is out of date, at least for Mass, which is currently banned and enacted.

Fletch wrote:

Bill Reed wrote:Must be all those Californians that sold their homes for big bucks in the 80s and 90s and moved to Colorado.

I wish I was one of those guys!

In reading my OP again, it does sound like a bit of a rant. And CO drivers always blame bad driving (and everything else) on Californians (and they love to call it "Cali" - especially if they've never been there before). So I guess I should be more diplomatic, but it's just too big of a difference to ignore. California is controlled chaos. There is a system to it all. A sort of beautiful dance. Here, it's a mosh pit.

My favorite bumper sticker so far is "Don't Californicate Colorado." Some bitter folks!

And don't get me started on the Subaru's with the luggage racks, the horendiously bad tattoos (not workmanship, per se, actual choice of), or the Boulder trust-a-farians...

But seriously, Fletch. Our drivers didn't used to be so bad. Truth is our population grew by leaps and bounds and our highways didn't. Some of us do talk on cell phones incessantly and tailgating at 80 mph has become the norm though the posterchild for tailgating was always the LA freeways.

Growing up on the densely populated east coast, we always labeled the bordering states drivers as the "worst". Here in Colorado, we don't have that luxury so we'll just have to stick with blaming the Californicating, pinko, commie, tree hugging, Subaru driving, hippies from the west coast.

Will reserve comment on the tattoo thing and the Republic of Boulder.

Welcome to Denver. You are absolutely right about everything, except you forgot to mention people speeding up and not letting you merge, even though you are in bumper to bumper traffic in all lanes.... If normal traffic drives you nuts, do NOT get on I70 on a weekend, winter or summer. I live in the Denver area (rural, fortunately), and work and drive a lot in LA. LA traffic, while monstrous in its own right, is very orderly and friendly relative to Denver traffic. As much as I would love to blame Californians, I am pretty sure it is not them. Well, maybe those from the more rural parts of eastern and northern San Diego County ...

Hit me up if you ever want to get out in the hills and need a partner, as we already have our frustrations in common...

Fletch wrote:It's anarchy around here.

Anybody have the same observations?

As far as pedestrians go, Denver is a walking/biking friendly city (for the most part) so both tend to get better treatment than in other states. One thing to keep in mind that pedestrians ALWAYS have the right of way whether they are breaking the law or not.

As far as the red light / yellow light issues I think that exists for two primary reasons. One is the transplants from the east coast who are taught that green means go, yellow means gun it and red means floor it. The second is from piss poor traffic engineering when not enough time is given for each green light cycle, especially on turn arrows. People get sick of having to wait 5 cycles to get through so they "extend the green". Not that their actions don't piss me off mind you but that's the reality.

I'm not sure what's causing the swerving or the unwillingness to continue on until you can turn around safely in the event you missed your turn but I agree that has become nightmareish. I'm really sick of idjits turning left from the right lane just so they aren't inconvenienced by having to turn around a block down the road. For this I blame the public schools. Why? Dunno, but I have to blame somebody.

If you've not driven in Atlanta, you've got no barometer for bad driving judgement.

While I readily admit that CO drivers are certifiably clueless (and Denver drivers are fantastic compared to Boulder where I live), ATL handily wins the title of 'worst drivers on planet earth' - no other municipality, in this country or elsewhere, even comes close.

"Where the hell's a good man when you need one ???"

Yes, it's all rather funny and laughable, but the "serious side" is that there's people out there who actually DO own the road! At least, they own the roads inside their minds..

I've been "cut off" everywhere I've driven, EVEN in SE Asia. Actually, it does NO GOOD to get angry about it.

But, there's nothing wrong with venting.

lcarreau wrote:

Texting while driving is illegal in EVERY state and has been enacted since before cell phones were invented. Passing a new law that changes nothing from the previous law was a bogus political move that just wasted more tax dollars while not making roads any safer.

As for Denver drivers, everywhere in the world has the "Worst Drivers I've Ever Seen." People just love to bitch about how bad things are where they live. Truth is, there are shitty drivers everywhere.

Well, yes, being tailgated at 80mph on I25 coming into Denver is a bit disconcerting.

But if you really want some fun try heading west on I70 on a Friday night with an under powered vehicle for the long steep hills. All the 4x4's pulling their toys on trailers will blast by and you better hit the slow lane with the semi's or the wrath of Denver will be upon you.

I haven't been in any major U.S. city, East, West, or in between, where the roads aren't just as the OP describes. It's the result of too many people, too many cars, and everyone getting frustrated and being in a damn hurry, plus the typical self-centered behavior too many people exhibit (yapping and texting, for instance). Just too many people.

Seattle, the SF area, Vegas, Denver, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Indy, New York, all of eastern Jersey, D.C., Atlanta, Minneapolis, Miami...those are the big cities I've done much driving in or through.

Personally, I find Las Vegas to be the worst by far, and driving on I-15 there actually scares me. You've got tourists, retirees, foreigners who haven't been here long, and then the typical assortment of locals all mixed together.

The fewer the people, the less congested the roads and the more courteous the drivers. Same story all over.

Edit: Salt Lake has never seemed that bad to me.