In the 33 years that I have been driving I have seen a decrease in the courtesy among drivers. I have also seen an increase in the amount of aggressive driving. This is especially frightening when you drive as small a car as our S among a sea of huge SUV's.

I'm not convinced that there was ever a great deal of etiquette on the road, but there was certainly better manners and more courtesy than there is today.

Lately I have seen more and more people refusing to allow others to merge in and I have seen more and more drivers trying to force their way ahead. I have seen many other aggressive type actions.

Granted, some of this is due to the increased volume of cars on the road and the frustrations of stop and go traffic, but some is just plain bad manners and aggression.

Do you agree? Is driving courtesy dead? What do you think?

 

My parents were visiting me here in the Boston area for 10 days up until a few days ago. Unless it's to visit me, they said they have absolutely NO interest in coming back to New England. The scenery is beautiful at times, but the drivers scared the crap out of them. I was cut off several times, we watched others get cut off, stop and go traffic with a lotof weavers, etc. I'm ready to leave myself...

 

I agree. I can recall a lot more aggressive drivers than courteous drivers.

And I think there's a million reasons why people are so aggressive on the road. But I think it boils down to the fact that there are so many cars on the road and there's a huge degree on anonymity (sp?) when you're on the road.

Someone once explained to me how people in small midwestern towns are much friendlier than people in a large metro area like NYC or LA. His theory was that in a small town, you tend to know everyone to some degree, and you probably will run into most people on a regular basis- so you tend to be friendlier towards everyone. But in a large metro area, you can run into someone and probably never see them again. Therefore it's easier to be rude or unfriendly towards someone you don't know that you'll probably never see again.

I think this may be somewhat true when you're driving. It's easier to cut someone off, honk at someone, or flip someone off if you don't know them and you'll probably never see them again. Also, people are pretty anonymous in their car. Add tinted windows and you really don't have to deal with anyone face to face. Makes it real easy to act like a jerk....

Anyway, that's one idea as to why it's gotten so bad on the roads.

 

I'd agree that this is happening. And it comes from all ages although younger folks seem to be most lax in this department, perhaps due to adults never having taught them about such things. If adults aren't showing them the acceptable way of doing things, what is left is a lack of knowledge of acceptable behavior. I'm not the most patient person in the world but I'm a stellar model compared to a lot of folks.

 

I agree that the lack of courtesy is a direct result of the increasing number of drivers on a limited number of roads, especially apparent here in the congested north east. To put it plainly: New Jersey drivers suck. For example, when on any highway in NJ where there is a sign warning that the right lane is closed or merges to the left up ahead, NJ drivers will drive till the very end of that evaporating lane to secure their best position when they have to merge left. In any other state I've driven in, drivers merge out of that lane long before it ends. Everyone here is in a rush while driving, whether they really are or not.

That being said, it is still possible to find the occasional courteous driver who lets you into his/her lane. Courtesy is contagious, lets hope it spreads like a plague.

 

We also need to teach others, especially family members, about courtesy. The more we spread it, the more likely it WILL stick...

 

I've noticed recently, that mini-van drivers (mostly men) are driving agressively too. For example, last night I was coming home from the mall with my wife. It was a beautiful night, so I had the top down and were just crusing, then this Dodge caravan starts to tailgating me. I get annoyed so I slow down to let him pass, but he continued to tailgate. So I punched the car and left him, but what is up with mini-van drivers? I mean he was weaving in and out of traffic like an idiot. Hopefully he didn't have kids in there. This is the 5th time that this happened when a mini-van tailgated me. Maybe they are just frustrated that they are driving a mini-van (not that there is anything wrong with that, of course )

 

It isn't just on the roads. This is an increasingly loutish culture. Recall when a person would say "Oh I'm sorry. I must have dialed a wrong number"? Now it's silence and they hang up, or they have an attitude and tell you they dialed **** and so why did they get you etc. It isn't just the few thugs that use profanity in public anymore. People will use vulgar language well within earshot of kids and strangers. Increased population is part of the equation. But I think it's the short term ability of people now. Everything is instant. You can buy a fix or pill for anything from fear of speaking in public to a vague sense of apprehension. Meals for one pre-packaged and microwave ready in their own little tray just for you. Consuming drones that drive with anti-lock brakes, seat belts, air bags front, side, and I'm sure somewhere rear. Traction control/GPS/cell phone/wtf else they can sell them on, and they have no freaking clue that they are in a car at 80 MPH one foot from your bumper. I really would like to put them all in some of the vehicles I had in my youth and let nature take it's course. Lots fewer cars on the road in no time. Ok. I'm not Holly Golightly. But these morons (and I've ridden with cops, cab drivers, etc. that should know better) go full throttle until they are on top of the stop sign/red light/etc., and then jam on the brakes. If the brakes weren't there, or even partly not there, they would not have time to react and avoid collision. Cars are now made so idiot proof that we have millions of idiots driving instead of killing themselves off. One must be quite quite quite stupid with today's technology to hurt themselves, and then it's only a bruise instead of what nature would dictate. Gee but this sounds harsh. But Mommy and Daddy wrap little Johnny and Suzy in miles of protective padding and crash helmets to go out and play after they had their breakfast of Captain Candy cereal that they cried so loudly for in the store. And these little beasts grow up and get cars. Look! There's one now! And they want their MTV! Outtatheway. It's all about me. Where's that Prozac at anyway.

 

Hello:

In short. Yes, they are. However, I learned to drive in Puerto Rico in which people are aggressive drivers by culture. As a matter of fact, I had to tone down when I moved to New Jersey, that's a lot to say. For what is worth, things in the NE USA are still better than in Puerto Rico today. Nowadays PR is in a state of vehicular anarchy in which not even the police officers know what are the motoring laws.

If things continue like this, the NE will look like PR looks like today in 15 more years.

The beauty of having a car like the S is the fact that you are faster with better handling than any SUV or minivan.

Regards,

Luis

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by PapoAnaya
[B]Hello:

In short. Yes, they are.