California is the most dangerous state to drive

[Muse]

Saw a brief mention of this on TV news the other night. Just looked it up, see link below.

I just got back from my every other week shopping trip. I rarely turn the key any other day. Costco, Trader Joe's, occasionally another stop or two. Otherwise I'm on my bicycle as a rule if out of the house. I do quad skate around 6x as far as I drive!

No, I don't drive much these days but it seems to me, just observing as little as I do, that the drivers vary a lot. Some are considerate and thoughtful, but a whole lot of them are anything but. I think I see a ton more impatient, even asshole drivers than I used to. I'm in the SF Bay Area.

Weary behind the wheel: California is the most dangerous state in which to drive, ranked by drowsy drivers - Lassen News

It has been widely reported that sleep deprivation can have a serious impact on daily behaviors, like driving a car....

www.lassennews.com

 

[BoomerD]

Driving in the Bay Area can indeed be hazardous.
I commuted from Modesto to all parts of the Bay for years...after Livermore, things can get dicey quickly.

(and yes, since I worked 10-12 hours per day plus 4-6 hours of commute time...I might have been one of the hazardous overly tired drivers)

 

[Muse]

Driving in the Bay Area can indeed be hazardous.
I commuted from Modesto to all parts of the Bay for years...after Livermore, things can get dicey quickly.

I was driving from L.A. to Berkeley about 25 years ago, almost done, on a freeway, it was a straight section. The traffic was at least moderate, probably more than moderate. I saw ahead of me about 1/2 mile a car go vertical, don't know how or why, but it was like an animal rearing up on its hind legs, probably climbing a cliff wall. Just bizarre.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Eh, come to the east coast, there's reason that drivers here call themselves "MASSHoles".

But honestly, as aggressive as the drivers around here are, most of them (excluding the soccer moms on their cell phones) know how to drive.

 

[Muse]

Eh, come to the east coast, there's reason that drivers here call themselves "MASSHoles".

But honestly, as aggressive as the drivers around here are, most of them (excluding the soccer moms on their cell phones) know how to drive.

Probably the weather being so variable in MASS and surrounding states contributes to the better driving. It's necessary to reassess how you drive to suit the current conditions. Where I live it isn't like that except occasionally, too occasionally.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Most of the people in eastern MA are driving "nice" (read, performance, in many cases) cars as well, so that tends to be self-selecting towards those that enjoy driving, and driving well. Not too many beaters, this changes as you head west in the state.

 

[Dr. Detroit]

Driving in the Bay Area can indeed be hazardous.

I blame it on foreign workers & their spouses/parents who we import here by the tens of thousands. With poor public transit and many never driving before, the roadways are indeed hazardous. If you are doing 50-mph on the freeway while solo driving in a mask with Student Driver or Baby on Board stickers you might just not be used to driving.

DMV behind the wheel driving tests are joke, they pass everyone!

 

[Captante]

I think Larry is giving the average driver around here FAR too much credit!

Although in terms of winter-weather experience certainly does help!

 

[brianmanahan]

get back on san vicente, take it to the 10, then switch over to the 405 north and let it dump you out into mullholland where you belong!

 

[BoomerD]

I blame it on foreign workers & their spouses/parents who we import here by the tens of thousands. With poor public transit and many never driving before, the roadways are indeed hazardous. If you are doing 50-mph on the freeway while solo driving in a mask with Student Driver or Baby on Board stickers you might just not be used to driving.

DMV behind the wheel driving tests are joke, they pass everyone!

Some old woman driving 40 in the #1 inside lane...while everyone else is s driving 60+...

 

[esquared]

Thread title is missing the "drowsy driver" inclusion.

"Weary behind the wheel: California is the most dangerous state in which to drive, ranked by drowsy drivers

Most dangerous drivers:

The Most Dangerous States for Driving (2021)

Drivers, beware: these 10 states are the most dangerous for driving in 2021.

insurify.com

Deadliest states per 100M miles driven.

Comparing the safest and most dangerous states for driving in 2021 - Reviews.com

Reviews.com compiled a list of the most dangerous states for driving based on fatalities. See how your state compares, and always drive safely.

www.reviews.com

Calif would be the most deadly just based on having 40M people living there.

 

[lxskllr]

MD seems to do pretty well as far as not wrecking goes, but holy shit people piss me off. Driving skills have plummeted since I started driving. No one uses blinkers. Leave 1.5 car lengths between vehicles at a light and make sure the business entrance is blocked? Why the fuck not! A circle? I have no idea! I'll just park here awhile and contemplate it. If I were running things, my stormtroopers would execute them, and their car would be sold on the side of the road to the highest bidder. Bet you'd start seeing people take the operation of a 3k# death machine seriously. I fucking hate driving.

 

[Muse]

I blame it on foreign workers & their spouses/parents who we import here by the tens of thousands. With poor public transit and many never driving before, the roadways are indeed hazardous. If you are doing 50-mph on the freeway while solo driving in a mask with Student Driver or Baby on Board stickers you might just not be used to driving.

DMV behind the wheel driving tests are joke, they pass everyone!

I renewed my DL recently in CA and the computer test you have to pass is anything but easy. 25 questions and you are allowed 5 mistakes IIRC. You get 3 chances. I was sweating it and I had studied the ~105 page digital download CA rules manual (the whole thing) the night before. I did pass on the first test, and but they didn't inform my how many errors I got.

If you don't pass you don't get your license. I can't speak to the driving test because I passed mine at 16 and have never been retested.

 

[sportage]

I loved CA drivers. My many years in San Diego I was amazed how cooperative drivers were. When entering a freeway the oncoming cars parted like the red sea. They just opened up a spot assuming you would maintain speed and not slam on your brakes like they do in the midwest. Want to see bad drivers? Drive thru one of those midwestern bible belt states. I swear they want to see god while driving in their car and they want to take you with them.

 

[repoman0]

I think Larry is giving the average driver around here FAR too much credit!

Although in terms of winter-weather experience certainly does help!

I’ve found Rhode Island and Connecticut drivers to be noticeably worse. I commuted down to URI from here in Boston for a couple weeks a few years back. During those two weeks I saw many times more wrecks than I’d seen in six years commuting inside the greater Boston area up to that point and in the five years since. I try to stick to northern New England 😂

 

[Captante]

I try to stick to northern New England 😂

When I used to go skiing in Vermont all the time there was always a point just North of the Mass state line in VT on the ride home where drivers on the interstate would stop yielding the left lane.

That was how you knew vacation was over.

 

[spacejamz]

WTF??? the car didn't even slow down and barreled straight in the busy intersection in LA yesterday....

video at the top of the article shows the crash...

Driver in LA crash that killed 6 — including unborn child — charged with manslaughter

A speeding 40-year-old driver who set off a fiery California crash that killed six people Thursday has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and gross negligence, officials said Friday.

nypost.com

link to better video:

 

[Zor Prime]

I'm used to issues stemming from aggressive driving and while CA has its share most of the stupid shit I see go down in CA is due to people not paying attention. People pulling out in front of you at the last moment, or even better -- pulling out in front of you and STOPPING because they're freaking out / paralyzed when they could have just kept going and been fine and here I am swerving around them so I don't T-bone them. I would say CA is full of morons but I'm sure the majority of it is due to the intense population density.

 

[Captante]

I would say CA is full of morons but I'm sure the majority of it is due to the intense population density.

Both are 100% true and are directly related.


(to be fair everyplace has it's fair share of morons but anywhere you can get by without heat year-round has a far higher concentration)

 

[kt]

I renewed my DL recently in CA and the computer test you have to pass is anything but easy. 25 questions and you are allowed 5 mistakes IIRC. You get 3 chances. I was sweating it and I had studied the ~105 page digital download CA rules manual (the whole thing) the night before. I did pass on the first test, and but they didn't inform my how many errors I got.

If you don't pass you don't get your license. I can't speak to the driving test because I passed mine at 16 and have never been retested.

Really? I thought it was super easy and I wasn't even prepared for it. I went to get my REAL ID and didn't know they would make me take the test. I'll admit that there were a couple questions where I didn't know the answers to right away but after looking at the multiple choices the answers were obvious.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

I've been in CA three times, once as a passenger, twice as a driver. Latest was in about '98 and that WILL be my last.

Among other things that bugged me was the lack of mile markers. I rely on those heavily and barely knew where I was without them.

 

[Muse]

I've been in CA three times, once as a passenger, twice as a driver. Latest was in about '98 and that WILL be my last.

Among other things that bugged me was the lack of mile markers. I rely on those heavily and barely knew where I was without them.

If I need to know how many miles I'm driving I ZERO my trip odometer, it's done by simply pushing a button.

Besides that, the thing I'm SO GRATEFUL FOR is modern day GPS, which I do via any of my smartphones. I used to print out maps to a destination if I wasn't familiar with the route. Navigating those while driving was an absolute nightmare. So far, my Google Maps on android has been fantastic.

 

[Captante]

I've been in CA three times, once as a passenger, twice as a driver. Latest was in about '98 and that WILL be my last.

Among other things that bugged me was the lack of mile markers. I rely on those heavily and barely knew where I was without them.

If only there were some kind of small, dashboard-mounted device readily available everywhere for very little money that would solve this problem completely back then. (actually there were decent GPS's like the Garmin Street Pilot but they were not cheap yet!)

Really easy to take technology for granted.

 

[Lost_in_the_HTTP]

If I need to know how many miles I'm driving I ZERO my trip odometer, it's done by simply pushing a button.

That doesn't help when you enter a freeway at the 238 mile marker. Odometers tell you how far you've driven but that doesn't help locate where you are in relation to where you want to be.

Going north to south or west to east, if I enter a state at the 400 mile marker, I know exactly how far it is to the other end of the state on that same highway.

 

[BoomerD]

That doesn't help when you enter a freeway at the 238 mile marker. Odometers tell you how far you've driven but that doesn't help locate where you are in relation to where you want to be.

Going north to south or west to east, if I enter a state at the 400 mile marker, I know exactly how far it is to the other end of the state on that same highway.

Here's a tip...California freeway off-ramps are numbered...those serve as mile markers.

In 2002, Caltrans started numbering freeway exits in California.

Numbered exit signs will help travelers navigate unfamiliar areas, determine distances, and track travel mileage. The numbered exit signs will be visible at night which increases highway safety.

Exits are numbered from south to north on north-south routes and west to east on east-west routes. Each exit number is determined by the number of miles it is from the beginning of the route. For example, on Interstate 5, exit No. 1 will be just north of the Mexican border. Numbering will continue all the way to the last off-ramp (EXIT 796) before the freeway enters Oregon, 796 miles north of the Mexico/California border along Interstate 5.