Originally Posted by
Accordion
I think this is incorrect. Most people say this but I think the real problem is that SoCal drivers are a bunch of a-holes anyway. That whole 95mph down to 5mph fifty different times during a commute doesn't happen anywhere else in the US. I travel for work and have been in all 50 states and spend a ton of time on the roads in these states. The thing I notice is that people elsewhere are COURTEOUS. Speeding in Iowa is 8mph over the limit. People are respectful and watch the speeds. Here in SoCal I can hop on the I5 and be merging into 90mph traffic that could give a **** about me. People cutting lanes just to gain two spots. It's crazy.
I don't think it's that they don't know how to drive - I think we have some of the BEST drivers out there. It's easy to tool down the freeway in South Dakota - it's way more difficult to navigate 6-lane thoroughfares with multiple exits and hundreds of thousands of cars at break-neck speeds.
There are more accidents in rain because idiots pull the same crap they pull every day but the roads are less forgiving - so those 95mph to 5mph stops take just a little bit more distance in the rain than in the dry - and that nails these idiots every time.
Hmmm....you must not travel to Chicago much. My average moving speed during the commute is 85-90mph. It's a 50mph zone on I90 and I get passed like I am standing still. It takes me about 50 minutes to go about 22 miles. You do the math.
Drivers suck everywhere. In 23 years of riding I have steadily seen it get worse - and this is in all places having lived in a ton of them. Saying, "I don't want to ride when it rains because the drivers can't drive on wet roads." is fine....this isn't a safety wizzing match, but to assert that the drivers in rain are somehow worse there than anywhere else is sort of naive and quaint.
To get to the core issue - yes....once again socal riders - suck it up. Rest easy knowing that you ride in possibly the best cycling weather area in the nation. Complaining is human nature but seriously guys and gals.....put it into perspective.