Originally Posted by BryE

I guess I'll have to stick up for the midwest here. I'm from downstate Illinois (in IL, "downstate" generally means "anything south of Chicago"), and I can count the encounters I've had with hostile drivers on one hand, after about 5 years of commuter riding and 2 of more serious stuff. Of course, I ride on country back roads early in the morning, and there have been days when I've been out for an hour and haven't been passed by a car once, but there have been other days when it's like riding on I-495 around Chicago at rush hour. Now, I've definitely had some close encounters with ignorant drivers, such as 16-year-olds in fast cars and people jabbering on their cell phones, but that's not the same thing.

Maybe I live in a particularly considerate area: Mahomet (about 10 miles northwest of Champaign) has a pretty well-educated demographic, and most people who live there are parents and are willing to pay higher local taxes because of the excellent school system (myself included), and hence may not be into hostility for its own sake. There are lots of farms out in the country, though; lots of places where ignorant, hostile, truck-drivin' rednecks could live.




Now that's something I'd like to hear.