Originally Posted by
CrankyOne
Most drivers in Minnesota are quite good and incidents are more rare than in most other parts of the U.S. They are also more likely to be, or at least seem, genuinely sorry for close passes and other stuff. It's fairly easy to start off nice with them. Drivers in Florida are another story.
Originally Posted by
Cyclosaurus
Yeah, it's pretty hit or miss here in Chicago. I guess we got some of both Minnesota and Florida...
Well, having grown up in Chicago and learned to drive there and now living in Minnesota - this needs some qualification. Minnesota drivers are nicer ("Minnesota Nice" is a real thing) but Chicago drivers are by far more competent drivers in traffic and in car handling. The *one* exception to that is in winter driving where Minnesota drivers are far and away better. On winter driving, it's not even close.
When it comes to cyclists, Minnesota drivers are really pretty decent towards cyclists, but that is a relatively recent development - maybe within the last 10 years or so. Used to be I could count on getting yelled at by someone every time I went for a ride and wasn't on a bike path. Now, it hardly happens and is rare. I live on the border between MN and WI and for decades WI drivers were better towards cyclists, but that has changed now.
J.