And you should take a joke a little better? I wasn't even referring to you specifically, just the general tone from the west coast all over.

I lived there for 5 years. It is a California problem. Sure, there are bad drivers everywhere, and there are a lot of this particular type of bad driver in California. That's just how it is.

luckily it barely ever rains in California *smug*

I know! I miss that. What was amazing to me was that it would almost never rain, and then rain for a week straight sometimes!

yeah this winter it actually rained a lot

i do agree with you though.. when it rains, the roads turn to chaos here.

About five seconds of WTF? anarchy, during which my front porch roof made a sound like a raceway for quadrupeds.
Wife swore the house shook. I rolled my eyes at her predictably occult explanation, though I didn't have one of my own.
I saw a jay fall out of a tree about twenty minutes earlier. Weird.

I think Gary posted it was his wife's meatloaf....I suspect that was the cause too.

I think it's funny..... a New Yorker taking shots at CA drivers. Hello, pot? :D

Hey, I was a Californian first! ;)

Actually, I've never owned a car. I rode a motorcycle all the time in Cali, all weather, even when it did its week long rain thing. My take on NY vs CA drivers is they're both bad for totally different reasons. Best drivers, on average in my experience of any place I have lived for a length of time: Massachusetts. Polite. Fast when it's safe, slow when it's not. Drive well in all weather.

There's a big difference between Socal and Nocal drivers.. Norcal drivers don't know how to drive fast in heavy traffic and aren't nearly as aggressive

:twitchy:

Really? REALLY?!

I spent A LOT of time driving in Massachusetts. I remember very vividly the prime directive by which every Massachusetts driver seemed to operate - "never yield the right of way, always insist upon it". A surlier bunch of motorists I have yet to see. Playing chicken going into the Sumner Tunnel was always good for a laugh.

I've driven almost everywhere in the country and Massachusetts drivers are the worst I ever experienced...... but I haven't driven in India or the Philippines yet, so maybe they aren't the worst ever. Just the worst I've seen.

I still remember driving my guests from Wisconsin from the airport to the City and them having eyes open as big as pieplates, asking me in a panickiy voice, how we can drive so fast and soooo close together everyday in SF!:lol::p

Chombi

I know, we're wicked awesome, right? :D

Race you to Revere?

Scott

Wow. That's the exact opposite of my experience. But my experience is almost all in Western Mass. You're talking about the Boston area? Could be very different.

lol yeah driving IN SF is a whole nother experience..

Yep, there's chaotic drivers (Korea) and just plain surly drivers (Massachusetts). I was on a sport bike jaunt, and north of Boston, a driver just decided to move to the L lane while I was in it. No way he didn't know I was there. After bouncing through the debris in the L "breakdown" lane, it took me several miles to catch him and apply the necessary helmet damage to his door and quarter panel. He wouldn't get out of the car and talk about it, for some reason.

Yes, we needed room to manuever around cows.

It's obvious that we've motorcycled thru the same state of Massachusetts. On a bike, the only real deterrent I've found is a set of club colors on your back. Somehow, even those idiots understand the concept of "take out one member, face the rest of the club".

You are kidding , right?

I remember driving the two lane roads in northern California. You know, the ones with no shoulders and the double yellow lines down the middle supposedly making it a no passing zone. Those lumber truckers would pass me like I was standing still, miss me by only an inch and I was going 60.

Lumber trucks are a whole different kettle of fish, and are the same in every state I've encountered them. They get paid by the load, so time is money. Best to stay out of their way, whether it's in CA, OR, WA, ID, or wherever........

Back to the earthquake: As I live 15 miles from the epicenter, I've been privy to what's going on in the towns hardest hit (Louisa and Mineral). First bad joke is that the friendly local insurance companies are up to their usual, expected, behavior. None of the damage is coverable, because homeowner's insurance doesn't cover earthquake damage. For that, you have to have specific earthquake insurance. And, given that the last earthquake here was 114 years ago, you can imagine how many homeowners have earthquake insurance - or, for that matter, even know that it existed.

Gawd, I LOVE insurance companies!

Legalized scamming, basically.

100 posts...................... amazing

Boston - crazy ass drivers. Crazy ass streets in that city. None of them seem to go the same direction. In the burbs they're pretty crazy too, and they seem to have the old "leaving the turn signal on" for the entire drive down to a science. My favorite it when its on and they turn the opposite direction.

NYC - as close to Italian drivers as I've come across. It possibly carries over to the rest of the state. It seems whenever I'm driving on a longer trip in the North East, and some aggressive driver is riding up my butt, or cuts me off, or does the whole, speed up in the right lane to try to pass only to have to slam the brakes on because there is someone in front of them, but the time i let these idiots pass me I notice the plate is a New York State plate. Almost always, i'm not kidding. Ask my wife, and she's from NY.

Oregon - i felt like I'd taken valium. It was impossible to pass anyone because everyone in both lanes was driving exactly 55 mph. Seemed very safe and everything, but totally out of place for me.

California - most of my experience driving here is by motorcycle. Lane splitting. Vrooommmm!!! Fun, but if I lived there all the time and did this, I'd be dead. I did have experiences on the 101 with those truck drivers. Kinda unnerving.

in the south what I think is so funny is the states that have like no rules for what can be ont he road, no inspections, no laws pertaining to tire coverage. You see these giant trucks lifted with 44" tires sticking out the side of the vehicle. South Carolina is one of these states. Crazy.

The older I get the less I feel like driving at all, where as when I was younger I always wanted to be the driver and usually was.


Oh right, this is about earthquakes. Sorry.