short time lurker here, but I think NOVA has some of the worst drivers, ever. I'd love to hear what you guys think of them.

I've seen others investing in dash cameras now for insurance purposes or whatever, and I got myself one too for cheap. I don't even drive that much, but in the short time I've been filming I got a few decent clips and put em on youtube. If you guys enjoy that kind of entertainment check it out


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmFTIoP1EFo&hd=1



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 04/14/2012 12:58PM by badnovadrivers.

badnovadrivers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> short time lurker here, but I think NOVA has some
> of the worst drivers, ever. I'd love to hear what
> you guys think of them.
>
> I've seen others investing in dash cameras now for
> insurance purposes or whatever, and well I got
> myself one too for cheap. I don't even drive that
> much, but in the short time I've been filming I
> got a few decent clips and put em on youtube. If
> you guys enjoy that kind of entertainment check it
> out
>
>
> http://www.youtube.com/user/badNOVAdrivers/video

The link does not work.

Damn, sorry for the fail. I'll just link one video

badnovadrivers Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> short time lurker here, but I think NOVA has some
> of the worst drivers, ever.

Not even close.

Maryland, Florida, and Michigan are the top 3.

michigan drivers? dont think so. I used to live there and I go up there every year or so. They just drive slow. Florida, New Jersey/New York, and Maryland. Im pretty sure PA drivers are taught in drivers ed to sit in the left lane going under the speed limit, they just piss me off cause they wont get out of the left lane.

No NOVA is the worst for a variety of reasons- I have lived in other places that are known for bad drivers- NYC, Boston, LA-none of these compares for the sheer volumn of bad drivers that are here for following behaviors: too slow in the left lane, "floaters" -who seem to be having an out of body experience and forgot they were driving, inconsiderate, speed up when you put on your signal to change lanes, ANGRY DUMBASSES with an attitude, bad Asian drivers, bad van drivers, there is a long long list. But what is different is that there are so many different kinds of bad drivers here it creates a culture and even people who would otherwise be OK turn into bad drivers to get from point A to B here (you may normally be courteous but once you are here for a couple of weeks you find you will be eaten alive living like that here). I don't know how they teach young drivers because the normal rules of the road don't apply here (if you put on your turn signal to change lanes it lets other morons know to speed up and cut you off) Seriously I just got back from LA and even though they drive really fast and change lanes (and probably have a larger number of immigrants who don't know the language) they drive better than here.

you also have to look at the number of accidents. believe it or not, va has far less accidents than md and other areas. i found this out when i moved from md to va a few years ago, and my insurance dropped $700 a year. when i asked them about it, they told me it was because of the amount of accidents/claims.

Why hide their license plates? Out these morons!

guess again Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> michigan drivers? dont think so. I used to live
> there and I go up there every year or so. They
> just drive slow.

My experience with Michigan plates is actually the opposite. They tend to be in a hurry, but they're very erratic -- inconsistent speed, bad lane change decisions, no turn signals, etc. Maybe this is only the case when they've crossed state lines on a long drive.

Connecticut drivers need to be shot in the back of the head if they ever travel outside the bounds of their state. I hate them the worst. Stupid idiots, all of them.

"floaters" -who seem to be having an out of body experience and forgot they were driving"


omg, these have increased by leaps and bounds

illegals and people on phone or texting

people who pull out right in front of you and don't even bother to accelerate

being a vindicative sort i'll pull around in front of them and then go even slower waiting for the horn honk
yes this pleases me

i really hate drivers who have no clue what is going on around them, and drive like they are the only vehicle on the road. improper lane changes, driving way under the speed limit, texting or using their phones, or hanging out in the left lane going under the limit. they should have their licenses taken away forever.

and I do think it is specific to this area- the driving is horrible and even the COSTCO, the one on West Ox is the worst...they walk around like they drive, there is no interaction, they are like they are the only people on the earth...I guess it is cultural.

Most drivers around here seem to be pissed as soon as they get in the car.
Not much courtesy, drivers will even speed up or slow down to keep you from merging.
The worst offense is screwing around in the passing lane.
Drove in Detroit, New York City, Los Angeles, even Tijuana.
There is worse traffic and worse conditions, but North Virginia has the most cunty, inconsiderate drivers of all I've seen.

Great video!!!! Enjoyed watching it. I was thinking of getting a dash cam for my car for such reasons. i've seen them at Best Buy.

If people speed up to prevent you from merging you should speed up even faster! Better yet, get out of those cheap ass POS poor-peoples cars like your Hondas and Fords and buy a BMW or Mercedes like me duhhhh. I speed up all the time in my bimmer suckers.

I always thought the people around here were the worst drivers. Rude, pretentious, holier-than-thou, and always in a hurry. Until I spent some time in Boston recently. oh shit, they are worse.

I always thought that people around here were the worst drivers anywhere, but then that did not make sense to me, everyone thinks the drivers in their city are the worst anywhere.

Then I started working in other parts of the USA. And where ever I went people drove better than they do here. The clincher was in Los Angeles, surely Southern California drivers were worse than drivers in the DC area. Nope, they aren't nearly as rude and arrogant. They just drive fast as shit out there, but, they will let you in if you need to merge.

I recall one time in Denver getting stuck behind a disabled car in the right lane in a four lane street. The people driving in the left lane actually STOPPED to let me go around! I was gobsmacked. That would never happen in Fairfax County. Here they just mash the gas pedal and look at you while you sit like HAHA SUCKS TO BE YOU, FUCKFACE. Or if some visitor from out of town (like Denver for example) stopped to let you out, the guy behind him would pull a gun from his glovebox while the second car behind him would pass them all on the sidewalk, wiping out an illegal immigrant that was too poor to afford a 1995 Celica.

But don't take my word for it:

http://money.msn.com/auto-insurance/article.aspx?post=4ac235b1-9ce7-4530-917d-08e8a2ac5eeb

my observations of drivers around here

- drivers here drive like they're angry, all the time.
- impatient as hell, you inconvenience someone around here for 2 seconds and they act like you just ruined their whole day.
- No matter how fast you drive there is always someone riding your bumper who wants to go faster whos MAD AS HELL that you are in front of him.
- everyone here drives like they're in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
- left lane, slowpokes going 10 miles under the limit. Right lane, the one you have to use to exit, well that's where the minimum speed is 98mph.
- merging in front of someone is akin to insulting the sanctity of their mother.

kingstowne Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

>
> my observations of drivers around here
>
> - drivers here drive like they're angry, all the
> time.
> - impatient as hell, you inconvenience someone
> around here for 2 seconds and they act like you
> just ruined their whole day.
> - No matter how fast you drive there is always
> someone riding your bumper who wants to go faster
> whos MAD AS HELL that you are in front of him.
> - everyone here drives like they're in the 24
> Hours of Le Mans.
> - left lane, slowpokes going 10 miles under the
> limit. Right lane, the one you have to use to
> exit, well that's where the minimum speed is
> 98mph.
> - merging in front of someone is akin to insulting
> the sanctity of their mother.

Yep. I have to agree with your list. There's nothing like being on an 8 lane highway and pulling over to get into the exit lane only to find you've pissed off Mario Andretti who was trying to pass everyone on the inside. Oh well, I just drive like I gotta drive and don't worry about anyone else. Don't take anything that happens on the road personally. It's just business.

wow....I'm surprised that a thread like this has never shown up on Fairfax Underground before.........

pic unrelated
Attachments:

Driving around here is a piece of cake. Try NYC. New Yorkers have a death wish.

Northern VA drivers are bad, we all know that. Maryland drivers seem to be more aggressive and reckless.Midwest and southern states' drivers are more laid back and not as aggressive. I used to live out in SoCal back in the late 90s. People there drive faster but know how to do so properly, e.g., more courteous and less likely to ride your ass , or drive recklessly.

Ross- absolutely agree-SoCal they are more skillful (do drive fast) but seem to be able to do it much more responsibly. People here all seem to be in the middle of a stroke and forget that they are driving or are so hateful that the opportunity to cut you off or not allow u in are just too tempting.I will take NYC or SoCal anytime.

Prius drivers are the biggest A-holes on the road. What is wrong with those people?

trogdor! Wrote:
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> Why hide their license plates? Out these morons!


I dunno, I did it out of courtesy. I've learned that if you are making a profit off the video (which I am not) they may have a long shot case.

I know the clips are pretty G rated, it's just what I have captured in the few weeks of recording (again I don't even drive much)

But I will have more videos in the near future

the real problem is the way people drive also reflects the way they think-they are either brain dead ("floaters") or so f-ing angry they want to kill you, there seems to be no middle ground where people are smart and reasonable, here they are either bland or angry. Yes I am trying to get out and I am from here, it is like one of my friends who is also from here said, "it always gets you back, the money", Yep you will have more money here and a suck life.

The main problem is that there are too many damn drivers here. It's just a bad mix of Northeastern and foreign transplants who couldn't pass a behind the wheel exam to save their lives. The roads are basically thin strips of crappy asphalt with holes in them every 3 feet. Add annoying traffic cameras, unsynchronized lights, and "El Salvadorian pride" stickers to complete the picture.

You people should drive one time in Bogota, Colombia. Your perspective of NoVa drivers (or any other American city) will change immediately. You really have no clue what "bad driving" is.

Hey OP: At the 3:04 mark in your video you changed lanes in an intersection. That's a big FAIL. Please correct this going forward.

We have melting pot drivers here in NOVA, most can't drive !

Can't believe how many folks around here texting and driving - they must think that this is perfectly safe...

Cannot count how many times been stuck behind a car at a traffic signal - light goes from red to green - car in front doesn't move, and the driver's head is tilted down doing you know what. My favorite move is to lurch forward and stop within a foot or two behind the douche and mash the horn. Head pops up like whack-a-mole!

The worst drivers in NoVa at any given time are usually directly in front of me.

Mean and grumpy. Impatient and no fun. And I grew up in LA with lots of traffic. Somehow traffic here feels so much more "grind!"

NOVAman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The main problem is that there are too many damn
> drivers here. It's just a bad mix of Northeastern
> and foreign transplants who couldn't pass a behind
> the wheel exam to save their lives. The roads are
> basically thin strips of crappy asphalt with holes
> in them every 3 feet. Add annoying traffic
> cameras, unsynchronized lights, and "El
> Salvadorian pride" stickers to complete the
> picture.


Sad, but pretty accurate.

If they could just get the Minivan and Volvo drivers off the roads, things wouldn't be so bad. Traffic would be much smoother!

It just seems like everyone drives like they have to be somewhere 5 minutes ago!

@Mark - they do - traffic would improve 100% if our self-entitled asses would simply plan ahead and leave in a timely manner
@Sterling - you forgot BMW
@Brian +1

Because we have all these foreigners and women who drive 10-15 mph under the limit.

What is so hard for people around here to move out of the left lane if you see someone following at a close distance behind you/line of cars? It's just courteous to move over one lane to the right. This improves traffic everywhere.

Where do I even begin with this topic?

1. Does anyone in northern virginia / dc metro know how stop signs work? People ALWAYS yield the right of way to you. It's like they are terrified that you aren't going to stop and will wait until no one is in the intersection. Stop it. You go in the order you arrived.

2. Snow. If you are scared to drive in the snow, or are mystified by what it is DON'T FUCKING DRIVE IN IT. I am so tired of seeing people who have no right to be on the road in their rear wheel drive mercedes or bmw's not having the faintest clue how to handle their cars in the snow. Add to that the idiots driving scared by a few flakes in the wind and we have 2 hour commutes. Call in sick, take a vacation day..whatever you do DON'T DRIVE IN THE SNOW IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.

3. Left lane is for people driving fast. Getting tailgated? MOVE THE FUCK OVER.

4. Put your goddamn cell phone down on the beltway, please? That includes you NOVA bitches with your pink sparkly encased iPhones and soccer moms in your over-sized SUVs.

I need a drink...

Its just a matter of time for the bad drivers of all backgrounds. The amount of data that cars and insurance companies record is already turning into a mountain of data that will allow them to properlly adjust rates based on age, race , ethinicity , model of vehicle etc. Not saying anything about anyone of those groups but you can be sure that in the very near future its going to be real easy to start putting more of the cost where it belongs. Should be nice to start seeing the rates adjusted to reflect higher rates for the people who are really a higher risk.

There Time Is Coming Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Its just a matter of time for the bad drivers of
> all backgrounds. The amount of data that cars and
> insurance companies record is already turning into
> a mountain of data that will allow them to
> properlly adjust rates based on age, race ,
> ethinicity , model of vehicle etc. Not saying
> anything about anyone of those groups but you can
> be sure that in the very near future its going to
> be real easy to start putting more of the cost
> where it belongs. Should be nice to start seeing
> the rates adjusted to reflect higher rates for the
> people who are really a higher risk.

And your source is?

> 1. Does anyone in northern virginia / dc metro
> know how stop signs work? People ALWAYS yield the
> right of way to you. It's like they are terrified
> that you aren't going to stop and will wait until
> no one is in the intersection. Stop it. You go
> in the order you arrived.

I am 40, but I remember the question on the drivers test of who had the right of way. The answer was no one, but order of arrival was a choice-though worded differently.

John Matrix Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Where do I even begin with this topic?
>
> 1. Does anyone in northern virginia / dc metro
> know how stop signs work? People ALWAYS yield the
> right of way to you. It's like they are terrified
> that you aren't going to stop and will wait until
> no one is in the intersection. Stop it. You go
> in the order you arrived.
>
> 2. Snow. If you are scared to drive in the snow,
> or are mystified by what it is DON'T FUCKING DRIVE
> IN IT. I am so tired of seeing people who have no
> right to be on the road in their rear wheel drive
> mercedes or bmw's not having the faintest clue how
> to handle their cars in the snow. Add to that the
> idiots driving scared by a few flakes in the wind
> and we have 2 hour commutes. Call in sick, take a
> vacation day..whatever you do DON'T DRIVE IN THE
> SNOW IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
>
> 3. Left lane is for people driving fast. Getting
> tailgated? MOVE THE FUCK OVER.
>
> 4. Put your goddamn cell phone down on the
> beltway, please? That includes you NOVA bitches
> with your pink sparkly encased iPhones and soccer
> moms in your over-sized SUVs.
>
> I need a drink...

The Metro area has lots of persons who immigrate here legally or illegally from every part of the world. This in turn brings driving culture those persons are used to. For some reason MD drivers are the absolut worst. Next come the travellers who are passing though from damn yankee states. Again in snow, its the legal and illegal immigrants who have never seen snow before, or are not used to driving in snow. The left lanes are made for volume of traffic at the speed limit, not to drive fast dickhead.

Of all of the cases of road rage that I have witnessed, NONE have ever been due to someone staying to the RIGHT doing a consistent speed and allowing those on the left to pass. It's either left lane hogs or people to the right who speed up and slow down to match the one to the left of them--creating a running road block.

Definitely the worst. All the other areas you mentioned people drive aggresive to get from point A to point B. The Nova/DC drivers drive to impede you for no other reason than to be a controlling ASSHOLE. These people have serious emotional issues!

1. When entering the highway, use the On-Ramp to accelerate to FULL-speed. Don't get to the merge-point at 30 mph and expect someone to slow-down to let you in.

2. When exiting the highway, DON'T slow down until you're actually IN the Off-Ramp lane. Slowing down in the fast lane 2 miles before your exit is not acceptable.

3. When you see someone's turn signal, allow them to change lanes. It's the golden rule. It will improve your commute AND get you into Heaven.

4. Los Angeles traffic lights change in about 30 seconds. A red light in Virginia gives you enough time to make lunch, eat it and take a nap before the light turns green.

5. Hang up and freaking DRIVE. Contrary to popular belief, you won't die if your piehole doesn't mindlessly YAP for 30 minutes.

Just drove 6 hrs from SC. First 4 hours were 2 lanes most people hauling ass but the roads were clear. last 2 hours were intense bumper to bumper 3 lanes wide like a nascar race. Left lane idiots abounded the whole way. At some points I could look up for a few miles and literally all the cars were traveling in the passing lane leaving the right lane clear - crazy. This was on a Fri. night.

Earlier in the summer I drove from Maine to DC. More congested but hands down the worst driving is between Balt and NOVA. Dangerous fast drivers and dangerous slow left lane idiots. I go south on 95 through PG and that is a circus indeed. NOVA is just plain rude more than anything elses on the road. As one poster noted if you use your signals drivers just speed up to prevent you from changing lanes.

Since almost everyone drives, drivers everywhere are simply a reflection of the people who live there. And since many thousands live everywhere, it is statistically unlikely that regional variances will actually amount to very much. Except of course in areas such as NOVA (or Florida) that are significantly transient or touristy in nature. These areas have relatively a lot of people behind the wheel who are not familiar with the roads or how to navigate them. They struggle and make poor decisions as the result. You do the very same thing, only not here on your home turf. At the end of the day though, it is the hard cold fact of much lower insurance rates in NOVA than in MD or DC that tells you all you really need to know,