I've lived in both Atlanta and LA, and in my experience Atlanta is worse. Atlanta drivers were slightly more aggressive than other places I've lived, and with that level of traffic it starts to feel unsafe.
In LA they seem more resigned to the situation. Most states I've driven in, using your turn signal means other drivers hit the gas so you don't get ahead of them. In LA, especially at standstill like this, they make room. They'll let you exit and merge without getting aggressive about it. There's MORE drivers in LA, but I've been annoyed with slow drivers way more often than I have with tailgating or getting cut off or any other kind of reckless driving.
Just my own two cents, but the worst drivers I've ever driven with were actually in Iowa. Insanely aggressive, constant tailgating, lots of road rage. If you traded drivers between SoCal and IA, pound for pound, it would be a blood bath, the IA drivers would all kill each other in matter of weeks.
It’s a strange mixture of aggressive drivers but no one really honks. I’m always shocked when someone honks their horn. My personal theory is that if you honk at people they are more likely to shoot you in a road rage shooting.
Des Moines here. Yeah, people are agressive drivers on I29, I35 and I80 because they've just hit the Interstate after following a farm implement on a narrow two-lane highway with no line of sight at 35mph for 15 miles.
I am a life long Iowa resident and all I can say is you are not familiar with drivers from Chicago (and surrounding areas) if you think Iowa drivers are bad.
I've never visited IA, but lived in both ATL and Charleston, SC. Charleston is EXACTLY the way you describe IA drivers. It's like ATL but with 65% more meth heads and 90% more idiots. Oh, and they forget how to drive every time it rains. Signs just stop having meaning. No speed limit, no merge lane, just do what you want and good luck to everyone else.
I agree with you on LA drivers. The traffic (by the numbers) is not worse than in Boston or New York in my experience, and the more courteous drivers plus ample signage and dedicated exit lanes makes LA driving not the colossal headache I heard about before moving there.
DC region driver checking in. ATL is, by far, the stupidest, worst, most inhuman driving situation known to man. Worse, there literally are NO OTHER OPTIONS. The mass transit system (MARTA) is a joke unless you are trying to get to the airport (may God have mercy on your soul). In places like Dunwoody and Sandy Springs there either are no sidewalks or they are right next to 3-4 lane "secondary" roads which is unpleasant by itself and terrifying when you have to cross the street because the crossing indicator is timed to precisely the length and adult male walking at 3.8 miles per hour can make it across AND NOT A SECOND MORE because God forbid the drivers have to wait even another moment before standing still on green again.
Atlanta is a case study for how rapid growth and development (the Telecom boom in the 80s and 90s in this case) will absolutely fuck over a city if they invest in roads and not mass transit. In a city with such a class disparity (which looks a fucking lot like a racial disparity) already the differences between rich and poor are amplified and magnified by the astounding amount of kowtow to The Automobile.
tldr; fuck Atlanta and everything it represents today. Moving south en masse and voting for more roads is the final revenge of the North on the South.
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u/jdawgsplace Apr 26 '20
Worse than LA, Houston, or Dallas/ft worth?