I’ve been living here for about a year and a half and I have to say that unequivocally that Minnesota drivers have to be the worst drivers in the United States. Seriously, it’s a very good thing that I don’t personally own a car and that I don’t drive on a daily basis here, because I think that I would kill myself or more than one person around me in a fit of road rage. When I do drive around the Twin Cities on the weekends, my blood pressure comes close to a boil within about 10 minutes of leaving my driveway. Which is why Lori does most of the driving…
Driving in Massachusetts, I thought, would expose me to what I thought would be the absolute worst drivers ever to be assembled on a road, ever. That thought was destroyed over the past 18 months of living here in MN. I bet that drivers in the Dominican Republic (known as the worst drivers in the world) would have a few choice words if they had to navigate the highways of Minneapolis.
Couple of pointers for those of you with the “Land of 10,000 Lakes” on your license plates:
- Driving 2 feet off the bumper of the car in front of you is not safe, especially at speeds of 70+ MPH. This would seem to be a basic skill that one would be taught in driver’s ed, but apparently it is not one most Minnasota drivers wish to follow.
- Turn signals are something that are imperative to helping other drivers understand what your intentions are. Are you about to cut me off in a gridlock situation? Who cares? It’s all about you, right?
- True “defensive driving” rules say that you should leave a safe distance between the car in front of you so that if they have to stop quickly, I won’t suddenly become a passenger in their backseat. When I leave that 3 seconds between cars, it is not an invite for you to fill that “gap” and make me and everyone behind me susceptible to a 40 car pileup.
- The left hand lane is for PASSING! Minnesota drivers have the need to go all the way to the left at the very first opportunity, and then just travel at the same speed as the car to their right. The result? Three or four lanes of cars traveling the exact same speed, much like an entire linebacking corps holding back the backfield. Traffic flows much better when the faster traffic flows with speeders on the left, grandmas on the right.
A couple of other observations about the way that Minnesota goes about their transportation regulations:
- Why are we not required to do an annual inspection of our vehicles? I have seen some real pieces of shit driving down the road. Some of these cars and trucks don’t look safe enough to drive in a cornfield, much less a public road. Today, I swear I saw the brand of shoes of the guy beside me because of the rust holes in his door.
- To go with the above, if one is not required to maintain their cars, how does the average joe-blow know when it is time to say, replace their brakes, or get new tires, or fix their obviously unsafe chassis components?
- How is it that we have one of the hardest to pass licensing programs in the US, but yet have some of the worst drivers I have ever seen? Seriously, we have driven from here to the East Coast through both the US and Canada several times, and it is uncanny to watch the downgrade of driving etiquette as you pass across the Minnesota border.
- Considering 1 & 2 above, why would I EVER buy a used car in Minnesota, knowing that the previous owner wouldn’t ever have done one iota of maintenace to their car or truck that wasn’t forced on them?
Bah! Enough ranting for now. Last sentiment – Minnesota drivers suck! Wisconsin drivers, you have my props, at least you get it.
Learn from it!
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Pingback by » Minnesota drivers suck — November 9, 2008 @ 2:18 am
I second everything Ray said! Minnesota drivers are the worst!!!
Comment by Lori — November 9, 2008 @ 9:24 pm
I would say that Minnesota drivers are slow drivers and I 2nd the left lane crap. But if you think this is bad…don’t ever drive on the west coast, you’ll never make it. Its bumper to bumper traffic 24×7 and yes at 70+ mph. On a side note, try driving in FL, I was doing 80mph on the free during rush hour (again bumper to bumper) and I don’t think I saw a blinker the entire weekend I was there (except the on my dash). Driving just plain sucks everywhere.
Comment by Brandon — November 10, 2008 @ 7:52 am
Drivers are inconsiderate here in Maine also, they go 45 mph in a 55 until you try to pass them – then they speed up to 60! And, another irritating thing they do is drive in the middle of the road, forcing you to be way over on the shoulder – in the sand – putting yourself at risk of an accident! And when the Flatlanders visit, they only know how to be rude with their “road rage driving” driving. Have to agree with Brandon’s comment – Driving just plain sucks everywhere – maybe corporate America should consider letting their employees stay home to work at least two days per week – that would cut down on IDIOTS on the road, putting my life at risk!
Comment by Mom — November 13, 2008 @ 12:59 am
Yep, drivers suck everywhere. I like my Mom’s idea of telecommuting though. Hell, I get WAY more done sitting in my home office than I ever do sitting in my cube at work. I gain an extra 1.5 hours that I would normally spend on a commute, I hardly ever take a full hour for lunch, and there are no busybodies bugging me every ten minutes with questions.
The thing that ruins telecommuting are the morons who abuse the privilege. Until we come up with some kind of ground rules for WFH (working from home), I doubt the concept will ever be taken seriously by management.
Comment by Ray — November 22, 2008 @ 6:02 pm
http://www.unwind.com/jokes-funnies/locality/boston.shtml
Comment by paula — November 26, 2008 @ 7:27 am
Note the Driving in Boston section…LOL
Comment by paula — November 26, 2008 @ 7:29 am
@Paula : Haha – that’s great. I used to hate the aggressiveness of Boston, but I gotta say I kind of miss it. Boston is crazy to drive around, but at least people are in a hurry to get where they are going.
Comment by Ray — November 29, 2008 @ 5:37 pm
It’s all of the outsiders that screw it up.
Figure out how people drive in the region that you are in and drive…when in Rome, you know?
BTW, in MN, the left lane is not a “passing lane”. It is a “through lane”. At least it was when I took Drivers Ed…35 years ago. That is a lane that you use when you are not exiting soon. When it is time to exit you move over and then exit. The idea is that traffic still keeps moving while people get on and off.
Besides it wastes fuel and time to weave in and out of the right and left lanes constantly passing the slower cars in front of you.
Finally, when I last drove in Boston I was in a grid lock and needed to change lanes. The other drivers were very pleasant and slowed down to let me in…well one did anyway. I will say, that’s pretty rare to see here.
Comment by James — January 14, 2009 @ 9:14 am
I agree with everything you say! I thought I had to deal with some pretty crappy drivers back in Texas – you get a lot of impatient drivers there who will cut you off in an instant. I just moved to Minnesota and can’t believe how many people can’t drive around here. The Minnesota driver is a very interesting creature characterized by pure idiocy! I get people purposely not stopping at stop signs or people trying to make a quick turn as soon as the light turns green despite there being opposing traffic. It’s almost as if they are trying to cheat death! I’m afraid I will soon inherit these characteristics that define the crazy Minnesota driver.
Comment by NewMNDriver — January 22, 2009 @ 7:18 pm
I have lived in Boston, and L.A., and agree with everything about this rant!
Comment by PW — May 5, 2009 @ 10:38 am
I am a Minnesotan. The left lane is for me, if I want it. I can drive whatever speed I want, Mr. Johnny Drivefast. Where do you need to be, anyways? Chili’s is open until well after 10 pm. They have enough chicken fingers for all of us. And if you don’t drive inches behind the car in front of you, how can you read all of the insightful bumper stickers? I used to be an intolerant jihadist but then I read a bumper sticker that said “coexist” in various religious symbols. Right then it hit me that I should love people of other religions and now I do, except people that go to the church of the passing lane like you, bub.
Comment by Bo Darville — May 9, 2009 @ 11:23 am