Where are the world's worst drivers?
 

Ans, Paris, France and anywhere in Italy.

I wasn't sure which board to post his on, I chose this board since it's more active than some of the other boards.

I had originally posted this in 2004, but things got out of hand and the thread was shut down.

Since 2004, I've been to several new places, but my answer (Paris and anywhere in Italy) remains the same.

What experiences have fodorites had?

Let the debate begin.......

On second thoughts, I should add anywhere in India to my answer.

I thought you meant within the U.S. since that's where it's posted... I'll say Boston.

Cairo or Boston, take your pick.

Hands down NYC and Puerto Rico

Not just Boston but the entire state of Massachusetts where a yellow light means "step on it!"

haha that's definitely true!

Connecticut HANDS DOWN....!!! Boston drivers aren't bad...they know the rules of the road and expect everyone else to do the same...they may seem crazy, but they are actually pretty good....Connecticut on the otherhand...

Italy, mostly Rome.

Istanbul and Italy....I orginally from LA and those 2 areas
have wild drivers.

I disagree completely. IMHO Italians in general are quite skilfull drivers - they take it much more seriously than we do, and while they drive fast they usually drive well.

In my experience the worst driving I have seen is in Orlando. On one trip I saw 3 single car accidents (mid day, dry roads, not much traffic) between the airport and the hotel at Disney.

Caveat: I don;t know how many are locals - and how many are just VERY confused vacationers with 3 kids screaming MIckey, Mickey in the back seat.

I think the OP has confused different styles of driving with skill. (In the US I have found a shocking number of people who somehow got their license without actually learning many of the basics of driving, like:

left lane is for passing only

double check all your mirrors before changing lanes

anything closer than 1 car length per 10 mph is tailgating

you drive a curve by slowing down before you get to it and then accelerating through it (rather than going in too fast and breaking in the middle - thus maximizing the car's tendency to lose traction - SUV drivers are the worst offenders on this)

The world's worst drivers are usually in front of me!

Portugal and Thailand come to mind.

Beijing is beyond bad to life threatening. If you are so unfortunate to visit Baotou, Inner Mongolia; it's even worse.

Trenton, NJ

L.A. drivers are tame compared to the Capital Beltway.

1. Washington DC and not just the Beltway

2. Boston

3. Florida

4. the Outer Banks

I won't drive in NYC, or Paris - why bother - they have great public transportation.

Just because you can't get around very well driving in Boston or New York doesn't mean that all the other people who are getting around just fine are bad drivers.

Ditto many foreign cities.

Tampa!

My theory is that all of the New Yorkers who never drove because they rode the train take their new cars out for a spin when they retire to this area and don't really know what they are doing.

Mexico City
Rabat, Morocco
Miami

Cairo - traffic lights are for decorative purposes only, lane markers are meant to be straddled so as to 5 cars across on a 3 lane highway, aiming at pedestrians is the national sport. And one guy seriously told us that if a male puts on his headlights at night he is considered the Arab version ofa wimp.

Cairo - without question

- lane markers are irrelevant
- traffic lights are few and seldom followed
- horn blasting is their way of letting you know a car is coming
- no headlights at night
- giving "eye contact" to someone at an intersection basically means you have given them permission to cut in front of you
- "double passing" is common on the highways (passing a vehicle while that vehicle is passing one)

plus - you need to watch out for the donkey carts and camels!

In the cemetery. The got there by driving very badly.

In this country Phoenix. They make the Boston drivers seem reasonable.

The drivers in Sicily are the worst, so instead of fightimg them, I joined them.

I hate to confirm a stereotype about my (current) home state, but ...Oklahoma.

Imagine beefy HS dropouts driving 2-ton dual cab pickups, usually one handed, because they are clutching spit cups and/or beer cans with the other, not just tailgating -- but honking their horns and flashing their lights to try and force drivers to pull over (on the shoulder) so they can continue to travel to the mall or electronics store at 85 mph ... in the snow and ice.

I'm not making this up. Every friend or relative who has visited from out-of-state comments on how bad the tailgating is and how aggressive, dangerous and just plain stupid the drivers are here.

We also have an excessive number of housewives speeding down our (crumbling) roads in SUVs - also one handed, because they are busy yakking on their cell phones and/or drinking lattes whilst driving to yoga class and Pottery Barn. They run lights, they pass on the right and cut other drivers off, they pull into packed traffic expecting all vehicles to *stop* -- for them!

Ick.

At least the people driving in Paris & Italy are paying attention to what they are doing. I'll take that to the SUV driving soccer-Mom w/a Starbucks in one hand, a cell phone in the other while trying to wolf down an egg-Mcmuffin & yelling @ two kids in the backseat. So my answer would be - suburbia.

"Worst" as in rudest? "Worst" as in most reckless? "Worst" as in most scofflaws? "Worst" as in most distracted? "Worst" as in most unpredictable? "Worst" as in most aggressive?

Grew up in Boston -- know they can create a dodgem-car mentality on some arteries, but locals know "the rules." Have now lived other places where how you are treated by other drivers seems pretty clearly to depend on who they think you are, rather than what you're doing.

This affects race, gender, age, state on license plate, and make/model of your vehicle. I won't give examples because it could start a really nasty discussion, but I'm willing to bet most in the US will know exactly what kinds of things I'm talking about.

Meanwhile, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Quebec. Had a group of Mass. State police say by far the worst drivers they had to deal with were those with Quebec plates. I

In the US -- New Jersey.

In Europe...have you guys ever tried to drive in downtown Athens??? It makes Rome and Paris look like a piece of cake. By FAR the worst. I actually think Italian drivers are pretty good, if a little bit crazy.


I've never been to Egypt. But I can imagine Cairo is pretty bad.

Personal data points -

Oregon, where the turn signal lever has no known function.

South Florida, where it remains depressed regardless of the intentions of the drivers.

Boston - aggressiveness not equaled by competence.

San Francisco - traffic signals are regarded as recommendations.

Portugal, like Boston on its worst day.

Mexico - Definitive proof of Darwinism.

South Africa - suicidal mini-bus taxi drivers and too many (real) baboons on the road.

My first thoughts: Houston, Portugal, Mexico

DH agrees with nytraveler about Italian drivers, but then, HE drives just like them, so he fit right in there.

I'd probably have to agree with WannabeinMontserrat (so do I, or at least somewhere in Spain)--the soccer moms with their SUVS, on their cell phones, drinking their Starbucks are nightmares (and not just as drivers :D)

P.S. This should probably in the longue, si?

INDIA!!!!! The roads and the driving is absoloutely nuts!!!

As George Carlin says,Everyone in front of you is a moron and everyone behind you is an a**hole.

In skirts . .

Rich, know exactly which driver you are now.

The Devil made me do it!!!

India, terrible roads, terrible drivers.

Boston drivers are not bad drivers - they are actually quite good at negotiating a really really horrible road system. I blame the roads - not the driver.

Now lets talk about the Maniacs that drive down 95 in the left lanes at 55 miles an hour - probably the first time they had to drive on a 4 lane highway.

Saudi .. driving in Bahrain even when not drunk.