Where's the worst bottlenecks?
 

This country is so amazing, despite all the differences, highway congestion is one of your common bonds. After visiting all 50 states I still cant decide. What region(s) would you say have a) the worst drivers and b) the worst traffic?

As a native New Yorker, I would have to say New York is the worst, but then again LA is known for its traffic. I would also have to say that Atlanta, Washington DC, San Francisco and Chicago are equally as bad as NY and LA.

The last post forgot to mention Boston. I think Bostonians have the worst traffic. We have this construction project thats causing worse traffic problems than anything i see in NY!

SEATTLE is the WORST, Hands Down. All these crazy Californians are making a mess of our freeways, and the way Seattlelites drive scares the HELL out of People from LA and the Province of San Francisco.

Speaking from my own experience, I sat in a snail-paced, 20-mile long back up my last trip to San Francisco, have you ever seen the Bay Bridge Toll Plaza, its amazing. But as an Atlanta resident, I know we rank high up there in terms of crazy driving.

I think Seattle has the worst traffic in the nation. Our traffic is definitely worse than NY,LA and SF. We also have the craziest drivers.

The results of a survey of truck drivers was announced yesterday. <BR> <BR>Worst drivers and roads, California and Georgia, with Alabama in the running.

When I left The Bay Area, I thought I would never see that sort of absurd driving again, but since moving to Atlanta, I feel like I'm back in San Francisco, The same idiots, well, you know what they say, United we stand.

When I left The Bay Area, I thought I would never see that sort of absurd driving again, but since moving to Atlanta, I feel like I'm back in San Francisco, The same idiots, well, you know what they say, United we stand.

I nominate a lot of places, but living close to Atlanta, I admire the state of denial most suburban commuters demonstrate. I 285 between the I 85 junction and the I 75 junction is horrific. There are exits close together, so close that many are perpetual mixing bowls. I 285 as mentioned is either a parking lot or a drag strip. Between 4 PM and 7 PM it is most likely a parking lot. Yet, when there is a tax referendum to extend the rail line, most people vote against it. <BR>So spending 4 hours a day getting to and from work is not impossible. Two hours a day total is a short commute. But Seattle, San Fran, Dc (lived there 6 years), Boston, etc. all suffer from the same problems. Road rage is the norm and cursing other drivers is a pass time, like baseball. <BR>

Isn't it true that the worst drivers on the road are always where you want to go . . . . no matter where you are???!!

My nomination for worst bottleneck is...(the envelope, please)...getting back to Boston from Cape Cod on any weekend in summertime. I can't remember the name of a particular bridge, but the traffic backs up for miles!

Hi all, <BR>I and/or immediate family members (hence frequent visits) have lived in Seattle, LA, SF, Washington DC, NYC, Boston, Chicago and a variety of other places (some overseas, too) with crummy traffic or drivers. <BR>Disclaimer: stereotyping is wrong. So... My nominations are...LA for max congestion (often at high speeds), SF for utter disregard of signals, stopsigns, sirens or other traffic management devices (IMO viewed as "suggestions"), Boston for rudest and probably winners of the "most hazardous" driver sweeps, most of Florida for reaction-impaired drivers, all of Oregon for I-don't-know-what-this-thing-is-supposed-to-do (turn signal indicators) contestants, NYC for inyerface pedestrians (Boston close 2nd), Seattle for most timid everything, and (drumroll) my nomination for the Bottleneck of Bottlenecks is... the Breezewood interchange at the beginning/end of the Pa. T'pike, where if you had any doubt that the world is run by fast food merchants, you will get over it. One blasts across this great beautiful land until it all comes to a long, grisly halt at Breezewood, where miles of overheating drivers, truckers, and momigottago kids queue up for Wendy's or some gas station. Oy.

John, <BR> <BR>You left out N. New Mexico with highest incidence of drunk drivers. They also don't know what turn signals are for.

Definitely Massachusetts! The drivers there seem to believe that you can go faster than the car in front of you, they love to tailgate, they can't stay in the same lane longer than 1/10 mile, the word "yield" apparently has a different definition there, and courtesy is almost non-existent. I learned to drive in Maryland, where they give tickets for the smallest of infractions regularly. Adjusting to driving in Massachusetts was harrowing. Where I come from, you flash your lights to ensure another driver knows your there. In MA, doing this could very well render you a victim of serious "road rage".

The worst traffic? BOSTON wins hands down. Image a major city with only a 4-Lane highway running through it and add in all the Big Dig construction and you've got TRAFFIC 24/7. <BR>As for worse drivers, yes, Mass drivers are pretty bad, but I found New Mexico drivers to be worse. You think Mass drivers drive fast? Go to NM! Signals? It's like they dont exist. Florida has pretty bad drivers too.

I don't know who the worst drivers are, cause they're everywhere. But traffic where I live in the Bay Area is rotten. It takes me at least 1 hour to drive 9 miles to my job in SF from my apartment in Berkeley, That's 1 hour if conditions are "normal". When there are accidents and roadwork it takes a lot longer.

NY traffic is not as bad as I thought it would be. In my opinion, LA traffic is far worse, and Atlanta, Chicago and San Francisco have the highest number of idiot drivers per capita.

Why do we care? Do we get a prize if our city has the worst traffic or the worst drivers??? If so, give it to Seattle. They seem to want it the most.

In the words of that brilliant comic, George Carlin, "everyone who drives faster than you is a maniac, and everyone who drives slower than you is an idiot!"

One friend of mine has a theory about slow traffic on I 85 northeast of Atlanta. The slow drivers fall into 3 categories: old people who think 65 is fast enough in a 65 mph zone, old cars that cannot quite make it up to 65, and people who were going too fast, but got so scared that their feet are frozen with fear and they cannot depress the gas pedal. <BR>

Beware of Gallup, New Mexico -- especially on weekends. It is a sad sight when you see so many intoxicated Native Americans (a.k.a. Indians) lying in the gutter, on the parkways, on benches, and even in the streets. The police pick them up, put them in the cooler to sober up, and then send them on their way. Can't something constructive be done to help these people?

Re: previous post. STICK TO THE $%^#@ SUBJECT. Drunk Indians in Gallup has absolutely zero to do with bottleneck traffic! <BR> <BR>And now to the point... San Francisco has awful traffic. The entire Bay Area is a big traffic mess! I left 8 years ago for a mid-size Southern city where I commute 8 miles in 12 minutes. <BR>

The problem with the Bay Area is the lack of space to accomodate new freeways. The cities on the bay itself on the east side or the west side are on narrow strips of land bordered by the bay on one side and hills and mountains on the other side, this causes great population density and horrendous traffic. I still would argue that Los Angeles is worse for now at least. But not by much. Traffic in other places is a novelty and makes them feel like like mega-cities. Well, the Bay Area is a mega-City with San Francisco at its heart, and as the worldwide capital of technology, its a shame that we haven't been able to solve a problem that has evolved into a crisis.

The worst drivers are the slow ones combined with the hyper-macho ones in South Florida. <BR>Worst bottlenecks are on the Long Island Expressway on Friday or Sunday evenings in summer.

The *WORST* bottle neck by far is what Chicagoans call the "Hillside strangler" where 6 lanes [and two interstates 88 & 290 I think..] merge into ONE lane. During rush hour... oh well. The problem is, as I understand it, that redoing the interchange involves 5 municipalities... so I guess we'll have the strangler with us for the forseeable future.

Boston to Cape Cod, hands down. <BR>I live in LA and have never experienced anything like that here ( of course, I avoid the 405).

I grew up in Massachusetts, lived in Montclair,NJ.(about 15 miles outside of NYC) and now live in Atlanta. I have to say that although NewEnglander's may not want someone to merge in front of them at least there is some orderly rules of the road. Yes, NewEnglander's drive fast but I never realized what fast was until I moved to Atlanta. Not only do Atlantan's drive fast there erratic, they don't know how to drive. They constantly cut you off, don't use their traffic signals, don't know how to obey stop signs. It's complete chaos. I don't even think they have driver's education down here! Rules of the road? There aren't any. Tracker trailers and cars pass you in the emergency lane doing 80, no wonder there are so many traffic fatalities every day! And as for the police down here, there are very few radar traps and if you see a cop on the road, watch out! Because they can't drive either. They often spin their wheels like they don't have any control over their vehicle. Something you use to see in the Dukes of Hazard show in the 1980's. I use to love to drive. In fact, I drove my car cross-country and enjoyed every bit of America. However, <BR>since moving to Atlanta, I have anxiety just getting in my car. One day I hope to move out of this city in one piece. <BR>

<BR> <BR>I grew up (and learned to drive) in Boston. I thought I was prepared for anything. Then I moved to Washington DC. A city comprised of people from 'someplace else'. Everyone has a different driving style. Add to that the overcrowded roads, and a city center polluted with potholes, and you have a festering boil that is about to explode. <BR> <BR>However, in terms of sheer nuttiness, Boston wins the prize, hands-down. <BR> <BR>