I agree with "philday," especially on the sample size used to draw the conclusions that were presented. Having driven in virtually all of our 50 states, my observations are that Massachusetts drivers are the worst. That's why they are called "Massholes."
philday
9 years ago
As interesting as this survey is, I cannot see how interviewing 2000 people would be enough to allow this firm to pass judgement on the top 10 rudest states for driving. Seriously, how many of those interviewed have been in all 50 states so as to make a comparison? Two thousand interviewees would mean that they averaged 40 peopled per state. I can see NY, NJ and Mass on the list but Idaho and Wyoming? Where is California and Florida?? I have driven in the Midwest, east coast and west coast and by far the rudest states are the ones with the biggest metropolitan areas. But Wyoming is a state with a high speed limit so naturally people speed out there but that was one of the criteria as being "rude"?! That makes no sense. In my experience, rudeness is dependent on the lack of homogeneity that exists such that States were everyone basically learned how to drive in that particular state people accept the certain driving behaviors. But states like CA, FL and NY where you have a melting pot of driving behaviors where everyone learned how to drive in different states with different behavioral adaptations, you will find rudeness. In FL you always find Canadians who refuse to take right on red, or those that believe it is okay to do a full U-Turn at an intersection without given the right of way to the person making a right. Others feel that tailgating is more like keeping up with the flow of traffic while others are totally freaked out if you don't leave a ton of room between the cars. Those that learn to drive in the snow react differently to changes in climate while those that learn to drive in warmer climates see an opportunity to speed up and pass those that slow down in torrential downpours. At the end of the day, I would redo the survey and look at the State's demographics as to whether it is more of a melting pot state or a State of home-grown locally taught drivers and then you will find whether the State is rude or just doing what they do best -- driving in their natural habitat.