ignacio

sharky-i've lived in houston--home of the most obnoxious pickup truck drivers in america! <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />
i don't think the problem is the roadway itself but the ignorant fools we license to drive motor vehicles believe me the roads in europe are equally congested but much more orderly their drivers have to pass rigorous tests of proficiency before being loosed on an unsuspecting public. in 3 years i don't believe that i ever saw one texan yield the left lane to faster traffic. that was 1972-76 before the current congestion. i have not missed driving in houston

Flying Finn

guys and gals,

Thanks for this post!

I've been losing my hair here and wanted to post a post like this but I thoght I'd upset some of you guys (I should'vr know better!). Seems that you're as upset as I am.

Just yesterday when I was driving from Miami Beach up to Pompano (Champion Porsche) I was yelling and screaming to other driver that they should go to Germany and see how it's done! <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

I'm from Finland and there also at highways people always drive in right line (only two lane highways...) and pass on left lane, it makes driving so much easier and safer.

But I do believe S. Florida is the worst (w/out driving much anywhere else).
Here people drive on left lane... turning signal blinking right... then the put emergency signals on... move suddenly right... (e-signals still on) speed up... turn signal left... then they move right... Then, turning signal stays on for about 20 miles while they're moving right, left, left, right... It's crazy here! <img src="graemlins/cussing.gif" border="0" alt="[grrrrrrr]" />

And honestly I think 90% of the drivers here (any age) drive worst than my grandmom in law who's 88.
<img src="graemlins/c.gif" border="0" alt="[ouch]" />

ignacio

finn-

visit texas--they drive even worse!

bloke

Nothing beats Jersey!

Flying Finn

oh lord...

karl k

Flying Finn

Here are certain Mr. Andretti's comments about this (It's long but it's good reading):

Driving tips by Andretti

His name is synonymous with speed, but legendary race car driver Mario Andretti has paid his dues over the years -- slogging through horrendous traffic in some of the world's major metropolitan areas.

"Many people think I look at (commuting) differently, but when you get down to it, I'm exactly as frustrated as you are," Andretti said during an interview in his suite at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco. "I probably say the same things and use the same vocabulary as everyone else."

With that in mind, The Chronicle solicited driving tips from Andretti, who was in town for the start of the California Mille, a road rally of vintage race cars through Northern California.
Andretti, 62, has five grandchildren. He retired from race car driving in 1994. He lives in Nazareth, Pa., about 60 miles north of Philadelphia, and owns a late-model Corvette, a Lamborghini and a Mercedes.
"I love cars," Andretti said. "I indulge myself from time to time."

While Andretti doesn't have the daily grind of having to drive to work each and every day, he often commutes to business appointments and social engagements in Philadelphia and New York. When he's in the Bay Area, he checks in on two of his businesses -- the Andretti Winery in Napa and the Andretti Speedmart at Ninth and Howard streets in San Francisco.

The retired champ admires smooth and skillful driving and abhors gridlock, absent-minded commuters and what he calls "road vigilantes" -- slower-paced who tie up the fast lane.
"When other people ride with me, I find myself criticizing other drivers so much," he said, "to the point where, whoever's listening to me, finds it real annoying."

TIP NO. 1: MOVE OVER

His chief gripe is bad manners.

"I think road manners in this country are so terrible," he said. "I look at a good driver on the road with as much pleasure as I look at a young child who has proper etiquette. The fact that it's so rare is unfortunate. We have all the laws about speeding, but I don't think there are enough rules about road etiquette."

He is especially peeved by "people who park themselves in the fast lane at 65 mph, or whatever the speed limit is, and won't let anyone pass. These road vigilantes think they have the moral authority to stop anyone else from going faster," he said. "But they create a situation where cars have to weave in and out to get around them. They're the ones who create the accidents."
Andretti cautions slower drivers to defer to faster drivers.

"What you should do is let the person pass who wants to pass," he said. "If he gets caught down the road for speeding, that's his problem. But let him do it as safely as possible.

"Reckless driving is dangerous. . . . I don't condone (speeding) because it's against the law," he said. "But I'll take the speeder over the reckless driver any day."

TIP NO. 2: PAY ATTENTION

Andretti cannot believe how many drivers do not focus on the road ahead -- letting themselves be swept away by daydreams, conversations and junk food.

"There are so many people in a fog when they're driving," he said. "You can go to different states and take notice of their driving habits. Florida has the worst. They should all just move over."

Andretti is especially bothered by people who eat when they drive.

"Nothing is more gross," he said, "than seeing people eat when they're in the car. If they could only see themselves."

From time to time, Andretti uses a cell phone while driving. "If you're going to do it, don't think you're in the office," he said. "Pay attention and maybe they won't pass laws against it."

He said that his most costly mistakes in races occurred when he was in the lead and his mind started to doze or wander. "It's the same as going down the road and you hit the median strip," he said. "It jolts you awake."
When commuting, Andretti listens to talk radio and music. "I've never had any accidents, except when I was 15. I had a fender-bender in a '57 Chevy."

TIP NO. 3: BE SMOOTH

Andretti won 111 races in a career that lasted five decades, including the Indianapolis 500, the Daytona 500, the Formula One World Championship and the Italian Grand Prix.

"I was aggressive, but I think I was smooth," Andretti said. "I had a clean driving style, trying not to waste motion. I would show the younger drivers how to do the same thing without using so much energy -- spinning wheels and going sideways. It's hard on the car and hard on the muscles."

Racing is in his blood. During the twilight of his career, Andretti and his son Michael -- who also races professionally -- shared the podium 15 times between 1983 and 1994. His grandson, Marco, 15, races go-carts.

His early experience on oval tracks helped in his later races on bad roads and in rain. He also learned to dodge hazards.

"Over-correcting can spit the car into the wall like a bullet," he said.

When racing, Andretti had such a heightened sense of concentration that he could smell barbecued hamburgers and prawns as he passed by the mobile homes camped next to the track.

"To do our job, you must get into a rhythm, expecting what's happening in front of you," he said. "There's so much satisfaction when you're in the zone, doing everything right. When everything is really working, the car is talking back to you."

TIP NO. 4: COOL IT

Andretti tries to vent some of his competitive spirit through riding motorcycles, slalom skiing and water sports.

At stoplights, he avoids sizing up the driver in the next lane.

"The first thing I think is, I don't want to create a starting situation," he said. "I have to be very careful about that. Some people would hold it against me if there was an accident. . . .

The best medicine for me is to cool it. I don't think I'll ever be as patient as I should be, but I've come a long way."

He was not always as calm.

"I've driven in Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Paris and Rome -- everywhere," Andretti said. "I know about traffic. You want an adventure, drive in Buenos Aires."

He described an incident in the late 1970s when he was driving from downtown Sao Paulo, Brazil, to the racetrack on a Friday morning through a ghastly traffic pileup.

"I'm a bit claustrophobic," he said. "I started thinking, some day this world will come to total gridlock. We'll all be in a traffic jam, run out of fuel and starve to death. I had the worst thoughts."

He doesn't recommend what he did next.

"I started driving on sidewalks, up and down steps and through gas stations.
I had to do the craziest things. When I got to the track, I was totally spent. "

Being one of the fastest drivers in history has its perks.

Some years ago, he was speeding down the freeway from his Tuscan-style winery in Napa to catch a red-eye flight at San Francisco International Airport. A California Highway Patrol car pulled him over, and a deputy in training took Andretti's driver's license back to the patrol car.

The way he tells it, the rookie's flustered boss got out of the patrol car and approached the driver's window: "Oh my God, Mr. Andretti, I'm so sorry," the officer said. "Go as fast as you want."

ignacio

finn
great post on mario andretti <img src="graemlins/jumper.gif" border="0" alt="[jumper]" /> maybe you were right about fla!

Flying Finn

I hope so (it's hard to think there are worse drivers than these here...).