NationStates Jolt Archive

Bad drivers are really starting to piss me off. I don't know where all the bad drivers came from, but they are all over where I live now. In the past month I've been cut off, have people riding my ass, driving with the goddamn brights on, going through red lights, etc more times than I can count.

And I am getting fucking sick of it.

The next person to cut me off is going to get their ass ridden to wherever they are going, and then they are going to get yelled at.

So, NSGers, how do you deal with bad drivers? Have any stories about them?

Usually I just laugh it off, get over it after a few curse words, and sometimes wish they crash and die.

What about you?

Pretty much the same. That and slow down even further when someone tailgates with nobody behind them.

Pretty much the same. That and slow down even further when someone tailgates with nobody behind them.

Haha, yes! I love seeing the look on their faces when I drive slow.

Same, people who cannot drive suck.

I live in Massachusetts. They call them Massholes for a reason. 'Nuff said.

But it saddens me to see that your frustration (justified; they're all bastards) is leading you to become a bad driver, too. :(

But it saddens me to see that your frustration (justified; they're all bastards) is leading you to become a bad driver, too. :(

Sometimes, the best way to fight fire is fire. I always have that slim hope that being on the receiving end will encourage them to reconsider their asshole ways. Given that it's likely never going to happen, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I just gave them a hearty dose of karma. The key is to make sure only they are the ones affected, since I don't want other people to be the victims of a move designed solely for one individual.

Living as I do in Southern Arizona, we have a lovely combination of numerous bad drivers, and numerous bad drivers in from Mexico with no insurance.
For this reason, as well as things like gas prices, I usually drive to the local community college, which is also the closest bus stop with a decent sized parking lot that isn't always full, and take the bus if I ever have to go anywhere that's likely to be busy.

But, regardless, I find that MOST of the people here aren't BAD drivers, simply inconsiderate. For instance, if you want to change lanes at a light (which happens quite often, since a number of street signs are positioned so that you can't see them until you're actually at the light), you pretty much HAVE to insert your vehicle into the other lane at the first opportunity. Sitting there with your turn signal on is a recipe for immobility.

What I DO find rather ironic is that, out of everywhere I've ever been in the US, this is one of the few places where people will actually stop and pull off the road if an emergency vehicle comes by with its lights on. IN BOTH LANES.
Maybe its because, what with all the accidents going on, they're aware that it could well be them next time >_>

Sometimes, the best way to fight fire is fire. I always have that slim hope that being on the receiving end will encourage them to reconsider their asshole ways. Given that it's likely never going to happen, at least I have the satisfaction of knowing I just gave them a hearty dose of karma. The key is to make sure only they are the ones affected, since I don't want other people to be the victims of a move designed solely for one individual.
It's a vicious circle. They screw you by impeding traffic. You screw them back by impeding traffic. They screw you back. Etc. Before you know it, you're a habitual offender, and other people have been affected, and now they're trying to screw you back by impeding traffic, too. And so on, until you end up Massachusetts.

But, regardless, I find that MOST of the people here aren't BAD drivers, simply inconsiderate. For instance, if you want to change lanes at a light (which happens quite often, since a number of street signs are positioned so that you can't see them until you're actually at the light), you pretty much HAVE to insert your vehicle into the other lane at the first opportunity. Sitting there with your turn signal on is a recipe for immobility.

What I DO find rather ironic is that, out of everywhere I've ever been in the US, this is one of the few places where people will actually stop and pull off the road if an emergency vehicle comes by with its lights on. IN BOTH LANES.
Maybe its because, what with all the accidents going on, they're aware that it could well be them next time >_>
They actually are bad drivers here. I suspect there must be a typo in the Mass Driver's Manual because they all seem to think they are SUPPOSED to make right turns from the left lane. Also, there seems to be a statewide crisis of cars with non-functioning turn signal lights because hardly anybody uses them, and also an epidemic of color-blindness because so many Mass drivers seem to be unable to discern the different colors of traffic lights. And sometimes I think everybody in this state drives stoned, because they all seem to think that the cars and people and road features around them are mirages that they can just drive right through if they concentrate enough.

Finally, they seem not to know what sirens are -- or maybe they're deaf as well as blind -- because they do not clear the way for emergency vehicles. I think EMTs, cops and firefighters in metro Boston must be fucking amazing at playing computer games because of the way they are forced to drive.

Over in Austin, where I used to live, there were no bad drivers near my place because there were no drivers.

Usually though, I usually see people cursing and whatnot when they do encounter them.

When encountering driving jerks, I often act in an entirely unexpected manner. Most of the time, I'll have the windows down, so I'll shout "Righteous moves, dude!" in a serious surfer voice without a hint of sarcasm. The looks of confusion on their faces are priceless.

Also, with tailgaters, I have an empty bottle of Jack Daniel's that I fill with ice tea. Then, when somebody gets a wee bit too close, I'll swerve a little, and stick my hand out the window, holding what appears to be an opened, half-drunk bottle of whiskey. A cop once pulled me over when he saw it, but let me go once he realized that I was not intoxicated. Since we have a nearby recycling plant, transport of beverage containers is permissible if they have been emptied of any alcohol.

Why couldn't Helen Keller drive?

Why couldn't Helen Keller drive?
She could have, if she'd been in Massachusetts at the same time as the RMV started issuing licenses.

My father tells a story of riding with my grandfather in a Series III Land Rover 109" when someone cut him off. My grandfather, the story goes, rode up on the guy, filling his rear view mirror with the grill of the Land Rover and followed him into a parking lot where he beat the shit out of the guy.

Anytime I get angry in traffic I remember this story and remind myself that it is far too easy to let things get out of hand and I should not calm down and become a road hazard myself, or worse, a public menace.

My father tells a story of riding with my grandfather in a Series III Land Rover 109" when someone cut him off. My grandfather, the story goes, rode up on the guy, filling his rear view mirror with the grill of the Land Rover and followed him into a parking lot where he beat the shit out of the guy.

Anytime I get angry in traffic I remember this story and remind myself that it is far too easy to let things get out of hand and I should not calm down and become a road hazard myself, or worse, a public menace.
Wow. My grandfather never went that far, but he would become so involved with taking revenge on bad drivers, especially tailgaters, that he would pose a public menace by creating unsafe driving conditions. Meanwhile, even without warring with other bad drivers, he was one of the worst drivers I've ever seen.

The other day some IRL Troll winged a Lada parked on the corner, and crashed into a tree not too far from where I live.

I'd love to commiserate here with all of you about how crappy other drivers are, but the sad fact of the matter is that in all likelihood, 90% of you are the kind of crappy drivers I'd be the sort to complain about in the first place, and I'd feel much better yelling at you than whining with you.

Particularly as I'm probably the sort of driver you'd whine about/yell at anyway...


Why couldn't Helen Keller drive?

cuz women can't drive, nyuk nyuk nyuk

She could have, if she'd been in Massachusetts at the same time as the RMV started issuing licenses.

That's a boring answer.

Bad drivers are really starting to piss me off. I don't know where all the bad drivers came from, but they are all over where I live now. In the past month I've been cut off, have people riding my ass, driving with the goddamn brights on, going through red lights, etc more times than I can count.

And I am getting fucking sick of it.

The next person to cut me off is going to get their ass ridden to wherever they are going, and then they are going to get yelled at.

So, NSGers, how do you deal with bad drivers? Have any stories about them?

Usually I just laugh it off, get over it after a few curse words, and sometimes wish they crash and die.

What about you?

They will be dealt with as soon as I can work out the design flaws in my hood-mounted catapult. *nod*

cuz women can't drive, nyuk nyuk nyuk

No, because she was blind and deaf you ignorant asshole.

What was the old saying? Those who drive faster than you are dangerous morons and those who drive slower than you must be nincompoops.

Nagano has more of its fair share of bad drivers (Rated in bottom 5 of all Japan in terms of politeness and skill), but I've been trying to take more of a zen attitude towards it. Really, getting mad only shortens my life a bit, stresses me out, and makes me grumpy towards others, like my wife and son; so it just isn't worth it.

Some days I can almost keep that in mind

No, because she was blind and deaf you ignorant asshole.

Disabled drivers, no survivors.

My father tells a story of riding with my grandfather in a Series III Land Rover 109" when someone cut him off. My grandfather, the story goes, rode up on the guy, filling his rear view mirror with the grill of the Land Rover and followed him into a parking lot where he beat the shit out of the guy.

Anytime I get angry in traffic I remember this story and remind myself that it is far too easy to let things get out of hand and I should not calm down and become a road hazard myself, or worse, a public menace.

I've come within a inch of doing the same.

The only time I almost did this an asshole cut in front of me in the middle of an intersection by moving diagonally between me and an SUV a little to the front and right of me. He squezzed his SUV by both of us. I was honking my horn, had my head out the window and was screaming obscenities at this mother fucker. He got in the other lane and I followed him still honking, riding his ass, and screaming at him. I followed him for for a few stop lights, and then went to the damned Wendy's I was heading to.

I was so angry I was in pain. I could feel my pulse everywhere on my body. I felt like I was going to explode with rage. I could have sworn the same asshole cut another person off a few days ago. I should have taken his license plate number- so I can beat the fuck out of him if he does it again.

God damn. I get pissed everytime I think of that asshole.

Last year, I lived in Shenzhen, China for a couple months doing some teaching during my big OE.
After experiencing Chinese traffic (and esp Chinese taxi drivers) nothing, read NOTHING bothers me on the road anymore (other than possibly Indian taxi drivers in India but I've thankfully blanked them from my mind).

When you're in the back of a taxi who decides the best way to get you to your destination is doing a U-turn on a motorway across 6 lanes of on-coming traffic or you find yourself on a bus in the middle of goddamn nowhere on a one lane dirt road covered in snow with a 1000ft drop on one side and the bus driver is doing 60km/hr and keeping himself awake by taking alternate hits of redbull and some real bad Chinese alcohol (no idea what it is, other than it was 50 proof), then a little bit tailgating shrivels into insignificance.

I've come within a inch of doing the same.

The only time I almost did this an asshole cut in front of me in the middle of an intersection by moving diagonally between me and an SUV a little to the front and right of me. He squezzed his SUV by both of us. I was honking my horn, had my head out the window and was screaming obscenities at this mother fucker. He got in the other lane and I followed him still honking, riding his ass, and screaming at him. I followed him for for a few stop lights, and then went to the damned Wendy's I was heading to.

I was so angry I was in pain. I could feel my pulse everywhere on my body. I felt like I was going to explode with rage. I could have sworn the same asshole cut another person off a few days ago. I should have taken his license plate number- so I can beat the fuck out of him if he does it again.

God damn. I get pissed everytime I think of that asshole.

I had a moment like that and my grandfather's on my old motorcycle. I got nearly sideswiped by a truck that jumped ahead of me to get on an on ramp. I gunned it when I recovered (that's how close he got) and went after him. Fortunately he had gotten enough of a lead on me that I had time to go, "What's my end game here? What am I going to do if I catch up with him? This is stupid." and I backed off. But I was super pissed. (how did a pickup get that much of a lead? It was an old 400cc Honda).

If you want to see bad driving, try driving on the Rings from Jahrah to Kuwait City. The Kuwaitis all go at least 130 or 140 kph at all times, if not more, careening wildly across lanes without the use of indicator lights, passing in the middle lane between vehicles, sometimes with their headlights off at night.

Sometimes I think Kuwaitis all have some morbid deathwish or something.

I've heard from several people that traffic in Cairo is pretty much a case of survival of the fittest.

Whenever I see someone being really hazardous and aggressive on the freeway, cutting people off, cutting across multiple lanes and the like, I usually will call 911 and report a drunk driver. A couple of times I have seen them pulled over by the highway patrol a few miles down the road. That's much more satisfying to me than fighting fire with fire.

Whenever I see someone being really hazardous and aggressive on the freeway, cutting people off, cutting across multiple lanes and the like, I usually will call 911 and report a drunk driver. A couple of times I have seen them pulled over by the highway patrol a few miles down the road. That's much more satisfying to me than fighting fire with fire.

Thats a pretty nasty way of dealing with them, so have a cookie!

I've heard from several people that traffic in Cairo is pretty much a case of survival of the fittest.

Traffic in Baghdad is similar, although during my last trip there I was in a 30.000 pound (13.600kg) armored vehicle with a .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine gun and a 40mm automatic grenade launcher to help things along.

Had I been in a civilian car I'd have feared for my life. I thought Paris or Detroit were bad, but Baghdad makes both of them seem quite orderly and civilized in comparison.

I give you traffic in Sicily. My god, my first impression upon taking a cab to the hotel(BEQ was full so the Navy put us up in a local hotel) was, "I'm going to die in Sicily. There's no way I'm not getting in an accident here."

Two days later, my cab got into an accident. :tongue: It was a minor fender bender, but that's not the point. Sicilians learn to drive on Pole Position games. *nod*

What I DO find rather ironic is that, out of everywhere I've ever been in the US, this is one of the few places where people will actually stop and pull off the road if an emergency vehicle comes by with its lights on. IN BOTH LANES.
Maybe its because, what with all the accidents going on, they're aware that it could well be them next time >_>

that reminds me of something i've noticed after watching way too many cop-chase shows on Dave and ITV4. over here, if you hear a siren going and you're at a junction, which ever direction its coming from, you stop and wait for it to go past. but far, far too many times in these american cop-chase shows, people at junctions just keep driving... which leads to terrifying near misses when a cop is speeding through a red light after someone. i'm always wincing thinking 'fucking STOP!' :headbang:


anyway, there are plenty of bad drivers round here. often chavs in little cars. there's a very big, windy hill on the way back from my girlfriend's place, and its the only bit of dual carriageway for miles and miles - i.e. its the only place to overtake. i can't remember the number of times i've had said shitty chav car riding up my ass for miles, and when we get to the hill they think they can overtake.... only they can't. usually their car is shit. i just stick to about 60 in fifth and watch them struggle to make it up the hill in third gear. it makes me laugh, but then they catch up with me after the hill and tailgate again :rolleyes:

Bad drivers are really starting to piss me off. I don't know where all the bad drivers came from, but they are all over where I live now. In the past month I've been cut off, have people riding my ass, driving with the goddamn brights on, going through red lights, etc more times than I can count.

Have you moved to Italy?

Anyway, when people ride my ass, expecially on the motorways (typically when I'm overtaking lorries on two-lanes motorways I always get an idiot with a gas-guzzler on my ass flashing his headlights... and note that this happens even when I'm at 150 km/h with the limit being 130), it first like the brake lights by touching lightly the brake pedal... if they insist, I do brake. Just a bit... generally this is enough to scare them into behaving more politely.

I don't drive, so I don't get that sorta problem. It is funny though how all drivers, and I mean all of them, see no fault at all with their own driving, it's always somebody else fault, huh! ;)

With tailgaters, I usually do a "brake check". Which is basically me suddenly stepping on my brakes. This usually gets them to back off.

So far, no one rear ended me. :D

Bad drivers are really starting to piss me off. I don't know where all the bad drivers came from, but they are all over where I live now. In the past month I've been cut off, have people riding my ass, driving with the goddamn brights on, going through red lights, etc more times than I can count.

And I am getting fucking sick of it.

The next person to cut me off is going to get their ass ridden to wherever they are going, and then they are going to get yelled at.

So, NSGers, how do you deal with bad drivers? Have any stories about them?

Usually I just laugh it off, get over it after a few curse words, and sometimes wish they crash and die.

What about you?
I see you live in the U.S.

Well, you have not even begun to experience bad driving... Being cut off in traffic once or twice during a trip is nothing compared to what happens in many other countries. And if the worst happens and there is an accident, you will have a legal way to find satisfaction, as well as a good chance you will get to the hospital if you are injured.

Count your blessings.

I live in Massachusetts. They call them Massholes for a reason. 'Nuff said.

But it saddens me to see that your frustration (justified; they're all bastards) is leading you to become a bad driver, too. :(

You must live near Boston... don't see many bad drivers where I live... well, that's partly because I'm not driving, but riding I still don't see many.

Wow. My grandfather never went that far, but he would become so involved with taking revenge on bad drivers, especially tailgaters, that he would pose a public menace by creating unsafe driving conditions. Meanwhile, even without warring with other bad drivers, he was one of the worst drivers I've ever seen.

Let's just say my grandfather drove the wrong way on a two-lane street, fortunately it was in Alaska... (I wasn't there but my brother was) and they (him and his wife) also got flipped over by a car, which left afterwards, they didn't care O.o...

I give you traffic in Sicily. My god, my first impression upon taking a cab to the hotel(BEQ was full so the Navy put us up in a local hotel) was, "I'm going to die in Sicily. There's no way I'm not getting in an accident here."

Two days later, my cab got into an accident. :tongue: It was a minor fender bender, but that's not the point. Sicilians learn to drive on Pole Position games. *nod*
Hey, at least they learn to drive! I can't say the same for Chinese taxi drivers.

Bad drivers are really starting to piss me off. I don't know where all the bad drivers came from, but they are all over where I live now. In the past month I've been cut off, have people riding my ass, driving with the goddamn brights on, going through red lights, etc more times than I can count.

And I am getting fucking sick of it.

The next person to cut me off is going to get their ass ridden to wherever they are going, and then they are going to get yelled at.

So, NSGers, how do you deal with bad drivers? Have any stories about them?

Usually I just laugh it off, get over it after a few curse words, and sometimes wish they crash and die.

What about you?

Me and Kat agreed that it's not from NY :)

My daughter has stories about Italian drivers. When she was in the Navy, she was TDY in Sicily and, somewhat later, in Naples and then Rome. Whatever differences there may be in the three areas, the drivers are the same. They drive what she calls "cockroach cars" (i.e. there are lots of them, they're small and and they all congregate together), the traffic lights are regarded as mild suggestions to be ignored, if a car hits you and you saw it before it hit you, it's your fault, and horns are used for conversation and, apparently, swearing.

An acquaintance of mine, who went to New England Culinary Institute, has horror stories about driving in Boston.

And I'll put driving in Washington, D.C. up at the top of the list of horrors - I was only there once, but the impression I got was that all the streets were one-way streets, they all headed out of town, and stoplights meant "stop in the middle of the intersection so you can give the finger effectively to as many people as possible." There also seemed to be only one available parking spot in the whole city, and it was inaccessable.

You want bad drivers? Try taking a trip to Jakarta Indonesia. Sidewalks outside of the CBD are mere formalities at best and it's a common occurrence to be cut off by auto-rickshaws and motorbikes during heavy traffic. That's not including the bus drivers who act like they own the damn road.

I don't have many experiences with bad drivers (other thanthe ones that stop just short of hitting me *shudder*), but I do get experiences with pissed off drivers. Yesterday I parked at the nightmare that is the community college parking lot after wandering around trying to find a space for 20 minutes, and immediately got flipped off, because I and another driver wanted that space, after it was abandoned by a big chevy truck.

I've come within a inch of doing the same.

The only time I almost did this an asshole cut in front of me in the middle of an intersection by moving diagonally between me and an SUV a little to the front and right of me. He squezzed his SUV by both of us. I was honking my horn, had my head out the window and was screaming obscenities at this mother fucker. He got in the other lane and I followed him still honking, riding his ass, and screaming at him. I followed him for for a few stop lights, and then went to the damned Wendy's I was heading to.

I was so angry I was in pain. I could feel my pulse everywhere on my body. I felt like I was going to explode with rage. I could have sworn the same asshole cut another person off a few days ago. I should have taken his license plate number- so I can beat the fuck out of him if he does it again.

God damn. I get pissed everytime I think of that asshole.

You need to learn to relax. You're part of the problem if traffic irritates you that much. You're going from point A to point B. How others do it shouldn't affect you that much unless you've got some kind of superiority or control complex where you believe everyone should drive like you want them to. You don't know what's going on in the cars that anger you so much. People are people, and sometimes, in the heat of whatever they're experiencing, they do stupid shit. Sometimes, they're just assholes. Either way, you're wasting energy and making yourself part of the problem by going after "offenders". Bless it and release it, man.

When I was younger, I had a 1980 Toyota Tercel that had only four forward gears. That meant that I wasn't passing much of anything on the freeway. I knew that, though, and stayed in the far right lane, passing only when the stars were properly aligned and someone even slower than I was in front of me. That said, even in the right lane, I'd get people riding my ass so close I could tell that they needed personal grooming in the nostril region. I thought, "good gravy, what does this asshole want? I'm as far right as I can get! Is he allergic to passing?" The answer was usually that his exit was coming up, but he couldn't be bothered to maintain a safe distance because he needed to get off the freeway in a hurry. The only thing I'd do is put my right hand up in the air, visible through the back window, with all five fingers spread out. I'd then count backwards from 5, very visibly retracting a finger each second. When I got to the zero-fist, I'd hit the brakes. Not hard enough to skid or swerve, but hard enough to slow significantly. Woke a few people up. I then realized that I was creating a hazard and was therefore no better than the asshole behind me. What if he swerved and hit an uninvolved third party, or lost control in any way?

I think what people have forgotten is that the freeway and traffic in general is not a place for rugged individualism. We're all using the infrastructure to get where we need to go. To facilitate that in the most efficient way possible means that we don't all get to go as fast as we can. I don't know where that idea gets lost (probably the same place that drafted the notion that your car says something about you for some reason...I'm all for consumer choice, but come on), but I admit it gets frustrating when you try to leave a safety space in front of you when traffic is heavy, and someone goes around you just to get .002 seconds closer to their destination. But meh, I let them go and re-open my car-lengths of cushion, like I was taught.

I just relish the fact that I get to red light (or the stopping point in the bottleneck) at the end of the exit at the same time as the asshole who swerved around me. I can't claim that I maintain the Zen state, but I'm much better than I used to be. It's just not worth the effort to get pissed off.

When I was younger, I had a 1980 Toyota Tercel that had only four forward gears. That meant that I wasn't passing much of anything on the freeway. I knew that, though, and stayed in the far right lane, passing only when the stars were properly aligned and someone even slower than I was in front of me. That said, even in the right lane, I'd get people riding my ass so close I could tell that they needed personal grooming in the nostril region. I thought, "good gravy, what does this asshole want? I'm as far right as I can get! Is he allergic to passing?" The answer was usually that his exit was coming up, but he couldn't be bothered to maintain a safe distance because he needed to get off the freeway in a hurry. The only thing I'd do is put my right hand up in the air, visible through the back window, with all five fingers spread out. I'd then count backwards from 5, very visibly retracting a finger each second. When I got to the zero-fist, I'd hit the brakes. Not hard enough to skid or swerve, but hard enough to slow significantly. Woke a few people up. I then realized that I was creating a hazard and was therefore no better than the asshole behind me. What if he swerved and hit an uninvolved third party, or lost control in any way?


hehe, i like the story and the idea :P

there's a busy junction just by the university here where the traffic heading into town goes from two lanes to one. up until fairly recently, i used to get really pent-up and angry at that junction... i felt that everyone should be using the left-hand lane to go straight ahead and the right-hand lane to turn right. i don't know why i thought this so strongly (both lanes are marked for straight ahead), but i did... mostly because, i think, if you stick to the left-hand lane and queue, i felt like people in the right-hand lane were queue jumping. but that's beside the point. its a popular place for people to race off the lights, and i used to be one of the ones doing that - big time. i felt that everybody else was being just as aggressive as i was. i'd get people flashing me, beeping me, riding my ass... and i realised (duh) i was the problem. i was causing a problem for myself, and being dangerous to other drivers - most of whom weren't being aggressive in the first place, really.

so now i've calmed the fuck down and just let what happens happen. it makes for a much more relaxing drive... though in my new car i happen to beat most people off the lights without trying anyway :p


my g/f still tells me i'm too judgemental and aggressive though. i'm working on it, but i just assume the worst from people without giving anybody a chance. [/pointless rant]

Disabled drivers, no survivors.

"I am the Disabled Driver Roberts. There will be no survivors. NO SURVIVORS!!"

I've noticed that different parts of the world have better drivers than others.

The best drivers I've seen are in the United States. In general, the further north you are, the more skilled the drivers are, while the further west, the more polite they are. So Washingtonians like myself are the best, Californians are polite but bad, New Yorkers are good at driving but impolite (Boston even more so), and Floridians are just horrible.

The worst drivers tend to be European, particularly continentals.

This takes some beating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM&feature=related

This takes some beating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM&feature=related
that's exactly what I was talking about when I went through India.
Here's a good example of traffic in China:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=vPxinqO3f8o
I finally worked out that the chaos which is Chinese roads works because everyone does it!

In Europe, I found the Dutch to be damn aggressive. I'd hired a car in Germany (got free upgrade to a BMW :tongue:). Drove on the autobahn doing 200 km/hr into Dutchyland. As you drive over the border, a big sign warns you that the max speed limit is now 100 km/hr. whoops. And there's speed cameras. double whoops. Hard to slow down so quickly when cars doing 240km/hr+ are roaring up behind you!
The Dutch obviously feel a great deal of envy and antipathy towards their Germanic cousins over the whole "no speed limit" issue. They deal with this by driving as agressively as possible. Tailgating at 140km/hr is the norm - especially (I felt) if the leading car has German plates.
Man did I ever need some Amsterdam cafe magic after that trip!

This takes some beating

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjrEQaG5jPM&feature=related

Goddamn that's hilarious.

I love the Australian death statistics for roads. The biggest death toll comes from the northern territory where there was no speed limit (there is now) so when someone reaches 200km on a dirt road a kangaroo jumps out and kills everyone in the car

Dont fear the drivers. Fear the roos

http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/aa/releases/2008/august/aa112_2008.htm

"I am the Disabled Driver Roberts. There will be no survivors. NO SURVIVORS!!"

Nice holocaust cloak.