gerv 

I consider myself "car light", but I rarely drive a car these days (every couple of weeks or so...) and when I do, I usually find a pretty tame route so I don't have to drive like a maniac.

But every once in a while, I have to head out on the freeway or somewhere where traffic's a little more intense than I like.

I notice I'm so nervous, all my muscles tend to tense up. Which is probably why driving gives me a real arthritic feeling.

And for good reason. Today, as I was slowing down on an amber light, the car behind me passed on my left and proceeded through the red. There couldn't have been a foot between my mirror and his door handle.

Last winter, I got caught in a road-rage incident, with a young man jamming on the brakes, getting out of his car and then banging on my hood ... all on a busy street.

Is it me or is the world full of meth addicts?

wahoonc

I drive a LOT of miles as part of my job, current average is around 1300 miles a week . Yes there are a bunch of horrible drivers out there. My suggestion is to take a Defensive Driving Course every few years just as a refresher. My company requires it every other year as part of our annual training if you drive a company vehicle. It won't make the idiots drive any better but it will help you cope with them. At one point when I wasn't driving at all it was almost like I had to relearn things, like not driving on the sidewalk to park...

Aaron

countersTrike

I had to check your location- for a minute it sounded like you moved to California! Drivers here are worse than terrible in my opinion. Yesterday I woke up to an odd noise and a small shake. Turned out to be a Mercedes had plowed right into our new roundabout and got stuck there. At first I thought Judgement Day had arrived early.

Smallwheels

As a tiny boy I dreamt of driving fast cars. As a pre-teen I dreamt of driving trucks after "Smokey And The Bandit" came out. I've always loved driving on the whole. Traffic jams weren't always fun but so what. They are part of the car culture. Being in them never made me wish I didn't have a car, UNTIL I got a motorcycle.

My first motorcycle was just a toy to me. It wasn't for transportation. Years later when I got my second motorcycle, it was a replacement for a car. From then onward I didn't really want to own a car. Only bad weather made me want four wheels.

I've always been a great driver. The only times I've wrecked were when I was playing around, using the car as a toy instead of as a tool. With the right car, driving can be a pleasant experience. Otherwise it is just a means to get around.

Now I'm a school bus driver. Even driving that huge vehicle can be fun for me, though it isn't comfortable. Driving around corners and other tight places is like playing a game. I'm glad I don't have to pay for refueling it. Diesel number 2 costs $4.16 per gallon.

Roody

I usually drive on the same "short-cut" routes that I ride a bike on--although I don't cut through quite as many vacant lots, alleys and small streams when I'm in the car! If I'm the driver, the passengers are saying, "Are we lost? I've never been here before.... I thought we were going to the movies.... Where the hell are you taking me?" They seem pleasantly surprised when we finally do end up at the place we set out for.

gerv 

The only thing that dissuades me from driving on my bike routes is that I figure I'm ruining the route for other cyclists.

But... yes... when I take these routes, the passengers wonder where we are going

TheHen

On those rare occasions when I have to drive (usually because I am visiting my elderly parents and they want to go somewhere), I relieve some of the stress by making a game of anticipating the stupid maneuvers of other drivers. It's actually pretty easy: just assume they think they are racing, don't bother to look at what is happening around them and are stupid (as well as ignorant of the laws). With those assumptions, it is quite easy to predict what motorists will do.

For those who think they live amongst the worst drivers in the world, I think that is a pretty common feeling. However, when I am in San Francisco, I can sit outside for hours at a time and not hear a siren. In OR, I think the official sound of the state is the ambulance siren. I often hear twenty in a day in a city of 130,000.

bragi

I hardly ever drive anymore, and should probably get rid of the car. I'm driving about 1-2 times a month; which means that I pay $40-$80 per car trip just for insurance...

Anyway, I was driving on the freeway with my girlfriend last weekend, and I have to admit it kind of alarmed me: all the rapid lane changes at very high speeds, very little space between those fast-moving cars, and the sudden appearance of brake lights every few seconds left me with the distinct impression that we've managed to build machines that we don't quite know how to control. It also occurred to me that we try to regulate the wrong things in this country. Many in our society don't want to let you marry if you're gay, and if you hold a US passport and try to travel to Cuba you may be punished. However, if you're an idiot and have enough money to buy an SUV, you can careen dangerously through our cities at high speeds to your heart's content; additionally, you are totally free to purchase fuel supplied to you by dictators who have no qualms about murdering thousands of their own citizens, or giving your gas money to terrorists who want to murder as many westerners as they can.

dcrowell

My driving is fine. Since I started riding, I've started driving slower and more cautiously.

I find it amazing how many people will take the freeway for a 3-mile trip in town. I avoid the freeway unless travelling a long distance. I keep to the right and do the speed limit. I'm probably an annoyance to some other freeway users, but I keep out of the way.

Many years ago I delivered pizza for a living. I was the typical maniac on the road then. Although my driving record was quite good, much of that was probably luck.

sharrn

I don't own a car/rarely have a need for one. I do have access to one if I absolutely need it(like last week: stretched hamstring.) I avoid driving at all costs though. No need to usually. I'm a great driver though when I have to. I've driven everything from old vw beetles/buses to commercial mowers, to hay-hauling fork lifts to dump trucks.

hnsq

I was cut off by a car this morning when driving to work. Then when a red light that I was waiting at just turned green, a bike flew between the lanes, passed me, cut across the front of my car and turned, making me slam on my brakes.

Insane people are not car-dependent. The percentage of people doing stupid sh*t on bikes is just as high as the percentage doing stupid sh*t in cars.

Pobble.808

Understandable reaction, and I sometimes find myself reacting the same way, especially on unfamiliar roads with a lot of traffic. But tensing up is not going to make anybody a better driver, and it may actually make you a worse one. I'd like to say "Learn to relax and it will make things a little better," but I have no idea of how you actually go about doing that.

wahoonc

I avoid freeways too unless I am in a time crunch and need to cover distance. I much prefer to follow the old US highways or state roads. I often search out old road maps in antique or thrift stores and see if I can even find some the old roads, kind of like trying to follow the original Route 66, much of it has become access roads or parking lots along I-40.

Aaron

Roody

I used to love doing this too when I drove! One time I drove from western Michigan to the central part of the state without a map, while staying on gravel roads only. I still do the same thing on my bike. I just set out in a certain direction with the self-imposed rule that I can't ride on any streets that I've ridden on before.

wahoonc

I have been known to do heads or tails rides...come to an intersection or fork in the road, flip a quarter; heads you go right, tails you go left, then when you get ready you find your way back home. Works better here on the east coast where not all the roads are laid out on a grid like they were in Iowa However in some ways that was probably better for finding your way home.

Aaron :

beebe

Since I began getting around mostly by bike, my driving has mellowed out. I feel like I take less risks and drive slower. I also don't feel like I'm getting rusty at all.

Living in the 417 area code, I can tell you that I definately live in a world full of meth addicts. Whenever I get to drive in Iowa, it is a welcome relief from the insanity down here.

Scheherezade 

I'll drive a car maybe once or twice a month, when I'm traveling with someone and I get the urge the drive (assuming they let me drive their car). I find that not driving regularly tends to make me more alert/less complacent on the road than when I was driving everyday as a car owner.