The Daily Journal of Commerce is reporting on a survey that pegs Portland drivers as the 2nd most courteous in the nation, after Pittsburgh.
I can believe it. When I moved here two decades ago from the Boston area, I felt like a wolf among sheep for the first couple of years…
0 responses to “Apparently We’re Polite”
Everyone I talk to tells me Portland drivers are some of the worse.
Some of the most famous complaints: blocking the left lane, driving 10 miles below the posted speed, slowing down too much before making a turn, slowing down to change lanes, assuming their turn signal gives them instant right of way, assuming all drivers will be “courteous” and cutting them off, slowing down on freeway on ramps or not getting up to freeway speed before merging, and too many brake happy people on the freeways.
My family is from Boston, so I can definitely see how this works out. When my relatives come over, they run every single yellow light even when being followed. It’s really quite humorous.
Well, I guess northwest drivers are “the worst” compared to you back-east jackals, as we steadfastly refuse to exceed speed limits, run red lights, or break traffic laws in general.
I mean, it’s merely a matter of life and death.
Driving around in Southern California taught me two important things about driving in Portland:
1. In SoCal, turn signals just tell the vast majority of people to close gaps. Here, it just tells a minority few jackasses to do the same. My theory is that they are from Southern California.
2. In SoCal, Everyone drives 80+ mph, and you’re a jerk if you don’t. Unless it’s raining, then they’re in the left lane with the hazards on, going 30… and I’m a jerk for actually knowing how to drive in the rain. My friend that came up and visited Portland from SoCal thought we are insane for driving as fast as we do (a.k.a. normal speeds) in the “rain” (a.k.a. drizzle, and not real rain).
We need license plates for… Born and raised Oregonians, and another for foreigners. Many of the complaints I’ve heard are from Californians too.
No way. Portland drivers are just as bad as anywhere else. The only difference may be that horns aren’t used as often as other cities (is that the measure of politeness?) Take a drive around town or on the freeways and you’ll be amazed that you don’t get in accidents more often due to aggressive and illegal moves…I know I am.
“Portland drivers are just as bad as anywhere else.”
You’ve clearly never been to Ohio.
I have noticed that when I do hear a horn in Portland, 9 times out of 10 it’s a California plate.
The study results can be found here.
The Business Journal is notorious for not taking the time to link to their sources.
Is this confirmation that all of the babbling from the bicyclists’ lobby about how bad drivers are is just a bunch of B.S.???
Erik: It is not “confirmation that all the babbling from the bicyclist lobby about how bad drivers are is a bunch of BS” – An unhelpful statement, btw.
The survey is, however, anecdotal evidence that a smaller percentage of drivers in Oregon may be a threat to others, including cyclist.
You have lost some credibility with me using the terms “babbling” and “BS”. Please try and be constructive.
I live in Charlotte, NC now, but I am a native Oregonian–Charlotte is filled with New Yorkers and Floridians. Let me tell you, I have never seen such poor driving in my life. Blocking intersections, taking 2, 3 lanes at a time, running red lights–and no one blinks an eye.
It’s anarchy over here. I use my turn signal to remind me of home.
We need license plates for… Born and raised Oregonians, and another for foreigners. Many of the complaints I’ve heard are from Californians too.
Most of the terrible drivers I know around here are the native Oregonians. Most refuse to check a map, or pull over if they get lost, and or if they do use a map do so while driving. Good times.
Oregonians are generally politer, but I wouldn’t say they’re better drivers at all. They just don’t get as mad when people drive badly.
You have lost some credibility with me using the terms “babbling” and “BS”. Please try and be constructive.
This is an interesting statement, when we’re discussing “politeness”. I ask a simple question, but I guess the only person to respond comes out with boxing gloves with a statement that states “You have lost some credibility” and refuses to answer a simple question.
I ask a simple question, but…
Please consider that it may not be the substance of the question, but rather the wording/tone/style/etc. which causes friction between you and your audience.
but rather the wording/tone/style/etc. which causes friction between you and your audience
A style that is shared by many other participants of this forum, as well…
Occassionally, yourself included.
I can tell you, as a ‘professional’ driver, that Portland area drivers are as bad as California drivers, I’ve driven there professionally as well.
They can come up with results for anything they want, and they do.
And who cares about credibility!
If I worried about that I would have given up blogging years ago!
The only point of view I REALLY care about is MINE.
(and a couple of others on this and other blogs)
In every state I’ve ever spent any length of time in, the drivers there are convinced that people from other states (especially neighboring states) are horrible drivers.
I think that in any given region, there are sets of driving habits, some of which are not noticed or are found acceptable by the local drivers, which clash with the habits of drivers in other regions, especially when there is a pattern of relocation/migration of residents from one region to another.
I do believe that, by and large, Portland-area drivers are more “polite” than other regions (more likely to wave or allow a merge, at least) but whether this makes us “better” rather than merely “different”, I don’t know. In other regions, the populace may generally value moving faster in the left lane, for example, than use of signals or allowing merges — and mix those two cultures and you’ve got a recipe for aggravation, at least at first.
To some extent, driving quality can be measured.
In 1998 (the last year for which my simple google search turned up data) Oregon had 1.6 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles (not passenger miles), which is at the national average for the year.
The worst rates are in South Carolina (2.4), Montana (2.5), Mississippi (2.9), Arizona (2.2) and Arkansas (2.0); while the best rates are Massachusetts (0.8) and Rhode Island (1.0).
My uneducated guesses here are that long stretches of highway are correlated with increase fatality incidents (I’m guessing it’s impossible to fall asleep at the wheel while driving through Rhode Island). It should be noted that people from Massachusetts (“Mass-holes”) are typified as very aggressive drivers.
To some extent, driving quality can be measured.
Those numbers should also reflect the road and design quality averaged throughout the state. I’ll bet that CT is up there with RI and MA, because the states are so small and most of their population is served by expressways and highways for longer distance travel.
The more spread out states are going to have a lot more two lane roads where if you get distracted, you might get hit head on at 60 mph.
It is interesting that we’d really think that drivers are better in one state than the other. I don’t know why, but I find that humorous.
I have a CDL and have driven in 46 states…including Ohio. I think that Portland may be more polite as a generalization across the population, but I really don’t think that make us better drivers.
People tend to think of other drivers as their vehicles, not the real-live-person inside at the wheel.
On the interstates around town Portland drivers are not nearly as “polite” as are Oregonians further east when it comes to the passing lane. I’ve got no problem with Portlanders driving below or at the speed limit, but they frequently do so in the passing lane, which bottles up traffic to a substantial degree. They further compound the problem by not getting over and allowing drivers to pass, even if you flash your brights (thus signaling your intention to pass), which I’d consider pretty impolite behavior.
With regards to how motorists treat bicyclists, I’d argue that Portland drivers have to be some of the best in the nation. I bike commute between 3 and 5 days a week, in general drivers give you a wide berth when passing and treat bike lanes with a great deal of respect. The fact that bike fatalities in and around town have stayed relatively level despite huge increases in bike ridership tells me that Portland drivers are fairly aware of cyclists while on the road.
The bottom line is that we should all be more mindful that there is a sentient being behind the wheel of each car and I somehow doubt that drivers would be as arrogant as they are here in Santa Rosa, CA if they were not shielded by the anonymity of their own vehicles. In other words respect should play a larger role in our lives. I think too, many folks would benefit from an annual course on the rules and regulations of the road, regardless of what state you live in, as there is no excuse for ignorance either.
I’ve got a summary statement or two for comment.
I have noticed that when I do hear a horn in Portland, 9 times out of 10 it’s a California plate.
yup, that’s a summary statement. :) I don’t totally agree, but I’ve heard about the same percentage of honkers out there – even though I rarely drive and almost never drive during rush hour (maybe 3 times since I’ve lived in Oregon over a total of 4+ years). However…
Oregonians are generally politer, but I wouldn’t say they’re better drivers at all. They just don’t get as mad when people drive badly.
I totally agree with this statement. Another important clarification I’d like to make. American drivers (I can’t speak for foreign drivers as I don’t know about about 20-30) just outright suck.
Americans generally; don’t know how to parallel park, can’t gauge speed by visual accuity, don’t understand front wheel vs. rear wheel vs. all wheel vs. 4-wheel driver, don’t know how to weight balance a car while turning, don’t understand the power to weight ratio, don’t understand impact speeds (and their impact), don’t realize stopping distances, don’t respect pedestrians or bicyclists (even though Portlanders do a MUCH better job than the other 99% of the country)… and the list goes on and on.
Simply put, if we truly wanted “good” drivers that where safe, efficient, quick, responsive, and able to handle the jelopies they drive we would have to actually get everyone trained. Even then a huge portion of drivers that are legally licensed probably should NOT be. A prime example is just to look at what characterizes the greatest accident rate; old people and teenagers. Not that I’ve checked but they’re probably more trouble technically than drunk drivers.
All of this is absurdly SAD.
While Europe shoots along at about 200mph on bullet trains we have slovenly slow 79mph trains, we drive a paltry 50-80mph legally and mange to wreck ourselves all the time, while Europe has expanses of fast interstate type roadways with 120-180mph traffic.
Why?
…I blame the people really, because we’ve allowed ourselves to become “mediocre” at best.