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May 25, 2007
The List that Surprises No One Who Lives Here
Carroll Andrew Morse
Just a reminder to those driving off to Memorial Day vacations this weekend; Rhode Islanders have made their annual appearance in the bottom 5 on GMAC Insurance’s list of worst drivers in the United States. From New York Newsday…
The results of a recent driver survey released Thursday by GMAC Insurance seems to indicate they are - the average score by New Yorkers taking the written driver's license test was 71. The failure rate was 36 percent.Alas, we know in our hearts that it’s true.New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts and Rhode Island joined New York in the bottom five…
The survey gauges driver knowledge by using actual questions from Department of Motor Vehicle exams.
9:52 AM
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Wait wait wait. You guys have to pass a written test to get a license? Having seen you hacks drive for the last seven years I find that EXTREMELY hard to believe. Not a one of you knows the concepts of 'right of way', 'Yield', or 'Merge'.
Posted by: Greg at May 25, 2007 10:11 AMGreg, don't forget the infamous "Rhody Block-and-Turn" whereby, if you are attempting to make a left turn onto a busy thoroughfare, you don't wait for all lanes to be clear before executing the turn. Instead, you block 2 lanes of oncoming traffic so you can make that left turn...while expecting the oncoming traffic to allow you in, to boot! I never saw anything like it until I moved here.
Posted by: Marc Comtois at May 25, 2007 11:19 AM>>Greg, don't forget the infamous "Rhody Block-and-Turn" whereby, if you are attempting to make a left turn onto a busy thoroughfare, you don't wait for all lanes to be clear before executing the turn. Instead, you block 2 lanes of oncoming traffic so you can make that left turn...while expecting the oncoming traffic to allow you in, to boot! I never saw anything like it until I moved here.
Not to be confused with the "Gotcha! Now you're trapped behind me!" move in which a Rhode Island driver (intending to turn left) stops in the left lane of an intersection (e.g., when the light is red), but doesn't turn on their turn signal (if they do at all) until AFTER they've stopped.
So those of us who were behind them and COULD HAVE moved over to the right lane if we'd been warned by the turn signal are now stuck behind the a**hole until after he/she completes their left turn (which usually takes a while due to traffic coming from the other direction).
Posted by: Tom W at May 25, 2007 12:14 PMTom you mean that's a game?! I just thought it was because people around here are idiots. The older I get, the less I like New Englanders.
Posted by: Greg at May 25, 2007 2:55 PM"COULD HAVE moved over to the right lane if we'd been warned by the turn signal"
Signaling is a sign of weakness.
Posted by: SusanD at May 25, 2007 3:39 PMI think this is another overstated statistic. If you look at the fatality rate per thousand miles driven RI is consistently among the top 10 safest stastes.
http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/departments/nrd-30/ncsa/STSI/44_RI/2005/44_RI_2005.htm
Posted by: Mike at May 27, 2007 8:45 AMMike, keep that statistic under your hat. If we're safe drivers, there is no need for enforcement and the corresponding revenue ... er, fines.
Posted by: SusanD at May 27, 2007 10:41 PM