What kind of driver are you?

I’m an excellent driver

I used to be a hothead on the road. A bunch of speeding tickets. One guy gave me attitude and I made a "rack the slide" motion with my hands.

Now I've calmed down. You have to be aggressive in the northeast, but I'm not cutting people off or getting into shouting matches.

Only thing I lay on the horn for is if I see someone (usually a teenage girl driving daddy's Benz) texting while driving. That'll never sit well with me.

^ you’d not act like that in most of the South, I don’t know what percentage of the folks in these parts are armed, but there’s a lot of good ole boys, and even the grandmas down here are packing serious heat, a stupid gesture like that will be inviting a lunatic to respond.

Answering the original question I drive carefully when I’m on the local side roads, but fast on the main roads and highways.

I'm not the type that is going to weave in and out of traffic, but if the lane is open in front of me I'm probably going to be going at least 10-20 mph above the speed limit on the highway. For example, earlier this week I made a mid-afternoon drive from Louisville to Columbus and other than a brief period where I hit traffic near Cincinnati I had the cruise control set at 85 mph in the left lane the whole way. Luckily the lack of traffic allowed me to make the drive in a little over 2.5 hrs instead of nearly 3.5 hrs.

I've been a pretty sane driver for my whole life, although a family friend who rode to school with me commented that I became Mr. Hyde when I crossed the GW bridge into the Bronx, lol.

I had a few rules that guaranteed survival:

#1 Avoid any risky behavior next to a dented rust bucket. They were either more aggressive than me, or were just to incompetent to react.

#2 Avoid VW Beetles - anybody crazy enough to drive those roads with their toenails out front as bumpers with a gas tank in their laps needed lots of space!

#3 VW Beetles that were dented rustbuckets: those folks were fucking nuts and must be avoided at all costs.

My crowning achievement was an unsignaled cutoff of a cabbie in lower Manhattan. I'm pretty sure he wasn't expecting that treatment from a car with Ontario plates, lol.

"a stupid gesture like that will be inviting a lunatic to respond."

Not saying it was wise.

Some guy up in NH weaved around me, slammed on the brakes, and flipped me off. I was coming back from the gun range and legally armed at the time. Instead, I made a gesture to a Home Depot parking lot--then drove off.

But by "aggressive," I mean that in the northeast, someone gives you a couple car lengths to change lanes, you need to take it or you're going to miss your exit. I think everyone accepts it as the way everyone else is up here. Nothing personal.

Aggressive on interstates around my home base - because I know where the cops are.

Defensive on normal streets/roads - because most drivers around aren’t paying attention.

The speed limit on most interstates out slide of my home base, but if traffic is thick I’ll just do whatever speed the rest of the traffic is around me. If it’s congested cops usually aren’t going to pull you over if you’re going with the flow and not weaving in and out like an asshole.

Just for note - PA and Ohio turnpike, I set my cruise and go like 3 miles over the speed limit. I get passed like I’m standing still but myself and others I know homage way too many tickets there that I permanently drive slow. Try my best to avoid driving in DC - too many traffic cams. The joke about that is “Welcome to Dc that’ll be $125” if you arrive by car.

Crowning achievement:

Got a ticket from an airplane once. Only other person I know to have gotten that was my dad. My uncle once got 2 tickets, in the same spot, 2 days apart. You think he would have Karen’s his lesson the first time.

I'm a safe driver. Qnd fuck Arizona and Florida drivers

I’m a safe defensive driver now but I was a lunatic when I was young.

Remember what George Carlin said:

Anyone driving slower than you is an idiot and anyone driving faster than you is a maniac.

I may go a little fast sometimes but I basically drive correctly and have never had any trouble. By fast I mean legally. Many would call it slow driving 5-10 over.

I drive very defensively, and never get in accidents. I did learn a few tricks from the road warriors in Lima and Mexico City when I worked in Latam. It turns out people won't ram you with their cars if you get a nose in between them and the next car when "merging"! Gringos hate this, but the Latinoamericanos respect it.

I drive fast. I don’t weave, but in MD, VA and PA people don’t stay right, even if there is space, so I’m often in the right lane passing the idiots in the left or center lane driving too slowly.

I live in the northeast and I drive at a comfortable speed, which is likely considered slow. I drive defensively, as I know there are plenty of nuts packed in a small geographic area.

The aggressive drivers seem to take many risks, and they might get to their destination 3 minutes ahead of me, and it’s just not worth it (in my opinion).

I’m a rick. You know how most cars have cup holders. Well…I’ve added a jack holder to my car. That where I put my drivin’ whiskey. ROAR!!!