A news story on AOL today reports that the worst drivers in the United States are found right here in New York. While this may, in fact, be true, the basis for their report is not the number of accidents or tickets issued (in total or per capita). It is based on how well drivers scored on a 20-question "written test" about various rules of the road and other driving decisions. At most, this indicates that New Yorkers are the worst in the country at taking multiple choice tests.
I am not saying that we don't have our share of bad drivers, those who don't understand or follow the rules and those who are a menace. I've talked about some of them in an entry last month and I continue to encounter them on the roads.
A couple of days ago, a car in front of me pulled over to the left side of the street and then made a right turn into a driveway, all without using a turn signal.
Yesterday, a car stopped suddenly in the middle of the street and then the driver started backing up...without looking! Luckily, I was far enough behind him that blowing my horn was enough to alert him I was there. His response? A wave and a goofy smile.
In any case, New Yorkers know that we are not the worst drivers in the country. We all grew up being told that anyone who did something stupid on the road was a "Jersey driver."
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