Well, finally it had to happen. My permit was due to expire next month, and although I've been legally driving around on that in conjunction with my UK license for nearly 2 years, and legally on my UK license alone for a year prior to that, it didn't make any sense to not do the road test to only then have to get another permit (farcical computer test required) for another 2 years.
So I psyche myself up, swot up on the book (it's been 2 years remember) and show up.

What a farce! Drive around the block and do a 3 point turn. The cop didn't even check that I knew my hand signals or could parallel park (listed as checkboxes on the form that he signs off on). He did ask me how long I had held a UK driving license for, and maybe he took the 13 years into consideration, but really...Is it any surprise that Boston driving is widely regarded to be amongst the worst in the country?

I feel a bit let down now. I was looking forward to a celebratory beer, but I don't feel that I've earned it. I knew it was going to be much easier that the hour long UK torture test, but I was done within 5 minutes.

At least now I won't get grief whenever I need to hire a car.

He probably figured that if you could stay on the right side of the road (not necessarily "correct" but "right" as in "right-hand" - I don't want to go into any driving debates), you adjusted well enough for driving in Boston.

As a Massachusetts resident, I can understand your opinions. My driver's test was just a quick and easy - all I had to do was reverse around a corner, in a small car, even.

But that doesn't make me a bad driver. In fact I do my best to be as good a driver as I can, because so many other people out there (in this state anyway), just don't care. But in Boston, you have to drive as a Bostonian, or you're not going to get anywhere.

You did study, though, and made sure you knew your stuff, prior to the test. What does it matter if the trooper didn't give you a complicated test? (And sometimes, believe it or not, they do.) If you don't feel you've earned the beer, then have yourself something less celebratory, like a Coke.

Sounds like the NJ test!
They don't require a road test if you produce your UK drivers license, but you must take the written.
I failed the first test because of my interpretation of the questions...
Here is an example:-
Question - Your car is approaching a corner, what will it do?
A1 - Slow Down
A2 - Turn the corner
A3 - Go straight on
A4 etc etc

The key is "your car" not "you, in your car"

Yup felt the same way when I got mine almost 4 years ago.
My boss at the time, when I was humming and hawing over doing it, said that if I could drive a golf cart I could pass the test.

Question - Your car is approaching a corner, what will it do?

Surely this should be on a physics exam, not a driving test?

The majority of the questions on my NC driver's license exam had to do with what would happen if you used a counterfeit license to purchase alcohol underage. I still have yet to figure out what that has to do with acquiring a bona fide driver's license.

LOL. That sounds familiar.

What a farce!

Agreed, no excuse for easy road tests these days (Mass insurance premiums should prove this!)

Is it any surprise that Boston driving is widely regarded to be amongst the worst in the country?

I actually had this conversation with a friend of mine who moved to Boston from New York City. He hit the nail on the head: Drivers in Mass aren't necessarily "bad." There's just too many of them, is a small area, on a poorly laid out road-system (i.e. they simply paved the cow paths and called them streets.)

The best example it the pattented Mass "intersection creep" They way he put it was that "in NYC there would eventually be a break in the traffic and you could merge in a relatively short amount of time. In Mass/Boston it doesn't take long to realize that unless you poke your nose out into the traffic you could be there for a while!"

Have you ever driven in England? Some of the cow tracks haven't even been paved yet.

Rob

But driving a car requires an appreciation of physics, I would say.

Seeing as how you live in Massachusetts (I assume), you'd think you'd know how to spell it. Then again, people who live here often can't spell Raleigh.

Yeah, I was wondering how long it'd take someone to notice. When I originally posted it said "Massahussets" for a while, but I thought that was too obvious.

I do actually know to spell Massachusetts, but occasionally I seem to get a bit dyslexic about it.

Actually the key is the last portion of the question. It identifies the subject for which the answer will apply. "What will it do?" And I think we all know what the car will do. Kind of a lame question to put on a test, but it does check to see if people realize that the car will just motor right through/into obstacles if you don't stop it or steer it where you want to go. Deppessng the accelerator alone isn't "driving."

Bruno

Is it any surprise that Boston driving is widely regarded to be amongst the worst in the country?


I don't know that I can agree with that. But perhaps my experience isn't comprehensive enough to make my opinion valid.

I have driven in Boston only twice, both times near the beginning of a trip all the way across the country and up to Alaska.

Both times I observed the same thing: that the drivers in Boston were agressive, but nonetheless courteous and generally competent in the handling of their vehicles. By that I mean, if I left three car lengths between myself and the car ahead to allow room for braking, very quickly that space would be filled by three cars. But the traffic was so dense that's pretty much how it had to be. I didn't see anybody driving recklessly or banging into other cars.

Not being familiar with the freeways, I sometimes found myself in the wrong lane with an exit I needed to take coming up fast. All I had to do was turn on my turn signal, and right away somebody would drop back and make room for me.

Most impressive of all, as I started back towards the West coast, on freeways that were not fully occupied, I could look ahead and see all the traffic staying in the right hand lane except to pass. Gee -- just like they're supposed to do. With my ShoWagon and my Valentine 1, I was generally running faster than just about everybody else, and when I would come up behind someone in the left lane passing a string of trucks, he would usually dart in between the trucks to let me by, then come back out and continue his pass.

This kind of behavior is so alien to the West Coast school of driving that I marvelled at it time and time again. By the time I got to California, it was every man for himself, no lane discipline, no courtesy.

So, in my limited experience, I place the East Coast drivers (including the Bostonians) 'way above the rest of the country.

tanstaafl.

LOL

Thanks, The best laugh I've had tonight.. (I just got back from Rugby practice so that's saying something in my book.)

Cheers!

With my ShoWagon and my Valentine 1, I was generally running faster than just about everybody else, and when I would come up behind someone in the left lane passing a string of trucks, he would usually dart in between the trucks to let me by, then come back out and continue his pass.

You've mentioned this before, and I wonder about something...

This is just a theory I'm postulating, mind you...

Perhaps the reason you've noticed people yielding the left lane isn't because they're any more courteous than other parts of the country...

Maybe it's because the unmarked state police in their area tend to drive gray Tauruses, and they think you're the fuzz because you're coming up on them so fast from behind.

I have to wonder if there are any on this board that have visited/lived in England and/or Europe?
Having done it the west bound way I was curious about the change in driving style.
That and coping with the smaller roads, gas prices, insane traffic levels etc etc.

This kind of behavior is so alien to the West Coast school of driving that I marvelled at it time and time again. By the time I got to California, it was every man for himself, no lane discipline, no courtesy.

For those of you in California, if some days you notice a particularly acrid smog hanging above the 101, those'll be all the swearwords let out by Rob, on his visits to Rio HQ, while comparing Californian road courtesy unfavourably with British road courtesy. Perhaps next time we should tell him to go and drive round and round Boston a few times to calm down

Peter

I would say that Paris is the only other place where I've seen driving akin to Boston, except of course that Paris is so much larger. Again, I didn't feel threatened in Paris or that people were pushy, it was just strong driving & you had to assert yourself.

If you ever get a chance to drive in Taiwan, it's an amazing experience. The traffic is tremendously dense, cars, small trucks, many many scooters, yet people are very, very courteous. I don't think I heard anyone honk except for a cheery 'beep' - as in: 'Hullo, I just want to be sure you see me!'

I'd have to agree that LA driving is some of the worst I've seen. If you have 200 yards to the exit and two lanes to get across, good luck finding someone to let you through.

Just my $0.02.

-Zeke

Two other places;
Singapore, hardly any traffic, very courteous.
Kuala Lumpur, somewhere between Dehli and Boston, both in terms of traffic and courtesy (or lack thereof)

For 5 years I lived in Boston (Jamaica Plain), and there is definitely a bit of a learning curve to getting into the rythm of Boston driving. I grew up in NYC so it wasnt that far off, but my Girlfriend, who grew up on the Cape never really seemed to get the hang of it.
There is definitely a lot of non-verbal cooperation that goes on in Boston traffic. After awhile you get really good at reading the vehicle language (like body language but with cars) of your fellow motorists and you know whos going to cut you off, or who can be cut off.

After moving to the Cape, my ingrained defensive/offensive Boston driving was way too aggressive for the local year round Cape Codder's (not the tourists. Theyre all insane...). So I've relaxed my technique and lightened up a bit.
And I learned to give the horn a rest. Nobody down here seems to use 'em...

With the summer months coming up, I may have to take my Boston driving skills out of the closet though, and give them an airing. As soon as school gets out and the vacationers show up, its every man for himself.

That and coping with the smaller roads, gas prices, insane traffic levels etc etc.

I won't comment on the price of petrol (diesel in my case), but I will say this:

Driving in London really gives one an appreciation of exactly how wide one's car is.

You know how it is -- you're making your way along a narrow street, cars parked both sides, there's solid traffic in both directions, a bus half pulled into a bus stop, and then, suddenly, there's flashing lights and sirens from behind you, and an ambulance comes screaming up the road, using a gap that's just not there. It was like Moses parting the waters, I tell you.

As a fellow Brit living in MA, I had the same experience - once round the block and home for tea. The cop who did my test (and didn't shut up once - even during the reverse/3 pt turn) suggested that Brits may even be better drivers than the average local from MA - I didn't feel it was appropriate to comment!

Likewise I now know more about drugs/drink driving laws for the under 17s than ever before, thanks to the written test.

Don't feel too bad about your "test", two of my friends from UK got their licenses at the RMV in Reading, the first walked in and was told to drive around the car park for five minutes, when he returned they had passed him and that was the tough test. The second, showed up, was asked for her registration, which she had left in the car, by the time she returned with it (2 minutes later), the cop had passed her as well.

I have my motorcycle test/training course coming up. A friend did the same training course, which is labelled advanced - he told me that you never leave the car park, only weave between cones, and that's after 4 hours of theory! Seemingly putting your feet on the floor is perfectly acceptable here.

Oh boy! Don't get me started on the Harley riders that approach a traffic light and slide their feet along the ground for 5 yards before coming to a wobbling halt. The same thing happens when they leave as well.
My full motorcycle test in Endland was a two part dealie, started with a 30 minute parking lot test including coming to a full stop without putting a foot down or wobbling. The second part was a 45 minute pursuit test with the examiner folllowing behind giving instruction by radio. This also included doing a 180 in a side road again feet up. One foot down means a failed test due to lack of control.

The funny part is that these folk think they look cool

In reply to:

---

For those of you in California, if some days you notice a particularly acrid smog hanging above the 101, those'll be all the swearwords let out by Rob, on his visits to Rio HQ, while comparing Californian road courtesy unfavourably with British road courtesy.

---

That surprises me. As a relatively new driver (4 years since I passed my test), when I went out to California at Christmas I was amazed by how courteous the drivers were, and how relaxing it all was.

Sure, nobody will let you out of junctions into a stream of traffic, but nobody expects you to, and when I did, the look of shock and gratitude on people's faces was quite something, compared to the brief wave (if you're lucky) that you get in the UK.

And driving on the freeway was a lot more pleasant than over here. 55mph sounds so slow, but when everyone is doing it you don't notice! People would always let me in to a lane if I was accidentally in the wrong one, and there was none of the general pushing and aggression you get on UK motorways, even at rush hour.

When I got back and drove back from the airport, I was scared rigid. Going over 80mph felt like I was travelling at Mach 2, people cut you up, and it generally feels very unpleasant. Sure, in about 2 weeks I was back to doing 90mph+, moaning about right-lane hoggers, etc. But considering all I'd heard about driving on the west coast, I found it far more pleasant and relaxing than it ever is over here!

Yeah my bike test 10 years ago in the UK was much the same, CBT then test and no "dabbing". The other thing that gets me over here is the attitude to wearing good gear - I was once over taken by a kid on an R1 wearing nylon shorts and flipflops. At least he had a full face helmet on!

In reply to:

---

After awhile you get really good at reading the vehicle language (like body language but with cars) of your fellow motorists and you know whos going to cut you off, or who can be cut off.

---

Yeah, this is a very useful skill and I think it applies everywhere. Being able to read the traffic and know who to avoid, who is going to let you in and who is just blundering along not paying attention to anything makes it all much more easy. I think it's the way to avoid aggravation and road rage.

Mind you, I got a guy the other day that didn't know some of the basics, like the old rule that "trying to beat a guy in a sports car at the lights by coming up in the turn lane and then hammering it is fraught with difficulty and woe". It's a one-lane road but the traffic lights have space for two cars, and being Melbourne you can bet that there's going to be someone who decides that they can't be fourth car, they want to try to race the first car. So I'm keeping my eye on the left mirror and sure enough there's someone; he hangs back a bit trying to get a roll start but he's only got a small modern car so it shouldn't be a problem against the modest performance of my NX.

Sure enough, the lights go green and we're neck and neck, me slightly in front having got the better start. But does he give up as the first parked car in his lane looms up? No, he displays that other trait of Melbourne drivers and decides that he can make it someone else's problem - he just moves sideways to push me into the other lane. I make room. We're still pretty even, but unfortunately his little bimbo box runs out of revs at that point and he has to change. My car still has 3500 RPM to go, it's hitting its power band, so I shoot ahead and get back into the lane. Then we get back to doing 60KPH.

It really makes my blood boil when people don't know the road rules, like 'never try to beat a guy in a red sports car'

Have fun,

Paul

P.S. OK, yes, maybe I should be a considerate driver and let him have his insignificant victory and actually be safe on the roads. Maybe I shouldn't have so much testosterone running around, or shouldn't be so competitive. But hot damn it felt good. And maybe he'll learn to read the traffic as well.

OK, yes, maybe I should be a considerate driver and let him have his insignificant victory...

But then you would have been behind him.
Completely unacceptable.

And if you think the driving in Boston is bad, you shoud try the boating. Especially if youre in a sailboat.
On the weekends the psychotic "yahoos" come out of the woodwork.
I've probably had more close call's (life and death wise) boating outside of Boston Harbor around the harbor islands than I've had driving.

I think a lot of it stems from the fact that any dumbass can buy a boat irregardless of skill. Theres no licensing and no pre-qualifications.
The lawyers and stock brokers in their 1000 horsepower, 500 gallons of fuel a day, cigarrette boats are the worst offenders. Especially if they've been drinking.
I love listening to these guys call SeaTow after they've:
1. Run aground
2. Run out of fuel
3. Hit another boat
4. Blown an engine

And sometimes they get lost. Chart? whats a chart?
I helped a guy once who was trying to get to Nahant using a road map. I swear!

Dont get me wrong I love powerboating, and I dont want to piss on anybody's fun, but at least I took the time to learn the rules of the road (sea?) and get some navigation skills.

Sorry that was a rant that was probably unnecessary...
We now return you to your thread about mass(hole) drivers.

I'd have to agree that LA driving is some of the worst I've seen. If you have 200 yards to the exit and two lanes to get across, good luck finding someone to let you through.

Easypeasy. Pick some guy with a nice shiny Mercedes or BMW (which are pretty common), and just start to nose in. Works every time.

Unless he's driving that Merc because he's a gangsta and he's packing. How long have you lived in LA, again?

Unless he's driving that Merc because he's a gangsta and he's packing. How long have you lived in LA, again?

Long enough to recognize which Mercs are being driven by gangstas, and which Mercs are being driven by middle-aged men in business suits.

(There's also the part about not hanging out in areas frequented by said gangstas in the first place.)

It really makes my blood boil when people don't know the road rules, like 'never try to beat a guy in a red sports car'

It's a little bit different here in Texas. As an ex-girlfriend of mine once put it, it's the law of biggerness. Whichever car is bigger has the right of way. Driving my little Z3, I have to always be aware of some monstrosity of an SUV that just doesn't seem to notice that I'm there.

In New York, from what I've seen, it tends to be more related to how beat-up your car is. An old 1970's station wagon with fake wood paneling, dents all over the car, and a coat-hanger as the radio antenna is going to gain the right of way every time, because you know the driver just doesn't care.

As an extension to the biggerness rule, how about the overriding lease car ownership rule.
The lease cars are the ones that are very shiny with no mods or stickers anywhere, usually large suvs.
The drivers are too scared of the fact that they don't own the car and have huge balloon payments and security deposits to risk an accident so will happliy move out of the way.

Whew! I just finished moving into Boston (though not from very far away) I just moved across from Fenway Park. Boy was it fun driving around here in a moving truck during a Red Sox 5 game home stand. We were parked outside my building and running in and out with tons of stuff as fast as we could so we wouldn't get a ticket. Then trying to find a place to park a huge truck during a baseball game in downtown Boston was no easy task. It's a good thing that I'm the world's best driver.

The way I spot LA drivers is their masterful use of the 'fake'. They use their signal, then just look like they are going to pull into the spot in the lane way to small for their car. The driver behind panics, and slams on the brakes as the other driver completes the fake by swerving back into their lane. By that time the car behind is far enough back so the car just merges in with no problem.

I almost hurt myself I was laughing so hard the first time I saw that.

Caught. Though I've never done it intentionally.