WIWMWILNY, Part 1.

That means "What I won't miss when I leave New York".

Part 1 = drivers.

A couple of weeks ago I saw an article on CNN that said 90% of drivers think they're good drivers. That says something about people, IMO. I think 10% of drivers are good drivers. I base my claim on having driven over 2 million miles and having paid a lot of attention to drivers and driving, plus some other crap that I'll spare you.

NY drivers aren't bad, comparatively. I'd rather drive in NY than in CA, everything considered. CO drivers are more respectful of other drivers than in either of those states, however. Here is the scoop.

In NY, speeding is endemic. And not just a couple of MPH over the limit, but 20 MPH or more. Even then, I rarely see cars pulled over. Maybe it's the budget crisis.

NY drivers are aggressive, in the NY way. That is, they usually won't cut you off and flip you the bird. But when you're in NY, you don't exist as an individual. You're just another dot on the road. It's like in a store. A New Yorker thinks nothing of pushing his cart into the middle of an aisle, blocking everyone, and ignoring anyone trying to get by. It's the same on the road.

Another part of the aggression is that they want to get in front of you at all costs. They'll pass in a lane on the right, they'll cross a double line to pass you. It doesn't seem like they're in a hurry, but it's important to them to be in front of you.

As I mentioned in one of my first posts, if a NY driver thinks you're going too slow, he will zoom up to within 1 inch of your rear bumper and stay there awhile. I've learned that all you have to do is look in the rear view mirror to let them know you're aware of them, and then usually they'll back off. That's NY in a nutshell: you're anonymous until you make some kind of contact, and then they're really nice to you.

I'll probably add to this post a couple of times in the next month.