After taking a road trip to Colorado and Utah, this British driver has taken to social media to outline the ‘incredibly stressful’ US driving habits compared to those in the UK, and Americans agree.
There are a lot of differences in driving habits between different cultures.
That rings true around Europe, with habits vastly different in UK metropolises and, say, the wide lanes of Istanbul, Turkey. The same goes for US states, where popular cars vary between Texas towns and New York City.
But one driver has found that there are some very fast differences between the UK and US driving habits, and it’s not just which side of the road to drive on.
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UK driver claims US driving habits are’stressful’
When you compare the roads in America and the UK, the obvious difference is that Brits put their cars on the ‘wrong’ side.
Their left-lane driving habits date back to the 17th century, and it usually works well aside from the odd roundabout.
But there are also different cars on the road and varying levels of patience and aggression.
However, one British driver found that being on the road in America is very different for three reasons, the main of which stems from speed.
“Doing the speed limit made us total outliers.
“We set cruise control and stuck to it, but were overtaken constantly, even by massive trucks. One lorry even flashed us for doing the limit in the slow lane,” Reddit user 20thcenturymishap said.
They continued to say that they weren’t ‘nervous’ drivers, but just wanted to stick to the limits to avoid getting in trouble with the police in a country they aren’t native to.
The Redditor also pointed out that drivers were ‘oddly competitive’ about their lanes, speeding up and closing gaps when another driver signals to move into the space in front.
And that habit went for junctions and roundabouts too, according to the driver, who claimed it was ‘hostile’ when trying to merge into a new lane.
US natives agree
These US driving habits weren’t a surprise to the American drivers, though, as Redditors quickly agreed that this is the norm, at least in Utah and Colorado.
“It doesn’t get better, unfortunately, you just learn to cope over time. Drivers here have a very ‘me first’ approach,” one comment read.
“Sounds like a typical drive in Anywhere, USA to me,” another added.
“Welcome to how it’s always been. We’re an ultra-competitive bunch who have been conditioned to think we own and must protect the empty space in front of our cars,” a third said.
Denver | Unsplash – Owen Lystrup
There’s also something to say for the new age of EVs, too, as the UK is quite a way behind the US in having its streets dominated by ICE cars still.
But given that Tesla drivers were found to be he worst in the US, maybe it’s a good thing for the Brits.
The post British driver who drove through Colorado and Utah shares the ‘incredibly stressful’ differences compared to the UK appeared first on Supercar Blondie.
