Survey Finds NY State Has Worst Drivers

Ohio drivers are very polite and never use the fast lane for anything except passing. I noticed this on a drive to Chicago last year. Very nice!

aw man... i got a 70%. i thought fo sho i'd beat ny state average.

California is the worst. I don't care how fast you drive, someone will pass you.

Pretty stupid test and a bad way to determine if someone is an "unsafe" driver. I scored a 70%, the mistakes I made were from selecting overly cautious answers. Such as, what is the safe amount of following time, they say 3 seconds, I said 10. So, that makes me less safe? Retarded. This points to a larger issue in the US though, and that is the reliance on multiple choice question testing. Multiple choice question testing is both the cause and the symptom of a moronic society.

The questions are taken from what the law is and what's in the driver's manual -- the latter being the source of the "3-second rule."

I do agree with you: It's really more a test of knowledge of those things (traffic law and the manual), not of how safe a driver are you.

Totally unfair test. I had to think about optimum driving conditions -- not NYC-area traffic. Case in point:

1. A pedestrian is crossing your lane but there is no crosswalk. You should:

A. Make sure the pedestrian sees you, but continue driving

B. Stop and let the pedestrian cross the street

C. Carefully drive around the pedestrian

[Correct answer is B -- you've GOT to be kidding. Out of the way, asshole.]

9. When making right or left turns, a driver should signal _______ before the turn?

A. 100 feet

B. 50 feet

C. 35 feet

D. 5 feet

[Correct answer is B -- not taking into account that a NYC block is only about 50 feet long.]

10. A diamond shaped sign means:

A. Yield

B. Stop

C. Warning

[What's a yellow diamond?]

11. You drive defensively when you:

A. Always put one car length between you and the car ahead

B. Look only at the car in front of you while driving

C. Keep your eyes moving to look for possible hazards

[Correct answer is C -- but I find A hysterical. Imagine that, a WHOLE car length between you and the car in front of you. In NYC, that's not a car length, that's an opportunity!]

14. When you are merging onto the freeway, you should be driving:

A. At or near the same speed as the traffic on the freeway

B. 5 to 10 miles per hour slower than the traffic on the freeway

C. The posted speed limit for traffic on the freeway

[Correct answer is B -- they've obviously never driven in NJ]

15. When driving in fog, you should use your:

A. Fog lights only

B. High beams

C. Low beams

[Correct answer is C -- then why do they even make fog lamps?]

18. When you approach a traffic signal displaying a steady yellow light, you must:

A. Go through the intersection before it turns red

B. Stop if it is safe to do so

C. Be prepared to stop

D. Slow down and proceed with caution

[Correct answer is B -- obviously they haven't seen our short NYC yellow lights]

I don't take the test, the test takes me.

Staten Island is the worst place I've ever driven. It's the only place I've ever seen people routinely cut from the back of the line to the front and gun it at traffic lights.

driving? pfff. i prefer teleportation.

That was an easy test and I didn't even read the questions fully and I scored 90%.

fancy book learnin' doesn't make for a 'good' driver. I would like to see a ranking of which states have the most effective drivers.

Really? I've driven in most of the 50 states. My list of worst drivers would be:

1. New Jersey (the first time I drove there I witnessed a deadly accident caused by bad driving. The second time I drove there I witnessed ANOTHER accident.)

2. New York (mainly because of the cabbies and bus drivers, though the private drivers aren't much better)

3. Colorado (would YOU drive 90 on a 2-lane road that has a 500-foot cliff with no barrier on one side?)

4. California (driving is a competition there. That and the cops chasing any and every jerk down the freeway makes it pretty scary)

5. Florida (I prefer that people on the road can actually, you know, SEE the road)

Long Island drivers really outdo yellow cabbies/livery guys by a wide margin.

Going only by people who are driving in NYC, I'd have to say Connecticut drivers are by far the worst. There should be a law that allows you to throw hand grenades at BWM SUVs that have CT plates.

Don't forget Arizona which has some of the worst drivers I ever encountered, and Philly which, asshole for asshole, blows away the nasty NYC drivers.

Pretty sad. Just took the test; an easy 100%. Not that every answer is what I actually do, of course, but it's obvious what is correct.

What about Michael Vick's release from Jail? i have to go soon, post please before I head out.

Hahahahaha, seriously? On a post about NYS having the worst drivers you bring up Michael Vick?

it was directed at JC not you, LMFAO.

If you'd like to address Jen, send her or gothamist an email tip or in the contribute section. By putting your, ahem, private message into the comments section of a wholly unrelated post, you are fair game for ridicule.

Give it a rest. Anything worthy associated with you - including animal rights - has been diminished by your incessant trolling.

I am not trolling, stop getting work over a comment. I love how angry and work up people get over a comment but are a bunch of sheep with there are real issues out there. Get over yourself.

Thanks for demonstrating your formidable trolling abilities with the above "rebuttal".

That's it, I'm all out of troll cookies today. Come back tomorrow and I'm sure someone else will feed you.

troll cookies? and you are criticizing my rebuttal? Someone thinks his shit doesn't stink.