Hanks Hot Take

[@Towalak]

Generalization of that take: Driving skill in a particular place is inversely proportional to respect for road safety rules in that same place.

[@Yaheeeeee]

I’d call that operationalization because you just made a testable hypothesis (Edit this is supposed to be taken as a compliment)

[@Towalak]

@@Yaheeeeee That's a nice compliment :) thanks.

[@3e2e]

What? So the higher the skill, the less respect for the road safety rules? That makes no sense.

[@elnic_kai]

​@@3e2e as in the more unpredictable and dangerous a driving culture is (i.e. no respect for the rules) the better of a driver you become. this is because you are forced to learn how to think and react quickly to pull off wild stunts. it's the truest sentiment ever and it makes me think you've never had to drive in a city full of crazy people before.

[@milagomez55]

@@elnic_kaiyeah i absolutely hate the motherfuckers who cut you off driving fast but dont get me wrong they can drive

[@richardbrown7239]

As a professional driver who has been all across North America, I can illuminate why he might be correct and still explain the horrid traffic. The highways I drove on in the LA area had some of the narrowest lanes I've seen anywhere. Those narrow lanes give drivers such a tiny margin of error that it feels to them like everyone around them are maniacs.

[@Shteven]

Portland was worse than San Deigo and Phoenix for me. People constantly turn out in front of you and force you to slow down or hit them. At least in Phx people will wait their turn.

[@jayylad38]

THIS +++

[@delfyinc]

​@@Shteven Oregon in my experience (mostly Eugene) just had poor city planning in general and doubled down instead of fixing stuff once they needed to add highways. It's easier to drive like a maniac when the roads are maniacal towards anyone who hasn't memorized every street

[@TheeSM]

I think this is also why people camp out in the left lane when they aren't passing. It feels safer to them. If those people actually kept to the right it'd cut down on the zig zagging and generally improve the flow of traffic. Most of the freeways are 55 mph and even if you're going ten over when camped out in the left, there's someone going 20 over passing on the right.

[@tmarritt]

Narrow lanes? Or insanity large cars?

[@ultimaavalon]

I used to drive an 18-wheeler. If I'm stuck in the middle lane, in full traffic, in LA, and I have to get to the right lane for whatever reason, I put on my blinker, and people let me get where I need to go. No one else does this.

[@Pailzor]

So here's the thing in LA: if you need to get over in traffic, you MAKE a spot to get over, as safely as you can even though it has to be aggressive. Otherwise, you don't get over and miss your exit. So if a TRUCK is trying to get over, you BACK OFF. Otherwise, you'll never MAKE IT to your exit.

[@tedtalksrock]

I was thought to drive in LA and I distinctly remember my dad telling me to always give 18wheelers respect and room.

[@ayoitsadam5945]

Yeah try this one nyc and you'll die in the middle lane. I hate driving in the city because you have to be a dickhead or you won't be able to get anywhere

[@connorhart7597]

​@@tedtalksrock I grew up in nc and learned this but with tractors, wide loads, mowing tractors, you name it. Same kinda process. You do. Not. Pass those guys if it's not entirely safe and legal too. Everybody gets all pissed off at the traffic til the see farmer Bubba is at the front of the line, going from one field to another, making sure all our families get food in their mouths. Same kinda respect IMO for truck drivers. Literal backbones of the nation.

[@OfficialNice]

As an 18 wheeler you shouldn’t be stuck in the middle lane.

[@heehoopeanut420]

That last part about everyone letting off the brake at once is my roman empire. In a perfect world, we would all accelerate at the same speed and get 15 cars thru the light instead of 4😭

[@SmoothBaracuda]

Never move to Calgary. If there's 15 cars turning left you'll watch seven cycles of that arrow happen while 2 or 3 cars go through each time. It's madness, people here have to watch the car in front get 4 car lengths ahead before they even let off the brake.

[@jeanocasio5432]

But at a certain point you have to stretch the accordion right? Because you can't be going at 60mph with that exact same distance between the cars. So depending on what cars can do and where they can go after the light, I would think, is a big determining factor on whether or not this dream scenario is viable.

[@oakblaze433]

Wait til you find out about trains

[@perfectlyfine1675]

Damn, yeah. If only there was a method of transportation like that. Like multiple parts in a line and they're all somehow connected and accelerate at the same time, are faster than cars, don't get stuck in traffic and can transport not tens of people, but thousands of people.

[@aud9931]

I very quickly became a better, more confident, and more assertive driver when I moved to LA county, because the alternative was never leaving my home

[@brahimdiop5506]

Natural selection

[@purpleheart3431]

LMAO

[@alexisz5570]

It’s sink or swim. We all have places to be. You either figure it out or get taken out.

[@redwoodclimber]

@@alexisz5570 hell yeah baby!

[@puck6080]

This is how I am with Florida drivers, driving I-4 5 days a week has made me a much better driver

[@therockbottom5256]

Californian living in Tulsa: Hank could not be more right about the “working together” and candy crush/letting off the brake point, I can’t underestimate for you how few people make it through green lights in this city

[@Ma5jay5dontxdoxthat]

I used to live in Alabama, and everyone there always dogs on Californian drivers, but I'm fairly certain driving in Alabama gave me ptsd. Not even as a joke. I'm pretty sure, thinking after the fact, that that's what happened. I was able to go on the highway and would be fine driving for 2 hours + at a time, but a year or two into moving into the south, I got panic attacks every time I would drive more than 15 min away from my house, and would have to mentally prepare for a few hours to a day if I had to drive more than that. Moved back to California, and a year later was completely fine. Also coming back, I maybe had one close call here in the last 3 years. Back in Alabama it was a daily occurrence for me to have a close call or drive by a crash on my 4 mile work commute.

[@lentoperoavanzo4007]

Same on the East coast if you’re not in a huge city. When he said that about everyone letting off their brakes when the light turns green I was like “fuck that must be nice…” I swear to god it sometimes takes me three light cycles to make it through an intersection that is less than 1/4 mile from where I am when it first turns green. These people are going to cause me to have a fucking stroke.

[@therockbottom5256]

@@lentoperoavanzo4007 oh that would give me the bill burr/New England personally in no time, thots and Pears to you 🫡

[@user-K8T]

It's true in lots of places in the country. And not even about people not paying attention. They're like "oh, let me give the person in front of me the 4 second spacing right as we're pulling out" and I'm over here like "if we keep it tight and everyone at the light moves quick, we can get everyone at this light through this go around." I think that we miss the concept of having respect for everyone else's time when we're doing some things on the road. But I've also lived in enough places where people like to sit in truck's blind spots going under the speed limit to make sure other people are being "safe."

[@user-K8T]

​@@therockbottom5256honestly, New England isn't as bad about THAT. What they're really awful about is tailgating when you're like the 15th car in the line and you're all going 5 over (like I can read your lips from my mirror tailgating) and pulling out in front of people and expecting them to slam on their breaks. Both of these things are awful and truly terrible in combination.

[@lilylohmann614]

California driving is a sport where it’s technically free-for-all but alliances are common Being a pedestrian in California is like activating a trap in the Hunger Games

[@sunflowert0ad]

being a pedestrian in new york (like, buffalo, not nyc) is exactly opposite. i will try to get a car to go and they will wait for me to walk almost every time

[@Cfomodz]

I was thinking frogger, but yeah that works too

[@andrewnibbi]

I always loved driving on the 280 back when I lived in the Bay because the practical speed limit is based on the philosophy of “they can’t pull us all over”. When there are fewer cars out, we form packs, and someone leads for a few minutes at the time to make everyone feel comfortable going fast behind them. Eventually, they go fast enough to hit the back of the next pack, and eventually you can work your way through the system going 85 without being conspicuous.

[@hopegold883]

No way. In California pedestrians have the right of way. In NYC drivers will bump you.

[@lilylohmann614]

@@hopegold883 say that to the soccer mom who nearly ran me over in a white SUV

[@andrewwalker9960]

As a bus driver in LA, I gotta agree. People do some fuck-all stupid shit all day every day. But the worst are out-of-state drivers. They haven’t learnt the assertiveness necessary to survive here.

[@slamkam07]

And this is why I will never drive. I shouldn't have to sacrifice my safety for the sake of the flow of traffic.

[@andrewwalker9960]

@@slamkam07 you’re only sacrificing your safety if you don’t join the flow of traffic. The people who slow down to 3 mph for a right turn are the ones who cause accidents. The ones who stop on a yellow light they can safely cross are the ones who cause traffic. You don’t have to drive like an asshole to be safe, but you have to drive like you know where you’re going and with the confidence to get there.

[@mexicanPANa]

You could say that about I-496 and I-270 around DC granted the lanes are wider but damn if you’re assertive traffic isn’t too bad - kind of fun tbh especially if you have a big car or a truck

[@andrewwalker9960]

@@mexicanPANa it’s an absolute blast in a bus, ngl

[@slamkam07]

@@andrewwalker9960 like I said I shouldn't have to sacrifice my safety for the sake of the flow of traffic. Thats how accidents happen. I should be allowed to drive at my own pace to keep others from having the ability to hit me also who tf said 3 mph? Don't over exaggerate the scenario just because YOU want to drive like an asshole.

[@jaynehaubner]

Hank is absolutely right, I think the freeway situation in LA is created to be impossible and people have just adapted. I’m from the Midwest and was in LA suburbs a few weeks ago and the way that if you didn’t merge immediately when the gps told you to you would miss your exit was jarring.

[@unclemikiesworld]

Biggest difference I noticed in La is that if someone turns on their turn signal you get out of their way because they are changing lanes whether you care or not

[@derp195]

In Chicago, using your turn signal just gives them an opportunity to close the gap. You literally have to surprise them or else you'll be stuck in one lane for the rest of your life.

[@St1ckY72]

Shouldn't everyone assume someone with a turn signal on is gonna change lanes, regardless? I think LA drivers actually already considered how to act in any situation because it seems like common sense to me. Granted, I didn't learn to drive in LA, and most of my driving isn't even done in California. Most other places, people seem to be in their own world. They all have main character syndrome

[@andya6837]

LA drivers use the turn signal to tell you they are coming in, not to ask permission. Lmao

[@Amlyca]

@@derp195if someone has time to close the gap before you move over you didn’t have the fucking room in the first place.

[@ExerciseUpdate522]

AND LA drivers will let people merge as long as they are accelerating when they merge (keeping traffic moving), will allow space for the cars in front in case of the sudden need to change lanes, and this space also allows others to risk the ticket and zig-zag through traffic strategically which I think keeps things moving. Moved to the south, it’s a new level of slow. I saw a guy in Nashville miss his exit bc he was in the left lane - so they did the the only reasonable thing and CAME TO A COMPLETE STOP IN THE LEFT LANE OF THE INTERSTATE TO TURN ON THEIR BLINKER AND MOVE OVER. They had the space if they moved quickly but they - hahaha - didn’t. from 65 to 5 in 4.3 second 😢 unheard of in LA

[@brianfox340]

As someone that was forced to live in South Carolina for a year, reading this filled me with so much leftover rage.

[@therockbottom5256]

Doing this in Southern California would *literally* kill people

[@vituperation]

​@@therockbottom5256Right? 65 to 5 in 4.3 seconds isn't unheard of in LA, but it invariably occurs with brutal circumstances.

[@melanieniemann4160]

I'm from the Atlanta area, and what gets me is that every other time I drive out to the mountains somebody will just ignore an empty turning lane and slow down right in front of me to make their turn. And usually they started slowing down before the turning lane started so I know they didn't forget their turn. At least that's not dangerous though, just nonsensical

[@zahawolfe]

LA drivers are aggressive, but also highly skilled. I trust them even when they’re pulling moves. Drivers in other states have no idea what’s going on and will just drift into other lanes accidentally

[@zillatattoo]

we can do all that shit AND we have potholes in the north and midwest. a dusting of snow shuts you guys down

[@mille6001]

​@zillatattoo Dustings of snow don't happen here😭 so no they don't kill us. Only thing that stops these mfs is like 40 inch rain

[@jacobdegeuss]

@@zillatattooif you had ever driven in LA you would know we have a MASSIVE pothole problem its crazy

[@theunicornwar7589]

@@mille6001mf did not understand, snow would instantly kill you because you have never driven on it, of course we know California rarely or never gets snow. But if it did, you would be screwed

[@Droid6689]

You live in a fantasy

[@SpySappingMyKeyboard]

People blame traffic on the drivers, but it's always just the infrastructure.

[@Kitty_Kankles]

Big facts

[@shaneg9081]

More of an equation of number (not skill) of drivers to infrastructure.

[@LibertyMonk]

It's mostly lack of infrastructure causing higher volume of drivers. The more drivers there are, the more uh... unconventional drivers there are. Plus, if half of drivers took mass transit, the roads would be a lot clearer.

[@kalluey]

as someone whose from LA and now is in Portland, hard agree. People are aggressive drivers in California because they have to be, but st least people can Zipper

[@Levacque]

I like to draw a line between aggressive and assertive. "Assertive" is about getting shit done quickly and predictably, and "aggressive" is about getting yours and leaving everybody else to rot.

[@-lixiepixie-]

@@Levacque I'd say he used the perfect adjective then lmaooo

[@brianfox340]

​@@Levacquea mix of both adjectives are accurate for LA.

[@DoubtlessCar0]

I think personally Oakland and SF are a bit better. They are more defensive drivers than aggressive, they still are on top of everything, but they don’t cut you off and what I noticed the most is they barely honk!

[@FukaiKokoro]

In Medford it's horrid. No one zippers and when I lived there I had to be so aggressive to keep the zipper functional

[@FrumiousMing8]

The last 2 times I was in LA I was surprised by the flow of traffic on the highways. Maybe I got lucky but LA drivers are doing an intricate and delicate ballet dance at 80mph

[@afreaknamedallie1707]

We really do. We are like collectively the most efficient at 80mph

[@turtle4llama]

Californians realize driving is a team sport

[@fcohex6148]

This is my favorite kind of hot take, and part of why i love Hank so much

[@caliaslorema3008]

This! Growing up in California and then living in other states, you really get an idea for what it is like to be surrounded by people who don't know how to drive...

[@HifiveOh1]

I didn't appreciate how great California drivers were until I came to Virginia. 😢

[@godofspacetime333]

Jesus Christ, I had some friends who lived in Virginia and driving there SUCKED. NO ONE makes any effort whatsoever to get up to speed in a timely manner when they pull onto a road or highway. And they’ve ALL god vanity plates.

[@jessc5112]

literally same, my friends i met here did not know what zipper merge meant like at all

[@themegjake4000]

I’m so glad to hear someone say it. I recently moved to Oklahoma and it baffles my mind how bad the drivers are here. Especially with the “light turns green, driver stops playing candy crush” part. It’s ABSURD how long it takes for the full line to get moving when a light turns green.

[@guidoguido2245]

Having a Stop sign on the ramp to the highway is absolutely insane

[@jbrandona119]

NYC has some of the most skilled but insane drivers. The way some of them glide through traffic at double the speed of the cars around them is just beautiful to behold. They see an opening and commit, no hesitation. I prefer skilled insanity over the usual inattentive slow driver.

[@IdealConscience]

As somone who easily adapted to driving in LA, I once drove with a New Yorker and I have never been so scared in my life. He wouldn't stay in a lane for more than 5 seconds to just try to tailgate and squeeze into the lane next to him. It wasn't talent, his car had clear signs of being in multiple accidents.

[@FerretBomb]

That isn't skill. It's impatience, ego, and incompetence. In other words, morons with keys.

[@rachelkosbar7111]

​@@IdealConscience nah. That's just parking damage. Sometimes you gotta gently make your own parking space, ya know? If he wasn't a city driver, it was just upstate weather. 😜

[@tedtalksrock]

Yeah, it’s a difference in philosophy, I was once told off in an online forum where the comment was: “ Slow down you California drivers. You are too intent to go from point a to point b. In Oregon, we know the real point of driving is to look around and enjoy the scenery.” As a la trained driver, I have to differ, the point of driving is not to “enjoy the scenery” but to “get to where you are going!”

[@Connorisreal]

@@tedtalksrock”Enjoy the scenery at your destination, you’ll have more time to do so if you get there faster”

[@homestyle2000]

Canadian here, having travelled to LA, he's right. LA's population and density are massive yet the traffic moves better than places with lower population and density with more road space.

[@joannal47]

The exception is when it rains and all their amazing reflexes aren’t calibrated for the change in road friction.

[@homestyle2000]

@@joannal47Yup! you are absolutely right! The low rain means theres a lot of oil and other fallout in the road surface that comes up during rain. you get very slick roads combined with the mass forgetting of how to drive in low grip and the city comes to a screeching halt. Here in Canada, we see the same thing with the first major snowfall of winter, people have forgotten how to drive with low grip and at least in the greater toronto area, there are usually 400-500 accidents on this day.

[@Connorisreal]

@@homestyle2000 Exactly! You get a long dry summer to build up as much oil as possible, and then a nice big storm to lift it all up at once.

[@traditionalnative]

I learned to drive in LA, and it has made me a great driver, including everywhere else I've ever driven. I agree with Hank.

[@erwinl.8152]

I was not a good driver until I spent a lot of time driving in NJ. Now, I’m amazing.

[@Dontreply39573]

The thing I noticed when I left the LA area was that when LA drivers cut you off they get the hell out of dodge. But when I lived in Spokane WA when people cut you off they slow down and try to half apologize when all they are really doing is slowing you down more.

[@godofspacetime333]

Here in MD it’s the opposite - they’ll cut you off and then drive slower out of spite because you got too close behind them. And then when you try to pass them they’ll slam on the gas to speed up so you can’t go around.

[@Roserae16]

Comparing this to FL drivers, Los Angeles drivers sound really competent which is always a win

[@ariseira_]

And Texas drivers!

[@Khifler]

FL drivers are reckless AND stupid. I can't tell you how many people have their phone in their hand while going 70 mph and just keep drifting in and out of lanes.

[@DefinitivelyNotCthulhu]

Really just the south in general

[@FreerunnerCamilo]

Florida driver here that’s also driven in LA and Costa Rica, Americans have no idea how good they have it

[@madeliner1682]

I'm a native Houstonian, took a trip to Florida. The drivers were mostly normal, but once every couple days someone would tailgate me and it'd feel like home 🤣

[@lordofduct]

I'm with Hank. I'm from South Florida and I drove tractor trailer all over this country with my father and on my own when I got old enough. Then after I left truck driving and got into computers I moved to LA for a period of time. I'm not going to say LA has great drivers... but they have good drivers for all the reasons Hank suggests. What makes LA terrible to drive in isn't the quality of the drivers. It's the quantity and the fact that LA is sprawled out and forces all of those drivers to have to drive everywhere. But y'all have figured out how to do it. Come to the southeast though... Atlanta, Orlando, Miami... nope. All the nope. I spent a lot of my time doing the local pickups all the way down to Miami and bring up back to our yard in West Palm Beach to then be loaded and shipped across the country on my dad's truck. Every day I was guaranteed to see at MINIMUM 1 flipped over vehicle (which makes no sense, the road is straight), multiple rear-ends, someone firing off their gun because they felt they were cut-off. And that's just Tuesday.

[@TibsisTops]

Honestly, agree. Here in San Diego no one knows how to do an unprotected left turn and it’s INFURIATING. THREE cars IN the intersection: 2 fully, and one half pulled up over the crosswalk. Then ALL THREE go through before the red. In LA, you try to do any less and you WILL get honked at. LA drivers are NOT polite, but they ARE the most efficient, streamlined, waste-no-time drivers I’ve ever seen.

[@feaquito7283]

Seriously I used to live in kearny mesa and I’ve never been hit almost as many times there as I have in like 5 years of living in LA. I don’t know what’s in the water in San Diego but drivers there’s do not care haha.

[@zerocraic3966]

Here i was about to say i feel san diego drivers are fabulous about the crazy conditions too. But in fairnews ididnt drive a lot out east ir in kearney mesa which i see as examples in the other comments. That 163/8 junctions would kill people in most cities

[@brianfox340]

They will honk at you, and they'll be correct. I've seen bad traffic in Orange County side streets, where ZERO cars get through an unprotected left for a whole light cycle.

[@TibsisTops]

Nice to see the San Diego/So-Cal demographic is strong in this comment section. 😎

[@Ma5jay5dontxdoxthat]

It's because its a military town. A lot of drivers from all over the country.

[@Venantium]

I'm from Detroit, but have lived in South Carolina since I was 9. I visited LA last year for my 28th birthday and was shocked and so happy at how well everyone drove. It was spectacular honestly.

[@jdnb86]

As someone who moved from Los Angeles to Austin I’d have to agree I miss LA drivers. Texas drivers are the worst I’ve ever experienced

[@manicpepsicola3431]

Thats the worst city in texas to drive in too 😭😭 Dallas sucks too but it ain't austin 💀

[@Trethan3266]

Basically they’ve all become great drivers because they have to be

[@Gabby15789]

It's not driver vs driver. No, it's driverS vs the roads. one team one fight!😂

[@winterkeptuswarm]

Agree!! Thank you Hank!! LA/California drivers certainly respect the rules of the road. Efficiency is born out of necessity. Never have there been so many zips, merges, crazy complicated freeway connections, and stopped traffic that only let a couple cars turn left per light. Yet they work, because they HAVE to work. They do drive fast though, to make up for time lost in traffic, so if you can't stand the heat, get out of the fast lane. 😅 I'm in Portland now. They don't scoot up to let a few cars turn left per light, it's illegal here!! Same with scooting left at the light to let right-turn people scoot past on the right! And U-turns are prohibited at stoplights except when specifically posted (opposite in California). 😂 Crazy!

[@audofit]

Man, yeah, that freeway stop sign onramp is crazy. Can't believe that's where my mom used to live and drive.

[@mermaidpotato]

This is sooooo true. I feel this way about CA traffic and also about DC. The TRAFFIC in those places is worse than the south where I'm from but the DRIVERS are all so much better. They zipper!!! They know how to zipper!!!!!!

[@matthewcantrell5289]

I’m used to LA and Bay Area drivers. When I visited Nashville recently for work, HOLY HELL I thought I was gonna die.

[@swillm3ister]

New York lifer here. I agree with him and it's also like that here... When things go well... Sometimes it all goes to heck lol.

[@charlotlottie]

Between Hank and the comments, driving LA sounds much like driving London (A406/M25)

[@crinna]

Just on the other side of the road

[@applesauce4389]

Counter: the more together everyone is, the more in synch they all are, the more one asshole can wreck it all

[@Syveril]

and we hate that person so much

[@hell0mega]

my parents have lived in California on and off throughout their lives, and the difference is that Californians just do the shit. similar to what Hank said about moving as a unit, people just GO and do their own thing, which is better than on the east coast where I'm at, where people are far too worried about what everyone else is doing. however, times are changing, lots of people moving to LA and my city has a huge influx of Californians wanting somewhere with water, so now both are bad lol

[@richie4956]

I have driven in Boston, Chicago, New York, and LA. LA HANDS DOWN BEST DRIVERS

[@cplova333]

As a Canadian, I don't know if I just got lucky seeing this, but when I went to LA i noticed all the cars stayed a safe distance from each other even when there was traffic. No tailgating!

[@phoenixgate007]

My mom moved to LA when she was a young woman, and she really learned how to drive there. She has taught me so much more than my driving teachers!

[@mewmixify]

My Dad is from Indiana, and he thinks everyone out here drives really well, too. Now I can tell him Hank agrees with him! ❤

[@Hailgoatman666]

I need to watch sad boyz again. I used to listen to it so much as a podcast until it became more visual. I have to find time to sit and watch cause it is so good

[@Alex-sk2lb]

Love this take. People let people in, I lived in LA for couple years. Back in Michigan, people SUCK. Every 13 year old, grandma, and everyone in between will speed up to not let you in.

[@Greenteabook]

Well you definitely get thrown into the deep end with driving in LA! I learned quickly 😮‍💨

[@japhalpha]

From LA moved to eastern Washington and people really do be sitting at green lights and no one is honking. Drives me insane, and most people actually follow the speed limit. One last thing, they don’t have drivers ed up here so it’s the norm at a stop sign intersection, if there are two cars facing each other and one is turning and the other is going straight, the one turning goes first. It’s insanity 🙃

[@jonstewart5525]

I've lived in a few places and driven in many more. Speed, aggression, etc. can vary wildly but the places I hate driving the most are where people drive without intent or understanding. I'd rather have someone merge in front of me into a 1.5 car gap then accelerate then someone merge into a 6 car gap then slow down to below my speed. At least with the first I feel like we're working together.

[@brianfox340]

I don't think it's a lack of driver's ed, I just think people have nowhere to be in other places. I also hate it.

[@carsonhugill2176]

Drivers Ed is mandatory in the state of Washington for people under 18 to get drivers licenses. Aggressive driving may feel faster but if everyone just followed the rules of the road and paid attention we’d all get everywhere faster and safer.

[@afreaknamedallie1707]

Ahhhh we're getting more of those goofballs who doesn't understand that the turn needs to go behind the person going straight and it suckkks it is messing up LA street traffic.

[@brianfox340]

@@carsonhugill2176 I've driven in Washington, and you fit in perfectly to the "adding 20 minutes for no reason to my drive and the drive of those behind me" vibe everyone gives off in that state.

[@BlakeThePainter]

May I say as a family from the south we were shocked at how chill and smooth driving was in LA 😂

[@TheLyricalCleric]

Home of the California stop. I’m doing my part, I’m slowing down to see if everything is clear. No need to waste gas and pollute the environment by losing momentum!

[@Shrek2onVHS]

As someone from Montana. He’s right

[@wickeli]

Yea but in Montana we can be good drivers if we want to we just decide not to be Ruins the thrill 😅😂 so not the best state to compare to Although still better then North Dakota drivers

[@Cynthiaaagghh]

Hank is right! As a visitor to LA from the Midwest, I was initially scared of driving in LA but quickly realized that LA drivers aren’t bad and are in fact, dare I say, good. My first clue was when I signaled to change lanes and was immediately let in. Meanwhile in Chicago, people take it as a challenge to speed up ahead of you or even match your speed to fuck with you. 🙄

[@Pailzor]

There's been a weird trend of some LA drivers not signaling lane changes the past few years, which makes no sense whatsoever. If changing lanes is said to be the most dangerous part of driving, don't you want to communicate that it's happening? Personally, I really think CHP should be ticketing people who don't signal lane changes (not turns, just lane changes) for reckless driving. It's not okay.

[@harrisonwest4032]

big city drivers are almost always great drivers in a bad situation

[@mattrose99]

Its like in AZ, the main issue I see is drunk driving and out of state drivers. But we also have the conditions perfect for speeding so everyones speeding and most people know defensive driving cuz we all have to know how to read a driver. Then half the year we have a bunch of old people who maybe shouldnt have a license driving to another states laws

[@phluphfy69]

The thing about Arizona drivers is that you pretty much have to drive aggressively to merge because no one has any manners 😂 and because everyone is used to driving so aggressively you also have to really lock in those defensive driving skills

[@AnnikaOakinnA]

Every city has its own driving language. For instance, in Boston MA I watched a driver change lanes to run a red light.

[@Cameron-ds9xs]

LA drivers are amazing the traffic can be terrible I’ve lived 6 different states and I was least worried about other people in socal

[@lachrome_1838]

i love a good flow state with other cars

[@ALLCAPSKELL]

If you want to get anywhere in traffic like that, you have to be an active participant in the group project. Just like Chicago! Much worse because everyone who doesn’t want to follow the rules makes everyone late. 🙄

[@oogiegoogie2826]

I’m from the Midwest, and California drivers are insanely polite and considerate compared to Midwest drivers.

[@nercksrule]

But the interesting thing is that drivers in North Dakota drive like they're from California. You WILL be honked at if you stay still at a green light, even if there's a car right in front of you.

[@hammyofdoom8355]

It gets more aggressive the farther east you go. Midwest drivers were so enormously polite compared to what I’m used to, Californian even more so. People in the east move fast talk fast live fast, and things slow down a bit further west you go.

[@jamie7027]

the “slow driving when a light turns green” always just feels like a game of chicken lol. like i’m moving forward but will you move forward or will i hit you??”

[@hallorette5059]

Hank is right. LA drivers are some of the most skilled in the country. They drive really fast on the highways, LA is really spread out so they commute huge distances, and they do it every day. LA is just the most car-focused culture of any US city I’ve been to. There’s a reason why half the dialogue in SNL’s The Californians is all about on-ramps, it’s because LA people drive all the time.

[@granitegrizz]

I think one of the reasons LA traffic seems horrible is that it's so population dense. You have more people than in Wyoming, Vermont, both Dakotas and Rhode Island combined in an area 1/3 the size of Rhode Island. Even the 1,000 accidents a week seems miniscule when you consider not only the humongous population, but also the approximate million people traveling to and through the city each week.

[@g33xzi11a]

I actually have to agree. LA drivers drive fast but they’re great. Boston drivers a crime against humanity except for in the exurb of Gloucester which has the best drivers on the planet.

[@Virtuous_Rogue]

I noticed this moving from Denver to Grand Junction. Fewer people are driving like they are trying to get somewhere and green lights are soooooo slow. California drivers are probably excellent in city traffic when there isn't snow. Unfortunately, a 40 degree snow devolves into bumper to bumper traffic well outside rush hour even though nothing is sticking.

[@Terence.McKenna]

The moving as a unit once the light turns green concept seems completely foreign to most drivers. If you let off the brake as soon as the light turns green in the middle of the line, I immediately love you

[@DorifutoRabbit]

A stop sign to join a highway is madness, is there no room for an on ramp?

[@bi_swamp_thing]

The 110 is really weird because it's a very old freeway, and also in the middle of downtown, so there isn't much room to expand or change the lanes. When it was built the speed limit was like 50mph iirc, now i think the posted is 65. But 65 means up to 80 is reasonable, in LA. So a stop sign merge that made sense at 50mph on a less crowded freeway in the 1950s doesn't make sense now at 65+ in the 2020s

[@Syveril]

I think it was built when the national speed limit was 40 mph. @@bi_swamp_thing

[@bi_swamp_thing]

@@Syveril we had a national speed limit of 35mph from 1942-1945 bc of WWII rationing, but the freeway was built before then.

[@Artofcarissa]

Oh that’s nothing; some on-ramps have multiple lanes with traffic lights and it’s 1 car per green

[@alyssa2796]

No honestly when I went to California a few years ago, my cousin drove us around LA. And yeah, it was incredible how the freeway just was like a liquid. Everyone could change lanes and merge when they needed to and people would just move out of the way. I think that stems from their training from the 110.

[@crazzy88ss]

Having visited LA, I’d 100% agree. I’d say some thing about drivers in Italy. Organized chaos and everybody knows what they’re doing.

[@BigKittysCorner]

BRO I literally say the same thing, I totally agree. It felt like everyone was on the same page because they all know the traffic sucks. Try driving around Nashville, total shitstorm.

[@luckygitane]

100% accurate. I had no perspective until i left LA and came back as an adult and had a perfectly pleasant time driving compared to anywhere else I'd been.

[@NathanAbshire-m1z]

I live in Arkansas and a lot of very elderly people come to complete stops at green lights then go through them even though there was never a law stating to do so even when they were learning to drive. It is what I hate about driving in little rock the most

[@bi_swamp_thing]

I'm from LA and when i did a cross country road trip, Arkansas drivers were the worst! In LA if someone doesn't let you merge it's cause they don't have space or something like that. They'll let you merge if they can. In Arkansas it was like every time i tried to merge people wouldn't let me over just to be an asshole. I was so confused cause i always heard the south was all about hospitality 😂

[@jacobfrancis109]

I’ve been saying this for years. I grew up in LA and live in Utah know. I love driving in LA and feel way safer but in Utah you never know what the car next to you is going to do.

[@TheJimmyp427]

Los Angeles County had the greatest number of motorcycle accidents in 2021 with 2,803. Out of those, 133 people were killed and 3,068 were injured. Among those who were injured in Los Angeles County motorcycle crashes, 837, or 29.86%, sustained severe injuries.

[@lemonlimeslush]

why is he everywhere. also i love this guy

[@asailijhijr]

Because he's dying.

[@esobelisk3110]

@@asailijhijr he’s aliving again, actually

[@Playfulpat]

He was in LA for like a week to do his cancer comedy show, and scheduled all the podcasts and shows in he could so they’re all releasing now

[@alexharrison2743]

You answered your own question bud - he's everywhere because people love him!

[@stephendonovan9084]

@@asailijhijrYeah no, he did have cancer but it was a significantly more treatable cancer than most and caught at the right time, he went into remission and as far as I’m aware he’s in perfectly good health now. He’s not dying any more than any of the rest of us. He actually went into a fair bit of detail on the prognosis while the situation was evolving, to make sure people weren’t more worried than they had to be of course but I think also because being Hank Green he couldn’t just not spread awareness of the science that was happening to him and although it was a scary situation it was never as extreme as you make it out to be and he wanted people to know that.

[@Levacque]

Oh, from the sound of it, I would love driving in LA. They sound assertive, and that's so important for efficiency.

[@Pailzor]

If you're not assertive, you're not getting over. Everyone learns that their first day on the freeway. At rush hour, find a gap between cars you *think* you can fit into, put on your blinker, and be ready for both lanes ahead of you to brake. The car you're trying to get in front of will *probably* let you over.

[@Levacque]

@@Pailzor I know this to be true, but the vast majority of Canadian drivers seem to be in their own little world.

[@nloughner2015]

Growing up in Atlanta really made LA a breeze. As chaotic as it had been sold to me, I found the city to have much more rational drivers than multiple east coast cities. The roads were pretty bad, and the highway merges absolutly awful.

[@ChlomeRendia]

I grew up right outside LA, and commuted in LA all the time. I agree with the comment about motorcycles. The only time I ever saw an accident with a motorcyclist was when a woman's tire blew out and she lost control and swerved across the freeway. A motorcyclist hit her car at full speed, and he ended up flying over her car and landing 20 feet away. Unfortunately, his helmet slid off and he did not make it. I'll never forget that sight. We drove past just a minute or two after it happened, traffic had just started to back up, and there were no emergency vehicles there yet, and his body was not covered. It scares me when anyone rides a motorcycle now, because that accident was so random. It wasn't carelessness, just bad luck.

[@shelbyrogers2471]

My out of state relatives refused to drive when they visited us in Ca cause they were scared of the traffic and freeways 😂 meanwhile I’ve been driving in it since I was 16 😅

[@gabib4966]

I love observing traffic and just watching how everybody works together in sync and communicates without ever seeing or speaking to each other.

[@Big-boned_Pikachu]

Interesting hot take. I've only been to LA once but the traffic is wild. I've never seen so many cars at once in my life.

[@kin3702]

That’s an observation not a hot take

[@nobody08088]

​@@kin3702average youtube shorts users' reading comprehension.

[@zina2435]

does traffic = bad driving though? i think it just means a lot of people. and possibly bad / inadequate infrastructure

[@jamesarnold8597]

A lot of cars = a lot of cars, not bad driving. You can really see bad drivers when there's enough space in the roads and they choose to drive like dicks

[@kiki-acab]

This is not interesting or hot. This is a common tepid observation.

[@heatherschye2469]

Speaking the truth! Lifelong Californian, now living in North Carolina. Here in NC they don’t know how to merge, use a turn lane, four way stops, etc. Most shocking, some people will completely stop in middle of the road and then cross over multiple lanes, center islands, anything in their way, if they miss their turn.

[@mooglily]

As a native of LA - the “light is green we’re all working together” is EXACTLY my mentality. Sometimes when I’m rushing I chant “c’mon y’all we got this, we can all make this light” 😂 also the 110 is crazy but I’ve been doing it for years & didn’t die! There also aren’t even frequent accidents on it, so we’re doing *something* right, you’ve just gotta learn to be a defensive driver.

[@megan5867]

I'm from Kansas, and I lived in Los Angeles for 3 years. I absolutely agree with Hank. I generally had less road rage in L.A. than I do in Kansas. It was more cohesive of a driving experience.

[@fancyorangemittens]

He's not wrong. Source: I'm from Wyoming. There are Cities... and there are "Cities," where a bunch of people live, and no one knows how to drive. Denver? Missoula? Terrifying. LA? Vegas? Terrifying... once. Like every other driving experience.

[@WigglyTuffStuff]

This is the correct take. I've driven in several states, and Los Angeles is the only place where drivers operate like a unit. They understand that everyone needs to follow the law, merge, signal, and allow people into their lane, so that traffic can run smoothly. Most other places I've been, they drive like they should be prioritized.

[@MrQuestful]

Fun fact: the 110 freeway is that short of an on ramp because it originally wasn’t designed for cars, it was actually Americas first Cycle Way during the bicycle boom of the 1890’s.

[@WavesNGames]

Agreed! If everyone is driving aggressively then everyone is aware of their surroundings.

[@asdf2098]

I've driven in LA traffic for most of my life. He's right. Because of confirmation bias, you only remember the shittiest drivers but the vast majority of this insanely dense and populated city aren't actually being shitty. They are driving *perfectly* so you don't notice them. If drivers here were literally majority bad, there's enough cars on the roads to literally fill ever square inch of our roads with burning wrecks. That doesn't happen and it's because the vast majority of LA drivers are really really good at adapting, reacting, and following the flow.

[@chatsnoirblamo]

Seattle prepared me for LA driving.

[@CommanderWar64]

City drivers are infinitely better than rural drivers.

[@genericegirl0]

This is why driving terrifies me. I am very othered by the collective 😭

[@rosemarymcbride3419]

the first time i went to LA as a child i was terrified on of the highways, thank god they just passed a ballot measure for transit and ped/bike infrastructure improvements

[@morgan5923]

Yes. And the transition to Chicago traffic killed me.

[@ctyoung0271]

He's so good at explaining his points

[@kevinturnr]

This is so true. In LA you don’t have the luxury of driving passively, so everyone is paying attention trying to make it work and stay alive. Better drivers than any other city I’ve driven in.

[@trentonvideofan]

I don’t know if I agree. I grew up in LA, learned how to drive there, I took my driving test and got my license on the streets of Los Angeles (horrible idea btw, go to Hawthorne for a much easier test). Now I’m in Virginia for college. I have never felt unsafe on the roads here, but whenever I go back to LA to visit family, someone almost kills me every time I get behind the wheel. One time a city bus tried to pull out of a bus stop across three lanes to turn left. There were cars in all three of these lanes.

[@bernadmanny]

As a tourist I was really impressed how good the LA drivers were, they always let me merge which is not something I could say about home.

[@hannahselby-hughes348]

I’m a Brit and we were driving in LA, getting on the highway was the most stressful thing ever! Everyone would see you merging and speed up to block you! We even said this to a taxi driver and he said ‘oh yeah I hadn’t noticed that’s. V v stressful

[@kryogenic4457]

I've said this for years- bad traffic is a mix of sharp/quick drivers, and cruising/ meandering drivers. When you have a balanced ratio of both, it leads to more accidents. Everyone needs to be on the same page to avoid a crash.

[@GIBKEL]

As a native Montanan(even rarer these days), coming into NewYork city in the early 90’s in a 75’ Pinto may have been the worst traffic I’ve ever been in. LA is no slouch but hell on interlopers(myself) that don’t know they are in a super organism.

[@berry-ht6hy]

driving in any bigger city i definitely notice people just seem to have faster reflexes. like lights changing, and people at stop signs will start driving before the other car is out of the intersection