Those of us who ride motorcycles, learn to watch people's heads and eyes ( sometimes in their mirrors ) and know that if you do not make eye contact, you are invisible to the others on the road.
Your last sentence sums it all up. Unfortunately it describes the majority of drivers I encounter on the road. At least in New Orleans, it seems that driving is about the 4th thing people do at the wheel of a car. Texting, eating, and dancing all rank higher on an average day. And all those people assume they will "see" things off to the side in time...
Meanwhile, I'm looking for pupils.
Drivers in general also seem to be more aggressive and will drive over the speed limit and cut each other off.
To anybody who hasn't seen it, Werner Herzog made a short film about texting and driving called From One Second to the Next which I recommend. It can be found on YouTube.
Not that UK drivers are perfect (very far from it). But I've heard the same comments enough times to make me wonder how American drivers are so bad.
Lack of testing, for starters. There was a time, going on 40 years ago, that someone observed my driving and decided whether I was safe to release upon the roads. Since then, I've taken a knowledge ("written", though it's computerized now) now and then. The last time was 16 years ago when I moved to WA. They check your vision at renewal by testing your ability to check a box that says "yeah, my eyes are fine".
Add to that a lack of enforcement. As long as you don't exceed the speed limit or have booze on your breath at a checkpoint, you might go your whole life having never been pulled over no matter how much texting you do.
Here in Seattle, which I maintain has the worst drivers in the country, my current working theory of the cause of horrific driving incompetence is self-absorption that seems to be particularly rampant here. Why else would I get regularly flipped off when the light turns green and I honk at Ms. Tweets McFacebook to put her phone down and drive?
I've driven quite a few times in different parts of America and the lack of courtesy is frankly ridiculous and is almost an extension of that "I've got mine, fuck everyone else" attitude that some (not all) Americans display.
I have to say as another Brit, some of the cars I've seen on the roads of America wouldn't be allowed near a carriageway here. It's not just the standard of driving that is sketchy, but the maintenance or lack thereof too. I've driven on roads that felt way more iffy that anywhere I've been in the third world.
It's an unfortunate situation and not one I agree with, but that's why American drivers tend to suck.
I didn't try driving in London though.
Motorway driving is not part of our driving test, so you can qualify without ever being shown how to drive on a 3 lane road.
It's not uncommon to see people cruising along in the middle lane, completely oblivious. Drivers are noticeably better at keeping right in continental Europe.
It's discouraged in the Highway Code and an enthusiastic traffic officer could (but almost certainly won't) charge you with careless driving.
One can't generalize the driving habits of all American from those that drive in Georgia or Louisiana.
Compared with most countries, many American drivers get drivers education in high school as part of their high school education. In other countries they get it later in life which makes them more dangerous drivers.
Maybe some are a little iffy (around the airports of Florida perhaps), but I'm not sure you realise how close/cheap to reach Europe is and how many folks will hire a car out there too.
You're not the only country to drive on the opposite side of the road to us.
Our instructor reminded us that even this is no guarantee of a driver's awareness of you. They may have shit vision or have what to make for dinner on their mind and they're spacing out while looking at you. Fact is, until that driver is behind you, they are a danger all the way up until you pass them. (And in some cases they're still a danger, especially if you come to an abrupt stop).
Motorcycling in a city is not for the faint of heart.
Then shortly after those same people learn that someone can look you right in the eye while they run you over.
Watch the wheels. The wheels don't lie.
we are not immobile racecar drivers strapped into harnesses and hans. we are looking out for pedestrians and vehicles going the opposite direction, something that doesn't (usually) exist on racetracks.
your entire body should be involved in driving. if it's not, you're not really driving, you're sort of just pointing the car in a direction and going for a ride to see what happens.