Why would I stop if I can clearly see there is no one coming from the other directions? I drive a stick shift too so it helps to be able to keep some non-zero momentum. This is completely disconnected from the stereotypical bad driver barreling through the intersection completely unaware there is a stop sign at all.

It's a different story on 4-way stop intersections. You look at who is where, which order they stopped in, and go when it's your turn.

The real bottom line ultimately is, are the average accident rates up or not?

Why is the Boston driver thing such a meme? The NHTSA Region 1, which is New England, has the fewest traffic fatalities per capita and per vehicle-mile. Florida, Texas, and California are twice as bad.

It’s the only place where a driver has waved a vodka (or other clear spirits, didn’t get a taste) bottle at me on a highway. YMMV.

Plain old drunk driving seems civilized compared to the rest of the country. Let me know if you see some clown in a monster truck brandishing a Glock in Boston.