Is it any surprise that Boston driving is widely regarded to be amongst the worst in the country?


I don't know that I can agree with that. But perhaps my experience isn't comprehensive enough to make my opinion valid.

I have driven in Boston only twice, both times near the beginning of a trip all the way across the country and up to Alaska.

Both times I observed the same thing: that the drivers in Boston were agressive, but nonetheless courteous and generally competent in the handling of their vehicles. By that I mean, if I left three car lengths between myself and the car ahead to allow room for braking, very quickly that space would be filled by three cars. But the traffic was so dense that's pretty much how it had to be. I didn't see anybody driving recklessly or banging into other cars.

Not being familiar with the freeways, I sometimes found myself in the wrong lane with an exit I needed to take coming up fast. All I had to do was turn on my turn signal, and right away somebody would drop back and make room for me.

Most impressive of all, as I started back towards the West coast, on freeways that were not fully occupied, I could look ahead and see all the traffic staying in the right hand lane except to pass. Gee -- just like they're supposed to do. With my ShoWagon and my Valentine 1, I was generally running faster than just about everybody else, and when I would come up behind someone in the left lane passing a string of trucks, he would usually dart in between the trucks to let me by, then come back out and continue his pass.

This kind of behavior is so alien to the West Coast school of driving that I marvelled at it time and time again. By the time I got to California, it was every man for himself, no lane discipline, no courtesy.

So, in my limited experience, I place the East Coast drivers (including the Bostonians) 'way above the rest of the country.

tanstaafl.