Driving Etiquette · Society of Ordinary Gents

Driving Etiquette

Greetings, gents.

I haven't seen this topic covered by James/GentZ videos, and feel this is a necessary carry-over post I made in the Lobby.

Sure, us gents can appreciate a nice car and have our own holistic approaches to maintaining them... but what of actually DRIVING them, and how we do so around others, let alone with a lady companion?

I've mentioned this before, but apart from my time in Florida and Texas, I've never encountered drivers as bad as here in California (Texas/Houston had the most aggressive, by far).

Sure, it doesn't help that a population the size of Canada is crammed into one state (around 40 million), and while some natives may argue that drivers in certain areas are "better" because of unique geography like San Francisco, or the tight-squeeze roads around Los Angeles, I've never elsewhere witnessed drivers so oblivious, self-centered, brainless, and generally rude.

The issues I witness on a regular basis here:

Inappropriate/total lack of turn signal use.
Cutting across multiple lanes to make a turn.
Tailgating.
Tailgating and zooming around you, only to go slow themselves.
Not fully stopping or just blowing through stop signs.
Stopping "multiple times" at the same stop sign, even when no other cars or pedestrians are present.
Either too fast or too slow (10mph under or over, rather than the allotted 5 over).
Lazily riding between lanes or slowly moving into one.
Fast in the slow lane and slow in the fast lane.
Literally blocking traffic on a busy highway just to do stupid risky stunts (and getting arrested).
Generally not paying attention (at stop lights, distracted with their phones, kids, or literally using impairing substances - I literally saw someone snorting lines off their steering wheel once, or the "genius" who was playing with a Rubik's cube while driving).
Wannabe Vin Diesel/Fast and Furious reckless driving and aggressive posturing/risky driving.
Practically running over pedestrians.
Not understanding basic things like "right of way" at a 4-way intersection with no stop signs (CLEARLY, the driver going straight has right-of-way over the driver making a turn, but so many here are stubborn, which gets annoying fast when the chance is missed, and a ton of cars come by, only to face the same stubborn issue at the next break).
Getting all huffy and offended overhearing me any time I tell my daughter "Careful, sweety, these are the worst drivers in the country, please hold my hand while we cross.".
Yes, statistically, CA has the worst drivers based on several factors (accidents, ticketed violations, traffic-based fatalities, insurance rates, and frequency of traffic violations).

The irony is, out of all the states I've lived in all over the U.S., CA has the most difficult driving test. You literally have to study it in advance, which includes obscure stupid rules like if you're allowed to smoke a cigarette with other passengers or passing through a school zone, or using overly complicated descriptions of lanes, or focusing too much on exact distance measurements instead of the concept itself. In other states, the written tests were far more intuitive, and oddly, the drivers were better.

Any true gentleman knows that when they're driving others (especially children, or trying to impress a date), it's NOT risky aggressive driving that wins over a lady. It's driving to make a ride feel as safe and smooth as possible, and demonstrating some basic competency on the road. It's to show you're a protector, even behind the wheel, and even lead by example to your children how to drive responsibly.

Also, it's less wear and tear on your vehicle in the long run.

Now, gents, it's your turn. Tell me about some of the worst road/driving experiences you've had, or maybe a mistake you had to learn from, or something you wish you knew. Maybe even a potential partner who did the wrong thing (or even being annoying back-seat drivers - it happens, and I've had my share of them; especially older ladies who love to scream at you over things that hadn't even happened).

Please, gents, drive responsibly.

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