YES! We have some of the worst drivers in America! I have worked on the air in Portland, OR, Seattle, Miami, Denver, San Diego, San Antonio, and Philadelphia and I can tell you from first-hand experience that New Orleans has the worst drivers than any city I have lived in. Coming in a distant second is Portland because the drivers there are so damn polite that their extreme courteous nature and caution created frustrating problems. The drivers are so nice in Portland that if you put your blinker on cars are stomping on their brakes to let you over. It can be really aggravating! But I’ll take the Portland driver over New Orleans drivers any day.
Drivers in New Orleans are distracted with their phones just like drivers in other cities, but we have other characteristics that add to the problem of distracted drivers. Drivers around the metro New Orleans area love to tailgate at high speeds and this is what leads to the number of accidents in areas like the Spillway. Plus, speed is a factor. Drivers will speed AND tailgate, which is often a fatal combination.
And if you are just cruising along in the left lane - get you A** over! There is now a new law in effect that makes it illegal to cruise in the left lane. I assume that means that even if you are going over the speed limit you need to be passing the traffic on the right and if not then get over.
And DO NOT immediately go when the light - any light - turns green. So many people are now racing through intersections when the light had turned red that you have to look to make sure no one is coming before you proceed through the green light.
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