[srswans]

Yes - excellent hypothesis - I agree.

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

I think a lot of the perceived issues are cultural, as in people come here from different areas of the country bringing their method of driving with them, and that can vary significantly. The laws also vary from state to state: "In 29 states, any car traveling slower than surrounding traffic must be in the right lane. In 11 states, the laws are even stricter—reserving the left lane only for turning
or passing." ("SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT: A Summary of “Keep Right” Traffic Laws in All 50 States" Matthiesen, Wickert & Lehrer, S.C., Attorneys-At=Law, updated January 13, 2022) Florida is one of those 11, but that means that 39 states AREN'T, and if you're from one of those states then it's a good bet that you're going to p___ off drivers who are. Yeah, I know that it is the responsibility of drivers to know the laws of the states where they are driving, but...

Also, consider the overall driving habits. Driving in the seething metropolises of, for example, Los Angeles, New York, Chicago or Boston (the four most traffic-congested states in America) is a whole lot different than driving in, say rural Iowa or Nebraska. Drivers from the one are going to have a decidedly negative opinion of drivers from another, even though each may be driving precisely the same way the do or did when back in their own environment. I can guarantee you that a dyed-in-the-wool Bostonian who finds himself suddenly driving in (say) Ames, Iowa, has a good chance of earning himself a traffic ticket for doing the same things he does routinely back home in Boston. Conversely a guy from Ames stands a good chance of getting nailed for impeding traffic if he is leisurely tooling along in the left lane in any of the four states mentioned, plus many others. Old habits die hard.

Finally, courtesy. Drivers from America's heartland are far more apt to give the other guy a break than are drivers from either coast. Saw a great example this week going to the new Costco. Traffic was bumper-to-bumper due to a pretty major accident and the turn lane off Highway 50 was backed up to the previous light. There was an opening in the line so wife signaled for a merge. A white van saw that and immediately speeded up to close the gap. The lady in the car behind the white van saw their shenanigans and blinked her headlights, slowing down to give us the opening so we could merge. Her license plate read Wisconsin. Such differences in driving attitude on the part of folks from varying parts of America are noticeable in many forms here in TV. Courtesy does indeed seem to be region-specific.

Maybe what is needed is a little less selfishness and a little more understanding. TV is a melting pot. Things take some time to blend together.