Worst Drivers In America

Slate.com has just released the the top 5 cities with the worst drivers.  They looked at years of data about traffic accidents, automotive fatalities, alcohol-related driving deaths and pedestrian strike rates as indicators of bad driving.  I love that term, pedestrian strikes.  It warms me up all over.  Here is Slate.com's top 5 cities with the worst drivers.

No. 5: Baltimore. Baltimoreans just can’t keep from running into each other. They were outside the top 10 in fatalities, DWI deaths, and pedestrian strikes, but their rate of collision couldn’t keep them out of the top five overall.

No. 4: Tampa, Fla. Tampa doesn’t do any single thing terribly, but it is consistently poor: 18^th worst in years between accidents, fifth in traffic fatalities, tied for 11^th in DWI fatalities, and 10^th in pedestrian strikes. If the city had managed to get outside the bottom half in any individual category, Tampa residents might have avoided this distinction.

No. 3: Hialeah. The drivers of Hialeah get into a middling number of accidents, ranking 11^th among the 39 candidates. But when they hit someone, they really mean it. The city finished third for fatalities. They also have a terrifying tendency to hit pedestrians.

No. 2: Philadelphia. Drivers in the city of brotherly love enjoy a good love tap behind the wheel. Second-places finishes in collisions and pedestrian strikes overwhelm their semi-respectable 16^th-place ranking in DWI deaths
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No. 1: Miami. And it’s not even close. First in automotive fatalities, first in pedestrian strikes, first in the obscenity-laced tirades of their fellow drivers.

Three out of the five cities with the worst drivers are found in the Sunshine State, with Miami topping the list as the absolute worst. Miami is first in auto fatalities and pedestrian strikes and, according to Slate, first in "obscenity-lace tirades of their fellow driver". Fellow Floridian cities Hialeah, which comes in at number three, and Tampa at number four also seem to host a populace with a passion for running down pedestrians and fatal car accidents.  Miami shows up on more than just Slate.com's worst list. The Huffington Post reported that Miami also had the most hit-and-runs in Florida last year, an incredible 35 a day. Transportation for America also ranked the most dangerous cities in America to drive in, with the top four all in Florida. Maybe Floridians should look into buying heavy-duty trucks and steering clear of sidewalks.

Well, it is painfully obvious that slate.com did not come to the Greater Wilkes-Barre Scranton Area or as I like to call it the Siamese Twin Cities of despair.  Our area is overflowing with bad drivers, dumb drivers and angry drivers, very angry drivers and I must confess I am one of the angry ones.  Just this past week I was dropping my wife off at work over by the Hotel Sterling (that's a story for another day) and had just pulled over to let her out.  The light ahead of me was red and it took her about 2.6 seconds to actually get out of the car.  The idiot behind me lays on the horn and proceeds to weave to his left to go by me.  Now mind you, it is one lane due to the orange barrels blocking the way.  This lug nut weaves between the barrels and as he goes by is eye balling me hard.  Of course that sets off my road rage trigger and I start lacing this moron with a tirade of profanity only rivaled by the movie Scarface.  "Are you eye ballin' me", I yelled.  "Are you eye ballin' me you mother f*#! pile of monkey s*^#?".  As you may know, every thing is worse with the word monkey in front of it.  After about 8 seconds or so of me verbally destroying this clown, the light went green and he turned onto S. Franklin St.  No, I did not follow him so I could get the rest of my pent up anger out.  There is more, still bottled up somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain waiting to be unleashed by some nit wit.