Wisconsin Drivers

Wisconsin drivers, in a word, suck.  They're horrible.  I know, I know.  Everyone complains about the drivers in the town where they live.  When I lived in Columbus, people complained about the drivers there.  To me, Columbus drivers were just kind of normal.  Yeah, they sucked at driving in snow and rain-- but that's pretty typical for drivers everywhere, at least in my experience.  I didn't have any huge complaints about drivers in Columbus.  Some were good.  Some were bad.  Overall I thought they were typical. Drivers in Wisconsin are another story.

Problem #1:  Tailgating

I have never, in my life, seen so many tailgaters.  It's crazy.  I'm not exaggerating when I say that nearly every car on the road is tailgating another car.  And don't think snow or ice stops them.  They tailgate in the winter too.  Semi drivers are right in the mix as well.  I saw a tanker truck on what they call "the Beltline" here in Madison that was no more than 4 feet from the car in front of it.  It was actually scary how close that idiot was to the other car...... in a tanker truck no less.

Problem #2:  Bad Merging Manners

Another thing Wisconsin drivers do a lot is try to peel real fast around cars in front of them when entering the highway on an entrance ramp.  They will sharply swerve over to the farthest left lane and speed by the other cars trying to merge.  I watched a car do this on I-94 on my way back to Madison from Milwaukee a couple months ago.  The car that swerved over to pass the other cars entering the highway didn't bother to notice that there was a car in the lane he was swerving over to.  He didn't end up hitting the car because the other guy swerved to miss him.  In doing so, he lost control of his car and wrecked into the concrete median.  Real nice.  The stupid jackass who was driving like an idiot was fine and his car was fine.  The other fellow, the innocent victim, wasn't quite so lucky.   I don't think he was seriously injured, but his car was totally messed up.  I was right behind the car that wrecked.  Do you know why I didn't hit him?  Because I wasn't tailgating and had ample time to stop.

Problem #3:  Not Paying Attention

In less than a year, I have been hit from behind twice by Wisconsin drivers while I was at a complete stop in my car.  When you hit from behind a car that is completely stopped, you were either tailgating or not paying attention.  Or both.  The most recent accident occurred this past Friday when I was in a town named Waukesha.  I had stopped because the car in front of me stopped and was waiting for traffic to pass so she could make a left-hand turn.  Here is a picture of the pile up.

My car was in front of the grey minivan.  The lady driving the maroon minivan didn't bother to stop even though the rest of us were.  I heard the brakes squeal.  I heard the impact coming.  Thud.  Thud.  And then thud into me.  The lady that caused the accident had a little baby in the car with her.  You would think you'd be just a tad more careful when driving with a baby on board.  The lady in the red car apparently didn't have her seat belt on.  She must have hit the steering wheel because she had a bloody nose/face.  The people in the car right behind me were fine and I'm fine too.  Damage to my car is minimal.  My Ford Edge has been pretty tough in both accidents and held up to the impacts.

I have really had to work on my attitude when driving in Wisconsin.  I have learned, for the most part, to ignore the idiot behavior because the sucky drivers are all over the place and unavoidable.  If I don't work on myself to keep a peace mentality, I would end up being pissed off every time I drive and I drive way too much for that.  I just don't want to be pissed off that much.

Interestingly, Wisconsin drivers know they suck.  They will come right out and admit it.  They make themselves feel better by commenting that Illinois drivers are worse.