Who is the best/worst driver?

[Backcountry1]

North Dakota (Number 2 of the worst drivers) has a lot of speeding tickets because A; There aren’t that many residents, so they tend to speed more because there aren’t as many people to worry about. B; The western half of the state (where most of the tickets probably come from) is mainly oilfield, and oilfield workers tend to speed a lot more than other people. C; The cost of a speeding ticket is insanely cheap. The base cost for a ticket is $10 for 1-10 mph over the limit, and $1 for every mph after 10. So you go 20 mph over the limit and it’ll cost you only $20.

[Bill Joyce]

16 hours ago, Backcountry1 said:

North Dakota (Number 2 of the worst drivers) has a lot of speeding tickets because A; There aren’t that many residents, so they tend to speed more because there aren’t as many people to worry about. B; The western half of the state (where most of the tickets probably come from) is mainly oilfield, and oilfield workers tend to speed a lot more than other people. C; The cost of a speeding ticket is insanely cheap. The base cost for a ticket is $10 for 1-10 mph over the limit, and $1 for every mph after 10. So you go 20 mph over the limit and it’ll cost you only $20.

So a speeding ticket is just a surcharge to drive fast in North Dakota.  

[NDBirdman]

10 hours ago, Bill Joyce said:

So a speeding ticket is just a surcharge to drive fast in North Dakota.  

Yea... a surcharge for the out of staters..... I live/drive withing 50 miles of the ND/MN state line.  I usually drive the speed-limit or a couple MPH under.  9 out of 10 vehicles that blow past me like I'm standing still sport MN or north of the border tags.  When I'm on my bike during our very short warm weather periods, that tends to scare the cwap out of a guy.

Edited February 10, 2022 by NDBirdman

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

12 hours ago, Bill Joyce said:

So a speeding ticket is just a surcharge to drive fast in North Dakota.  

 

1 hour ago, NDBirdman said:

Yea... a surcharge for the out of staters..... I live/drive withing 50 miles of the ND/MN state line.  I usually drive the speed-limit or a couple MPH under.  9 out of 10 vehicles that blow past me like I'm standing still sport MN or north of the border tags.  When I'm on my bike during our very short warm weather periods, that tends to scare the cwap out of a guy.

Considering how far apart major towns are, if you don't drive fast, you'll never get there.

 

[NDBirdman]

8 minutes ago, Alie&Jim's Carrilite said:

Considering how far apart major towns are, if you don't drive fast, you'll never get there.

Typed out a snarky reply but erased it.  Driving fast through ND, your missing some very nice small towns just off the road, most with free or cheap camping, great fishing, friendly locals, etc.  Ya ever seen a car/truck after a moose has crossed your path?  Not worth driving fast.  I tell folks, and yes it's a very old saying, slow down and smell the roses, well, except when going by the hog barns along hiway 2..... LOL  I'm just down the road.

[lappir]

I worked and spent a bit of time on the roads in North Dakota and Minnesota last summer. A lot of on my motorcycle, but some in my Jeep. 

There is lots to see up there, especially for someone who had not viewed the equipment for the Sugar Beet harvest. I assumed the things I saw heading to Grand Forks were for the Oil Industry. Nope, it's to keep the beets frozen until they are processed. Didn't actually stay long enough to see the big piles of beets. The harvest was delayed due to high temperatures. It was the hottest summer in a long time I was told many times. Especially when I complained about the heat. 

Drivers are bad everywhere. I will say the ones who continually drive in the left lane of a multi lane road and are looking at their phone and not maintaining their speed are the worst. On my motorcycle, in my jeep or Volvo I can see what almost every driver is doing when I pass them. I prefer to pass on the left, but hardly anyone drives in the right lane anymore, so I think of it as my "Monfort Lane" 

 

Rod

[rickeieio]

10 hours ago, NDBirdman said:

except when going by the hog barns

Smells like money.

Many years ago, we were on a family trip to Yellowstone with our Apache pop-up.  Going through Iowa, when the girls complained about the hog smell, I'd inhale loudly and proclaim it to be "Iowa Gold".  Then in Nebraska, same reaction going past feed lots, but I'd respond "Nebraska Gold."

But, back to the subject matter.....I don't find speed alone to be the important factor in whether a driver is "safe".  Going lots faster than the other traffic is the issue.  If everyone is running close to the same speed, it's safer than having just a few going 15-20 over.

 

[Alie&Jim's Carrilite]

23 hours ago, NDBirdman said:

Typed out a snarky reply but erased it.  Driving fast through ND, your missing some very nice small towns just off the road, most with free or cheap camping, great fishing, friendly locals, etc.  Ya ever seen a car/truck after a moose has crossed your path?  Not worth driving fast.  I tell folks, and yes it's a very old saying, slow down and smell the roses, well, except when going by the hog barns along hiway 2..... LOL  I'm just down the road.

I cover a territory from Redwood Falls MN to west of Billings, Canadian border to south of Rapid City, and west to Powell Wy every work season.  I'm crisscrossing the area on interstates, US roads, state roads, and the better and worse county gravel roads weekly.  I've seen the and eaten in many of the small town bars and restaurants along the way.  

[NDBirdman]

After reading that, I can't get a song out of my head, I think it was sang by Johnny Cash..... LOL, now I'll have to figure that one out.

[Kirk W]

Having grown up in a rural area that today has less population than it had in the 50's and attending school in a town that today is only a little more than half the population of what it had then, and later in life living in some of the larger cities and more populated states, I often marvel at how those who have never lived in a rural community think of sparsely populated areas as having nobody there. As ignorant of city life as many rural folks may be, they know far more about what is in the cities than city folk do about rural life.    😏

I think that the main reason neither of these ever really learn much of the other is that each of them believe that they already know, and for that reason learn very little of each other. 

EDIT:  I've Been Everywhere, Johnny Cash

Edited February 11, 2022 by Kirk W

[Darryl&Rita]

Hank Snow, maybe? Johnny did a cover, but Hank was the original. 

 

[Kirk W]

41 minutes ago, Darryl&Rita said:

Hank Snow, maybe?

I had forgotten that one but do remember it now!

[NDBirdman]

Not being a country song fan, I've not heard that one from Hank Snow.  Johnny I have heard sing that one though.

[NDBirdman]

11 hours ago, Kirk W said:

 I often marvel at how those who have never lived in a rural community think of sparsely populated areas as having nobody there. As ignorant of city life as many rural folks may be, they know far more about what is in the cities than city folk do about rural life.    😏

I think that the main reason neither of these ever really learn much of the other is that each of them believe that they already know, and for that reason learn very little of each other.

I've lived half n half, city/rural.  I think your statement is correct but I will add, I've been amazed in folks from both areas as just how (uninformed) most are about what's in the world.  I've gotten blank stares from folks when I tell them there's more to life than what you see in your little area, get out and see the world!  Life does not end at the county line.... LOL  And I say that because that's how I grew up, until I left and never looked back.  RVr's, other than the weekend warriors that never leave their local area, RVr's know what I mean!

[Kirk W]

38 minutes ago, NDBirdman said:

And I say that because that's how I grew up, until I left and never looked back. 

You and I have much in common that way. When I graduated HS I had seen perhaps half of Kansas and 1/4 of MO. The largest city that I had ever been in at that time was Topeka, KS. I have relatives even today who have had only superficial tourist type experiences outside of the state of their birth. Most of us who are citizens of the USA are really not well traveled internationally. I have seen only enough of other countries to make me realize just how little of the world I have actually experienced. 

Edited February 12, 2022 by Kirk W