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By Emily Kaiser in Notable accomplishments by Minnesotans

Tue., Jun. 16 2009 @ 10:08AM

Photo by Matti Mattila

So much for "Minnesota Nice" when our residents get behind the wheel of a car. But let's face it... the comfort of your car is probably the top place to really let your passive aggressive personality shine.

A survey commissioned by AutoVantage ranked Minneapolis/St. Paul No. 5 on their list of least courteous cities to drive in.

Who topped the Twin Cities? New York ranked No. 1 followed by Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, and Atlanta.

The most courteous city? Portland. Seriously. Cleveland, Baltimore, Sacramento, and Pittsburg were also noted for their friendly drivers.

Cities were ranked on pissed off drivers "who overreact and lose their temper, aggressive drivers, cutting into lanes, tailgating, speeding and horn honking."

We've been to plenty of cities with bad and really mean drivers. Would you rank the Twin Cities so close to the top?

Tags: courteous, drivers, Minneapolis, Minnesota, road rage, St. Paul, survey, Twin Cities, worst drivers

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8 comment(s) / Post a Comment

Invision says:

Would think it is do to how crazy our road system is.

Posted On: Tuesday, Jun. 16 2009 @ 6:03PM

MplsMarjorie says:

Gee, they must have been behind the idiot that cut me off this morning. I attribute the driver's cluelessness to the fact that she had her phone shoved next to her ear under her headscarf and did not notice that there are actually white lines on the road to hint where you should drive. Why is driving while dialing still legal????

Posted On: Wednesday, Jun. 17 2009 @ 11:56AM

galamaria says:

I'm embarrassed for my gender on the road, since it seems 90% of the time when a driver does something dumb around me, it's a woman yakking on a cell phone, oblivious to the task right in front of her. Seriously, it makes me cringe to be part of that demographic as a female! I parallel-park like a motherf***er and pay attention to the road!

Posted On: Wednesday, Jun. 17 2009 @ 2:08PM

echoegami says:

It's sad because it wasn't always like this. Twenty years ago MN drivers used to be some of the most courteous. Mom and I always figured it was because of winter driving caused one to be more cautious and courteous due to hazardous conditions and narrowed lanes from piled snow. However, these days it seems that everyone is out to get there first whether it's through that narrowed lane or to that red light or through the intersection... personally, I blame it on the influx of out-staters that came here because they heard what a great city/state we have. Only trouble is, they brought their bad habits and bad attitudes with them.

Posted On: Wednesday, Jun. 17 2009 @ 2:45PM

Froggie says:

The influx of non-natives that echo mentions probably has something to do with it. The rapid increase in congestion over the past 20 years probably has something to do with it. The general shift in society towards a "me first!" attitude probably has something to do with it. Lastly, Minnesotans lack of ability to merge (which itself is spurred by our poorly written state laws on merging) is probably a contributing factor as well.

Posted On: Wednesday, Jun. 17 2009 @ 4:04PM

MplsMarjorie says:

Merging! Oy, don't get me started. On the other hand, love the photo.

Posted On: Wednesday, Jun. 17 2009 @ 4:29PM

night shifter says:

MN. nice has turned to Nasty. The speed limit means nothing. It's not uncommon to see 50% of drivers (during non peak but busy hours), doing 10, 15, even twenty miles over the limit on all metro freeways. If you're not going fast enough for them, they contentiously tailgate 6 inches behind you. It's a "My business is more important than yours," mind set out there. I was recently rear ended at a red light by someone not paying attention because he was on his cell phone. This over inflated sense of self importance makes people bad drivers and just plain jerks. It's unsafe out there and attitudes need to change.

Posted On: Thursday, Jun. 25 2009 @ 6:32AM

mini says:

Blame it on out-of-staters? I moved here from Poughkeepsie, NY in the early 90s, and I am continually dismayed at how much ruder Minnesota drivers are. I see someone run a red light literally every day; I am regularly tailgated despite staying in the right lane AND driving faster than the speed limit. (I'm not one of those folks who camp out in the left lane. It's the *passing lane* -- pass and move over unless traffic's heavy enough to warrant using it as a driving lane.)

I'm surprised to see horn honking cited as a bad behavior, though. Usually it's just a warning ("hey, I'm drivin' here..."). Every time I do a warning beep to let someone know I'm there, I wonder if they're going to take it personally.

I agree w/night shifter, it's egotism and a me-first attitude that makes people jerks on the road. I sometimes suspect also that part of the problem is the multitudes who decide to live further out and get more house for their money: some of them seem to decide that the 45-minute-plus commute they signed on for is too long after all, and they drive faster and more aggressively to try to shave a few minutes off. That's my theory, anyway. It would explain why rude and reckless driving is increasing over the years as suburban sprawl continues to worsen.

Posted On: Monday, Aug. 3 2009 @ 9:56AM