This thread on the Honolulu Advertiser's website got me thinking (aside from the racial slurs made in that thread ):

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/bo...?threadid=5216

I was driving from Downtown to Kahala on the freeway last evening at around sunset in the farthest left lane (the "fast" lane) on the freeway when I noticed in front of me a visitor's car (marked by the rental characteristics and family inside) which was driving at about 45 mph (speed limit is 50 in town) and a bust-up car tailing it extremely closely. The bust-up car obviously got impatient, swerved into the middle lane (not completely either), passed the rental and immediately applied his breaks causing those in the rental to freak out (and so did I). We went from 45 mph to about 30 mph. I could tell those in the rental were furious, waving their middle fingers and what not... So much for driving with Aloha.

I hope none of you are expericing anything like this on your visits to the Islands. Any experiences with jerks on the roads or road rage in Honolulu?

aloha

Slippahs....

We learned how to drive in NYC and now drive mostly in NJ. The locals don't have anything on us as far as insane driving skills go.

I'll never forget our drive to Hana. People were pulling over to let US pass, thinking we were locals they had been asked to be mindful of and move to the side.

So, no, we haven't run into any kind of a problem with drivers. If anything, the locals are far tamer drivers than we are accustomed to .

Mary

This behavior is an every day occurance here in Boston!

Agreed!

I do remember driving in Boston. Not something I'll ever do again!

I guess I haven't drive on the Mainland as much. Perhaps I encounter more incidences of road rage because I have to hit the roads every day or I'm just close-minded that I don't realize how much more severe things are on the Mainland (e.g., Ohio shootings). Hmm...

aloha

Yes. Inconsiderate drivers seem to be the norm in the DC-Baltimore corridor as well. Although to be fair, 19 out of 20 drivers still have a certain amount of courtesy.

I had to learn some patience on the roadway myself when I started taking regular visits to Honolulu.

I think Honoulu has a dynamic you dont find a lot of places. Lets take the typical motorist in Honolulu....I dont think you can. Honolulu has drivers literally from all over the world all with different local driving practices. I say Honolulu specifically because of the higher concentration of tourist traffic there as opposed to other islands that just dont get as many people per square mile as Honolulu.

I think that is a big reason for why there are such outbursts on the road but for sure doesnt justify it. My personal observation is that the more dense the population the more tension in the air, Hawaii has and still does have a much lower percentage of this sort of thing (IMO) but with the world shrinking all the time it unfortunately will creep in. That is just my two cents. Now I guess it is up to us "civilized" people to help set things in the right direction?

Actually, even though we drive like NJ drivers when we first get to HNL, after a while, we calm down.

What generally happens is we become accustomed to courteous drivers. They let us pass, turn, etc.. When we're pedestrians, they always stop to let us cross a parking lot. No one jaywalks. People look at us funny if we run across Kalakaua when the light is red (and there aren't any cars coming).

When we get home we have to remind ourselves, particularly in a mall parking lot, that if we just keep on walking MOST PEOPLE WILL NOT STOP. In other words, the aloha of the islands does not happen in NJ. You're lucky if they let you cross when it's raining or snowing.

Mary

The Advertiser recently had an article that questioned the safety and effiency of some prototypical local driving habits. I was thrilled to see my driving frustrations in print.

For me, I would be shocked to see a local car drive that aggressively - not that it can't happen, but in my experience it's not the norm. The norm is driving slow in the left lane on H1, stopping in the middle of a block (and backing everyone up behind) to let a car turn left in front, etc.

I'm usually the one frustrated and (perish the thought) sometimes honking!

So that was you on the H-1 today??

Drive Aloha

aloha