Worst Drivers in the Nation Live in Owensboro, Ky

January 2, 2025 editor 416 Views 0 Comments

Owensboro, Ky – Many cities in the nation claim to have the worst drivers in the nation, but no city can beat the claims by those who live in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Louisville (Jefferson County) is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and has the largest number of motor vehicles. Lexington (Fayette County) is located near the junction of heavily traveled Interstates 75 and 64, and five U.S. highways also pass through the city. Bowling Green (Warren County) has Interstate 65 and an I-165 spur that extends from Bowling Green to Owensboro. But none of these locations compare to the incomparable stress and aggravation experienced by the residents of Owensboro (Daviess County).

Owensboro, Ky is a city of 60,000+ citizens located on the Ohio river in Daviess County, 80 miles south west of Louisville, Ky, 71 miles north west from Bowling Green, Ky, and about 38 miles south of Evansville, In. In other words it is pretty much an hour away from true civilization in any direction.

This isolation from having to navigate normal driving in traffic as experienced in other cities has resulted in many driving peculiarities taking a foot hold in the population of this remote city in the middle of nowhere.

Toyotas and Hondas

Now, you might be tempted to think that the bad drivers are going to be the elderly. But they comprise only 18% of the city’s population.

Additionally, they didn’t get to be old by being stupid. The elderly have been observed to actually keep their slow traffic in the right hand lanes. No, it’s not the elderly who are the problem.

Observations by Owensboro drivers has been that the majority of the culprits involved in such moronic driving has been Toyota and Honda drivers. Now not all Toyota and Honda drivers are bad at driving but it has been noticed that the majority of them at the steering wheel are apparently mouth breathing, slack jawed, face tattooed, extremely obese, Kool-Aid heads (hair streaks the color of blue, purple, red, orange or yellow Kool-Aid). And that’s just the women.

What seems to vaguely pass for ‘male’ Toyota or Honda drivers are what can only be described as unfocused, low-testosterone, scruffy bearded, man-bunned, skinny jean wearing cucked humans, commonly displaying vacuous, vacant expressions as they drive their girlfriend’s or wife’s sidepiece around town.

The worst of the worst are the Toyota Prius drivers. Dominic Bartolone sums it up nicely in his article;

It’s Their First Car — Yes, it’s the only car they’ve ever known. Six weeks earlier they were driving a white Prius with a large “AAA driving school” sticker on the door. They now believe that since this is the first car they learned to drive, it’s the only car they can drive. But they couldn’t be more wrong. They don’t know how to drive!

There is even a study done by the Institute of Personality and Social Research at the University of California Berkeley which links the poorest driving habits to Toyota Prius drivers.

What they found is that people in Toyotas were much more likely to flout traffic laws, impede traffic unnecessarily, exercise exaggerated traffic spacing, park across three parking spaces, and go when it’s not their turn at intersections.

Race to be the Slowest

This is a common daily occurrence all over the city of Owensboro. After interviewing many professional drivers (CDL common carriers, delivery drivers, courier and bus drivers) in the Owensboro and surrounding area (Evansville, In, Bowling Green, Ky, Louisville, Ky) it was discovered that this is a phenomenon that only occurs with such regularity in Owensboro. It has become such a nuisance that many professional drivers have discontinued or severely restricted their travels into Owensboro because of this phenomenon.

You’re at the stop light traveling north on US 231 (New Hartford Rd) and 60 Bypass. The speed limit in the area is 55 mph. You find yourself behind a Toyota that’s first in the left hand lane and there’s a Honda that’s first in the right hand lane. The light turns green. You start to accelerate normally and suddenly discover that the Toyota is accelerating so slowly that you have to hit your brakes to avoid rear-ending them. Then you notice that the Honda is accelerating just as slowly, if not even slower. Then you notice that neither driver is even attempting to get anywhere near the 55 mph speed limit, but have topped out at 35 mph and the Toyota makes no attempt to get into the right hand lane and get out of your way ignoring the “slower traffic keep right” rule.

And the likelihood is very high that the Toyota and the Honda will remain side by side traveling at least 15 mph below whatever the given speed limit all the way to the Ohio river.

Facts: Fuel Consumption and Acceleration:

Engine Efficiency: Extremely slow acceleration will reduce fuel savings as the engine stays in lower gears or less efficient operating ranges for an extended period.
Traffic Considerations: Accelerating too slowly disrupts traffic flow, causing other drivers to brake and re-accelerate, which indirectly impacts overall fuel efficiency.

Extremely slow acceleration will result in gas saving losses compared to normal acceleration. In fact, extreme or exaggerated slow acceleration wastes just as much gas as ‘jack rabbit’ acceleration. Accelerating too slowly for too long will reduce savings due to less efficient engine operation during prolonged low speeds. A normal acceleration is often the most efficient and practical choice.

Improperly Used Bypass/Interstate On Ramps

According to the Kentucky State Driver’s Manual, Page 44, an on-ramp is supposed to be used to accelerate to the speed of the traffic that will be merged with, and merge at the correct speed with the pre-existing traffic on the bypass or interstate. This is why the on-ramp is more correctly referred to as the ‘acceleration lane’.

This simple procedure seems to present a great difficulty for Owensboro drivers, particularly those Toyota and Honda drivers mentioned earlier.

They seem to be incapable of attaining the correct merging speed of 65 to 70 mph depending on the location being merged into while simultaneously judging an appropriate merge point into traffic. Instead they choose to poke along the on-ramp at approximately 35 mph until they get to the end of the on-ramp and only then trying to merge into 65 mph traffic,… at 35 mph.

In Kentucky, drivers are generally expected to merge onto highways safely and without disrupting the flow of traffic. This expectation aligns with the principles outlined in Kentucky Revised Statutes § 189.340, which mandates that a vehicle should not be moved from its lane until the driver has first ascertained that the movement can be made with safety.

Improper merging that leads to accidents or disrupts traffic flow, including blocking trailing motor vehicles from reaching appropriate merging speeds in an acceleration lane, could potentially be cited under statutes related to reckless driving or failure to yield.

NOTE TO LAW ENFORCEMENT: The appropriate charging language is; The defendant operated their motor vehicle upon the highway in a careless manner, without regard for the safety of other vehicles upon the acceleration lane and highway to be merged upon, in that the defendant did not properly accelerate their motor vehicle in the on-ramp acceleration lane located at ______________ onto ________________ to the posted speed limit of ___ mph, so that they may safely move from their acceleration lane of travel and merge into traffic on ___________________ which has a posted speed limit of ____ mph.

Proper use of acceleration lanes is essential for merging onto highways at a speed that matches the flow of traffic, thereby ensuring safety and minimizing disruptions. While the law may not specify the exact manner of acceleration, failure to merge safely could potentially lead to citations for unsafe driving practices. It’s crucial for drivers to use acceleration lanes to reach appropriate speeds before merging, as this practice contributes to overall road safety and compliance with general traffic regulations.

And yes, these people do use the off-ramps incorrectly too. They seem to think that it’s appropriate to reduce their speed on the bypass or interstate to 35 mph about a mile before they reach the off-ramp. The proper name for the off-ramps is ‘deceleration lane’, and yes, you are supposed to decelerate on them and not on the bypass or interstate.

The improper use of these acceleration/deceleration lanes is extremely dangerous.

Stop Lines/Bars and Traffic Light Sensors

The stop line is indicated by the yellow arrow in this picture. The traffic signal ground loop is indicated by the red arrows in this picture. Note that the bus is correctly stopped at the stop line in this picture.

You are driving along on East 25th St. approaching J.R. Miller Blvd with the intention of making a left turn onto J. R. Miller Blvd. As you come to the light you see that ahead of you first at the traffic light is an apparent moron who doesn’t understand, or care, how the traffic lights operate and what causes them to change.

As you contemplate the vivid neon green haired driver and how their Toyota is sloping down to the left side from apparent obesity, you find that they have stopped about ten feet from the stop line. You quickly realize that you’re going to be trapped at this light for quite a while because the moronic driver has deprived the traffic light loop sensor of the information it needs to signal a light change.

Do they mistakenly think that they are being ‘safer’ somehow? They’re not. In fact, it’s illegal what they’re doing. Take note the the Kentucky Revised Statutes state that you are to ” stop at a clearly marked stop line.” Not ten feet before you reach it.

“AT” the stop line.

KRS 189.338 Limitation of colored lights used in traffic-control signals — Rules for vehicular and pedestrian traffic controlled by traffic-control signals — (3) Steady red indication. (a) Vehicular traffic facing a circular red signal alone shall stop at a clearly marked stop line but, if none, then before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection or, if none, then before entering the intersection and shall remain standing until a green indication is shown…

Cities generally set traffic light ground loop sensors to detect multiple vehicles in order to trip the light. This is why traffic signal ground loops are sized to accommodate two or more vehicles. Loops work in tandem with additional loops farther back in the lane to estimate queue length. Cities program sensors to prioritize higher traffic flows by waiting for a second vehicle to arrive before triggering a change. However, this is more common in non-peak hours or in areas with low traffic demand to prevent unnecessary signal changes.

Conclusion

While these are the top three complaints about Owensboro drivers, they’re not all the complaints. Here are some of the others mentioned.

Driver’s;

not knowing how to proceed at 3 or 4 way stops
not knowing when they have the right of way or not (you’re waiting to make a left turn and traffic opposite you have no signal indicating they’re going straight across, and they just sit there)
causing exaggerated delays at green lights because of;
- playing with their cell phones in their lap while driving (at least we think that’s the cause, some suggested/wonder if they’re masturbating)
- after being told by driver instructors to wait two (2) seconds at a change to a green light to avoid red light violators, the moronic overachievers wait up to thirty (30) seconds because they think it makes them appear to be ‘safer’.
failing to keep their slower traffic in the right most lanes (yes, this rule applies on inner city streets too)
putting on makeup, fixing hair, eating, talking on cell phones while driving
drinking alcohol while driving, 1,832 arrests in the past ten (10) years, 1,405 Males, 427 Females (Yes, Owensboro is quite the city of drunkards)

As you sit there fuming and trying not to be a victim of road rage that these morons are inducing, you wonder why these Owensboro drivers are acting this way. Drugs? Improperly educated by a driving teacher, or parent? Just simply the product of a common core educa,… err, indoctrination? Inferior genetic make-up because their family tree looks like a stick?

Certainly, there are other cities that are hell to drive in. No argument there. But, when it comes to Owensboro, Ky, it can only be described as the equivalent to a hemorrhoid on Satan’s anus in that hellscape.

Sources:

https://transportation.ky.gov/HighwaySafety/Documents/2006_ky_drivers_manual.pdf

https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/owensborocitykentucky/PST045223

https://medium.com/@Nostradommie/7-reasons-why-prius-owners-are-bad-drivers-a860c318b1d7

https://cde.ucr.cjis.gov/LATEST/webapp/#/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend