Subject: Driving in New Mexico - Albuquerque

From: NHnNM <[email-masked]>
Date: 11 Sep 1995 20:03:04 GMT

The driving habits of the locals has gone from not too good to 
horrendous.  Autos are in terrible condition & there's no chance that
this will change because there are no vehicle inspection laws in 
place here - you can drive with faulty tires, no tail or headlights,
even no back window - you will not be stopped, it's not illegal. You 
can well imagine the condition of the majority of the cars on the
road here.  However, the young people do have their "low riders" & 
other cars all chromed out & shiny...I doubt they have insurance
either.  I believe they spend all their (or someone's) extra money
on making their cars look good & do not insure them. Makes one wonder
how they do that. All that is checked here at license renewal time is
the "emissions" - that's it. You don't even have to show proof of
insurance; you are asked if you have insurance & all you have to do 
is say "yes".  And all you have to do is look at the autos on our city 
streets to know which ones do not have insurance.  

Only 50% of those driving here have insurance. And yes, we have the 
highest rate of insurance & accidents, and not only from drunk
drivers.  It is from inconsiderate drivers, with bad attitudes and 
complete disregard for the other drivers & the laws of the road - not 
to mention the speed limits.  That's a whole other story!

We have people just plow through red lights with little regard
for the oncoming traffic & many a traffic fatality has resulted; 
people who weave in & out of traffic (and they's not drunk either;
imagine those that are!); people follow too close at high rates of 
speed; drivers do not use their turn indicators to change lanes or 
turn; they just maneuver every which way with disregard for those 
following them. The natives still have that small town mentality when this 
place has become a metropolitan area - new people moving in daily & 
tourists flood the city.  People here - young and old - drive as 
though they were the only ones on the road, and the only ones heading
for a particular destination.  

I doubt this will change in the near future.  Everyone thinks of
him or herself only, they don't pay attention to their driving and
their attitude that the laws of the road are for someone else, not
them.  I find that if you drive the posted speed limit (or even 5 mi
over) everyone will pass you as if you were standing still!  Let them
get around & away from you I say.

---

From: [email-masked] (Tom Welsh)
Date: 12 Sep 1995 10:21:43 GMT

>get around & away from you I say.

Lived there ten years, just moved 2 1/2 years ago. Its the only place I 
ever lived where you were afraid to be the third car running a red light 
NOT because of getting a ticket or being hit by the car with the green 
light at the intersection, but because of the two other guys behind you 
who just hit 65mph and will center punch you if you hit the brakes. Auto 
theft/burglary is real bad, gang initiations often choose a particular 
car to steal/trash and drunk indians from the reservation are abundant. 
I do miss the balloon fiesta and driving in the Sandias. The rest of it 
they can keep.

---

From: [email-masked] (Mark Reis)
Date: 12 Sep 1995 19:14:21 -0700

NHnNM ([email-masked]) wrote:
: The driving habits of the locals has gone from not too good to 
: horrendous.  Autos are in terrible condition & there's no chance that
: this will change because there are no vehicle inspection laws in 
: place here - you can drive with faulty tires, no tail or headlights,
: even no back window - you will not be stopped, it's not illegal. You 
: can well imagine the condition of the majority of the cars on the
: road here.  However, the young people do have their "low riders" & 
: other cars all chromed out & shiny...I doubt they have insurance
: either.  I believe they spend all their (or someone's) extra money
: on making their cars look good & do not insure them. Makes one wonder
: how they do that. All that is checked here at license renewal time is
: the "emissions" - that's it. You don't even have to show proof of
: insurance; you are asked if you have insurance & all you have to do 
: is say "yes".  

I was asked to provide proof of insurance when pulled over in Albq.

:And all you have to do is look at the autos on our city 
: streets to know which ones do not have insurance.  
 
Really?  Neat trick.  Good thing I'm lucky enough to drive a vehicle
NOT in terrible condition, or I may have been cited for having no insurance.

: Only 50% of those driving here have insurance.
  What is your source?

: And yes, we have the 
: highest rate of insurance & accidents, and not only from drunk
: drivers.  
 
 Again, what is your source?

: It is from inconsiderate drivers, with bad attitudes and 
: complete disregard for the other drivers & the laws of the road - not 
: to mention the speed limits.  That's a whole other story!

 [ranting deleted]

: I doubt this will change in the near future.  Everyone thinks of
: him or herself only, they don't pay attention to their driving and
: their attitude that the laws of the road are for someone else, not
: them.  
 
Everyone?

My, but you sound just a slight bit jaded.  Seriously, after moving to the
Bay Area (from New Mexico - Los Alamos), I can't offer you my sympathy.
Do yourself a favor;  take a trip to the Bay Area, or LA, Phoenix, heck,
anywhere more 'urbanized' than Albq, and gain some perspective.  Then, 
itemize the cost of the trip.  Expense it as 'shoulder-chip removal'.
-- 
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