I've clearly been on the east coast long enough to become an east coast driver

100% the same here. When I visit my mother on the other coast of Florida I go insane with the driving. The residents and tourists on my side tend to be east coast and drive appropriately (or we have driven them off the road /terrified them to stay home) and on the other side they tend to be mid-western and the driving makes me weep.

On the east coast FL to NY yearly trips I also have always taken the city driving (DC, Philly,etc) and DH takes the endless rolling hills or horrors of PA highways for the sake of my sanity. City driving keeps me alert.

Not clicking the linky.

I'm gonna say East Coast drivers are equally batty making to me, a Los Angeles driver. Go faster, MERGE, red means stop and GREEN means go. Ahem.

I can't disagree. LA driving was a positively civilized experience. There are just too many cars for the available routes.

OMG, people in DC/VA who go to the end of the on ramp and then STOP and wait for an opening.

A Chicago quirk that catches people by surprise and has actually changed how I drive is that yellow lights only last for a three-count.

OMG, people in DC/VA who go to the end of the on ramp and then STOP and wait for an opening.

My most hated driving thing! I can forgive a lot but that one drives me up a wall. Actually, most of my driving rage is caused by failure to merge one way or another. Merging is an important skill, drivers, learn it!

OMG, people in DC/VA who go to the end of the on ramp and then STOP and wait for an opening.

The Worst! I have come close on more than one occasion to rear ending someone on a ramp for this insanity. Of course some wacky engineers have decided to put a light at the end of ramps to control traffic volume. Weeps.

A Chicago quirk that catches people by surprise and has actually changed how I drive is that yellow lights only last for a three-count.

The Denver area has long yellow lights, which still mess with my brain. A ton of cars fly through like it is a contest to see how many can get through before it turns red. I've had people honk at me if I dare to stop before it turns red.

Random side note to traffic issues. It has been 6 months since I have driven on I-95. Instead I take the beach road and it has been slower but so much less stress.

This weekend I charted my potential routes for driving to NY for the summer and the highway route is ~22 hrs and the off highway options are ~30 hours. I decided it was worth it. Less chance for catastrophe and a change of scenery from a route I have done many dozens of times. Instead of staying in a hotel 1 night I am thinking 3, broken into fairly even chunks, with the 4th leg a short one from NYC to Otter Lake. First leg from home to Savannah to visit my niece. 2nd leg to Charlottesville (bats eyes at Zenkitty). 3rd leg to Staten Island to stay with my wonderful SIL and maybe kidnap her and take her with me upstate.

The notion is to arrive feeling like I have been on vacation instead of arriving tense and exhausted from two very long days of highway traffic.

That sounds nice, Laura. Always better to be able to enjoy the driving part of the trip rather than just enduring it until you get where you are going.