I’m giving up hope. The problems are too deep-seated. Here’s an example of what I mean:
Over the summer, I did some driving in northern England. Heading into a largish city on a major road at rush hour, I ran into a long line of cars. OK, nothing surprising about that. But there was another lane to the left, going in the same direction, and absolutely no one was on it. I had no idea why, but I figured the locals must know, so I patiently stayed in the right lane. A half mile and several minutes later, I saw that the left lane became a bus only lane. That whole time, not a single car went by on the left.
It occurred to me at that point that in the States, the whole scene would have been very different. Sure, some people would have dutifully gotten into the right lane well ahead of time and waited, but a whole lot would have zoomed right past all those waiting cars and tried to nose in at the merging point, further slowing everybody down.
It’s a cultural problem. We don’t view driving as a cooperative, community endeavor. It’s a competitive sport in which you try to get ahead at everyone else’s expense. That same spirit of “individualism” is what makes us feel entitled to do whatever else we feel like doing while we drive. It’s what keeps us from imposing the same rigorous and obligatory pre-licencing training required by many other countries.
I have no idea how you can change such a culture. Bring on the self-driving cars, I say.