And I thought Midwest drivers were bad ...

They aren't half as bad as drivers in San Francisco.

Living in San Francisco for the past year and a half, I've honked my horn here more times than I ever did while living in the Midwest.

Drivers here don't know what a stop sign or a four-way stop is. They roll right through the intersection without evening turning their heads. They drive as if they're the only ones on the road. These days, I can't assume that a driver will stop or see me stopped at an intersection. This has saved me from numerous fender benders.

Drivers here don't know that a red light means stop before turning right. They roll right around the corner barely slowing down at all, which amazes me as the cross traffic has a green light. I've had a few cars pull out right in front of me in an intersection. One driver luckily had a bus lane to pull into to avoid hitting my car. Another whipped out, not caring at all that he almost hit me. A third car was driven by this woman who had kids in her car!

San Francisco drivers don't understand that a solid line means do not cross. The city has multiple turn lanes that are designated with solid white lines to avoid any confusion, but some people don't seem to understand the simple concept of staying within the same lane while turning the corner.

Drivers here also don't signal their turns or their lane changes. The worst incident occurred the other week when my fiancé was riding his bike home from work. He was riding along when a Porsche made a right turn without signaling, cutting him off. To avoid crashing into the car, he tried to turn and stop but instead found himself thrown over his handlebars, taking a tumble on the pavement. The driver stopped to make sure he was OK (we've heard stories in which drivers have hit people and continued driving on their merry way), and luckily he escaped with only a few cuts and bruises.

Lately, I've realized that I've become my mom when driving. I used to laugh at her when she'd drive and yell at other drivers on the road, even though the other drivers couldn't hear her. I've found myself cursing up a storm at the drivers here. I've also learned to give as good as I get. Impatient drivers will honk and yell at you, especially when the traffic ahead of you is not moving and you don't pull into the intersection because you know the light will change and you'll just end up blocking traffic. I just shake my fist at them and yell back. I once had a yelling match across driving lanes with a balding white guy in a red convertible. Jackass. Can't intimidate this little Asian girl.

Needless to say, my blood pressure goes sky high when I'm driving here. I know, I just have to chill. One day I may run into a driver with a gun and a nasty case of road rage.

San Francisco has these narrow driving lanes that used to freak me out. Now, sometimes I'd like to just reach over and slap some drivers silly.