Our drivers are pretty civil, too.

I think, however, that it has a whole lot to do with the road conditions, and not as much with their "natural demeanor" as I'd like to think. Seems suddenly if I'm on a busy road at a busy time, a lot more drivers are cantankerous. And I'll never forget the amazing difference in drivers when I was doing a century - when we were hugging the shoulder, they were cutting close and zipping by and basically acting ignorant and scaring us to death... as soon as we went two feet out into the lane, they were slowing and passing appropriately. After lunch when I forgot, suddenly the drivers were rude and ignorant again.... until we moved back out. I concluded that the same drivers simply respond almost automatically, and differently, depending on where I am.

ON the otehr hand, drivers around here simply seem more *knowledgeable,* as in they are less likely to swing around and turn right, or misjudge my speed. I think this is because we have a lot of cyclists and other odd vehicles (tractors, farm vehicles, etc).