I don’t think it’s in you’re head. I’ve driven across most of the U.S. and have lived in major cities that are known for their traffic/bad drivers, and Texas, by a long shot, had some of the worst drivers I’ve seen across the U.S. Same experience as you, reckless speeding, drivers running red lights and making unsafe lane changes in massive pick up trucks.
This might have to do with an old law that was changed around 2008-2010ish that allowed permitted drivers to skip the physical driver’s test if they opted to learn through the parent taught driver’s ed program (the driver’s parents could essentially just sign a form saying the driver had enough hours of driving experience which would allow them to waive the in person driving test).
I've lived in the DC area, the Bay Area, visited NYC, and various other cities in the US. I lived in Brussels, Belgium for almost eight years, and in that time we visited many countries in Europe, including London, Edinburgh, Berlin, Paris, Rome, and Naples, among many others. I've also lived in Austin since 2006.
I wouldn't say the drivers here are the worst in the US. In my experience, that would be DC, NYC, and the Bay Area. The bigger cities seem to attract the worse drivers, and those are like bad apples that spoil the bunch. Because Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio drivers are all worse than Austin drivers.
But US drivers are not anywhere remotely as close to the bad drivers in Europe. My skills learned the hard way in Brussels stood me in good stead when we went to Paris and Rome, the two places where I've seen the worst drivers I've ever encountered.
Yes, Texas is the land that inspired the Canyonero, and other giant size SUVs. Today, I'd be terrified to drive anything that wasn't nearly the same height, even if it's not nearly as long. And yes, Austin has the worst stretch of Highway in the country, known as I-35. Anyone who has driven in Austin for any reasonable period of time knows to avoid I-35 like the plague. But MoPac and 360 aren't all that much better -- especially with all the construction that is and will continue to be happening on 360 for the next several years.
IMO, the drivers aren't the big problem here in Austin. The big problem would be the combination of the extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) and the continuing piss poor performance of ERCOT, the organization responsible for running the Texas electric grid.
There are plenty of good things to do here, except when things like SXSW comes to town. That's when you want to make sure to take your vacation and get at least 50-100 miles away. And good live music is happening all over town, not just down on the tourist-happy 6th street.
This might have to do with an old law that was changed around 2008-2010ish that allowed permitted drivers to skip the physical driver’s test if they opted to learn through the parent taught driver’s ed program (the driver’s parents could essentially just sign a form saying the driver had enough hours of driving experience which would allow them to waive the in person driving test).