Friendly Question for Non-Americans

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So, I was driving today with my mom from her place to mine, and yesterday when I did it I got honked at a bit, but today traffic was lighter so we didn't have to worry about it, and this - along with my line of work at Sherwin-Williams - got me thinking: what's the social atmosphere like in other countries? So many people seem impatient, rude, disrespectful, and entitled - among other things - in this country, and I'm wondering if they're much more pleasant to be around in a lot of other countries. So what's up in Russia, or the U.K., Germany, France, China, etc?

I actually found America to be much more patient when I last visited (Florida, specifically), when it comes to driving.

Here, it seems like almost everyone has made the decision that they're the only important person on the road. I drive daily and my drives are constantly full of people using the wrong lane to cut in front of me suddenly, far too close to my car, to get ahead a bit. I'm always getting tail gated for doing the speed limit rather than going over it. I very frequently have cars pull out in front of me.

The last time we were in Florida, my aunt didn't realise that US traffic lights have sensors and only go green if they can feel the car waiting. She stopped a little too far back from the sensor and for two or three turns the light didn't go green, until she realised and drove forward a bit. Nobody honked at all - everyone waited behind her patiently - and this is with a hire car that showed no sign that we were foreign so people weren't even staying calm because they knew we didn't understand.

Have always heard that mainland Europeans are more impatient and speed more than do Americans. Americans coast to a stop at red lights, and then wait, and then gently accelerate when it turns green. French race at full throttle and screetch to halt at a red light.And take off at full throttle when it turns green. And traffic lights are just decorations in Italy because no one in Italy observes them at all. You just charge into an intersection honking as you go, and hope to not hit anyone has you force your way through.

Some lights have sensors, but not all of them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traffic_light_control_and_coordination

I come from a small town in Canada and it has been my experience that the level of social politeness is directly related to how much is going on in people’s lives. Generally speaking, people from smaller communities seem to be more relaxed and easy going where as people who live in large cities are too busy with their own issues that they don’t see others as anything but obstacles for them to overcome. This also has a lot to do with how many people you have to face in a day.

When I’m calm and relaxed I’m quite polite. But when I’ve got a thousand things going through my mind I may only stop if you are in my way and that may only be to tell you to move from my path.

I'm from England. I haven't driven outside of the UK so might be hard to judge. But people seem to be more impatient in bigger cities, and especially during rush hours. Most people are fine but you get the odd person who is really aggressive.

I went for a walk the other day and some fiend beeped at me because they had to wait a whole six seconds to drive, I had began crossing the road before they even approached the turn so I don't get why they bothered beeping, it was quite rude I felt.

Here in Britain, plenty of people are "impatient, rude, disrespectful, and entitled" but there's a difference of style- we tend to mutter rather than yell. Which is a lot less in-your-face, but the relentless condescencion and sarcasm gets to you in other ways. Autistic people are stereotyped as not "getting" sarcasm, but it was my native language until I deliberately unlearned it: I swear no one in my home town ever gave a sincere compliment in their lives.

Wow, thanks for the input guys. I guess it really is mostly a large city thing, huh? I'd really like to check out some places in Florida sometime (here in Colorado and also in Texas, drivers are very rude and impatient), so it might be a little refreshing.