I do not know about confiscation or damages to equipment, but let me confirm, after yearly 3 months stays in Israel, the rest of the issues raised in the article are quit accurate. What the article fails to point out is the fact that the Israeli HIGHWAY SYSTEM IS NOT TOURIST FRIENDLY. The signage is installed on poles or painted on the road as if only meant for locals, who should know where they are going, possibly riding a donkey cart, but not for people driving at 60, 80, or 100Km/h. I would think that with a bit of consideration from the part of the authorities, other drivers, with aggressive enforcement of the law, by revoking licenses from repeat offenders and various candy and stick measures, the number of accidents could be reduced so that the loss of life, injuries damage to the economy would be significantly less than the cost of implementation of various, simple recommendations or is it that some segment of the economy benefits from current situation?

I drive in both Israel and the US. I actually find it easier to drive in Israel and I do in either New York City or South Florida. I also have a pace maker and cannot simply walk through the scanning device. I find that the Israeli security personel are much better than American and would rather go through an Israeli security point that an American one.

As someone that spends about a month a year in Israel for work and pleasure, I'm very familiar with Israeli drivers. I think you could pluck your average Israeli cab driver and he could probably win a Formula One race on his first try. Although Israeli drivers are aggressive, I put most of the blame on very poorly engineered roads and signage (or lack thereof) Look at the insane traffic situation in Herzliya near the Mall where you have 5-6 lanes all of a sudden compressing to 2 lanes and it's a free-for-all. Look at the lack of safety measures during road construction and just generally confusing signage. I do like that the traffic lights turn yellow when you're at a red light to let you know it's about to turn green and it's funny when people honk before it even turns green.

The State Department issues the same warning over spirited drivers for other Mediterranean countries, especially Greece and Italy. Crime? State Department has the same "dire" warnings for travelers going to several Eastern European countries and Central and South America, most notably Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. It's common knowledge that you NEVER leave important documents in your car whenever you travel, and rental cars are the first hit by thieves.

.....Is new ?

should worry more about missing every suicide plane bomber on usa planes, about missing the 9/11 terrorists, about missing terror plots on usa soil and about a complete american stupidity of missing very very obvious signs of terror suspects that plan acts against the usa planes and soil......and less about israel and its petty hate towards that country. the usa talking about crime, theft, checkpoints?????? especially the "inconvenience" of check points resulting in long waits for tourists??? if you americans did half the checkpoints israelis do in your airports, you wouldn't have had the almost disaster of a northwestern plane bombed in mid air on top of one of ytour cities. please, do not be rediculous and venomous, concentrate on your own failings which are miserable in the security depatment. you want your usa tourists to be safe in israel, yet complain that they have to bear long waits at checkpoints???? now that is hypocritical. your aviation lets terrorists go through checkpoints to blow up your planes in mid air, but you complain about long waits at israeli checkpoints???? do you, or don't you, want your usa tourists to be safe in israel???? you decide. the state department, the forever and most anti israel and antisemitic department in the usa government. they never miss an opportunity to put this little country down. hameed aboughaze, iranian

Of course there is no crime in the U.S. and my friend Dr. Harry Lewner was not killed by a hit and run driver a week and a half ago in Bay Ridge,Brooklyn. My uncle did not have his factory robbed six times in five months. None of this happened. Okay so it happened and the killings in schools,malls,the streets,ect. in the U.S. makes it a safer place than Israel. Not to mention serial killings and kidnappings. The state department is a long time enemy of both Israel and the U.S. and has gotten worse under hitlery clinton. Some day a good President and Congress will close it down and replace it with a department of people loyal to both the U.S. and it's allies. And the new secretary of that department will not be one of the biggest fools in the world.

It's a statistically proven fact that Arabs are involved in traffic accidents way beyond their percentage of the population and they are involved in car and other theft way beyond their percentage of the population too. My father was pickpocketed by Arabs in Israel: They cut off his whole back pocket. Luckily they were caught red-handed.

travelers have to undergo security checks when entering the country? Wow! ... I think the security checks when entering the US are more famous - and feared... I guess, for an European it is much easier to enter Israel than the US.

when traffic and the level of crime SUCK in most major US cities. I drive in Israel all the time and have no problem.

all of them want to be the first and nobody care about the others. If they use the brakes instead the honk there would less accidents. The cementery is full of speedy israelis.

I was a tourist in israel 7 yrs ago and, quite frankly, the security, despite a series of suicide bombings, was never ever intrusive. The security personnel were always polite and thourough without ever being rude .. not at the airport, not at the checkpoints, not at the bus stations, not at the knesset, not anywhere The drivers .. well, I'm from Delhi .. the israeli drivers cannot really scare anyone from Delhi :)

I have been driving in Israel for over 60 years and Israel has the worst drivers ever. Half of the drivers should not be on road, they are a menace.

with the exception of Asian countries, Israel drivers/driving is the worst in the modern world. Complete disregard everday, fostering a followers attitude rather than one of safe driving. Police are not doing their job, obviously - as noone takes driving laws to seriously...double park wherever I want? no problem....reverse because I missed my exit?...no problem....3 lane cut-offs? no problem....

As a U.S. trained driver with over 30 years of US driving experience in some of the worst states, I cannot take issue with the State Dept. assessment, now that I live and drive here. The criticisms are on point. Try leaving sufficient between car distance and a rude Israeli will inevitably cut in front of you, without signaling, of course. One root of the problem is the stupid instruction method whereby students get insufficient practice time and too many so-called lessons in the hands of instructors who have a pecuniary interest in seeing their students fail a few times so they can rack up more lessons, and money!

Drivers here are generally much more aggressive than those in the US. I found this out during my last visit to the US. I visited the US after having lived in Israel for about 3 years and after having driven in the US for about 15 years prior, in a number of states. Every time I drove, I had a constant slightly paranoid feeling that other drivers were going to cut me off just like they do in Israel, only to be taken aback by the comparative politeness. It was very disconcerting how used to aggression I had become.

Driving in Israel is an interesting experience. I find it ironic that Israelis have to take 28 driving lessons, yet they learn the worst habbits .Most frightening is the passing situation on 2-lane highways. Then there are the Egged drivers tailgating tiny cars. I always wondered why the slow drivers don't just speed up or pull over to let the other one pass.

Selfishness is the reason for the vast majority of auto accidents in Israel. Why should Israelis behave any differently on the road than every other place?

Before making Alyah i visited Israel many times . and decided that i will not drive here . I have driven a car in western Europe for 40 years , but to accomodate to the Israeli driving spirit , nothing for me . And , try to park your car in Tel Aviv . Very expensive and time wasting . It's often cheaper to take a taxi .

Yes - Israelis drive pretty badly by no worse than New Yorkers, Italians or Peruvians to name a few other countries I've visited. Is the state department issuing warnings about these other places?

The Germans, hands down. A nation of speed freaks behind the wheel. There were times in Munich, and in the Bavarian countryside, when I felt like I was in a "Mad Max" movie. The Irish run a close 2nd on the road. Our driving habits here in the States are passing mild compared to what I've sampled in Europe.

How is the state dept report false? More Israelis die per capita in car accidents than in other developed countries and more than all Palestinian terror attacks combined. Israeli drivers are aggressive and don't respect rule of law like in other countries. There is no need to be defensive about Israel or paranoid about others criticizing its flaws. Israeli security is a hassle in that it feels like there is no professionalism. In the U.S. there is accountability for how officers interact, but in Israel they are rude and act like gypsies.

After 40 years of motoring in the US, Europe as well without an accident, I can attest that no country has a monopoly in road behavior and/or parking curtesy. The article is quite accurate as far as Israel is concerned.-- Total disregard for the law, rarely enforced. Accurate is the technique that so-called experts take you " for a ride " literally, in order to obtain your license. # times is the 'norm' so they can gouge you $, even if one has a perfect record. This is only the tip of the 'iceberg'. the worst is yet to come when involved in an accident. An ingenious additional layer of Govt. bureaucracy (to pick your pocket) when the garage fixes your car. It's called " Shamai " or appraisor. His job is to keep the garage 'honest' (supposedly). For this service , usually a few minutes, and a cup of coffee, approx 20% or more is added to the bill for this priviledge. This is a rip-off israeli style. I had the unfortunate experience of going to this process. The other party was responsible , while my car was parked.- The damage was approx. 8600 NIS including the Shamai's 1575 NIS Less than 10 min work?

Just as a guess, I'm thinking Israeli drivers--especially cab drivers--are responsible for more people davening with more intensity and kavannah than any rabbi in the country. One cabbie in TA did an illegal U-turn onto the sidewalk, pulled back into traffic going the wrong way and deposited me at the door of my hotel safe and sound. I gave him a 5 shek additional tip just for that U-turn!

Depending on where you are driving its no better or worse than in the USA. All the people complaining never drove in the Boston area. What a bunch of wooses