You can say that again. My wife and I went to Paris for our honeymoon in late December. I can only describe driving over there as a "free for all" or loosely "organized" chaos. I took video from the top of the Arc to show everyone when we got back. I don't know how they do it, i've never experienced anything like that here, anywhere in the US.
As a UK citizen who has driven all over North America (Canada, US and Mexico), I can say with the benefit of real experience that typical NA drivers are actualy more dangerous and sloppy. In general, european drivers are faster - quicker off the mark, and more alert. They follow rules and regulations more exactly, and pay more attention when driving.
I will make an exception for Quebec, where I think they drive to european standards. That said...
In the US (and Ontario where I live), drivers are by comparison, slow off the mark (leaving me fuming behind them on advance greens), slow to give up the overtaking lanes, are very slow to accelerate in merge lanes, go down into valleys slowly (but then accelerate up the corresponding hill on the other side). Slow down to oncoming traffic in the night (and so are accelerating at the only opportunities to pass them), drive with their full-beams on at all times. The list goes on.
I believe that this is due to a combination of factors. One is the large distance between urban centres in the US (and Canada). This leads to drive times which europeans would find astronomical. For example, in the UK, people think it is a day trip from Lincoln to Cleethorpes (46 Miles). This view of distance leads North Americans to drive differently - taking a more relaxed view of the business of driving - "settling in for the long haul".
Another is the standard of enforcement. In NA, people fear the "nanny state", and resist measures intended to promote better driving habits (like relinquishing the passing lane). Some road designs actually prevent safe driving (like stop signs on merge lanes).
Yet another is the poor design of urban centres. Monotonous grids of all-way-stops lead to pretty mindless driving conditions (which also create unnecessary polution), and encourage the need for automatics, which leads to...
The predominance of automatic transmission, which reduces the amount and the quality of attention that drivers pay to the road. When driving stick, one has to look ahead and anticipate much more than when driving a slush-box.
The number of in-car distractions that are acceptable in NA cars - cell phones, chatty passengers, computers and DVDs, gps, food etc. Many of these things are outright prohibited in most states in europe.
Extremely variable driving license training and requirements - I am sure it easier to get your license in some small town far from urban centres, but you can then drive anywhere that roads go.
Now I know I have waded in pretty deep with this stuff - but what do other internationally experienced drivers think?