What the hell is going on with drivers out there?

[LuckyCharms]

Went to a doctor's appointment this morning.

On the way, I had to drive under this small underpass under some railroad tracks, go up a slight incline, wait, and then merge onto a two lane (one direction) highway. I merged from a dead stop into the right lane, and then had to merge to the left lane to get on another highway via a left exit. Nobody in the left lane. Nearest car was a good 250 yards away.

I was still accelerating, got it up to around 50MPH, and started merging into the left lane.

The car that was 250 yards away just fucking GUNNED his car. I could see him fast approaching. I had my signal on, but he just floored it more. By this time I'm doing 65 MPH and I said fuck this asshole and continued to merge left. He must have been going 90 to 100 MPH. He got right on my ass and slammed on his brakes, passed me on the right, drove by me and flipped me off with both hands while steering with his elbows. I just blew him a kiss.

Then coming home, some idiot just pulled out of a mall right in front of me. Missed him by inches. Didn't have time to hit the horn. Ass off the seat, both feet on the brake pedal, had to come to a screeching halt. He just drove along his merry way.

Be careful out there.

Had a pleasant experience at the doctors though. Walked in and the receptionist behind the window said "Oh shit, here comes trouble."

When I checked out, I told her she made my day by busting my balls like that. She said she can tell just by looking at people who she can joke around with, and who she can't. We got into a discussion about how people are so tense these days, no one seems to have any playfulness anymore.

The End

[Attilatheblond]

1. a lot of folks do seem to be pretty hostile and pushy on the roads

People in my town think it's just here, but have read some reports from various insurance companies. It's everywhere.

Lots of people just spoilin' for a fight in public, many in my area carry guns. I really think it is sinking in, at some level, that they are figuring out the 1% is making them powerless, but they insist it must be 'the others' that are making their lives hard so they are becoming violent just to reassure themselves about their delusions.

Been predicting this cultural trend for over 30 years now. Delusional people would rather become dangerous than accept that they have been wrong about many things.

[DENVERPOPS]

44. You should live in Denver

Aggressive driving and speeding is everywhere here. Side Streets, Neighborhood Streets, Highways, Interstates...............
I can't remember seeing a Denver Cop pull someone over for years and years. They feel that they are "Crime Fighters" and traffic stops are beneath them???.....weird..........And the aggressive drivers know this, and take full advantage of that fact.......

The Colorado State Patrol announced they are going to make an agressive driver task force this weekend on the interstates in and around Denver with mostly unmarked cars.........

I drive around Denver alot, and I have found THE absolute worst drivers to be in the more expensive cars.......Mercedes, Audis, and the absolute worst drivers are the BMW drivers.

Many individuals have weaponized their lives with guns, these aggressive drivers have also weaponized their lives with cars/pickups.
When our grandkids reached driving age, my son and his wife forbid them from driving on ANY major highway or interstate.
After the grandkids went through driver education etc and had their Licenses, I took both of them for a two hour drive with them as the passenger and taught them Defensive Driving. They thought it was a hokey idea, but both thanked me for the time when we finished.

[Attilatheblond]

94. I'll take your drivers

You can have the adolescent 'load drivers' cartels are hiring from the metro-Phoenix area to race thru our town (90-130 MPH) after picking up their load of immigrants here in the borderlands. Some kids as young as 11 and 12 years old, few ever older than 16. Not enough experience for high speed chases, but they try it and sometimes they die.

We are a town of retirees, young families (the 'newly wed and nearly dead') so the high speed chases, sometimes thru residential areas to throw off the Sheriff and CPB, are a real danger these days. I really dread going for groceries anymore.

[Mr. Mustard 2023]

120. I know and have known hundreds of

white male Americans who are so afraid of admitting they're wrong about something, they throw temper tantrums and or threaten violence instead.

[Niagara]

2. They're idiots.

I had an idiot try to pull out in front of me this morning on my straight away and her stop sign.


I honked at her and flung the bird at her


Everyday I have to deal with driver idiot's, road rules be damned.



😡

[cyclonefence]

3. I've had the same experience

when merging--people just don't seem to want me in front of them! But they can easily pass me in a couple of minutes. It seems like a game for them or something.

[Duncanpup]

5. Cyclonefence You are from West Virginia

And West Virginia drivers are questionable

[cyclonefence]

6. You'd be surpriseD

WVians refer to overly-wide right turns as "Kentucky rights" and inability to stay in your own lane as "Ohio driving."

You have some nerve. I won't hurt your feelings by telling you what we call PA drivers.
You know, the ones who think those "curve" warning signs in PA mean the same as "curve" signs mean on WV's mighty mountains. Wimps, all of you.

[Duncanpup]

8. You can hit me with insults all you want I was joking with you

I can take it my friend

[cyclonefence]

13. Gimme a break

I'm going to put on my tennis shoes and shake my cane at you--then we'll see who can take it, my dear old pal.

[debm55]

104. Duncanpup, western PA driver here. Are you from this part? I don't like following cars that don't

use turn signals.

[Lonestarblue]

4. Yesterday a woman driving one of those mini school buses came to a rolling stop and pulled

out right in front of me. This was not at a stop sign or a traffic light, and she appeared not even to look to her left before pulling out. Fortunately there were no kids in the van and I was going slowly enough to stop. These days, I just assume that people are going to do stupid things.

[MLAA]

7. Here is your theme song!

[LuckyCharms]

12. I like it!

never heard this one...

[CousinIT]

9. I don't think you can safely merge anywhere in this damn country.

I despise highway driving for this reason. I DESPISE stupid + rude people and far too many drivers are both.

[rurallib]

10. And phones - seems like folks think they are in their living rooms

I drive mostly on two lane highways and it feels like every car coming at me kind of wanders in and out of their lanes. Often see the phone against their ears as they go by.

[teach1st]

11. I recommend having a dash cam

Drivers are getting more aggressive and more careless. Many, it seems, don't understand traffic flow and how their actions affect others (or they don't care).

In my opinion, a good dash cam is a must for driving nowadays. All you need to do to realize how valuable a good dash cam can be is to spend some time watching the dash cam channels on Youtube. Here's just one:

https://www.youtube.com/@WhamBaamDashcam

9 Things to Consider Before Buying a Dash Cam: https://www.lifewire.com/dash-cam-buying-guide-4174264

[FoxNewsSucks]

31. I got one about 4 years ago.

Nothing as wild as in that youtube channel, but I did save a few minor videos. And it proved I wasn't speeding through a county fund-raiser, uh, "speed trap".

Definitely worth having. I'm thinking about getting a rear-facing camera too.

[mitch96]

40. Mine saved my bacon in a minor accident. He said it was my fault. I showed the vid to the

police and he got the ticket and his insurance fixed my car...
m

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

36. I got one

$30 plus tax at a pawn shop brand new. People have become stupidly aggressive, so I'm driving like I'm on video that will be seen in court.

It's not just you thinking people are driving worse. They are.

[GreenWave]

14. I always assume the people around me are deranged.

And sometimes they are.

[rurallib]

15. BTW - had a really close one the other day

I was asking a car that was speeding up and slowing down. He was going @ 50 when I started my pass. It was a long straightaway with no one in sight.

Then suddenly on an intersecting gravel road a car came to the intersection from a house on the corner., ran the stop sign and turned heading directly at me. I was @ 3/4ths passed so I hit the gas and missed that stupid SOB. He never slowed or tried to avoid me.

[Diamond_Dog]

16. I agree, merging into highway traffic has become insane.

Nobody wants you in front of them. People around here will tailgate you then zoom around you and flip you the bird.

Seems like everyone is so damn aggressive on the roads now.

[debm55]

106. I agree. It is impossible to merge. My husband tells me not to stop at a merge.But drivers seem to

speed up when they know a merge is there. I wait for an opening and get honked at, given the finger. I will not pull out, unless I have enough space. I think it would be better do away with the merge and use only the yield.

[infullview]

17. What state did this happen in?

I used to think Boston MA was the worst place in the world to drive to/though but the last two times I drove my sister to MA general, people were down right nice!! It seems the roadways have gotten so bad that people are forced to help each other out . If not, you get nowhere.

[LuckyCharms]

20. New York.

Upstate.

I've had to drive in Boston a few times when I was there on business. It was pretty hectic.

Manhattan is difficult to drive in as well. You have to have your confidence up. Long Island Expressway is where I've really had to white knuckle it sometimes though.

Drove a rental car through Los Angeles and surrounding areas, and surprisingly, it wasn't too bad.

My part of the state has relatively light traffic.

[NoMoreRepugs]

18. I haven't driven in every state but for me nothing compares to S Florida - INSANE.

[mitch96]

42. After living there for over 40 years I tend to agree. People drive by the rules of their native

country and if directional signals are used it is a sign of weakness.. No macho.
The first time I saw a passenger hanging out of the window frantically pointing to change lanes and then cutting me off was a shocker.
Be safe out there and just assume you are invisible to these clueless assholes...
m

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

62. The first rule of Italian driving

[NoMoreRepugs]

95. Exactly what I was alluding to.

[JoseBalow]

57. It all went to shit after Andrew

No traffic lights, no street signs, no patience or respect... just pure chaos, and it never fully recovered.

[Sky Jewels]

19. A friend who is out on the highways frequently reports seeing

a shit ton of accidents lately. I'm so glad I rarely have to drive any great distance. A lot of days my car stays at home (remote worker).

[LuckyCharms]

23. I don't drive much anymore either.

I'm retired, wife works from home.

2 cars, and it feels like they are both sitting there rotting. They're paid off though.

Sometimes, I'll take my car out and drive a 100 mile round trip on the highway just so I don't lose my driving skills.

[Sky Jewels]

28. That's probably a good idea (practicing)!

Lately I drive on the freeways only a few times a year. My skills are rusty.

We're empty nesters and my husband and I are down to one car.

We've never had a major conflict where we both "needed" the car at the same time, and we figure if that happens, one of us can drop the other one off, or one can use Lyft one or both ways. It's much cheaper than car insurance and upkeep.

[LuckyCharms]

30. We're going through a thing now where my wife wants to sell one of the cars.

We're wrestling with that decision.

[mitch96]

46. Well if you are gonna sell now is the time. Used car prices are at all time high.

From what I have read Carmax and Carvana pay the most. When I sold my car Carvana gave me $2000 over what the dealer offered. No fuss in and out with the check.
m

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

64. Doing that keeps your car healthier, too

Warming the oil, coolant and transmission fluid helps keep the seals working better. They can become dry and brittle. Even coolant has lubricant for your water pump. Change your fluids as recommended, folks.

[Old Crank]

82. We haven't had a car in 8 years.

Living in Munich. If we need one we rent. When we come to the US we rent.
It takes a while to get back in the driving groove when you take 6 to 18 months between tries. Plus I work with 2 different country's drivers and rules.

Driving in CA this past January was horrible. I'm worried that I might be to old to rent cars soon and might have to buy one.

[LudwigPastorius]

21. It's easy to be a safe driver.

You just have to assume that everyone else on the road is always trying to kill you. Anywhere, anytime, for no reason at all, they will do anything they like whether it's legal or not.

My personal favorites are, when you're about to exit the freeway, the brain donors who must jump in front of you and slam on their brakes, even though there is nothing but space behind you in the exit lane.

[housecat]

25. Perfect:"You just have to assume that everyone else on the road is always trying to kill you."

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

38. That was my mindset when I rode motorcycles

But after 9 bikes, I gave up riding after a couple of close ones. You have to ride like you're invisible and it just wasn't fun anymore.

[mitch96]

50. THAT saved my ass on a few occasions. Ride like you are invisible, assume they are trying to

kill you..
I'd like to get another bike but where I'm at now outside my neighborhood it's wall to wall cars. It takes me about ½ hr to get to some good riding roads..
Still evaluating..
m

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

60. I'd be happy riding a Honda Monkey or Trail if it was only for a

Dollar General Run or to ride around land that we're looking at. I'm done with anything faster than a 125 or over 40

[mitch96]

91. I'm looking at the Royal Enfield 350's. Not fast but puts a smile on your face. Relatively

inexpensive for a new one and a bargain used...er... "pre owned"...
m

[Rebl2]

22. Seems like

since Covid started, people decided they can drive any speed they want. Not saying though that didn’t go on before Covid, just seems worse now. Just saw on local news that many more pedestrians and bicyclists have been killed and injured this year in our town.

[LuckyCharms]

33. I agree. It's worsened since Covid.

[LisaM]

35. Pedestrians have it bad. I am usually one.

I am afraid to cross the street if there is a car nearby. Many don't stop, even at a red light, before turning right. They just don't. And recently I was crossing at a crosswalk and while a car had stopped for me, I was still worried that a car would pass him on the right and hit me in the intersection because I have had this almost happen multiple times.

Don't get me started on e-bikes and scooters on the sidewalk. They seem to see pedestrians as a joke, something in their way. I hate them.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

54. Pedestrians get ignored like they're being molestered near Gym Jordan-(R)Ohio

I think folks who have been bumped by the sidwalk jerks need an idiot whackin' stick and some streaming video to cloud.

[housecat]

24. Sometimes the only way to avoid an accident is to notice a car and predict what some idiot is

about to do. It must work, because I haven't had an accident since I was side-swipped. Even though I saw it coming there was nowhere to go on a traffic circle. Oh almost forgot the teenager on a bike out of nowhere slamming right into my car (I was going maybe 10 mph in a parking lot). It isn't as much fun to drive as it once was.

[LuckyCharms]

27. After the second incident today, I started thinking that

I've been driving since I was 16 (soon to be 65 now), and I've never been in an accident. I'm an assertive driver, but I'm very defensive as well. I usually drive 10 MPH over the limit on the highway, maybe 5 miles over in town, and I'll go with the flow of traffic if warranted up to 80-85 max. Never got a speeding ticket.

I've driven in some of the worse conditions possible, over half the country, and now it feels like I'm going to get killed just driving to the store.

[IronLionZion]

26. Plenty of aggressive driving and accidents here too

people have forgotten how to live in civilized society.

[Captain Zero]

103. oh, aggressive driving is now known as Assertive Driving in Reddit threads where

they post their displeasure with defensive drivers.

[LuckyCharms]

121. I view assertive driving as being a "predictable" driver.

I rarely stop to "let someone in" unless I'm certain there is no one behind me, or there is no possibility of someone appearing suddenly behind me.

I won't let someone refuse to allow me to merge. I don't stop on entrance ramps. I get up to highway speed quickly, and merge, whether someone thinks they own the lane they're in or not. If someone stops on an entrance ramp, I'll pass them on the shoulder if I have to so I don't get rear-ended.

I obey traffic laws, but I don't obey speed limits to the letter, especially when traffic is moving at 20 miles an hour faster than the speed limit, because going slower than the flow of traffic can be a killer.

I don't tailgate. I anticipate the worst move another driver can make and assume that is what is going to happen.

I don't brake check people. But if I am going at a speed a bit over the speed limit, I won't speed up either if someone is on my ass.

I "aim high" on the highway. I don't stare right over my hood. I keep my field of vision up the road so I can anticipate any potential problems.

This is how I view both assertive and defensive driving. "Assertive" here meaning asserting your right to a safe trip, and being predictable to other drivers.

[LisaM]

29. Let's start with NO DRIVER'S ED.

I could almost tell the second they stopped offering it. Speeding, random lane changes, and most of all tailgating. No two-second rule.

Don't get me started on merges. Seattle drivers, among the worst in the country, merge in packs. They seem blissfully unaware of traffic already on the road. It's not uncommon to see 5-10 cars merging in all at once, no spacing.

Which leads me to my next gripe, highway design. I5 has way too many entrances and exits. You're constantly coping with merging traffic, no breaks. Every quarter mile there is a new entrance, and then there are the exit only lanes, where people suddenly have to exit out of them, but way worse are the jackholes that come swooshing in from four lanes over to exit. These people need to be in the lane way earlier but they won't. The road engineers need to be in jail.

Again, it goes back to driver's ed. Even if you're not planning on driving much or even at all, it's a life skill. We had a very rigorous course, including a driving range and a simulator.

[LuckyCharms]

32. Wow. No driver's Ed anymore?

I had no idea!

[LisaM]

41. No, and it shows.

My niece wanted to get a driver's license but had to wait because the course cost $300.

Her cousin, my nephew, just had to log a certain number of hours with a licensed driver to get his license. His mother, one of the worst drivers in the planet, must have taught him. He borrowed our car once, and I watched him backing inch by inch out of a driveway once, through a wooden gate, and into oncoming traffic, when he could have easily done a three-point turn and driven out frontwards like we do. It didn't seem to occur to him.

[bamagal62]

34. This 👆 (we really do need driver's ED back!)

And, for some reason, people are in a big hurry to get somewhere or they want to be "first" and not let anyone ahead of them!
It's so dumb. Selfishness has taken over.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

58. Time to have a 'bloody highway' marathon for the kiddies again!

]

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

65. No seatbelt.

I stopped watching the first one a couple of minutes in simply because the narrator IS NOT WEARING A SEATBELT. If this had been made in 1965, I'd be a bit more forgiving. But 1978? Really?

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

97. Ohio enacted the first seatbelt law in 1986

I expect they had the same resistance to wearing them we did. "Ain't no one gonna tell me to wear a safety device that is mildly inconvenient!" We passed ours in 1991.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

113. 1986!?! Some twenty years earlier there was a strong push to seat belts.

I knew by 1975, maybe years earlier, that seat belts not only saved lives, but were absolutely crucial. I'm sorry, this public service thing has, for me, no creditability.

I'm astonished that it took so long for various states to pass seat belt laws. I honestly thought they were all in effect by the mid 1970s.

1991. Wow. Talk about being well behind the times, behind the reality of the effectiveness of seat belts.

[druidity33]

99. Drivers ed is only required here in MA...

if you are not yet 18. It's been that way for a very long time. Otherwise, you can take the course afterward and get a significant reduction in your insurance as a first time driver. I thought that's how it worked everywhere.

[mwb970]

37. She knew you were trouble when you walked in.

[LuckyCharms]

39. We've spoken casually before, but just polite small talk.

So I was surprised when she started busting on me.

[PuppyBismark]

43. Get a dash cam

Given how many stupid drivers there are on the roads a dash cam protects you from getting a ticket when you can prove it was the other driver.

[LisaM]

59. But it shouldn't have to be that way.

I don't want to spend my time and energy playing gotcha with the rest of the world. People should just drive well. It's not rocket science.

The police should ticket more, too. I have seen them ignore tailgating and California running stops and lane changes with no turn signal time and again. A little bit more enforcement would help a lot.

[Chakaconcarne]

87. Yep...front and back...

If someone is going nuts and you have it on video, send it in to the cops.....

[Wonder Why]

118. I consider any good driver without one to be nuts. It has been a godsend to us and helped us in

multiple incidents. One in each car and when we travel and rent a car, we ALWAYS take one along.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

119. Mine plugs right into my power port

Don't even have to install wiring

[vapor2]

45. There is so much anger AND cell phone distraction on the road

Drivers here don't consider the consequences of their recklessness whatsoever.

[Joinfortmill]

47. Yikes!

[Traildogbob]

48. Hate, ignorance

And damn rules do not apply to me so get out my fucking way. Like idiots on keyboards, they feel safe to be bad ass, tough and willing to fight, even shoot from that distance. Many assholes feel safe in their vehicles to threaten and intimidate everyone around them.
My favorite videos on Ridiculousness are the ones when an asshole tries to wreck someone else and ends up wrecking and demolishing their own vehicle, while the one they tried to intimidate keeps driving by and laughing.
And damn, When I watch “On Patrol Live”, it’s like 40 percent of traffic is high speed chases by idiots willing to kill everyone to escape the cops, for something as stupid as an expired license. And most those are in South Carolina.
I hate driving to Asheville to the VA, 40 miles away. By the time I get home my health is worse than when I left, for a physical. After, My blood pressure is soaring with and anger.
People suck, too many of us and the “rats in a cage” scenario is in full gear.
Best part of retirement, I rarely have to go anywhere. The forests are right out the door.
NASCAR doesn’t help any. MAGA’s think every drive is Sunday at
The speedway.

[Emile]

49. It's been crazy out there for at least 20 years. It

was one of my reasons for retiring from truck driving. I was driving out of Indianapolis on I 74 one day and two truck drivers passed me cussing each other out on their CB radios. A little while later they were on the shoulder and facing each other. One pulled out a gun and in cold blood murdering the other over nothing.

[LuckyCharms]

53. Holy shit!!!

[IbogaProject]

51. I've seen that failure to yield for awhile and the opposite

I've also seen many who seem to drive too slow, this has been going on since 2020. I suspect long COVID has altered some folks brains in strange ways. I feel the speeders are all of the Mario Cart generation, there has been a huge decline in signaling to turn or lane shift, even cops. Whew, here I am at 55 complaining about the reckless youth.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

68. I'm about the same age. The codgeriness seems to be arriving early, doesn't it?

[maxsolomon]

52. the Pandemic alienated us from our fellow humans.

everyone is on edge all the time.

but out here in laid-back Seattle, the issue is twofold:
1. young men in souped-up vehicles weaving through traffic at high speeds.
2. slow drivers. the speed limit's a pedestrian-safety-prioritized 25 on this arterial? let me go 22. but get too close and they'll go 19!

[czarjak]

55. You must be from here. That's my towns drivers too. Red-light-runners galore.

[kimbutgar]

56. After the Pandemic shut down the drivers were more aggressive in the part of the SF Bay I live in

It was like they were repressed and had to get it out by speeding. One driver was doing easily 100mph on one of our major freeways and kept going in and out of drivers like a manic. It seemed like no CHP was ever seen during that period Now I see them now and then driving fast cars trying to weave in and out going very fast. I was going 70 mph once and this guy came up on me passed me on the left then cut me off!. Luckily I had slowed down because he was driving like a lunatic.

[Curtis]

61. Agreed...but

I'm currently traveling and have driven in DC and now New Mexico (didn't drive from DC to NM). Drivers are angry. I live on the Big Island, Hawaii and people there couldn't be nicer. Traffic jams happen because everyone is trying to out nice each other and allowing the other person to go first. It's to the point it's funny and we all call it driving with Aloha.

However, during this trip I had the "pleasure&quot ?) of driving in Santo Domingo, Domincan Republic during the after work rush no less. I'll take the agry American driver over the DR driver's any day. I only credit my EVOC training for police and then fire fighter for making it thru Santo Domingo unscathed.

[XanaDUer2]

63. I drive the speed limit

I'm constantly tail gated

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

69. When that happens

I check to see if my back wiper still has fluid.

[XanaDUer2]

71. The worse is when I turn right into my apt driveway

And slow down, of course. I'm not flipping my car making a 60 mph 90-degree turn.

Yet, behind me, some asshole is an inch away from me on my ass for slowing down.
Pisses me off

[Roc2020]

66. Happened to me this morning..

I'm turning right, car directly across the street, three lane highway of traffic turning left. Stop signs only. No four way stop, or green arrow stop light. I turn right as he is turning left. He angrily held down blared his horn, so I blared my horn back. Driving 101, turning right has the right of way over car turning left. I waited until he pulled up beside me to stare at him. Kept his head straight as an arrow. People are taking out their life frustrations in traffic and it's getting worse.

[BootinUp]

67. It seems to be getting worse.

I have recently made a concerted effort to be easier on my car and tires and gas pedal usage. I kind of like catching back up to the racers at the stop lights knowing they are burning more gas and taking more out of their cars and tires for nothing.

[2naSalit]

70. Been that way for a couple weeks...

Worse than normal. It might be the ellipse or that Pluto is "standing still" or people are just fed up and are just being assholes to everybody now. It sounds like you spent a few hours driving around in a national park, all the tourists drive like that, must be something in the air... maybe it is the air!?!

[Warpy]

72. Sorry you ran into a total jerk

They're the people who think if they let somebody merge into traffic ahead of them, they've "lost." What they've lost, I don't know, but that's the thought process, if you can call that thought.

Around here, I always assumed a good 40% of the other drivers were blind drunk and armed. I was probably right. I drove accordingly.

[LuckyCharms]

77. The more I think about this...

he was in the passing lane of a two lane highway going in one direction. The only reason to be in that lane is to merge onto a four lane highway by taking a left exit.

When he passed me on the right, he continued going straight, and did not take the left hand exit, as I did. There was no reason for him to even be in the left lane.

No one else was in the right lane that would have prevented him from going straight, as he did.

Guy was a psychopathic prick. Dangerous driver.

[Warpy]

80. My mother always looked at them and said "I hope the seat's down"

since there could be only one reason they were driving that aggressively.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

73. Does this behavior fall into the mental health crisis purview?

We see a lot of formula one wannabe driving on SoCal freeways. I assume they're crazy.

[Fla Dem]

74. You've got to be careful these days. Challenging someone like that could end up with a gun pointed

at you instead of the Fingers.

[4lbs]

75. During the pandemic, a lot of people stayed home, and those drivers found wide open roads

when they did so, and acted accordingly. Five-lane highways were sparsely populated then.

Now that the roads are getting to "packed" levels again like in 2019 and earlier, the same drivers seem to not have realized that the carefree nature they had before won't work now.

Fortunately for me, I don't drive all that much anymore, and mainly take mass transit everywhere (the busses and trolleys where I live can get to 90% of the county I'm in, and I only have to walk at most two miles, which is like 8 city blocks here in southern California).

[bucolic_frolic]

76. 90 is the new 45

I've had them pass so fast didn't see 'em coming, didn't catch the license plate. Literally 90.

Try the roads at 7-8am weekdays. Same thing, more of them. The laggards push you off the road only to be stopped by the next traffic light.

[LiberalArkie]

78. A lot of anger in the world at this point in time and space

[dalton99a]

79. It is Thunderdome out there

In liberal Austin, Texas:

[sybylla]

81. Had a similar experience to the first one you describe in Nashville last month.

They stalked us for 8 miles. Twice they passed and pulled in front of us to slam their brakes. We shifted over to the fast lane and had to peel them off as they tried to pull up beside us several times. Not too hard to do as the traffic was crazy - like it always is in Nashville. (Don't get me started on what a driving hell hole it is).

Anyway, had to LOL when one of the times they pulled up beside us they rolled down their window and tried to spit at us going 65mph. Clearly they never took a basic science class.

I see some people blaming the long covid brain fog. All I know is that the world just seems a whole lot dumber since the orange dufus got elected.

[CaptainTruth]

83. Pet peeve: People turning right on red in front of me when I have a green light.

Several intersections in my area have left turn lanes with separate green left turn lights (arrows) for those lanes. When the left turn arrows are green the lights for all other lanes are red.

I've lost count of how many times I've turned left, with a green arrow, only to have someone in an oncoming lane turn right on red & nearly hit me.

I've even had people blow their horn & yell at me. I mean, I had a green light & they had a red light but the near collision is somehow MY fault??? Really?

[AllaN01Bear]

84. sme ole stuff that has been going on for years .

ilke idiots pulling in front of train locomotives at the last second as it occupies the crosssing or they go round the gates . stupid is as stupid does . my nephew had something like this , he was going off the 101 in ca and some alpha hotel wanted the same spot . phyisics dont work that way and bambo. chp said it wasnt his fault . the main thing you wernt killed and we still have you here .

[Chakaconcarne]

85. I'm going to blame social media and lack of enforcement...

People can hide behind a computer and be assholes to others... I think there are people that do it so much, it's blurring into their non-screen time...

Having people like TFG and MTG and the like promoted on social media just normalizes the behavior.

[Old Crank]

86. I'm a cyclist

And I have been told that we are the root cause of every road problem around. 😁

You think drivers are crazy when you are in a car? It is worse when you are on 2 wheels. There tends to be little punishment for killing or injuring someone with a car.

Another issue is the huge increase in hit and run.

[Emile]

105. I been ran off the road on my bicycle several times all by distracted

drivers. It's dangerous out there.

[SergeStorms]

88. Stop lights are mere suggestions now......

Stop signs? They're to be ignored completely.

Turn signals are irrelevant because apparently IT'S NONE OF MY DAMNED BUSINESS WHERE THEY'RE GOING, SO #UCK OFF, ASSHOLE!

Driving has become a hodgepodge of mixed martial arts, political warfare, mind-reading 101, and every man/woman/insert pronoun here, for themselves. It's complete madness!

I've been driving for well over 50 years and it's getting so I don't want to leave the house anymore.

[Midnight Writer]

89. Glad to see I'm not the only one to notice. I thought I was just getting crotchety in my old age.

[diane in sf]

90. Here in the SF Bay Area it depends which stretch of highway you're on. 80 from Oakland to

Vallejo or Fairfield is infested with criminals and yobs. They tend to drive tiny cars with excessively tinted windows and loud farting exhaust systems, giant pickup trucks, and giant stolen SUVs that they use to commit crimes. They dodge from lane to lane racing each other and cutting people off. They also inhabit Hwy 4. Look out for road rage, police chases, spectacular crashes, and shootings along these hwys.

101 from SF thru Marin has more civilized drivers who seem to want to make it home alive and unmutilated.

280 from SF to San Jose is extremely fast, expensive cars, but lots of room.

I could go on…, but I won’t.

[Beringia]

92. Speedsters, they are a menace

[Old Crank]

109. These days, for new cars

There should be no excuse for speeding. Especially Eloons cars.
Most cars now have GPS and know what the speed limits are where ever you are. Your car should follow them. Cruise controls can not be set above the limit.
Every car I have rented in the last 4 years lets me know the speed limit. Every car, and I'm not renting high end I'm in the compact size car or mid size.

[Mr. Evil]

93. I live in Lexington, KY.

In the past couple of years I've noticed a severe uptick in red-light-runners here. It's gotten so bad that when my light turns green I look both ways (as you would at a stop sign) before I go.

[ArkansasDemocrat1]

98. Same here. I've had to stop just as I accelerated

On a daily basis now. I lay on the horn.

Hell, we have Oklahoma drivers who don't understand the concept of a one way divided road and who will drive the wrong way towards you despite no turn signal and arrowed signs pointing the correct way.. They also insist at driving 25 mph no matter the posted limit.

[canuckledragger]

96. I lived in Sault Ste Marie, Ontario for awhile...

There was a Canadian reality TV show a while back called, 'Canada's Worst Drivers', and Sault Ste Marie citizens routinely were on the show...coming as no surprise to those that lived there.

They were bad enough in daylight when the traffic 🚦 lights worked, but took it as a speed race challenge when the power was out. Then there was drag racing at night near the downtown waterfront roads...and the snowplows could be just as bad, with the drivers going full bore, plow blades down scraping the roads smooth and making them even worse for drivers and pedestrians because if the way it compacted the snow, turning it into white, slippery ice.

I can't tell you how many near misses I had just stepping off the curb.

[gristy]

100. Well, depending on how fast the traffic on the freeway is going,

50mph may be a bit slow for merging speed.

When I enter a freeway, I step on it and bring myself up to the same speed as freeway traffic asap and at the same time position my cars's hood a couple car lengths behind the nearest car in front of me to my left. I then check my mirrors and, guaranteed, there is an opening. Always. And I merge over no problem.

The key is getting up to the same speed as the traffic on the freeway.

[LuckyCharms]

101. This was a secondary two lane highway which exited left

onto a primary four lane highway.

The secondary highway was empty except for me and the other car.

If he wasn't going 100 mph, I would have been at 65MPH and if he was doing anything close to the speed limit, he still would have been 100 yards behind me.

[BidenRocks]

111. 5 mph is easy. nt

[NGeorgian]

102. Too many people in an area produce......

too many vehicles on the road. Sometimes you have to floor it to get out of a street or parking lot. More people+ more vehicles =more accidents and higher insurance premiums. GROWTH is bad for 90% of the people.

[catchnrelease]

107. It's going to be interesting

The city of Long Beach CA is starting a new program that's supposed to improve safety, decrease accidents and pedestrian deaths. They are calling it '20 is Plenty'. Numerous streets, and I mean some of the major streets in the city, are going to have their speed limits decreased to 20mph. In some cases down from 40mph. There are some streets that this will hopefully help, mainly in residential areas that are kind of thru-ways from one area to another, where drivers do speed like mad.

But on the main streets I am expecting any improvements in safety are going to be overridden by incidents of road rage by the idiots that will not decrease their speed and aren't going to like it when the person in front of them follows the speed limit. Or when there is a line of cars backed up and they want to go around everyone else. I hope the city is going to study this and put out a report after it's been in effect for awhile.

[Old Crank]

108. Normally 20 is plenty

refers to residential streets. That it will be used on some streets that are now 40 is a surprise.

[Aristus]

110. Friday the 13th?

I drove Mrs. Aristus to Seattle today for a doctors appointment, and seemingly every crazy driver in the known universe was on I-5 looking for trouble. I swear I saw more assholes today than your average proctologist.

I’m a little amazed by who they give drivers licenses to these days.

[tclambert]

112. This is why we can't have flying cars.

Imagine all those stupidhead drivers at the controls of flying cars. We'd have flaming debris raining down on our cities all the time.

[RocRizzo55]

114. They give anyone

A driver’s license in the US any more.

[twodogsbarking]

115. We have stupid drivers. Drive smart.

[Walleye]

116. I read somewhere that our state Delaware has the most polite drivers in the country.

Mostly because we are all sort of related to each other we can’t afford to piss off somebody who might be our kid’s football coach or something. Of course we get a lot of drivers from Maryland and New Jersey. And they do behave differently. The most polite drivers come from the state with the most polite POTUS. Yay

[onethatcares]

117. I live and drive in st petersburg floriDUH and

since it's been overbuilt and close to the pollution in Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico every idiot in the nation has decided to race every other idiot to the next house for sale or lease. 40 mph on surface streets is a joke, 60 to 65 seems the norm. Toss in the penis envy pickup trucks with airplane landing lights at night and it's amazing anyone survives the journey to and fro to nowhere in particular.

Wife says I'm getting old, I say I want to get older. Blind dog says, "please make it home without ending up in a hospital for two days"

I hate driving anymore and plan my trips so I encounter stop signs, traffic lights and speed bumps. I'm retired, ain't gonna hurry for some yahoos if I can help it.