Crazy Drivers Post Pandemic

Aruka

Tom Curren status
Feb 23, 2010
13,032
26,131
113
PNW
Part of it is reefer madness. Cannabis makes you stupid and psychotic over time. We're not as bad as DC, but definitely in the top quintile:
View attachment 163109
DC isn't a state. If it were, D.C. would have the lowest gross and per capita fatal car accidents out of any state.

Aside from that most of the actual states listed above are ranked pretty high for driving safety.

The southern states plus montana and wyoming are the most dangerous.
 

Kento

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
70,709
24,764
113
The Bar
I don't miss SoCal one bit.

Drivers up here in North Coast are generally polite. Sometimes a little stoned off their t!ts and they forget that red lights are different than green lights and the occasional determined tweaker on the way fishing but generally not too much shitty behavior. A lot of people are packing too, I'd imagine, so that does tend to make everyone a little nicer. But yeah, average person lets you in through traffic, no honking except as a wave, people make room for runners/cyclists, etc. Pretty darn sedate if you ask me.

Franniemento crowd that comes up on summer weekends for beach, river, wine tasting does bring the entitlement/obliviousness factor up a bit.
 

mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
38,899
17,549
113
I don't miss SoCal one bit.

Drivers up here in North Coast are generally polite. Sometimes a little stoned off their t!ts and they forget that red lights are different than green lights and the occasional determined tweaker on the way fishing but generally not too much shitty behavior. A lot of people are packing too, I'd imagine, so that does tend to make everyone a little nicer. But yeah, average person lets you in through traffic, no honking except as a wave, people make room for runners/cyclists, etc. Pretty darn sedate if you ask me.

Franniemento crowd that comes up on summer weekends for beach, river, wine tasting does bring the entitlement/obliviousness factor up a bit.
Rural/Suburban Northern Cal seems like a great place if you have the bucks.
 

sdsrfr

Phil Edwards status
Jul 13, 2020
6,402
12,255
113
San Diego
I have no NE experience so cannot comment there.

China is bonkers. Let the taxi go off meter and they’ll drive on the wrong side of the road if it gets you to the destination faster. Once had a cab actually stop at a red light, look left and right, before flooring it through the red. I thought to myself this guy must not be from here.

Vietnam, the intersections were like a demonstration of basket weaving. It is amazing every intersection is just two rivers intersecting with very little chaos.

Italy is cool. There is a semblance of rules and respect. As a pedestrian your rule is to not break your stride or pace. The cars will open up just long enough as if you’re Moses crossing the Red Sea.

LA is bad by US standards but pretty much anywhere with a wild urban center probably as well. Recently when passing through parts of Oakland, I asked my wife to keep an eye out for anyone making moves to our car at the red light. I mentioned that traffic laws were only a suggestion in that part of town (880 under the freeway west of the coliseum) and I was happy to run it should the need arise.
 

Kento

Duke status
Jan 11, 2002
70,709
24,764
113
The Bar
IRecently when passing through parts of Oakland, I asked my wife to keep an eye out for anyone making moves to our car at the red light. I mentioned that traffic laws were only a suggestion in that part of town (880 under the freeway west of the coliseum) and I was happy to run it should the need arise.
Look how far things have come since this:


Oakland is a prime example of seeing things so random so often on the streets/freeways that you become unfazed.
 
  • Love
Reactions: sdsrfr

SrPato

Miki Dora status
Jul 12, 2005
5,085
1,627
113
San Buena Ventura
Look how far things have come since this:


Oakland is a prime example of seeing things so random so often on the streets/freeways that you become unfazed.
Bubb Rubb nearly hit that parked car on the opposite side of the street and then blew through the STOP sign gaining speed. "Wooo Wooo"!!!!!!!
 
  • Love
Reactions: sdsrfr and Kento

PRCD

Tom Curren status
Feb 25, 2020
14,279
10,325
113
DC isn't a state. If it were, D.C. would have the lowest gross and per capita fatal car accidents out of any state.

Aside from that most of the actual states listed above are ranked pretty high for driving safety.
Try controlling for miles driven per capita by state:
DC, for example, has public transportation, walkability, and a bunch of rich people Ubering everywhere.

The southern states plus montana and wyoming are the most dangerous.
See above. Also montana and wyoming have bad weather. The Southern states have some other confounding factors which would burn your retinas if I posted them. :waving:
 

Mr Doof

Duke status
Jan 23, 2002
25,628
9,094
113
San Francisco, CA
I went to a seminar a few years ago about color theory at Otis. The presenter was a color exppert who advised the fashion industry. He pointed out that they had started using "chartreuse" colored signs around schools, that sort of neon green/yellow, because studies showed that yellow no longer triggered a "caution" response, but rather a "floor it before it turns red" response.

That was the joke way back when.

Q. "If red means stop, and green means go, what does yellow mean?"

A. "Punch it!"

Anyway, a while ago, was talking with a co-workers wife at the annual summer party ("Workers Unite!"), and for whatever reason (ok, decent icy cold chardonnay) started talking about a highway merging location in SF where there are two street level on-ramps merging before the one lane merges to (elevated) 101.

I state that I think the two merging lanes, before the the one lane merges to 101, should mesh like a zipper and save the "stress" for the higher speed 101 merge.

"But who knows who should be first?"

"Well," I go, "ideally, it should be visually apparent which of you is moving faster and let you mind plot the intersection, like how you'd run to catch a Frisbee or a hit tennis ball, and if it looks like it is going to be a tie, take the initiative and let up on the gas."

"Catch a Frisbee? Sure....." (there was a bit of snarky derision in that questioning lilt of her voice, not sure how well the 'question mark' followed by the 'Sure' conveys that)

I just smiled, sipped a big sip, realizing yet again some people think I sound like this and vowed, again, to be the better Mr Doof and merely thought, "Well, now I know who not to pick for my corporate Ultimate game."
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: One-Off

PJ

Gerry Lopez status
Jan 27, 2002
1,069
804
113
Shrub Oak,N.Y.,USA
Taconic Parkway 40 mins North of the Bronx going towards NYC - pre Covid 6:30 am agreed left lane speed was 70. Then the Covid shutdown came (heating and AC is essential so I commuted the whole time). During shutdown the parkways became the playground of speed. There was nobody out so it wasn't dangerous - nobody was doing anything dumb - just having fun. Post Covid 6:30 am left lane agreed speed is 80 now, sometimes 85. I've been driving that route for 32 years and it was always 70. Covid really changed it. And there's no enforcement (there never was), I think because there are no problems. It's a fairly disciplined group of drivers coming from "The Country" to a more urban area for work and they just want to make some time.

Nose to tail in the left lane, too - you have to protect the space in front of you or car after car will take that space. I really enjoy sussing out the different drivers based on car type and behavior to anticipate what they will do and I cover my space only when I have to. My objective is always to never use my brakes - if you're using your brakes you're not doing it right, not planning, not anticipating. Why scrub off that speed I just paid for? I have a really long downhill going home and I can usually coast all the way down, picking up 12-15mph in speed, like a chess match - making and finding headroom and not braking. Makes my trip entertaining.
 
Last edited:

sdsrfr

Phil Edwards status
Jul 13, 2020
6,402
12,255
113
San Diego
Look how far things have come since this:


Oakland is a prime example of seeing things so random so often on the streets/freeways that you become unfazed.
the whistle tips were the best thing ever since spinner rims.

I think they were legal for ~2wks, but you’ll still hear them out now and again.
 

ElOgro

Duke status
Dec 3, 2010
34,027
14,749
113
5 million gets you a mansion with lots of acreage and your own private surf break.

The problem with this is that I don't have 5 million.
If you changed jobs to internet influencer you’d make double that per year.
 

000

Duke status
Feb 20, 2003
26,971
8,920
113
at a crosswalk a few days back, waiting for green, i got green. then 5 cars turning left all ran the light. thats why i dont step into the intersection. i expect bad driving to happen, always
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joshua2415

Witchipoo

Michael Peterson status
Jun 16, 2010
2,401
403
83
East of Malibu
Perhaps this belongs in the mental health thread, but I hardly want to drive anywhere anymore, traffic and parking? Such a hassle.
Not to get all tinfoil hat on you, but there is a movement amongst city planner types, in cahoots with developers, to make driving as miserable as possible in L.A. Taking away parking, "road diets," stop lights set to make people wait until they're about to snap . . . this is all happening, and I've even seen these bastards admit it in print. They claim it's "for the environment," and to curb "traffic violence," which is a buzzword they invented so their shills on social media can jump into every conversation and try to shame anyone who admits they need to drive. Not kidding, this is a thing.


Anyway, my most favoritest incident of bad driving lately is the guy in a Lamborghini driving about 30 mph on the 101, while traffic was moving 70-80. He was swerving all over the place, too. I catch up to him, and the moron is LOOKING AT A LAPTOP! Like completely oblivious to his surroundings.

I don't even know what to say about that. :foreheadslap::shrug::bricks:
 

mundus

Duke status
Feb 26, 2018
38,899
17,549
113
Not to get all tinfoil hat on you, but there is a movement amongst city planner types, in cahoots with developers, to make driving as miserable as possible in L.A. Taking away parking, "road diets," stop lights set to make people wait until they're about to snap . . . this is all happening, and I've even seen these bastards admit it in print. They claim it's "for the environment," and to curb "traffic violence," which is a buzzword they invented so their shills on social media can jump into every conversation and try to shame anyone who admits they need to drive. Not kidding, this is a thing.


Anyway, my most favoritest incident of bad driving lately is the guy in a Lamborghini driving about 30 mph on the 101, while traffic was moving 70-80. He was swerving all over the place, too. I catch up to him, and the moron is LOOKING AT A LAPTOP! Like completely oblivious to his surroundings.

I don't even know what to say about that. :foreheadslap::shrug::bricks:
Sure feels like this is happening in NJ as well. Another thing that has been going on for a while but really accelerated after covid is, the seasonal Beachtowns are not so seasonal anymore.
 

sdsrfr

Phil Edwards status
Jul 13, 2020
6,402
12,255
113
San Diego
Not to get all tinfoil hat on you, but there is a movement amongst city planner types, in cahoots with developers, to make driving as miserable as possible in L.A. Taking away parking, "road diets," stop lights set to make people wait until they're about to snap . . . this is all happening, and I've even seen these bastards admit it in print. They claim it's "for the environment," and to curb "traffic violence," which is a buzzword they invented so their shills on social media can jump into every conversation and try to shame anyone who admits they need to drive. Not kidding, this is a thing.
they did this in North Park. But, the developers couldn’t fill the units so they’re now buying up any available parking spots nearby.

next stop, San Diego selling off metered spaces to the highest bidder.

as far as I’m concerned, I don’t leave a 2mi radius from my house unless required by the wife or my employer.
 
  • Like
Reactions: casa_mugrienta