Crazy Drivers Post Pandemic

[Aruka]

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:
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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]

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]

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]

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]

Rural/Suburban Northern Cal seems like a great place if you have the bucks.

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.

 

[Kento]

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.

 

[SrPato]

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"!!!!!!!

 

[One-Off]

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.

What will one million adjacent get you?

 

[PRCD]

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:

Average miles driven per year by state - CarInsurance.com

Find out the average miles driven per year, by state, age and gender, plus how driving trends are playing out across the country.

www.carinsurance.com

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.

 

[Mr Doof]

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."

 

[Kento]

What will one million adjacent get you?

Still pretty damn good.

 

[PJ]

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.

 

[sdsrfr]

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]

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.

 

[Kento]

If you changed jobs to internet influencer you’d make double that per year.

That sounds too much like work, though.

Grow weed?

 

[000]

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

 

[Kento]

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

Did a bunch of people join you in the crosswalk?

 

[Witchipoo]

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.

 

[mundus]

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.

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]

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.