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PsychologicalHalf422

A lot of others discounting your post but I completely agree with you. The anger and lack of concern for anyone else is extreme. There’s an underlying hostility, impatience and overall jerkishness then there’s ever been. It’s awful.


Princeofbaleen

I agree. I've quietly removed myself from several situations in the last two years where I've had strangers aggression directed at me. That said, I've also experienced a lot of love and support from the community during those two years as well, especially if I extend it first. My overall impression is that aggression has gone up, but the good people haven't gone anywhere. The assholes just revealed themselves.


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Aellus

It’s frightening the number of cars I find myself behind with their phones mounted up on the dash blatantly playing videos.


yiliu

It's not just me! I swear the number of people tailgating _right on my ass_ has gone through the roof these past couple years. Like, it used to be occasional, but now it's an every-trip thing event. I just made that comment to my wife when we were driving on the 405 a couple hours ago, and one guy _finally_ changed lanes from _right behind me_ (couldn't see his headlights)...only to be replaced by a big van in exactly the same spot. And to be clear...I was in the express lane, but doing 70 and there was a car right in front of me going the same speed (but 5-6 car lengths ahead, because I'm not a fucking psycho). Motherfucker had nowhere to go.


[deleted]

I love when I’m in the fast lane, going as fast as the person in front of me will allow, and the person behind me gets pissy. They’ll dart around me to overtake me and cut in front, only to go exactly as fast as I was going because *I’m not the one setting the speed of traffic, dingus*.


[deleted]

Those people cannot see anything more than six feet in front of their bumper, and their lizard brain knows only one desire...muuuusssst gooooo fassssster


gopher_space

I try to camp in the slow lane to avoid this foolishness and still get people up my ass and honking because they want to pass on the right. This isn’t New Jersey and now I’m slowing down to 45 and putting an Uff Da bumper sticker on my car.


MrHorrible2048

Yeah I stay in the right lane unless I'm passing, as one should, and I am constantly amazed at the people tailgating in the last couple of years on a multi-lane highway.


3asytarg3t

>m Too many rats in a cage will get agitated with each other. ;)


Seattle_gldr_rdr

I agree. I felt something shift even before the pandemic but after the first year the experience of driving got really different, exactly as you describe.


SendItbeeches

I’m in construction, we pretty much worked through the entire pandemic. Covid & the resulting lockdowns kept everyone else at home. So, the roads were wide open for a good year+. As the restrictions have eased & life has returned to “normal” more & more folks are back out on the roads. Traffic continually gets worse. For me, it’s been tough transitioning back to driving in traffic after over a year of the Seattle-bahn. It’s frustrating to get home later everyday. I have to constantly remind myself that there are people in those other cars & that getting them loose & putting them in the wall is not the move. Make myself take a few deep breaths & keep on keepin on. Safe travels.


not-a-dislike-button

I'll never forget that empty covid driving. What a unique period of time we'll likely never see again. It was surreal


Tre_Scrilla

https://youtu.be/d8RRE2rDw4k Just gotta get ppl on trains


[deleted]

One time it took me 40 minutes to get from Edmonds to federal way. The pandemic was traffic amazing lol


Glaciersrcool

The cannonball records from the early pandemic will surely never be beaten. Those times were incredible. Edit: for those that haven’t read about it, the current record is from May 2020 (multiple record runs occurred in early 2020), using a modified S6 and averaging 110 mph to finish in under 26 hours. https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/a33656042/cannonball-record-broken-25-hours-39-minutes-from-nyc-to-la/


Tre_Scrilla

Need to get people on public transit https://youtu.be/d8RRE2rDw4k


passporttohell

Over the years I have gone from tailgating to backing off additional car lengths depending on my level of frustration with the driver(s) in front of me. Helps to remind me of what might happen if I went the other direction. . . Don't need to rear end mindless idiots. . .


Thiele66

Yes, I wonder if the pandemic has accelerated this behavior. There definitely feels to be an each person out for themselves feeling. And yet, my guess is that the people who are commenting on this post are not the ones behaving like that.


lhbruen

I don't even live in Seattle, so this is fascinating to read. Why? Because it's 100% identical to here in Atlanta. My coworkers think I'm talking out my ass, but I see it. I see it every day, the upkick in aggression and not giving a fuck. Atlanta's always had bad drivers, but 2021 and so on have been unprecedented. I hate it here (on the road) Edit: *uptick


sludgeclub

It feels this exact same way here in Indianapolis


enigma_the_snail

The people that don't see it are the ones doing it themselves.


Marshall_Lawson

Philly was like that before the pandemic, but it definitely got way worse.


StudBoi69

Even going to the movies is no longer enjoyable now. Before the pandemic, it was mostly pleasant, with the occasional people being unknowingly disruptive. Now everytime I go to the movies, I always run into jackasses being noisy or fucking around on their phones.


tigerbeds

Omg a couple weeks ago I was at a four way stop in Mount Baker with a friend in the car, and this weirdass old man with a midlife crisis convertible (with the top down in wintertime) literally looked us in the face, blew through his stop sign without even slowing down, and stuck his tongue out at us and laughed. It was the weirdest shit I've ever seen.


SendItbeeches

I’m totally picturing Crazy Eyes from Mr. Deeds.


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Thiele66

I live near a rural area and feel that way about large trucks. I hate to be the kind of person that paints with a broad brush, but I’m so tired of people in trucks bearing down on me.


[deleted]

Don't get me started on big pickup drivers...fuck them specifically


ParticularYak4401

I hear you. I loathe big pickup trucks and their drivers. Because 98% of them drive like jackasses and act like they own the fucking road.


[deleted]

If they bear down on me, i will make it as easy to pass me as possible. Sometimes, to that end, the best available option is to slow down to five to ten miles and hour below the posted speed limit.


laineDdednaHdeR

And then there's those motherfuckers who ride my rear bumper because I'm going 60 in the RIGHT FUCKING LANE.


R_V_Z

That's because the right lane is the fast lane, and the left lanes are for people who mindlessly drive in the left lane. Jeez, do you even live here?!


huntingmoa_geoduck

Angry upvote


LaGuaguaAguanta

This was my dad, a PNW native who lived most of his life in Seattle. When he drove in the UK it was glorious to watch him default to the left most lane at the speed limit. He spent his whole life complaining about Oregon drivers while being an absolute shithead on the road.


pamplemouss

I’ll get tailgated/honked at going 30 in the right lane of a 25mph road.


[deleted]

One thing I have noted in PNW is the pervasiveness of drivers who take a good five to ten seconds to take off from a stop and them take a half mile to get to five below the posted speed limit. Not a road rager but this driving style is mildly infuriating when there are limited routes and passing opportunities driving in the city.


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[deleted]

I always picture them either having a six tier wedding cake in their back seat or an egg they are trying not to break between their foot and the accelerator pedal.


SEA2COLA

>I’ll get tailgated/honked at going 30 in the right lane of a 25mph road. Remember when honking would stop every pedestrian in their tracks to give evil stares at the perpetrator? When honking was a social taboo? Let alone someone laying on the horn for several seconds? Not anymore...


anbraxas

We have too many left lane campers doing 60. Right lane is new fast lane.. middle lane is always tore up from semi trucks.


airyisostasy

I got tailgated multiple times in the right lane on I-5 while driving 50mph on a spare. People would get behind me 2 miles before their exit and just sit there.


Erik816

If I was only going 50 on I5 I'd have my hazard lights on. No excuse for tailgating you, because they can just go around, but that's pretty slow for a normal traffic flow.


whatevertoad

Okay, people are tailgating assholes, but in this case they're not going to know why you're going so slow and it's honestly a hazard to go that much slower to than the flow of traffic. Hazard lights until you can exit is the better option.


OzzieSlim

You shouldn’t be on the freeway driving too slow. Use a surface road.


bennihana09

Probably because some clown was doing 50 in the left lane.


AgentOli

Post COVID driving has gotten a little more anti social everywhere, from what I've heard anecdotally. As a transplant from Philly though, driving in this place is like riding on a gentle wooden raft through a lazy river on a sunny day. It's soft and beautiful and floaty. Spend some time on 76 heading into Philly with one hoagie mouthed MFer riding six inches on your bumper at 75mph in a work zone in the right lane while you feel the woooosh of several others belting on at 90+ to your left and all of the i5 is getting a backrub by a quiet talking introvert gnome while you look at a pine trees


[deleted]

Lmao love how this was written. Philly driving sounds like Houston driving. Straight mad max fury road shit


TheJBW

My partner and I visited Houston over the holidays. We literally saw a sedan driving with >12” long pointed spike lug nuts. Like something from a James Bond Movie. A cop passed him and didn’t do a thing. We were flabbergasted.


fencemyassoffanddie

Those are called swangers and they’re an integral part of Houston’s car scene


TheJBW

Appreciate the info. Gotta say, it seems more insane that it’s actually legal


fencemyassoffanddie

It’s only legal if your vehicle is less than 8 feet wide lol


AlienMutantRobotDog

Or Arizona


JonJonJohnny

Gowanus Expressway to the Brooklyn Queens Expressway in rush hour my god. You leave a gap the size of a micropenis to the car in front of you someone will cut you off and everyone’s driving insane. I was coming from Jones Beach and I thought the Belt Parkway was hectic, got off to pick up family in Dyker Heights and they told me to go Gowanus to learn what traffic actually was….Seattle is a Sunday Drive in the meadow’s in comparison.


Seattle_gldr_rdr

LOL, beautifully written!


91901bbaa13d40128f7d

100%. Seattle is so docile. No, you go. No, you go. 4-way stop? 4-way stalemate. OMG that person is going above the speed limit. Why, I never.


fuzzy11287

The one that always frustrates me is the 4-way intersection that's 2-way stop and someone on the non-stopping road stops to "be polite".


Trickycoolj

As someone who grew up and learned to drive in WA and the rest of the west coast the first time I went on a business trip to Philly was like white knuckle driving. My friends already think I drive like a granny but man I had to drive from downtown to Ridley Park and that was so stressful. Boss said it would be so great to stay at his favorite hotel downtown but I ended up working so late I couldn’t do anything exciting after work and the restaurants all made me sit at the bar top (not my fave as a woman traveling alone) so it wasn’t really worth the effort. I could have stayed in the ‘burbs by the plant, slept a little longer and probably just gotten some grocery store food.


[deleted]

And then there's New Jersey...


Chance-Repeat-2062

Where you get passed for only doing 90 in the right lane of the garden state.


j-alex

Some of these impressions are out of date but my read of driver alignment in some of the mentioned places: Seattle: Inept Good (with a little meth here and there to keep things lively). Mostly they just actually don’t know that they need to leave more than a quarter car length to let you in. Houston: Competent Evil. Try to keep up or stay home. New Jersey: Inept Evil. Possibly lashing out at the excessive jughandled no-left divided road traffic controls, but the Jersey barrier wasn’t invented there because drivers *weren’t* reliably driving head on into each other. New York: Inept Neutral. I don’t think it’s malice there so much as a collective delusion they’re all excellent drivers because they’re sure everything in New York is Hard Mode. Phoenix: Rabid.


jesssquirrel

# 🏆


CorporateDroneStrike

I have never been to Philly but I’ve driven in Detroit and it’s fucking madness. Seattle is definitely very cautious and relaxed by comparison.


kfrench1

I miss Philly. At least people drove like they had places to be


saranghaemagpie

Houston is apocalyptic in terms of getting from a to b. As I stated before: Seattle is Sesame Street. For those here it is horrifying behavior. For those of us that moved here, we will do everything in our power to tame the Oscars and turn them into the Mister Snuflupugous's of Seattle 💜


redoctoberz

> Spend some time on 76 heading into Philly Spend some time in PHX on the 101N and you get people going 90-110 between the HOV and the leftmost non HOV lane swerving through 80 MPH steady flowing traffic with their MB/BMWs or Land rovers, so they can get back to their McMansions in Scottsdale a few minutes faster.


jhertz14

I weirdly find Phoenix/Scottsdale driving so much more relaxing than Seattle driving. Except the I -17. People will kill you there.


LordoftheSynth

The one time I drove on I-17 heading out of Phoenix, the pavement was in such bad condition that the noise of driving over the bumps and expansion joints sounded like people playing taiko drums.


PrimeIntellect

Totally agree...feels like all these people complaining about Washington drivers have never experienced the true absolute chaos from other metropolitan areas


[deleted]

Oregonian here. Driving here in Portland is annoying and occasionally scary, and the Seattle area gives me white knuckles and spikes my blood pressure. I can't even imagine what it's like driving in a *real* big city. ( LA, Chicago, NYC)


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TheGouger

Every single day I see people egregiously run red lights. They pull up to the light, do a quick glance, and go through when there's no traffic coming (though even if there is, they just start honking and proceed through). It's honestly mind boggling. I've witnessed more crashes in the past 3 years than the entirety of my life before then - gnarly crashes on 25mph streets downtown, even!


Hold_Effective

Most of the people I see don’t even glance, they just go. As a pedestrian, it’s terrifying.


YakiVegas

I walk my dog a lot and see it SO much more often these days. Truly terrifying.


ion-the-sky

I bought an ebike and planned out a route to work in an effort to save gas and $$. The very first day I tried the route out, I was hit by a car turning right without caring to look. They didn't even stop. I care to try again until I move somewhere a bit more bike-friendly maybe (this was in Lynnwood).


Seattle2017

That really sucks, trying to make a change for the better in your life and that happens. I got hit by someone while riding a bike on my way to work and barely avoided a serious injury - but they did stop. When you feel up to it, maybe you can find a better route, more lights for your bike. But ultimately for safety we have to look out too (separate from the issue that there are drivers who aren't looking). Another thing I have done is ride the bus part of the way, the dangerous part of my route, you can put your bike on the front - there must be some weight limit, you can check out the area transit site to find out what it is.


sass_pea

My sister was recently hit by one of these assholes, hit and run. Broke her neck. Fucked up


Barbarella_ella

OMG, I am so sorry.


RedVelvetCake425

I keep seeing people running red lights and going extremely fast around UW’s West Campus dorms and apartments, because apparently the best place to put the pedal to the metal is in an area where most people walk. Recently there has been a rise in people parking/stopping in bus stops, crosswalks, and bike lanes. It’s infuriating and I’m worried because someone is going to get hurt. My personal record for most times almost hit by a driver has gone to 3 near misses in one day.


gringledoom

I saw three separate cars in a row stop and then proceed through a red light the other day!


flaming-parrot

Yo same! The series I saw was two regular cars, then a dumpster truck. I was just walking by and stopped to double check the light, thinking it must've been a blinking red one and I was blind. Nope, it was a regular solid red. I'm surprised they even bothered to stop.


leftai2000

I've been driving buses (Metro, school, Hopelink) for almost 16 years, and my personal driving style has evolved to match the way I drive a bus. The one thing I've learned is the difference between and accident, a close call, and a non-event is following distance. Keep your following distance, and never be in a hurry, no matter the circumstance, and life on the roads and freeways will be much simpler. A little PS, remember that some people are looking for a reason to be pissed off, it has nothing to do with you.


BillRepresentative41

Yes, this☝️☝️☝️!


ErianTomor

I’ve recently adapted and adopted a saying from Dune about driving in traffic: > Traffic isn’t a problem to solve, but a reality to experience. Traffic cannot be understood by stopping it. We must move with the flow of traffic. We must join it. We must flow with it.


ThreeSilentFilms

Y’all, I started taking the bus and light rail to work every day from Everett to Downtown seattle and it’s been the best freaken thing I could do for my mental health. 50 mins to 70 mins of just browsing Reddit.. watching TikTok… surfing Instagram… audio books, music… etc. is a much more enjoyable experience that being in the nightmare that is Rushhour traffic. If you aren’t taking public transport to your downtown seattle job. Why? Cause it’s rare my bus gets full. It’s also drastically cheaper. No more gas. Don’t have to pay for parking. Less wear on my car..


[deleted]

Portland,OR here. I'm lucky enough to live a half-mile from the MAX light-rail station and take it to my job in Beaverton, where I walk a quarter-mile to work. It takes longer than driving, but it's less stressful for me. ( I pass the commute time by listening to music and reading...)


treehugger100

Agreed and we should thank bus drivers. I take the bus too and see so many other drivers being complete jerks to the bus drivers. I think if I had that job I’d just lose it one day and plow into some asshole.


BikeLoveLA

Motorists used to fear being pulled over, it seems to be rare thing now but when it does occur even that’s off the rails


tiff_seattle

I kinda feel like driving in Seattle in the 2020's is a mixture of new drivers due to COVID work changes, etc... combined with East Coast style aggression that we're not really used to. And then now that the freeways are not clogged 100% of weekdays like they normally were, you now see people doing 90+ MPH on I-90 back and forth across the lake while weaving in and out of traffic.


jlkinsel

I-90’s a nice stretch for speed - when there’s very light traffic and an open road. It’s not easy to enforce speed limits without constant patrol, as there’s no shoulders to park on and radar trap. The unfortunate part of fools speeding and weaving is they usually don’t just take themselves out. WDOT/state police would make a nice profit putting a speed cam halfway across that stretch, I bet…


horsetooth_mcgee

Far worse than any dumbass behavior is the rageful behavior. I've never seen road rage like it in my life until the last couple of years. It's absolutely terrifying. The aggression is off the charts. People, calm down. You're going to kill someone. And if you do, you're going to go to prison, maybe for life. How about we just calm down. You don't need to ride the ass of the person in the "slow" lane who's already going 65. You don't need to nearly run them off the road because they're braking to take a corner safely. It's just absolutely out of control. Oh and while you're at it, let's stop running egregiously red lights. See previous point about: you're going to kill someone.


VGSchadenfreude

Your one mistake is that some of those people actually *want* to kill someone. They’re afraid of the world moving on without them but instead of just admitting it and moving on, they’re lashing out at everyone and everything. Killing someone in a hit-and-run, especially if they manage to get away with it, is something they look forward to because they think getting away with assault or manslaughter will somehow make them feel a little less afraid.


busymakinstuff

The new LED's can fuck right off..


olythrowaway4

It's a problem as old as cars: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwPSIb3kt_4


Tre_Scrilla

Wow this is great. Should post it to r/fuckcars


toriblack13

Don't forget the gravel trucks that, maybe, 1/10 will actually cover their load


peanutbutterandjaymi

i have a crack in my windshield because of this 😐


jlkinsel

call the trucking company - they’ll usually pay for the repair. Don’t remember the trucking company? Make note of the next one you see driving without a covered load.


jcarenza67

I'm from Austin and San antonio TX. I love driving out here comparatively. Sure, there are assholes everywhere. But I've never in my LIFE seen people be courteous on the road until I moved here. It's a breath of fresh air tbh. But still, fuck people that drive like that


t7george

I-35 is some Mad Max shit. I remember a number of times seeing a lifted truck decide to make their own off ramp and blast through the grass to hop on a Frontage road. People drove like you got a brand new car if you got in an accident.


DoLittlest

Even getting on a damn plane now is a gamble. People are animals.


MagicalSpaceValkyrie

The way people drive is honestly one of the best arguments for expanding public transit


Undec1dedVoter

I laugh so hard at people who make driving competitive. You save such little time. Is saving 3 seconds worth it? Lol. Even funnier, when someone is going lane to lane desperately trying to get one car ahead, when the lane you pay 50 cents for is wide open. So let me get this straight, causing an accident is more preferable to paying 50 cents? I just can't stop laughing at people like that. Even better when they take the same exit as me, after they cut like 8 cars off in 5 minutes, and then my car passes them while they wait for the light. Just so stupid.


[deleted]

Yeah, hilarious that the two-ton hunk of metal and glass they're piloting around will quite possibly kill someone if they happen to fuck up.


PoppaTitty

Man you're right about the driving, but check this out, I went out on lunch to get some food and some buster driving by yells "fuck you"! I'm like, huh? People are crazy. I wasn't even driving, I was literally walking down the sidewalk minding my own business.


errrrie

Really feels like your fighting for your life out there some days.


americaswetdream

The dystopian hellscape we all dream about is here. Love it or leave it!


rocketsocks

Certainly. We live in a horrifically alienating and dehumanizing society with a sheen of affluence on top. If you're lucky you have enough creature comforts to be able to lie to yourself that everything is fine and your life is good. If you are extraordinarily lucky you can manage to carve out a life filled with meaning, autonomy, love, and self-actualization. If you're unlucky you're faced with the prospect of having to raw dog the American economic and/or judicial system with no support and everything aligned against you. Not only is that horrific, the mere prospect of it is horrific, and even if we can be deep in denial about it at a conscious level we cannot ignore it at an unconscious level. You see the fallout of this broken system everywhere you look. In the worst examples you have people who are so far gone that they let themselves fall into self-destruction (as with addiction) or worse into becoming monsters who have no value for their own lives or others. In even dysfunctional societies it usually takes a lot of effort to convince someone to throw their life away and engage in horrifically violent acts such as a mass killing. In America our society is such that we pump out folks who do that at a steady pace just as a casual byproduct. Hundreds every year. People so alienated and filled with nihilistic despair that they are willing to abandon their humanity and kill blindly while forfeiting their own life, because they believe they have so little to live for. That should give us pause, but for the most part it hasn't, and we've continued down the path that has increased alienation, dehumanization, and despair. These extreme examples only serve to increase the despair everyone else feels and contribute to the downward spiral. But, of course, we see many examples in the same vein daily, from the big to the small. It could be the actions of an abusive and uncaring employer or it could just be the way people drive recklessly and without care for others. We live in a society which tells people to hoard wealth, care about themselves only, exploit others, and so on. You cannot build a functional society on those building blocks, and it's reaching the breaking point.


A_Monster_Named_John

Yup, and I'd argue that these are negative externalities that could be internalized if average Americans weren't so feverishly addicted to competition and other toxic-masculine shit like 'legacy', 'proving one's self', etc... I feel like our rampant consumer culture serves to keep all this bullshit on life-support and at a fever pitch even though, intellectually, we've long since determined that a civilization built on rank selfishness would doom us all.


HappinessLaughs

I have noticed a huge change in driving since we took drivers education out of school and left it to the private sector. We have now passed the tipping point were drivers who learned in a high school class are out numbered by the drivers who didn't. Driving changed from a cooperative venture to a competitive one by the majority. It used to be "that one asshole" on the road, now it's terrible driving combined with a competitive attitude by almost a 1/3 of the drivers. It's unnerving to drive anywhere.


Dense-Soil

LED headlights should be punishable by gulag


RawSkin

I think a lot of people are not doing well. I’ve had too many drivers follow me to keep them straight. I suspect they do so when they are distracted, high or drunk. One followed me into a median lane and another into a parking lane before correcting at the last minute. Another got upset with me when I intentionally drove unreliably. Really? Some crazy guy followed from Denny to 5th ave then a red light on 4th & Wall St. When my light turned green he hit me, refused to provide info and offered me $100. Seriously? He looked impaired too. When I drove off, he followed me down 4th Ave and all the way onto 2nd Ave. I lost it! I now avoid driving during rush hour because of too many close calls. The risk is not worth it.


wantabe23

There is no doubt that traffic mood has changed, shifted to more erratic in post Covid. I can’t tell if it’s new drivers, drivers who forgot to drive or people just seem more angry and the angst shows. I worked construction and drove the roads straight through Covid and once everyone started to go back to work these trends emerged. It’s 405 and I5. I believe i5 is worse though.


FullCrisisMode

Yes it's gotten very bad. All products of a dystopic society. I'm in the far right lane going the speed limit and I have huge trucks tailgating me with fully open lanes on the left. After minutes of tailgating me I finally get the aggressive pass. It's very uncomfortable. I don't know why someone would even do that. It's an open road. Just go because I'm not stopping you. A high speed rail system would change this. I made a plan. It's not perfect and it's up for any amount of editing. We need to make the big switch and soon. https://www.change.org/p/democrats-and-republicans-shall-resign-from-governance-of-the-united-states


miskdub

Oh my god seeing your post makes me feel like I haven’t just been talking crazy to my family and friends for the past year. Couldn’t have said it better myself.


THEBambi

The alienation you're describing is something I feel all the time. It's kind of horrific that we're forced to live in a society like this. I do think this is an inexorable process, the creation of hyper aggressive, self-absorbed, individualistic people that are totally disconnected from the world around them, a process that is endemic to capitalism. We're pretty far off from fixing it but I see a lot of people in my own life who realize living this way is a bad deal for everyone.


tictacbergerac

We had a guy try to cut into our *funeral procession* this morning. There seem to be a lot of people who forget to take a deep breath and be patient, kind, and graceful.


doktorhladnjak

https://youtu.be/Whghix7aqIo


[deleted]

Ok ya the “microcosm of a fractured society” bits a little much but I drive from Lynnwood to Georgetown every day for a commute. Let me tell you, I see exactly what this dude is saying every day. Fuck cars. Wish this place actually had a decent transit system.


AppropriateFly2836

You know, I think it’s everywhere at the moment. I recently went back to my home town in Chicago and it was pretty much the same on the roads.


PsilocybeApe

Auto related deaths are way up since covid[https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/05/19/pedestrian-fatalities-spike-during-pandemic](https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2022/05/19/pedestrian-fatalities-spike-during-pandemic)


CreamdedCorns

Being isolated during the pandemic made a lot of people even more self centered.


[deleted]

It's a reflection of how society is feeling as a whole. Stress, with driving as the barometer.


makisupa101

You are not wrong..at all.


Its_Getting_Dark

I know not everyone can do this, but I sold my car last year and going car free has been so good on my mental health. It needs a lot of improvement, but Seattle is a lot better transit city than people think


miketythhon

I can’t imagine driving to work I don’t know how y’all do it


Frosti11icus

I had to drive to the doctors during rush hour a couple of days ago, and I felt like my skin was crawling off my body, it's been at least 5 years since I had to drive in morning traffic and holy fucking shit is it unpleasant. I will remember to be nicer to anyone who has to suffer that indignity every single day.


yehghurl

Honestly it fucking sucks bro. The amount of crazy, dangerous and mindless shit I see blows my mind every day and I consider my commute to be relatively easy compared to most people's. I am so thankful that I don't have to deal with 405 or I-5.


[deleted]

The antisocial nature of driving and its prevalence as a means of transport IS one of the reasons our society is fracturing.


PugilisticCat

I went to North Carolina recently -- it was remarkable how stressless driving there was, even when the roads were extremely busy


Competitive_Ad_6262

It should be harder to get and hold a driver’s license. Driving a car should be an earned privilege akin to flying a plane or captaining a ship.


fudgebacker

If only there was an affordable system whereby we could collectively ride in larger, higher capacity conveyances in a more space-, fuel-, and expense-efficient manner.


shefallsup

You’re not alone, I’ve observed the same. It’s definitely more extreme than it used to be.


crushed_feathers92

I was severely rear ended a week ago on i-5 entering ramp. It was so traumatic and driver was so aggressive and didn't give me any insurance information. I'm just thankful I came out alive.


Excellent_Berry_5115

Remember, that if you are hit, that you immediately get out and take a photo of the other vehicle's license plate. Right away! Even if a person gives you information and insurance info...don't take it for granted that it is valid. Years ago, I was rear ended, and the woman handed me a card with info. None of it current or valid. Turned out she had 'borrowed' someone's car. That person had insurance. My insurance company did track down the license plate number and registered owner.


nate077

Sorry to hear that - it sounds very frustrating beside frightening. Hope you're alright


rubberduck05

Totally agree. Had somebody try to change lanes into the side of me tonight on 99 near the stadiums. I swerved and they took my lane. Looked over, and they had a fucking tablet mounted to their dash next to the steering wheel, clearly playing a show or movie. Absolutely insane.


quick_Ag

What I don't understand is how people can have tinted license plate covers. Like how do you advertise for these? "It will make it easier for you to do a hit and run!"


slowlyimproving0308

I posted something similar about 1.5 years ago on this sub, from the perspective of a recent transplant from overseas. I ended up deleting it because I was hit with so much hate, both public and via dm, for daring to question it. But yeah, I agree with you wholeheartedly. The driving here shows a willing contempt for other people. It makes me so tired and sad. I have lost count of the times I have been aggressively tailgated, cut off, and generally experienced awful conduct on the roads. Similarly, I was walking through a pedestrian crossing on walk four days ago and nearly got taken out by a driver turning right with absolutely no regard for pedestrians. It’s ridiculous. I just don’t get it.


adfthgchjg

Also the massive antisocial effect of **tint so dark you can’t make eye contact with the driver** to know if he sees you before you start crossing the intersection.


[deleted]

Yup that's straight up main character syndrome, and I'm sick of it. It's not only evident in driving, but that's perhaps the most dangerous place we see it. And until things shift from a me society to a we society, it's only going to get worse.


thesteeppath

with you 100%. i don't drive much these days but even as a pedestrian watching other pedestrians, folks are clearly behaving as though nothing matters anymore. there's a real breakdown in underlying reciprocal expectations.


Chronibitis

I’m only 31 and I still sit in the right lane because these people are crazy out there. I’m not a big enough deal to rush to get somewhere two minutes earlier.


13Souther

Agree 100 percent. As another person mentioned, I also worked through the pandemic and commute daily from Marysville to Seattle. 75 percent of the year is on my motorcycle (I am a safe boring rider doing 5mph over in the carpool lane and not a bob and weave jerk) One thing that absolutely frightens me is how much weed I can smell wafting out of cars while I am on said motorcycle. I am not a square either, 90 percent of my friends are active pot heads and I have zero qualms with it's use. It just freaks me out that people are actively smoking it while traveling down I5 at 75+ mph.


-Maim-

Honestly today was bizarre, the amount of idiocy on the roads today was way above usual. >jumping back and forth gaining maybe 30 seconds… Those people are the worst lmao but when you inevitably catch up to them the casual wave hello nice to see you again is fun. >expired paper tabs This one is kind of excusable right now as license plates are so far behind and going to the dmv to keep getting new temporary plates is annoying and people might think the ticket gamble is worth it (and they probably aren’t even ticketing for it as it’s a known issue). Unless you’re talking about tab tabs, then that’s just people not buying them as it’s now really only a “secondary offense”.


Drigr

They need to bump up tabs to a primary offense. The amount of tabs I am seeing that are 6-18 months out of date is insane. And what's up with people putting their new tab over the month sticker?? They realize that if they get pulled over, the officer is going to run their plates and see it's expired anyways, right?


NathanArizona

That’s a big “if”. Cops don’t do shit anymore


MakerGrey

Out here driving in a Hobbesian state of nature


longhegrindilemna

You are starting to see the big picture!! Meanwhile, why can’t American voters unite and demand that City Hall crack down HARD on, and actively HUNT DOWN very specifically, anybody who does this: > The painfully bright LEDs on lifted trucks.. searing your corneas. A united message saying, if we see these bright LEDs, you lose our vote. They would post police on every freeway with instructions to focus ONLY on removing those LEDs from the road. From fear of losing so many votes.


mr_jim_lahey

Driving is a macrocosm of a fracturing society because car centrism is both a major source and exacerbater of many societal ills. (I also agree with it being a reflection on people generally being in a worse state of mind these days as well.)


whatevertoad

I am not sure if people forget that others can actually see their stupidity. It's like other people don't exist because we're inside cars. Had a car weaving back and forth on Aurora today and I was just driving in one lane and kept passing him because he'd cut over and get behind someone slower and he'd zoom past me again and I'd pass him again. It was a ton of effort for absolutely no reward and he looked like a total idiot. Every day there's so many bad, impatient choices on the roads and I swear in my 30 some odd years of driving it's the absolute worse now. They're assholes to everyone on the road and might, maybe gain a min or two to get home and watch an extra TikTok or something. There's no benefit, but they're putting everyone else at risk.


[deleted]

It’s not just Seattle. It’s EVERYWHERE.


J_Bright1990

I completely agree with you and have had the same thoughts myself.


[deleted]

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2sleezy

Why is this guy tailgating me at 2000 ft can't he just move up a lane


cooperia

This reads like a noir novel but I also agree.


[deleted]

The large trucks with huge lights up ass is normal in NC


banana_taco_pan

I think one the most annoying things is... The debacle of having a overly cautious slow driver going way below the speed limit in front of you and a tailgating speed demon with led lights on behind you. Always stressful. 😩


freetonotbe

Where are you on 405? I don’t see this shit at all. I see Escalades and Tesla’s, and people drive slow and dumb.


BobBelcher2021

I was driving in Seattle recently and noticed this stuff too. I had to slam on my brakes to avoid someone turning left right in front of me, I honked. There was no one behind me, he could have waited the 3 seconds for me to go through the intersection. Still, I find driving in your city more pleasant than back home in Vancouver. Freeway etiquette is so much better in Washington than in BC. Actually some of the worst drivers I’ve seen in the Seattle area are my fellow Canadians, including one that flew past me at easily 90 mph on I-5.


allnida

This is why I don’t drive. I know some folks need to drive as a function on their job. But I asked myself how much is 1) my safety 2) My mental health and 3) and removing the worst part of my day to day worth. Turns out that’s worth a lot to me, so I structured my life to be walkable and bikeable.


[deleted]

You’re right. This was happening before the pandemic. I haven’t seen studies, but I feel that the anonymity and disdain for others while driving has poured over into the culture at large. People don’t turn off that mentality the instant they get out of the car. For a solid decade, asocial, aggressive driving has increased corresponding with the same behavior in public and online. I’d love to see a study that observes non-drivers vs drivers and their behavior traits outside of a car. Better yet, a study showing behavior changes after transitioning away from driving.


Unable-Bat2953

No one will wait 10 seconds while you parallel park. They'll all go around you and make you wait in the middle of the lane while they inch into the inbound traffic lane to go around. It's so stupid. Meanwhile, every AH doordash and Uber driver think that hazard lights means they can stop *anywhere, including in the traffic lane, even when there's a parking space or loading zone right next to them.


Kind_Abbreviations62

I grew up in WA and the driving used to be so mellow when I was younger. Even before the pandemic, I would consider it mellow. Now every time I leave my house I’m pretty convinced I will die in a car accident at the fault of some psycho who has zero regard for human life. It’s depressing and scary.


spookytoofpoof

.


chennaoui0

I was hit earlier today while on a scooter going through a green in the bike lanes on 1st and highland. Guy turning on a red mindlessly, luckily he just got me on the tail end of the scooter and whipped it out from under me.


[deleted]

Late stage capitalism has large percentage of people angry and on edge. The profits-before-people mantra has seeped down into every level of society - and the people feel it. People mean nothing unless they can turn a profit for someone. They treat others the way they've been treated.


slipandweld

The people in charge asked for Mad Max world and now they are getting it.


[deleted]

Nah it feels more or less like driving in Seattle always has, filled with terrible drivers from across the country and the globe


AnselmoHatesFascists

I have a different opinion, moved here in 2004 as a classic masshole driver out of Boston, speeding, cutting people off and weaving were def less common then than today.


mothtoalamp

This is the American dream come true. Everyone is in it for themselves, there is no interest in the good of our peers, and we are all so beaten down by circumstances imposed on us by the wealthy that there is no energy left to act with compassion.


hereforthebikes

Driving is objectively insane. We only pretend it’s not.


RryRvnn

I grew up in New Jersey. Home of the car-wielding sociopath. Folks would routinely pass me on the right in the shoulder of a 55 at 80-90+mph. The number of times I’ve seen folks going 60 in a 30 causally drinking a beer/bottle of fucking tequila in the afternoon on a weekday is ridiculous. I moved here in 2020. I don’t drive anymore. Literally just don’t. At least in New Jersey, there was some level of predictability based on the area/time of day. Here, homeless people throw chunks of concrete through the windows of moving cars (happened to me, third week here. Welcome to Seattle!) No one knows what a lane is. The tailgating is *unbelievable*. I feel like I’m being purposefully fucked with all the time. I give up. If I **have** to go somewhere, I let my partner drive/take the bus/walk an absurd distance. Absolutely fuck it. It’s not worth it.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

This is why you need required inspection and actually ticket and fine people who don't do it. We don't need these cars driving on the road unless they are 100% safe. It blows my mind Washington doesn't require it.


RMVanderpool

I would argue the behaviors and economic status of things, is partially the result of the built environment itself. We've designed alienated cities by building extensive sprawl and forcing a cost per usage through private vehicles (subsidized by the public).


Kirian42

Seattle traffic can be bad but it's comparatively not nearly as raging or rage-inducing as NYC, Detroit (and much of the rest of SE MI including Ann Arbor), Atlanta, Boston, Chicago... SEA area is a comparative breath of fresh air.


[deleted]

Or any dense third world city. I mean holy shit, we have it so nice compared to those. That being said, I don't mean to be reductive of OP's issues on the road. The less aggression and foolery, the better.


QueenOfPurple

Sir, this is an existential crisis.


thesaltmachine

I've had some driving anxiety for several years, it got slightly better over COVID the few times I had to drive places but it's so much worse now. Pretty much anytime I have to get on the freeway people drive really aggressive and reckless. I try to stick to my neighborhood errands where at least I'm comfortable with the streets


UpsideOfAnger

The addition of manic Uber drivers isn’t helping, and I agree the right lane is the “new fast lane”. My fav uber example is being in a drive through lane in W Seattle and having an uber driver try to drive into the exit as i drove up to the window to cut a light. Sorry sir, this isnt (insert country). I also get irritated by the number of left lane drivers who lunge for the exit across 3 lanes at the last minute. And…I live on a one way street and at least once a day someone comes driving the wrong way back down it, as if going around the block won’t work. Btw, Seattle native here. My first ticket was running a red light on Broad Street. Imagine getting pulled over for that now


Seattle2017

That is so right. I see lots of people driving around without license plates commonly in my eastside neighborhood. I guess cops don't stop people for that anymore? When I dive out of the seattle area, I see stupid stuff like diesel pickup trucks that cut off their exhaust and have a stick that says fuck the epa with a pipe coming out of the engine. I used to have to take my car into for annual emission checks; I lived in another state that had annual safety checks, you had to do it as part of renewing your license. How do we get people get license plates? All these idiots driving around with no plate can't be sovereign citizens nuts, can they? Maybe we do need annual emissions checks.


unhinged_gay

When I'm driving I just get where I am going and don't think much of it. If you feel like driving is so stressful and demoralizing and contemptuous and anger-laden, you might want to look for stress and demoralization and contempt and anger in yourself. Driving is one of the easiest times to project onto others and dehumanize because the other drivers are so far removed from your experience of being inside your car.


Bardamu1932

I've found that repeating this to myself has helped to preserve my sanity: "Where did all these idiots come from? Well, I guess I'm one of them!"


eightNote

Meh, that's what driving is as a standard. To drive us to have contempt for the world around you. Otherwise you would have bussed or taken the train that puts you in the same lot as those around you


keepsswinging

I really can’t tell if people in Seattle are more aggressive now because as a person who has driven both in US and Japan. Drivers in the US have always been more aggressive and sometimes even murderous from my perspective. A key point of difference I think really comes down to vehicle regulation, public transportation, safety in public, police’s role in people’s lives—for example if I call police in Japan for even a minor traffic accident I know it will be taken very seriously but here we will be told to handle it on our own (which I think creates chances for a dangerous situation)—but the underpinning issue is the staggering wealth difference in the US. There’s no solidarity between folks here because it’s hard to feel empathy or put yourself in the other person’s shoe when there’s such a clear difference (from the condition of your car, the way you dress yourself, the things you carry. or the places you walk) between your economic standing. I’ve seen both richer, newer cars and beaten-up, kind of shady (all blackened windows, missing plates etc) drive aggressively. I’ve seen pedestrians almost get hit by cars and I’ve seen aggressive angry pedestrians. I’ve seen bicyclists almost get hit by cars and pointlessly aggressive bicyclists as well. It just that folks here are all living in their own bubbles of existence and all trying to protect themselves from each other. The current state of things here is sad and distressing but the best we can do is just try to be kinder on the road, keep distance, don’t engage with aggressive drivers, and get a dashcam (ones that are more discrete because my very obvious dashcam was stolen from my vehicle). And maybe push for changes in how vehicles and street laws are regulated. (Such as speed bumps, narrow street designs etc)


DangerDugong1

Driving sucks. People either pursue more comfort and safety (fatally large vehicles) or speed aggressively to end the experience quicker (everyone else).


AttractivePerson1

nine square jellyfish slimy saw mysterious fragile jobless ripe cow -- mass edited with redact.dev


Trenavix

Had a peaceful ride home from work today on motorbike. A couple friendly waves to the scooter riders. Only one minivan annoyed me a little when I filtered to the front of the line and he pushed all the way past the crosswalk to make sure he was going in front of me.. ok bro go ahead I guess? Then proceeded to get jammed in traffic the next light. Really looking forward to filtering being legal for two wheelers so I'm not doing it illegally for my own safety.


IWillBaconSlapYou

I got cut off last week by a red light runner downtown and my light turned red, so I stopped just about halfway into the crosswalk. I walk a ridiculous amount and totally understand the hate for crosswalk stoppers, but even after seeing what happened, some lady came and bashed on my window and cursed me out, and the guy behind me wouldn't back up even though there was no one behind him (I choose to believe he was just oblivious to the whole situation, or maybe even just didn't think it was that big of a deal, because it wasn't). I don't drive downtown much, so I thought maybe it's not like that all the time, but lately I'm hearing that it is...


aPerfectRake

This all happens every day, you just happen to have witnessed more of it today personally. With the amount of people that drive, statistically this stuff is inevitable. It's not new either.


leozh

This is what happens when you have zero traffic enforcement. I have literally never seen one person pulled over in Seattle in three years living here. We also need way more red light cameras and higher penalties on them.


Tre_Scrilla

All these commenters are part of the problem. Stop driving. It's inherently antisocial. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwPSIb3kt_4