I’m open to the possibility that it’s just me being more aware/sensitive to how people are driving around me too. And I’m not necessarily talking about drivers I have to interact with myself but just seeing what people are doing in general.

  • marine_mustang@sh.itjust.works
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    3 days ago

    Since 2020. Covid broke a lot of brains. Once people started driving again, it’s like they forgot (or rejected) all the rules. Bad behavior that I rarely saw, like blatantly running red lights, aggressive driving, using turning lanes as passing lanes (even through intersections) went from rare to daily.

    • 4am@lemmy.zip
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      3 days ago

      SO many people are GLUED to their phones at all times now, too. Every red light the 1st place car sits at the green until someone honks because they just CANNOT STOP DOOMSCROLLING.

      I am a technology evangelist and I have been since I was quite young. I’m addicted to my phone. I admit using it while driving on rare occasions to like change to the next song or something, or adjust Waze at a red light. But dude, come the fuck on what are people DOING??

    • bzLem0n@lemmy.ca
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      3 days ago

      Using turning/bus lanes to cross intersections is something that I see that went from rarely to daily. It drives me crazy since they usually try to force their way back in to the lane once they cross.

      • Dhs92@piefed.social
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        3 days ago

        I sometimes see people with their phone on their steering wheel while on the highway (in the US). People just don’t give a fuck anymore and it’s terrifying

    • SpruceBringsteen@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      You’ve an uptick in this type of behaviour coupled with a decline in enforcement.

      You can go to countries where there are no traffic rules being enforced at all, but there’s not the same wanton disregard for life that I see daily on US roads. Recently was in Houston and you couldn’t pay me to live in that hellscape of entitled drivers.

    • socsa@piefed.social
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      3 days ago

      The red light running is fucking wild. I feel like maybe ten times in my whole life I saw someone run a red light and now it’s basically every day.

    • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      It might be the age of most drivers around me but they all forgot how to use turn signals, how to merge onto a highway, what a yield sign means (hint: it’s not stop) and how to anticipate that they need to merge instead of waiting until the last minute and creeping into the other lane.

      And just about every time it’s someone in a Subaru driving like they were beamed into a car and don’t know what they’re doing there.

      Oh, and just about everyone comes to almost a complete stop to make any turn.

      • VindictiveJudge@lemmy.world
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        3 days ago

        I’m generally fine with people stopping at yields. It slows things down, but it’s still safe. There’s actually one near my friend’s house that has hedges blocking all view of the road to the west until you’re right up on it, so I always stop at that one; can’t see if there’s anyone to yield to until you’re almost inside the intersection.

        • Boomer Humor Doomergod@lemmy.world
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          3 days ago

          Oh, totally. But if we can all see that there isn’t any traffic slamming to a stop at a yield is a recipe for an accident.

          Maybe they’re trying to get me to rear end them.

    • Zagam@piefed.social
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      3 days ago

      Yeah. And people honking as soon as the light turns green. I got a dollar says the people that honk like that are the same people running reds making me not go when the light goes green.

      • tmyakal@infosec.pub
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        3 days ago

        There’s a lot of people clearly using red lights as opportunities to check their phone. If I can see a phone in their hand when the light turns green, I’m honking immediately.

      • socsa@piefed.social
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        3 days ago

        Nah it’s because people can’t be off their phones for five fucking seconds and the light usually only lets four cars through so if you don’t get on them quickly it will literally just be one asshole running the red.

      • Courtney (she/her/they) @lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        3 days ago

        When I was younger and had a larger vehicle, if someone honked at me less than a second after the light changes, and especially if I had my foot going for the gas… Well I hope you like sitting still because I’m now hitting the brake instead, and we would sit for another light cycle.

        While I probably wouldn’t do that nowadays, I’d be sorely tempted to brake check.

    • Fredselfish@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Or the fact that No and mean almost no one moves over for emergency vehicles on the side of the road. Did fucking they stop teaching that in drivers education?

    • i_stole_ur_taco@lemmy.ca
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      3 days ago

      I seriously think this happened. I never used to see people signaling right and then turning left from a MIDDLE lane. People used to at least slow down at a red light before making a right turn. My dashcam went from an insurance policy to a highlight reel of absolute idiocy every time I drive.

      I think it’s time everyone gets a road test every time they renew their drivers license.

    • iltoroargento@startrek.website
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      3 days ago

      I just had a dude cut me off by barreling through three lanes of traffic with no blinker and then brake check me through the right turn in an intersection only to go ten miles per hour under the speed limit on the next street and hog the left turn lane.

      Fuck cars. Fuck unsafe drivers.