At the risk of sounding old

[LONGHAIR]

Why is it that people just can't drive anymore? It seems to have gotten worse lately.

The aggressive passing/speeding is bad enough, but when did it change to the point that cars coming onto the highway from an entrance ramp have the right of way?
They all just plow on through, not even looking, like they own the road and "allow" others to be on the road with them. They expect you to move or slow down so they can get in, while they just continue like nothing else is on the road.
I get flipped off, lurched at, and cussed nearly every day by jerks who simply have no patience, situational awareness, or understanding of the concept of defensive driving.

[FleetsidePaul]

I don't like driving like I used to just for that reason. Pushy obnoxious people take the enjoyment out of it.

I don't think it's a matter of age. Only that you may remember a time when people were polite.

This is embarrassing. But I was tailgated in my Covette today.... By a Smart Car..

[mongocanfly]

I deal with it every day I go to work....that's why I run front and rear cameras in my truck..

[RustyPile]

It's all in how we were brought up.. Our generation was taught to be polite, courteous, and share.. Kids don't learn from their parents anymore.. They get their "learning" from the television and video games.. I see it everyday in commercials.. They preach getting what "you deserve", not what you earn..

[57taskforce]

Living in the middle of no where has its advantages. There’s dumbass drivers in town but out here in the country it’s not too bad.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Living in the middle of no where has its advantages. There’s dumbass drivers in town but out here in the country it’s not too bad.

I agree. The problem is too many people. Get away from people, get away from problems in general.

[Steeveedee]

Yup, yer old. Welcome to the club. If the tech actually worked, I'd prefer that people rode in robotically controlled vehicles. Most people drive like eejits, and think they are Parnelli Jones. I'm old enough to know who Parnelli Jones was.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Steeveedee

I'm old enough to know who Parnelli Jones was.

Had to chuckle at that. When I was a young pup I got a job that involved relocating anywhere in the country, often on very short notice.
Anyway on one of my moves I showed up sooner than expected and the regional manager took to calling me Parnelli.

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

Why is it that people just can't drive anymore? It seems to have gotten worse lately.

The aggressive passing/speeding is bad enough, but when did it change to the point that cars coming onto the highway from an entrance ramp have the right of way?
They all just plow on through, not even looking, like they own the road and "allow" others to be on the road with them. They expect you to move or slow down so they can get in, while they just continue like nothing else is on the road.
I get flipped off, lurched at, and cussed nearly every day by jerks who simply have no patience, situational awareness, or understanding of the concept of defensive driving.

Thanks for starting this Thread



I think about this A-Lot.

I wave at these People with 5 fingers instead of 1 finger.

It seems to (Tick them off ) make them mad ,
That I did Not get Mad (That I was {in} there Way)

The Signs on the road are not (suggestions) .

The Speed limit is. What is on The Sign

It is a privilege to drive on the road.

These roads were (Not paved for You and you only).

Now I will jump down from my Soap-Box















.

[Greasey Harley]

Originally Posted by Getter-Done

Thanks for starting this Thread



I think about this A-Lot.

I wave at these People with 5 fingers instead of 1 finger.

It seems to (Tick them off ) make them mad ,
That I did Not get Mad (That I was {in} there Way)

The Signs on the road are not (suggestions) .

The Speed limit is. What is on The Sign

It is a privilege to drive on the road.

These roads were (Not paved for You and you only).

Now I will jump down from my Soap-Box

Attachment 2106402













.

is the answer 64?

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by Greasey Harley

is the answer 64?

I hope so..... that's what I got.

[leddzepp]

Originally Posted by Greasey Harley

is the answer 64?

That is correct

[LONGHAIR]

I definitely was taught better and still practice it to this day. What I don't get is the disconnect, because it is not just young people that I see driving like this.
It may have come to my attention more lately because of my commute change.
From spring of '16 until mid August of '19, I rode a bicycle to work about 80% of time and drove very little otherwise. So when my commute changed because of a job relocation, I started driving a section of a state highway that is big enough to have entrance/exit ramps rather than intersections and a section of a US route that does the same, but does have a few crossing intersections.
My observations are not limited to this, but they are the bulk of my driving.
I went from 100-150 miles a month to at least 150 miles a week.
Cell phone use has ramped up considerably in the last few years, so this is part of it, but only the distracted part, not the agro part. I noticed this even during the bike commuting bit.
The entitled attitude is what I just don't get? Lane swapping w/o signal, tailgating, "shooting the gap", speeding, phone checking, etc. all of which would (should) get you at least pulled over, just don't seem too? (at least often enough to be a deterrent)
Every single day I see things that would cause one to fail a drivers test. Has the instruction/testing/deterrent process changed that much over time? or have people just gone their own way with this on their own?
Maybe some Covid influence? because the police are making fewer contacts. Maybe because the courts were shut down for a time too? If there are no consequences, people just do what they want.
I am not complaining as much as I am curious?
Airbags, early warning devices, radar cruise control, autopilot? They are all growing features, but certainly not all of these apply to the mentality of aggressiveness. Autopilot wouldn't even allow some of it. They may play into the distracted driving part though.
I would venture to say that an large percentage of people would fail a driving test that was administered "on the spot" at any given time. Even more would fail if they could somehow be observed w/o knowing it.

Those little scan tools that the insurance companies check cars with might notice excessive speeding, but what else can they detect? Un-signaled lane changes? I mean, it can't turn a car into a Tesla.

[Getter-Done]

Originally Posted by Greasey Harley

is the answer 64?

Yes.











.

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by leddzepp

I agree. The problem is too many people. Get away from people, get away from problems in general.

Yep that’s the truth. I don’t regret leaving Northern Va about 8 years ago. It had gotten so over populated. I like my space. And I don’t like dumbasses

[FleetsidePaul]

I think your answer is the commute. A long commute is misery on wheels. People are going to react to that. Throw in a couple of A-holes and there you have it. It's on.

The last two years I worked I was transferred. My commute went from 16 miles round trip a week on quiet streets to 250 miles in LA traffic. It was brutal. People were nuts. And I saw some ugly things. That was a big reason why I retired early. I was sitting in traffic one day and thought. "This is no way to live". I walked in work and told my boss I was done. Adios.

My boss and my manager both said that I was lucky. They wished that they could go too. I suppose I am lucky. I was able to remove myself from that mess. I have no desire to go anywhere. These days I just like staying home and playing with my dogs.

[Boog]

Well I'm an elder too. The bad driving thing is not just the younguns. I see elder folks doing some bad driving too. The roads are becoming increasingly crowded as the population grows and I hate to say it but there are just not enough cops out there to catch all the poor driving behavior and people know it. Having grown up in a fairly small town I wouldn't live in a large city mainly due to the way I see them drive.
True driving is a privilege though many think it's a right.

[Boog]

To tell the truth I don't like going to the big city any more due to idiot drivers and all the shootings down there. It has become a daily occurrence in the capital city much like Chicago. Drive by shootings daily on the highways and in neighborhoods. It's safer to just stay at home.

[lil hoodlum]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

I definitely was taught better and still practice it to this day. What I don't get is the disconnect, because it is not just young people that I see driving like this.
It may have come to my attention more lately because of my commute change.
From spring of '16 until mid August of '19, I rode a bicycle to work about 80% of time and drove very little otherwise. So when my commute changed because of a job relocation, I started driving a section of a state highway that is big enough to have entrance/exit ramps rather than intersections and a section of a US route that does the same, but does have a few crossing intersections.
My observations are not limited to this, but they are the bulk of my driving.
I went from 100-150 miles a month to at least 150 miles a week.
Cell phone use has ramped up considerably in the last few years, so this is part of it, but only the distracted part, not the agro part. I noticed this even during the bike commuting bit.
The entitled attitude is what I just don't get? Lane swapping w/o signal, tailgating, "shooting the gap", speeding, phone checking, etc. all of which would (should) get you at least pulled over, just don't seem too? (at least often enough to be a deterrent)
Every single day I see things that would cause one to fail a drivers test. Has the instruction/testing/deterrent process changed that much over time? or have people just gone their own way with this on their own?
Maybe some Covid influence? because the police are making fewer contacts. Maybe because the courts were shut down for a time too? If there are no consequences, people just do what they want.
I am not complaining as much as I am curious?
Airbags, early warning devices, radar cruise control, autopilot? They are all growing features, but certainly not all of these apply to the mentality of aggressiveness. Autopilot wouldn't even allow some of it. They may play into the distracted driving part though.
I would venture to say that an large percentage of people would fail a driving test that was administered "on the spot" at any given time. Even more would fail if they could somehow be observed w/o knowing it.

Those little scan tools that the insurance companies check cars with might notice excessive speeding, but what else can they detect? Un-signaled lane changes? I mean, it can't turn a car into a Tesla.

You can add in that "some" people think its a good idea to defund the police so now there are fewer cops around enforcing the laws...

[special-K]

I don't see a whole lot of aggravating moves in my daily driving, but it certainly is a fact the quality of driving ability in general has degenerated. Knowing this I set out and drive in a way where I am anticipating that stupid move and doing what I can to prevent it from happening or at least avoid it. I have averted more accidents I can count

[57taskforce]

Originally Posted by special-K

I don't see a whole lot of aggravating moves in my daily driving, but it certainly is a fact the quality of driving ability in general has degenerated. Knowing this I set out and drive in a way where I am anticipating that stupid move and doing what I can to prevent it from happening or at least avoid it. I have averted more accidents I can count

Haha Tim, as soon as you get any where near I70 and east, the stupidity gets real extremely fast! I can’t hardly stand driving anywhere east of dads house anymore when we visit. I get used to the little traffic here and then my road rage comes alive when I see all the idiots come out to play over there JK I keep my calm most of the time driving over there. I have just come to expect you can’t be in a huge hurry anywhere you are driving there because of the amount of traffic that most of those roads were never designed to handle.

[LONGHAIR]

Yeah, part of it is the "big city" thing. I live right in the middle of one of those de-fund places. Big blue cities in red states.
None of this is on the Interstate, though it happens there too. A lot of people are also choosing alternate routes because the massive re-work of a poorly designed Interstate system has made it a serious blockage on the southern part of town/suburbs.
My commute takes me to a small city that was, at one time, considered too far to be called a suburb. Not anymore.
Part of it has to be just the natural degradation of things over time. Kids see how their parents drive and doo the same or the next level of worse. They can tighten-up and do right to pass the test, then when no one is looking...

My morning drive is usually uneventful, partly because it is well before most of them are awake. Plus, I am going the opposite direction of the big flow, actually in both directions. I don't have back-ups, unless there is a crash.
Part of the return trip is because of a bad design, yet again. There are two entrance ramps that essentially piggy-back each other in the same direction. So two layers of dumbasses, who can't figure out how to merge, have to do it consecutively. Then, as you get closer to the city, the speed limit drops, twice. The drivers however do not. The idiocy usually happens around those ramps, near another place where three highways come together, and after the second speed limit drop.

[LS short box]

For work I've traveled the world and driven in many countries. Korea and Mexico are right up in the crazy driver category along with Thailand. The big US cities are always a challenge due to the volume of drivers.
We live in the lakes area of MN and this time of year there are a lot tourists. Some drive well some not so much. Trucks pulling boats, Rented monster RV's driven by people that don't have a clue of the turning radius. Kind of two types of tourist drivers, The ones that drive 20 mph in a 40 mph and then the tourists that think this is out in the country and can drive really fast. There is a section of county road near us that's 40 mph. I think the local sheriff office makes their budget each year writing tickets on that piece of road. Locals get one warning.

[FleetsidePaul]

Originally Posted by LS short box

We live in the lakes area of MN and this time of year there are a lot tourists. Some drive well some not so much. Trucks pulling boats, Rented monster RV's driven by people that don't have a clue of the turning radius. Kind of two types of tourist drivers, The ones that drive 20 mph in a 40 mph and then the tourists that think this is out in the country and can drive really fast. There is a section of county road near us that's 40 mph. I think the local sheriff office makes their budget each year writing tickets on that piece of road. Locals get one warning.

I live in a resort area as well. I cringe when I see those rented RV's with clueless drivers. Tourists can be annoying but they keep the economy going up here. That's good enough for me.

[special-K]

Originally Posted by 57taskforce

Haha Tim, as soon as you get any where near I70 and east, the stupidity gets real extremely fast! I can’t hardly stand driving anywhere east of dads house anymore when we visit. I get used to the little traffic here and then my road rage comes alive when I see all the idiots come out to play over there JK I keep my calm most of the time driving over there. I have just come to expect you can’t be in a huge hurry anywhere you are driving there because of the amount of traffic that most of those roads were never designed to handle.

I've used I-70 east of Mt Airy to points east for a long time. 70 is still 100x better than I-270. I avoid that road like the plague. I do no work down in Monkey County or DC area. On 70 I cross exits MD94, MD97, and MD32. It used to be a wide open great commute with good old sensible people until you got to US29 where I-70 East traffic blended in. Suddenly, on 29, I was in a world of knucklehead drivers. As time went by they started blending in at 32, then 97, now it's everywhere. But you can still drive down the road and keep rolling till you get where you are going. I ride the right lane mostly.

These days I'm commuting to just west of Frederick. Same fast high volume, but you get there without any craziness. Traffic at Frederick where all the roads come together sucks. I can avoid it normally. I'm very big on practicing avoidance.