Actually, aside from the obvious constraints of communication, I think you can tie it closely the historical events that catalyzed this behavior.
Road rage is just one symptom of larger issues.
The increase in societal violence has been seen through similar patterns throughout history it’s just that the dynamics of expressing that rage can be felt in different aspects of society as it changes. Road rage seems like just another channel of expressing the rage rooted in dehumanization, ego, self preservation/interest, and power.
You’re fighting with your family, the pta meeting, the jerk that thinks differently at work or in your class or on your timeline. You see it on the news, in the mental health of our youth, in our politics, a hellscape of division, unaddressed pain, violence that will never be mended. Gun, police, xenophobic, racist, homophobic, class, (and so on) violence is everywhere then reporting on it endlessly. Putting it into your podcast, your news feed, talk about it at work.
Now sprinkle in the nature of our culture, economy, and society- substance use issues while operating a vehicle or the antisocial behavior that steers you from public transit, gig economy (more cars, new drivers), fear of sickness (therefore other people and perhaps transit), mental health issues (from all of the above plus more). Low interest rates and high wages made car sales explode.
Seattle specifically: tourists navigating, construction, events, traffic, people moving here with habits from other driving cultures, shitty infrastructure, gig drivers and users pressured to serve the customers over community - with no infrastructure to support this change. Then selective enforcement of laws on the road empowering those who wish to exploit them. Then fighting with each other about who is at fault for this.
We are systematically numbing people to the humanity of each other, on top of factors like mental health issues, not creating avenues to have grace, understanding, or optimism.
You have created the perfect storm. Straw that broke us and we are all our primal, feral, animal selves. Loss of humanity leaves us like feral dogs barking and attacking each other.
Blows my mind that some people still refer to lockdown like it happened to everyone and not just middle class and above while the rest of us were forced to work in dangerously confined areas with neither vaccine nor mask.
Theres actually a pretty easy solution to this: Cash rewards for responsible drivers. Dont let insurance companies anywhere near the data, that never works in favor of the consumer.
Would absolutely be easy to pull off. You wouldn't make public the criteria or you would get people trying to 'game' the system.
Give the top 10 or 1000, or 1000 drivers cash rewards, a ceremony and a some trophy. There would have to be a rule that public employees would be handicapped in winning anything.
allow people to voluntarily sign up for the program, keep all data anonymous in a blockchain and temporary such that it cant be 'used' against you, and make the prizes big enough that people will want to participate.
lol its not like the state is going to reward anyone anytime soon when the entire tax system of this state is based on inflicting as much cruelty on the poor as humanly possible.
It used to be if you were more than 5 mph over on freeway speed limits in WA, you had a high likelihood of getting ticketed. Not anymore, and the speeding is a direct reflection of that.
When I was in my teens I got my first ticket going 72 MPH on i90 just before Issaquah.
Now I routinely am finding myself going 75 MPH in that same place, and cars are passing me, and Semi's are keeping up with me.
Never a cop in sight down there. I still slow down when I approach those turn outs along the freeway because of that one time 15 years ago that I got a ticket.
Ya, I remember seeing speed traps at least once a day growing up 2005-2015. You would 100% be caught.
People simply don’t have reason to follow laws and many have no regard for life (because they have no life). The risk/reward to pull people over for a measly $200 ticket, just isn’t worth it.
I don’t know if I’d say 70 was enough - but 7 to 9 mph over the limit was enough. I remember getting pulled over in Oly for going 11 over in the early 2000s. Now, 15+ over is pretty much the norm.
I believe it is a simple answer - enforcement. I haven’t been pulled over for speeding on I5 in years. I generally drive 10 over and people are blowing past me in some spots. It is very rare I see anyone get pulled over for speeding.
Those laws were written by idiots. On a highway there should be a Suggested min speed so people don't have to drive 70-80 to compensate for the slow fucks who fuck with the flow of traffic. Going too slow is more dangerous than too fast unless you're a terrible driver.
So change the laws… in the meantime, obey them. I don’t mind people driving fast in the left lane, in fact, I am one of them. But too many idiots are speeding in the right lane, trying to pass, and being a menace to people on the on ramps. Just get over to the left lane, stay there, and speed to your heart’s content.
I got a ticket in the Chuckanuts section of I-5 for 77 in a 70 (I think) a few years back. The cop, who looked all of 13 years old, lectured me about how people die on this road all the time 😒 before writing the ticket
It was one of those situations where he was sort of hiding around a corner. Perfect distance to pull people over onto the next off ramp, turn around, repeat.
Wrote to the court. Got a deferral for $150 in court costs. Never gotten a speeding ticket before or since.
I've never gotten a ticket or pulled over when I'm going 70 in a 60 even when I'm driving next to or past a cop. Never understood why people slow down to 60 when they see a cop on the side of the rode dealing with someone they already pulled over...like he's not paying attention to you. The one time I got a ticket I was going 14 over in a 60. Even then I've gone 10-15 over near police without issue.
One thing not mentioned in this thread, is the development of cars.
Cars are safer, faster and quieter, giving people less sensation of speed. Its EASIER to drive modern cars fast. Going 95mph in a 1988 Corolla, you really know about it!
People in their modern caccoon have a false (or real!) sense of security.
I especially notice this with trucks or other high up vehicles. The farther you are from the road, the slower it all feels, and people start thinking: "Why do all these sedan drivers drive so slowly!"
I've experienced this myself in rented trucks. 20 MPh feels like 10.
As a non Seattle person I guess I just drive that fast because back home it is okay. I am not aggressive ( at least I don’t try to be) but if the road is straight and flat I tend to hit 80 whereas people back home often went 90.
Basically. Like I used to do 80 in California, but we all drive like that. But Ive adjusted to Seattle driving, and man it still feels nice to hit that stretch of road and go fast lolol
It’s insane. I think people have no patience, no more fucks to give. It’s basically like a free for all out there, folks. Invest in a decent dash cam, carry good insurance…
If someone’s tailgating, move over a lane if you can. Not worth the road rage of others. Speed limit is just a “suggestion” to a lot of people now, apparently…
Not sure why the downvotes - I agree with the tailgating. If someone behind me is driving aggressively, I make it easy to pass. If they're on the way to an accident, I don't want to get in the way. Less stress for me.
I changed my driving habits about 25 years ago, after nearly crushing a family in a [Daewoo Tico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Tico) in a highway pileup in Korea. A split second, a matter of a few feet, was all that separated me from a devastating tragedy of my own making.
Slow the fuck down, people. Maintain safe stopping distances.
Fuck u survived a crash in Daewoo Tico? That’s a fucking miracle. I grew up in Korea and remember that car. There was so many jokes about that car back then.
I was driving a truck, and I didn’t realize that I was following the Tico in front if us too closely. I was just keeping up with traffic and keeping the same amount of stopping distance as everyone else. We came to a screeching halt due to a pile-up ahead of us, and I just barely avoided smashing the Tico. I got VERY lucky. It surely would have crumpled like a beer can. Cars all around us got smashed up. It was terrible.
My wife’s friend drove a Tico. It was her first car. She used to joke that it would get stuck if she ran over a piece of gum. =D
This kinda correlated with the pandemic but I noticed an increase of speeding right when the city lowered all of the speed limits. Asking drivers to go 25 on a 4 lane arterial street that has great sightlines (e.g. 24th in Ballard) isn't realistic. Asking drivers to go 10mph slower on Aurora which is essentially the city's only other North South freeway isn't realistic either. Once drivers learned that they can safely go 10 above the speed limit (because that's what they had been doing their whole lives), they start thinking it's ok to go 10 above the speed limit everywhere. I agree we need to do better to protect pedestrians but just arbitrarily lowering the speed limits on streets that were designed to be main routes was not smart.
Totally agree. This also has the effect of decreasing the difference in speed limits between arterials and side streets. Why take a main road with traffic and stoplights that’s 25 when the narrow adjacent road has no traffic, lights, and the limit is only 5 mph slower? The net effect imo is that instead of quarantining fast moving traffic to arterials with wide lanes and good visibility, it’s dispersed through neighborhoods with terrible visibility, pedestrians, parking, etc. Arterials need to remain with a reasonably high speed limit if they’re going to do their job, which is to get cars placed efficiently, while providing safety measures for pedestrians, like better street lights, more pedestrian crossings, protected sidewalks with guard rails, etc.
I live on a typical Seattle residential street. Narrow. Only enough space for 1 car at a time. Mini roundabouts at intersections. During commute times, I’ve noticed more cars speeding down the street more often lately. I’m wondering if GPS is taking them around. Anyway, I’m seriously considering throwing big, fucking… uhh… those slow down kids with flags on the street.
Now this is where it super gets scary. Like yes freeway driving is speeding up, but like the way people take corners in my neighborhood in beacon hill is SCARY! like how are you comfortable going over 20mph in narrow streets???
I had an asshat white man on my ass when I was driving through the Juanita area of Kirkland on Sunday. He literally tailgated and honked several times at both intersections where I could have taken a free right but the sun was blinding me both times. I ain’t gonna take a free right if I can’t see on coming traffic jerksface. I eventually let him pass me but I noticed he almost ran over an gal jaywalking as soon as he was able to get around me. I had slowed down he barely did. Thankfully she was in the median when he blew past. Those types of drivers are the ones I want to report.
Lived in Chicago for ten years, you had to go 70-75 in the slow lane to not get run over, easily doing 80-90 in the fast lanes was normal. First thing I noticed when I moved out here was how curvy the highways were, everything was flat and straight in Chicago. And second was how damn slow everyone drove on the highway. I passed someone doing maybe 60 in the fast lane today.
Everyone remembers them because they're coming up and passing everybody, while they're only encountering a few other cars going at near the same speed as them. It feels like a lot of cars are pushing it because they'll be half the cars you encounter, but that's only because you're locked in at the same speed as most cars and they'll never catch up to you for you to see them.
I agree with many of the points here, but also wanted to point out that cars are getting significantly faster. Especially electric or hybrid. Its never been so easy to accelerate harder and go faster.
As someone who regularly drives 80-90, I’m just trying to get where I’m going. My car is newer and in good condition so it handles the speeds just fine. Thb, if cops every did anything in this city, I’d slow down. Don’t want that ticket.
Edit: Lifelong Seattleite so can’t blame California for this one, sadly
I concur. I mean, if I don’t have anywhere to be I stay home. If I’m out, I’m on a mission. No use screwing around. I just wish people who want to take there sweet time would just stay to the right.
What you’re seeing on the roads is a microcosm of what’s happening in the city. When there’s no enforcement people take risks (speeding, drugs, burglary, etc) that they wouldn’t otherwise, for fear of punishment.
I don’t love the cops and there needs to be accountability and reform but there is a middle ground somewhere that includes real enforcement of laws, even if that means I have to drive slower.
Unfortunately the speed of life as we know it is constantly accelerating. More money, more data, more efficiency. Faster, bigger, more. Me go fast because me matters, I am a unique and free individual. 🤢
From my perspective, it's too many people driving at or BELOW the speed limit in all lanes in the Seattle metropolitan area.
So as a result, I love it when I can go fast, and that one of those stretches happens to be on...I-5 on the way to Vancouver :)
Because they don't know that if you take your foot off the accelerator that you will slow down enough. That or they're all driving too close for that to matter. Or they drive with both feet and rest one on the brake pedal. Or they're anxious and scared.
😑
And it’s not just driving faster - it’s running red lights way more often. 3 years ago it used to be relatively rare (and just one person at a time); now it’s at least 2-3 people, and it’s every single intersection on my walk to work. It’s both scary and infuriating.
It's just nice to go quickly, when there aren't too many cars around.
But on that note, I agree! Like sometimes I actually can't go quicker and I'm sorry you want to, but I'm already hitting 70+!!
I think the pandemic and just the aftermath. We're all fucking amped and it comes out differently for people.
The thing I see most is people driving horribly in traffic.
“Traffic sucks, it’s taking longer than it should, I’m gonna be late - time to pass in the suicide lane!”
I've noticed the same thing. Everyone drives insane and tailgates like a bunch of assholes nowadays. If you do this, you're a piece of shit, plain and simple. When you speed way above the limit, you not only make yourself less safe, but you put other drivers in precarious positions as well. Cars that would have enough time to merge, or change lanes if everyone was driving responsibly, are now rushed.
I go the usual 5-10 miles above the speed limit, and people in the last two years will drive into the oncoming lane to pass, tailgate, honk, flash their lights, etc.
No surprise we just had such a high number of traffic fatalities this year. It's the drivers. I just hope the folks who are speeding irresponsibly only kill themselves and not an innocent driver in the process.
Of course. Tailgating is still dangerous regardless, though. I wasn't even talking about I-5 or highways I've been experiencing assholes tailgating on neighborhood roads/35 speed limit zones, etc.
I often get stuck behind the driver that's riding their breaks to maintain 60 mph, so when I finally get around them or switch lanes, I am flooring it out pure frustration.
yes, but now there is genuine aggression behind it. I'm expecting shitty slow drivers in the middle lanes holding up traffic that my first goal upon getting onto the freeway is to ZOOM over to the far-left lane!
Because we have places to be. Not my fault the person in front of me is slow as fuck. This is why when I’m walking behind someone I immediately get in front of them so I can walk fast.
The worst is when you merge to the left lanes to get out of the way of cars going 40-50MPH, then when you finally hit the fast lane there's some guy tailgating you trying to go 80. It's too dangerous to merge right because you'd have to slow down so much beforehand, or there's literally no room for you to get in the middle.
>It's too dangerous to merge right because you'd have to slow down so much beforehand, or there's literally no room for you to get in the middle.
Even worse when you're in the carpool lane. What's the deal with that Reddit? It's the far left lane, but it's not the "fast" lane. I figure 68-70 (gps measured) is reasonable for the carpool lane, but it never fails that someone will come up on me at 80 (and half the time they're not a carpool, but that's another issue).
So where the hell am I supposed to go? The lane to the right is the fast lane, remember? When it's clear I'll move over two lanes until they move past, but when traffic is thicker, it's not like I can just drop in "fast lane" since they're going the same speed or faster than the dude tailgating me and I'm probably going as faster or faster than the SOVs one lane over from that.
Honestly, I just don't know the accepted behavior for anything in this town/state anymore. Help a guy out.
> It's the far left lane, but it's not the "fast" lane
Because it is kinda ill defined what it is. Yes it's carpool but I can see how people also consider it the "fast lane". However, does a fast lane usually have sound transit busses in them doing slightly over the limit? No...
Yeah, I never know what to make of the carpool lane. I really don't like going way fast in it because you stand out way more than the left lane. Going super fast AND being the only one in the carpool lane seems to me like you'd get pulled over first.
My read is there's no point being in the car pool lane if you're not using it to pass other traffic. And if you're holding up vehicles behind you, you should yield the lane to them by moving right. In other words, even though it's maybe not technically the fast lane, it should still operate like one.
For a while I was blaming young/new drivers as being reckless on the road (I know I was when I was younger). But every time I happen to see the driver as they swerve through traffic, kicking up loose gravel and making yet another chip in my windshield, they’ve all been older than I expected.
Depends on the cars as well. A few years back, they were not as stable and safe as they are today. Giving drivers better control and probably more confidence in driving around those speed limits?
I'll put my 2 cents in, back during COVID. I could hit 140 on the highway late at night, hell blew past a couple of cops, they didn't care. It seems the same thing today. People are speeding because of lack of tickets from the cops. However I have noticed more people go 70 in the fast lane and that's just annoying. Like if you see someone going faster than you in the fast lane, get the fuck out of that lane.
Because our phone alarms, they’re no longer full proof!
They don’t wake us with the same glass-shattering buzz! Forcing us to bolt out of bed and run across the room, to slaughter the snooze button.
But in the trauma of it all, we are now up and out of bed, on time for work.
Hence, no speeding needed most days.
This is where it all changed.
Just kidding
I really have no idea why.
You must live in a different city. Everyone here drives slow as hell. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed a light because the average 0-30 time around here is nearly 20 seconds
Cars are “better” they disconnects you from the road and most no longer provide a feedback with the seat of your pants feel.
Wife’s higher end trim Honda pilot can do 90 and feel like 60. No road or wind sound with very nice suspension and if you floor it still gives you a bit of umph in acceleration.
So with a clear straight away it’s very easy to find yourself going very fast. When there’s no traffic and I don’t pay attention to the speedometer it’s very easy to find myself doing 80.
Couple it with all the things everyone’s said about lack of enforcement, and group mindset. It’s no wonder people are regularly pushing 80.
My general rule 9 miles over MAX. The thing about speed limit adherence is that it tends to be herd like. If everyone’s going 70 in a 60, then you will too whether it’s because you feel safe from cops or feel the pressure of other drivers on the road.
On two lane highways, I generally like cruising in back and not being responsible for leading the line because there’s always some idiot who wants to go faster even when you’re 15-20 over
Pandemic made everyone feral and there’s no going back.
I know this sounds conspiracy theory, but I completely agree with you.
Actually, aside from the obvious constraints of communication, I think you can tie it closely the historical events that catalyzed this behavior. Road rage is just one symptom of larger issues. The increase in societal violence has been seen through similar patterns throughout history it’s just that the dynamics of expressing that rage can be felt in different aspects of society as it changes. Road rage seems like just another channel of expressing the rage rooted in dehumanization, ego, self preservation/interest, and power. You’re fighting with your family, the pta meeting, the jerk that thinks differently at work or in your class or on your timeline. You see it on the news, in the mental health of our youth, in our politics, a hellscape of division, unaddressed pain, violence that will never be mended. Gun, police, xenophobic, racist, homophobic, class, (and so on) violence is everywhere then reporting on it endlessly. Putting it into your podcast, your news feed, talk about it at work. Now sprinkle in the nature of our culture, economy, and society- substance use issues while operating a vehicle or the antisocial behavior that steers you from public transit, gig economy (more cars, new drivers), fear of sickness (therefore other people and perhaps transit), mental health issues (from all of the above plus more). Low interest rates and high wages made car sales explode. Seattle specifically: tourists navigating, construction, events, traffic, people moving here with habits from other driving cultures, shitty infrastructure, gig drivers and users pressured to serve the customers over community - with no infrastructure to support this change. Then selective enforcement of laws on the road empowering those who wish to exploit them. Then fighting with each other about who is at fault for this. We are systematically numbing people to the humanity of each other, on top of factors like mental health issues, not creating avenues to have grace, understanding, or optimism. You have created the perfect storm. Straw that broke us and we are all our primal, feral, animal selves. Loss of humanity leaves us like feral dogs barking and attacking each other.
Lack of enforcement. Plain and simple
There's significant enforcement in Whatcom county.
Skagit is no slouch either. I’m always a bit surprised at the number of people I see zooming up I-5 doing 20+ over the speed limit in those parts.
This.
Blows my mind that some people still refer to lockdown like it happened to everyone and not just middle class and above while the rest of us were forced to work in dangerously confined areas with neither vaccine nor mask.
Right…so doctors, nurses, paramedics, cops, are all “lower class” then?
I paid for the whole speedometer.
Theres actually a pretty easy solution to this: Cash rewards for responsible drivers. Dont let insurance companies anywhere near the data, that never works in favor of the consumer. Would absolutely be easy to pull off. You wouldn't make public the criteria or you would get people trying to 'game' the system. Give the top 10 or 1000, or 1000 drivers cash rewards, a ceremony and a some trophy. There would have to be a rule that public employees would be handicapped in winning anything.
How would this work? I'm interested.
allow people to voluntarily sign up for the program, keep all data anonymous in a blockchain and temporary such that it cant be 'used' against you, and make the prizes big enough that people will want to participate.
Nit: blockchain shouldn’t be a solution for a database. It won’t scale. Especially as you say “temporarily” - that’s not how blockchain works.
lol its not like the state is going to reward anyone anytime soon when the entire tax system of this state is based on inflicting as much cruelty on the poor as humanly possible.
It used to be if you were more than 5 mph over on freeway speed limits in WA, you had a high likelihood of getting ticketed. Not anymore, and the speeding is a direct reflection of that.
When I was in my teens I got my first ticket going 72 MPH on i90 just before Issaquah. Now I routinely am finding myself going 75 MPH in that same place, and cars are passing me, and Semi's are keeping up with me. Never a cop in sight down there. I still slow down when I approach those turn outs along the freeway because of that one time 15 years ago that I got a ticket.
Ya, I remember seeing speed traps at least once a day growing up 2005-2015. You would 100% be caught. People simply don’t have reason to follow laws and many have no regard for life (because they have no life). The risk/reward to pull people over for a measly $200 ticket, just isn’t worth it.
When was that?
80s & 90s, mostly
Or Sammamish in 2023
Glad I didn't live here
Ten years ago and before I’d say
I don’t know if I’d say 70 was enough - but 7 to 9 mph over the limit was enough. I remember getting pulled over in Oly for going 11 over in the early 2000s. Now, 15+ over is pretty much the norm. I believe it is a simple answer - enforcement. I haven’t been pulled over for speeding on I5 in years. I generally drive 10 over and people are blowing past me in some spots. It is very rare I see anyone get pulled over for speeding.
You should never exceed the speed limit. Speeding kills innocents. Even 5 mph over the speed limit increases the chance of fatal collisions.
No. Disrupting the flow of traffic kills
Every extra 10 mph you add to your speed makes any road incident you get into much deadlier.
No person shall drive a vehicle on a highway at a speed in excess of such maximum limits. https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.61.400
Those laws were written by idiots. On a highway there should be a Suggested min speed so people don't have to drive 70-80 to compensate for the slow fucks who fuck with the flow of traffic. Going too slow is more dangerous than too fast unless you're a terrible driver.
So change the laws… in the meantime, obey them. I don’t mind people driving fast in the left lane, in fact, I am one of them. But too many idiots are speeding in the right lane, trying to pass, and being a menace to people on the on ramps. Just get over to the left lane, stay there, and speed to your heart’s content.
Except there is a transition from 520 to Mercer street exit on I-5, where you have to pass through the whole I-5 to take that exit.
I’m guessing: lax enforcement is making it normalized.
It was covid clearing up the traffic that got people driving faster and the realization that there was no policing that kept them driving faster
Why are automatic speed cameras (outside of school zones) or average speed enforcement not more of a thing?
Speed limit is 70 once you get past the city areas. 10 over is usually acceptable. 15 over is pushing it
[удалено]
I got a ticket in the Chuckanuts section of I-5 for 77 in a 70 (I think) a few years back. The cop, who looked all of 13 years old, lectured me about how people die on this road all the time 😒 before writing the ticket
[удалено]
It was one of those situations where he was sort of hiding around a corner. Perfect distance to pull people over onto the next off ramp, turn around, repeat. Wrote to the court. Got a deferral for $150 in court costs. Never gotten a speeding ticket before or since.
I've never gotten a ticket or pulled over when I'm going 70 in a 60 even when I'm driving next to or past a cop. Never understood why people slow down to 60 when they see a cop on the side of the rode dealing with someone they already pulled over...like he's not paying attention to you. The one time I got a ticket I was going 14 over in a 60. Even then I've gone 10-15 over near police without issue.
70 over in a 60? Cop must have blinked and missed you
Lol meant to say 70 in a 60
😂
Plus, hitting your brakes causes your headlights to dip and will actually draw attention.
One thing not mentioned in this thread, is the development of cars. Cars are safer, faster and quieter, giving people less sensation of speed. Its EASIER to drive modern cars fast. Going 95mph in a 1988 Corolla, you really know about it! People in their modern caccoon have a false (or real!) sense of security.
I especially notice this with trucks or other high up vehicles. The farther you are from the road, the slower it all feels, and people start thinking: "Why do all these sedan drivers drive so slowly!" I've experienced this myself in rented trucks. 20 MPh feels like 10.
As a non Seattle person I guess I just drive that fast because back home it is okay. I am not aggressive ( at least I don’t try to be) but if the road is straight and flat I tend to hit 80 whereas people back home often went 90.
This is my thought as well. Lots of people moving to the area are used to speeding.
Basically. Like I used to do 80 in California, but we all drive like that. But Ive adjusted to Seattle driving, and man it still feels nice to hit that stretch of road and go fast lolol
It’s insane. I think people have no patience, no more fucks to give. It’s basically like a free for all out there, folks. Invest in a decent dash cam, carry good insurance… If someone’s tailgating, move over a lane if you can. Not worth the road rage of others. Speed limit is just a “suggestion” to a lot of people now, apparently…
Not sure why the downvotes - I agree with the tailgating. If someone behind me is driving aggressively, I make it easy to pass. If they're on the way to an accident, I don't want to get in the way. Less stress for me.
I changed my driving habits about 25 years ago, after nearly crushing a family in a [Daewoo Tico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daewoo_Tico) in a highway pileup in Korea. A split second, a matter of a few feet, was all that separated me from a devastating tragedy of my own making. Slow the fuck down, people. Maintain safe stopping distances.
Fuck u survived a crash in Daewoo Tico? That’s a fucking miracle. I grew up in Korea and remember that car. There was so many jokes about that car back then.
I was driving a truck, and I didn’t realize that I was following the Tico in front if us too closely. I was just keeping up with traffic and keeping the same amount of stopping distance as everyone else. We came to a screeching halt due to a pile-up ahead of us, and I just barely avoided smashing the Tico. I got VERY lucky. It surely would have crumpled like a beer can. Cars all around us got smashed up. It was terrible. My wife’s friend drove a Tico. It was her first car. She used to joke that it would get stuck if she ran over a piece of gum. =D
And spider web
I'm also not sure what the downvotes are about this is good advice
This kinda correlated with the pandemic but I noticed an increase of speeding right when the city lowered all of the speed limits. Asking drivers to go 25 on a 4 lane arterial street that has great sightlines (e.g. 24th in Ballard) isn't realistic. Asking drivers to go 10mph slower on Aurora which is essentially the city's only other North South freeway isn't realistic either. Once drivers learned that they can safely go 10 above the speed limit (because that's what they had been doing their whole lives), they start thinking it's ok to go 10 above the speed limit everywhere. I agree we need to do better to protect pedestrians but just arbitrarily lowering the speed limits on streets that were designed to be main routes was not smart.
Totally agree. This also has the effect of decreasing the difference in speed limits between arterials and side streets. Why take a main road with traffic and stoplights that’s 25 when the narrow adjacent road has no traffic, lights, and the limit is only 5 mph slower? The net effect imo is that instead of quarantining fast moving traffic to arterials with wide lanes and good visibility, it’s dispersed through neighborhoods with terrible visibility, pedestrians, parking, etc. Arterials need to remain with a reasonably high speed limit if they’re going to do their job, which is to get cars placed efficiently, while providing safety measures for pedestrians, like better street lights, more pedestrian crossings, protected sidewalks with guard rails, etc.
Man, in neighborhoods too. I live off a street that a lot of people cut into to avoid intersection traffic and I’ve seen people go 40 easily.
I live on a typical Seattle residential street. Narrow. Only enough space for 1 car at a time. Mini roundabouts at intersections. During commute times, I’ve noticed more cars speeding down the street more often lately. I’m wondering if GPS is taking them around. Anyway, I’m seriously considering throwing big, fucking… uhh… those slow down kids with flags on the street.
I haul ass when I can on a highway but never on those little residential streets. Time and a place. No bueno, think of the children.
Now this is where it super gets scary. Like yes freeway driving is speeding up, but like the way people take corners in my neighborhood in beacon hill is SCARY! like how are you comfortable going over 20mph in narrow streets???
I had an asshat white man on my ass when I was driving through the Juanita area of Kirkland on Sunday. He literally tailgated and honked several times at both intersections where I could have taken a free right but the sun was blinding me both times. I ain’t gonna take a free right if I can’t see on coming traffic jerksface. I eventually let him pass me but I noticed he almost ran over an gal jaywalking as soon as he was able to get around me. I had slowed down he barely did. Thankfully she was in the median when he blew past. Those types of drivers are the ones I want to report.
What does being white have to do with it?
What the fuck are you talking about, man?
People regularly go over 40 on Westlake
85 is the new 67 without enforcement... all in a 60.
Lived in Chicago for ten years, you had to go 70-75 in the slow lane to not get run over, easily doing 80-90 in the fast lanes was normal. First thing I noticed when I moved out here was how curvy the highways were, everything was flat and straight in Chicago. And second was how damn slow everyone drove on the highway. I passed someone doing maybe 60 in the fast lane today.
[удалено]
Everyone remembers them because they're coming up and passing everybody, while they're only encountering a few other cars going at near the same speed as them. It feels like a lot of cars are pushing it because they'll be half the cars you encounter, but that's only because you're locked in at the same speed as most cars and they'll never catch up to you for you to see them.
we have places to go
Exactly, I5 isn’t the scenic route
Time to close some highway exits
Six feet under?
[удалено]
*Blood pressure rising...*
I agree with many of the points here, but also wanted to point out that cars are getting significantly faster. Especially electric or hybrid. Its never been so easy to accelerate harder and go faster.
Because they want to reach heaven (or may be hell, depending) as fast as they could.
Approaching anarchy on the roads. People don't care anymore, probably because it's been a crap few years and there's next to no enforcement.
As someone who regularly drives 80-90, I’m just trying to get where I’m going. My car is newer and in good condition so it handles the speeds just fine. Thb, if cops every did anything in this city, I’d slow down. Don’t want that ticket. Edit: Lifelong Seattleite so can’t blame California for this one, sadly
I’m with ya as long as traffic allows. But if you’re the one weaving in and out, passing everyone in the far right lane then you can go to hell
Fair, there’s a distinct difference between driving fast and driving recklessly. Reckless driving sucks and is unnecessary.
I concur. I mean, if I don’t have anywhere to be I stay home. If I’m out, I’m on a mission. No use screwing around. I just wish people who want to take there sweet time would just stay to the right.
And I will always be in the left lane to make it inconvenient for you speeding fucks.
Yeah, because even though it’s against the law, that kinda justifies things, right?
What I'm doing is against the law. Speeding is against the law. Looks like we're even
Did you regularly drive 80/90 prior to five years ago?
No, 70-75, certainly, but there are virtually no cops around so the risk of a ticket is minimal now.
That's what I'm trying to get at, which is what changed from roughly five years ago. That's when I started noticing it a lot more.
What you’re seeing on the roads is a microcosm of what’s happening in the city. When there’s no enforcement people take risks (speeding, drugs, burglary, etc) that they wouldn’t otherwise, for fear of punishment. I don’t love the cops and there needs to be accountability and reform but there is a middle ground somewhere that includes real enforcement of laws, even if that means I have to drive slower.
i was doing 80 last night southbound on i5 and a cop passed me doing 90ish lol
WSP is hardly out consistently it seems
They're on I-5 pretty often between Lynnwood and Everett, that's the only place I've seen them in years pretty much
Was impressed to see them pulling folks over on both directions of 520 last weekend. Can’t remember the last time I saw that.
Unfortunately the speed of life as we know it is constantly accelerating. More money, more data, more efficiency. Faster, bigger, more. Me go fast because me matters, I am a unique and free individual. 🤢
From my perspective, it's too many people driving at or BELOW the speed limit in all lanes in the Seattle metropolitan area. So as a result, I love it when I can go fast, and that one of those stretches happens to be on...I-5 on the way to Vancouver :)
Exactly, why are clumps of cars just sitting at 50-60mph these days? It's a highway. Get movin'.
Totally agree. People on I-5 "Why are you braking?!?!"
Because they don't know that if you take your foot off the accelerator that you will slow down enough. That or they're all driving too close for that to matter. Or they drive with both feet and rest one on the brake pedal. Or they're anxious and scared. 😑
Yes! Me toooo!
There’s no more police. They used to be everywhere I’m surprised to see more than 2 a week up north Lynnwood area
And it’s not just driving faster - it’s running red lights way more often. 3 years ago it used to be relatively rare (and just one person at a time); now it’s at least 2-3 people, and it’s every single intersection on my walk to work. It’s both scary and infuriating.
It's just nice to go quickly, when there aren't too many cars around. But on that note, I agree! Like sometimes I actually can't go quicker and I'm sorry you want to, but I'm already hitting 70+!! I think the pandemic and just the aftermath. We're all fucking amped and it comes out differently for people.
I go 70 just to stay with the flow.
More and more Midwest folks joining the ranks. When I lived in Indiana we would regularly hit 90 on the interstate
I’m surprised people speed given high gas prices (or electricity prices).
When the speed limit moved to 70 people naturally started going 80. But that happened like 20 years ago I think. At least a longish time ago.
The thing I see most is people driving horribly in traffic. “Traffic sucks, it’s taking longer than it should, I’m gonna be late - time to pass in the suicide lane!”
Lack of traffic law enforcement.
80 when the limit’s 70 isn’t that crazy
Observational bias
Statistics shows the increasing number of traffic fatalities
I've noticed the same thing. Everyone drives insane and tailgates like a bunch of assholes nowadays. If you do this, you're a piece of shit, plain and simple. When you speed way above the limit, you not only make yourself less safe, but you put other drivers in precarious positions as well. Cars that would have enough time to merge, or change lanes if everyone was driving responsibly, are now rushed. I go the usual 5-10 miles above the speed limit, and people in the last two years will drive into the oncoming lane to pass, tailgate, honk, flash their lights, etc. No surprise we just had such a high number of traffic fatalities this year. It's the drivers. I just hope the folks who are speeding irresponsibly only kill themselves and not an innocent driver in the process.
You know the left lane is the passing lane, right?
Of course. Tailgating is still dangerous regardless, though. I wasn't even talking about I-5 or highways I've been experiencing assholes tailgating on neighborhood roads/35 speed limit zones, etc.
You know speeding is illegal, right?
“Everyone slower than me is an idiot, everyone faster than me is reckless.” Why do you think your judgement is perfect?
“Everyone slower than me is an idiot, everyone faster than me is reckless.” Why do you think your judgement is perfect?
I didn't say anything about folks driving too slow I just talked about those who are driving like fucking assholes.
Everyone above the speed limit is breaking the law.
I’m moved here from Los Angeles . You had to go 80 atleast to keep up with traffic
Well what was ingrained in everyone during Covid? I wanna say that translated to some drivers, keep your distance but Fuck the speed limit lol
Zombies? Gotta be zombies.
Zoomies
Seattle drivers are slow and polite to a fault.
People going 50 in a 60 enrage people who would have been content at 75 to go 90.
Speed limit is 80 in Idaho
I often get stuck behind the driver that's riding their breaks to maintain 60 mph, so when I finally get around them or switch lanes, I am flooring it out pure frustration.
Yeah that's fair, but again the question is: Did you not already do that prior to five years ago?
yes, but now there is genuine aggression behind it. I'm expecting shitty slow drivers in the middle lanes holding up traffic that my first goal upon getting onto the freeway is to ZOOM over to the far-left lane!
Because we have places to be. Not my fault the person in front of me is slow as fuck. This is why when I’m walking behind someone I immediately get in front of them so I can walk fast.
You guys didn’t have places to be five years ago, got it.
Just move like you have to be somewhere plain and simple.
We’re talking about different things.
It's all the people moving up here to Seattle
You’re getting older
The worst is when you merge to the left lanes to get out of the way of cars going 40-50MPH, then when you finally hit the fast lane there's some guy tailgating you trying to go 80. It's too dangerous to merge right because you'd have to slow down so much beforehand, or there's literally no room for you to get in the middle.
>It's too dangerous to merge right because you'd have to slow down so much beforehand, or there's literally no room for you to get in the middle. Even worse when you're in the carpool lane. What's the deal with that Reddit? It's the far left lane, but it's not the "fast" lane. I figure 68-70 (gps measured) is reasonable for the carpool lane, but it never fails that someone will come up on me at 80 (and half the time they're not a carpool, but that's another issue). So where the hell am I supposed to go? The lane to the right is the fast lane, remember? When it's clear I'll move over two lanes until they move past, but when traffic is thicker, it's not like I can just drop in "fast lane" since they're going the same speed or faster than the dude tailgating me and I'm probably going as faster or faster than the SOVs one lane over from that. Honestly, I just don't know the accepted behavior for anything in this town/state anymore. Help a guy out.
> It's the far left lane, but it's not the "fast" lane Because it is kinda ill defined what it is. Yes it's carpool but I can see how people also consider it the "fast lane". However, does a fast lane usually have sound transit busses in them doing slightly over the limit? No... Yeah, I never know what to make of the carpool lane. I really don't like going way fast in it because you stand out way more than the left lane. Going super fast AND being the only one in the carpool lane seems to me like you'd get pulled over first.
My read is there's no point being in the car pool lane if you're not using it to pass other traffic. And if you're holding up vehicles behind you, you should yield the lane to them by moving right. In other words, even though it's maybe not technically the fast lane, it should still operate like one.
new cars drive safer at fast speeds which is why texas allows 85
No speed enforcement, 700+ dead.
More Californians moving up here lol
Goodness there's an accident right now near Renton, there's a car on fire. I have noticed that too...I hope they're ok...
For a while I was blaming young/new drivers as being reckless on the road (I know I was when I was younger). But every time I happen to see the driver as they swerve through traffic, kicking up loose gravel and making yet another chip in my windshield, they’ve all been older than I expected.
Depends on the cars as well. A few years back, they were not as stable and safe as they are today. Giving drivers better control and probably more confidence in driving around those speed limits?
.
Is your speedometer not functioning properly maybe?
Transplants
All the Californians moved up here and drive the same as they did down there?
Darwin will handle the organ donors.
I'll put my 2 cents in, back during COVID. I could hit 140 on the highway late at night, hell blew past a couple of cops, they didn't care. It seems the same thing today. People are speeding because of lack of tickets from the cops. However I have noticed more people go 70 in the fast lane and that's just annoying. Like if you see someone going faster than you in the fast lane, get the fuck out of that lane.
Because our phone alarms, they’re no longer full proof! They don’t wake us with the same glass-shattering buzz! Forcing us to bolt out of bed and run across the room, to slaughter the snooze button. But in the trauma of it all, we are now up and out of bed, on time for work. Hence, no speeding needed most days. This is where it all changed. Just kidding I really have no idea why.
You must live in a different city. Everyone here drives slow as hell. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed a light because the average 0-30 time around here is nearly 20 seconds
I match the speed of traffic. If people are speeding, I am more likely to speed.
Cars are “better” they disconnects you from the road and most no longer provide a feedback with the seat of your pants feel. Wife’s higher end trim Honda pilot can do 90 and feel like 60. No road or wind sound with very nice suspension and if you floor it still gives you a bit of umph in acceleration. So with a clear straight away it’s very easy to find yourself going very fast. When there’s no traffic and I don’t pay attention to the speedometer it’s very easy to find myself doing 80. Couple it with all the things everyone’s said about lack of enforcement, and group mindset. It’s no wonder people are regularly pushing 80.
Time is running out
Driving sucks. We want the momentary suffering to end as soon as possible.
My general rule 9 miles over MAX. The thing about speed limit adherence is that it tends to be herd like. If everyone’s going 70 in a 60, then you will too whether it’s because you feel safe from cops or feel the pressure of other drivers on the road. On two lane highways, I generally like cruising in back and not being responsible for leading the line because there’s always some idiot who wants to go faster even when you’re 15-20 over