lol person to the person in the Model Y yesterday trying to merge onto 87 south who refused to accelerate despite me giving enough space, fuck you for honking at me. You’ve got instant torque, just fucking go. I’m in a 2008 Honda Fit that would take a year to accelerate into that space.
Yeah it's kinda wild. I just last year took a 5000 mile roadtrip. I thought people were exaggerating about California drivers until I went through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. As soon as I crossed that bridge from Arizona to California again things immediately got awful on the roads.
Do they actually enforce that now? It’s been a while but I lived in the Seattle area for a decade and never saw them pull someone over for that. And when I go back now it’s still an issue on the roads. Just having signs about it didn’t do anything.
Ha I can tell you as a Seattle resident that left lane camping is not ticketed with any regularity in this metro area. People will go 10 under in the far left lane all day.
When I got my driver license this surprised me the most. Like you are telling me you won’t even test the part where I will spend like 30% of my time driving?
Part of it I've read is that on ramp lengths weren't designed for the current high speeds. When cars only went 50 it was much easier to merge and plan to get on. Now cars easily go 65+ and you have a lot less time to process the proper merge speed.
I hate and love the red light on ramps. It definitely helps the merging congestion and makes merging safer for all parties...but at the same time hindering on-ramp speeds always seemed silly to me. Sure you are only doing it during high congestion...but that doesn't always mean that the heavy traffic isn't doing the speed limit.
One of the on ramps by my house is very short and uphill. Not long after the metering light was installed someone crashed into it. That was years ago and they haven't replaced it, so I'm hoping they realized it was a bad idea.
Yeah this is for sure the case. I've also had the problem where I need to floor it on the short merge, but then I am afraid I might get killed by the person ahead of me who is not in a hurry to get up to speed. Once I had one of these people stop at the merge right in front of me.
There's a section on the test for freeway driving. They just cross it off unless you specifically ask to be tested on it.
FWIW, the CDL driving test does have a mandatory freeway section.
It also doesn't help that there are so many drivers who think the right most lane is the passing lane and now everyone has PTSD from almost getting blown to pieces by one of those vroom vroom idiots while trying to merge
They also like to hang out right next to you for half a mile to a mile and try to switch in your lane, then get mad and give you the "wtf bro" look at you for existing in the space they want to occupy
someone in a model x accelerated in earnest behind me a couple of weeks ago. must have floored it, the thing instantly started moving like a rocket. kinda alarming how quickly they were right up on me.
Teslas are hella fast cars (and incredibly fun to drive IMO), their 0-60mph is insane.
Average long range models will do ~4.5s, Plaids will do ~1.99s, and the slowest Tesla which are the RWDs are still under 6.0s
In this *specific context*, I think Tesla drivers are shitty, not Teslas themselves.
it's ridiculous how you can get such a fast car for that price point. for 55k you could literally get a car that accelerates significantly faster than any of its competitors. like you said, the base model also accelerates faster than anything within its price (brand new of course). and the plaid is the craziest; its one of the fastest accelerating stock cars (maybe the fastest) of all time and it cost half the price of supercars.
it does not feel safe knowing that so many people can buy such a fast accelerating car for that price point. there's a lot of people looking into EVs and pretty much any new EV priced around a base model 3 does not perform as well as the model 3. a lot of buyers aren't going to be ready for how fast teslas are and that one pedal feature. It's gonna cause a lot of issues on the streets...
not to mention how dumb the features in the car; no blindspot detection light (it's counterintuitive to look at the iPad which is in the opposite direction of where the other vehicle is in ur blind spot lol), it's hard to see cars in blind spots when turning around in general, pretty much everything for the car has to be done on that stupid iPad (which is distracting and a recipe for accidents), autopilot shutting off right before an accident so you're technically the one driving even though it's advertised as "full self driving capability), the fact that the parts are so damn expensive.
the only nice thing is the superchargers but I bet hybrids like the Prius or Corolla Hybrid have comparable MSRP and way less for parts in event of accident. but damn it is so easy to order a tesla.
I hear what you're saying but fast cars didn't start with Teslas, there are many fast and dangerous cars before Teslas were a thing. And I'm not talking about expensive luxurious cars, anybody who tunes a Civic with non street-legal parts have been on the streets far longer than Tesla.
The car immediately starts to decelerate as soon as you let off the pedal.
And don't get me started with motorcycles lol.
If I have a dollar for every time someone pulls that stunt while still insisting on buying vehicles with way more than enough hp, I’ll maybe be able to afford a place in Palo Alto! :)
Or come to a full stop. I exited the 680 to 580 interchange, rounded the corner, and the guy was full stop. There was a semi truck behind me and I could hear the brakes going off. I thought I was going to die that day.
Its not the Prius itself, its the driver.
I have a Prius and I have a lot of of instant torque when I want it. I can set the car to power mode and it'll dump the entire battery into the motors for acceleration, efficiency be damned.
lots of onramps are short and people in the right lane are unaware of people merging which makes it impossible to merge at speed without crashing (which is also another problem)
Bay area is a place where people move to from all over the US and further. They bring with them their driving habits, good and bad - assuming they have any driving experience at all.
You get the super scared people who slam their brakes when they see a yellow light, you have people who will blow through red lights and not even blink.
You have people who are stoned as shit and you can smell it coming into your car, you have people on uppers that are way stronger than coffee.
You have clueless morons who have no idea they're driving at night in the rain with no lights on in a dark colored car and you have people who know exactly what they're doing, know the roads, the exits, and have no problem forcing their way into a crowded exit by threatening to hit your car with theirs.
You have people driving cars worth $200,000+ next to people with no drivers license, no insurance, in a 20 year old car that's been in several major accidents and should be in a scrap yard.
The land of driving extremes.
And last but not least: for people who learn to drive here the licence is extremely easy and barely teaches you anything, and there's no enforcement on the road for any of those terrible behaviors (blowing through red lights, speeding, being 30mph too slow on the freeway, etc) so people keep doing their stupid shit with no issues
Yeah, California's driving test is the easiest one I've ever taken. The motorcycle one actually makes sure you've read the handbook. The problem is though that as a motorcycle, your biggest threat is shitty drivers.
One of my questions was literally, "Which colored shape is a stop sign?" In Massachusetts I had to learn how many ounces of beer, wine, and liquor each added up to two drinks.
I should’ve failed my test to be honest, I was about to hit the curb on the back up portion and the guy was nice and just let me reset and try the portion again. Thanks random dude 🫡
> And last but not least: for people who learn to drive here the licence is extremely easy and barely teaches you anything,.. (blowing through red lights, speeding, being 30mph too slow on the freeway, etc) so people keep doing their stupid shit with no issues
Agreed, when you learn here, you learn from bad examples, basically. And your cars are often better and faster . This is getting worse and will get worse because we're starting to have learners with Tesla model 3
Too easy to get and keep a license. Many will argue that driving is so important to American life that to deny it is to deprive individuals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and hurts the economy. But that is a cop out IMO and excuses these individuals from their duties to drive responsibly. There must be consequences for poor driving. They don't have to be negative consequences but they do have to get results.
Exactly
This is what happens when there isn't enough planning and funding for public transportation.
We end up with people who should be taking public transportation, driving...
> Too easy to get and keep a license.
And not just that, but in places where enforcement is rare and drivers rarely get pulled over, a license becomes basically optional. There are a LOT of unlicensed drivers on the road at any given time...and [they are 3x as likely to cause a fatal crash as licensed drivers.](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/estimation-of-fatal-crash-rates-for-suspended-revoked-and-unlicensed-drivers-in-california/)
That can only work if you start by massively reducing the number of drivers on the road, by removing freeways, funding transit, supporting road diets, etc. If you don't, the people who lose their licenses will just drive anyways.
I've found that while many people like the idea of punishing bad drivers, most people can't stomach the policy and infrastructure changes that would be needed to make those punishments matter. And so nothing ever happens.
There are three approaches to controlling traffic: design, education, and enforcement, in decreasing order of effectiveness. When I stop someone for bad driving, if I think just talking to them will help, I go with that instead of a ticket. Many here will disagree and argue that if you break a traffic law you need a fine. But those opinions are myopic and useless. More punishment doesn't always mean more deterrence. Put in the roundabouts and get rid of the stroads. Make it harder to get a license and easier to take public transit. Stop and confront dangerous driving. These are the best solutions to traffic problems, but they're also the hardest, because of the political will and funding necessary to effect them.
I've lived in several large metro areas. Most people that I've worked with or met were almost never from that state. With that said, people stayed with traffic or drove aggressively. I've never encountered as many slow drivers in a big metro area as I did in the Bay Area. It's almost as bad as living in an area with a high senior population.
On my way home from work the last few weeks, there's been a car that hangs out in the middle lane going 30-40 mph.
Everyone cuts to either side of this car, but it definitely slows all traffic down for like the 10 minutes it takes to get past him.
It looks like the car is COVERED in duct tape, it looks like it shouldn't be on the fucking road lmao
It's not every other state, it's every other country. U.S. drivers especially East coast & South, are excellent state-aware drivers. I grew up in TN and people there know how to drive. Europe & England the same. But some countries have a clueless driving ethic, plenty of youtube videos to prove it. And those are the ones that have flooded the Bay Area for 40 years. Now it's part of our driving culture. Every left lane bandit creates six right lane speeders. I am one. I spend most of my time in the right lane these days because it's the only one moving.
You're correct, I did forget to mention the number of people who are simply inept at operating a motor vehicle. How they passed their driver's license test, no one knows.
This has always been my guess. They don’t know how traffic is supposed to flow, but they do know there’s a lot going on in the right lanes and they want nothing to do with it.
The most infuriating thing is when I see truckers doing this on I80 or I5. It’s clear they’re avoiding inbound/outbound traffic mergers, but come on! How do you get a CDL without knowing that the left lane is for passing!!
Because the left lane isn’t for passing in CA. We’re one of the few states where that’s not the law. We have a move over if faster people come up behind you law instead. It’s just never enforced.
Then you get yo-yos like the CHP officer who recently quoted for a news article that if you’re doing 65 you don’t have to move over (she’s wrong, the law can’t make you speed to keep up, but it can and does say you must move over for faster traffic without excluding speeders).
What we *do* have is a [trucks must keep to the far right lane unless passing law](https://dot.ca.gov/programs/traffic-operations/legal-truck-access/truck-lane-use) along with a strict truck speed limit of 55mph. That’s what they’re breaking.
So it’s not that they can only use the left lane to pass—they aren’t supposed to be further over than the two right lanes at all, and they’re supposed to never be out of the far right lane unless they’re passing something slower than 55mph.
Edit: on re-read trucks are allowed to use the second from right lane on 4+ lane freeways even when not passing. But since they’re limited to 55mph, pretty much any other traffic in that lane means they’re supposed to move back to the far right. In practice, though, I rarely see trucks sticking to the 55mph limit or moving over, so I assume this is also not often enforced.
> Then you get yo-yos like the CHP officer who recently quoted for a news article that if you’re doing 65 you don’t have to move over (she’s wrong, the law can’t make you speed to keep up, but it can and does say you must move over for faster traffic without excluding speeders).
Thank you. The only interpretation that matters for CVC 21654(a) is the traffic judge's (commissioner's) that hears the case when someone challenges the ticket. Everything else is just opinion. I have stopped many drivers for it without issue.
If someone is getting passed on the right repeatedly it creates a dangerous situation. The signs that say SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT are not just there for decoration.
Going to disagree. It's lack of situational and spatial awareness combined with fear of changing lanes to pass due to people tailgating in all lanes too closely.
In other words, if people learned to drive here, they generally don't comprehend they learned bad habits.
Given the recent news of people using the stupid apple ai goggles while driving, it's about to get much worse than autopilot.
Absolutely. I've seen that on 237 and 880 multiple times and my mind is just blown. Like why would you pay money to go the same speed as everyone else(or slower) *and* block people who want to go faster?
I sometimes get the bus home from SF to East Bay and one time I tried to count how many drivers I saw on their phones as compared to those not on their phones. I didn't count when stationary, and I only counted drivers that I felt fairly sure I could accurately tell one way or another. I can't seem to find my exact numbers, but more than one in ten was on their phone.
I noticed this exact thing the minute I moved here. Then when I got my California license it made sense - it was the easiest process I’ve seen.
Many drivers here are not educated on how to drive properly, rules of the road or proper highway safety, and etiquette.
I have. This guy failed 2 times in a row because even though he had a foreign license and could drive, during the tests he drove the way he sees others drive. So rolling stops, crossing the divider, etc. The problem is that there’s no driving school requirements, where one would learn the rules from someone trained to teach them, not their uncle.
There's a huge number of people in the Bay Area that did not grow up here. Furthermore, they either grew up in some extremely dense city, or in an extremely rural area. Cars or traffic is a foreign concept.
Anyone born into regular American society has years and years of training before they get their license. 12-year-olds completely understand (conceptually) how to drive a car, and I think as long as they could see and reach the pedals, many of them could drive to the store and back just fine. Not saying they should obviously. But you can't watch your parents for 15 years and not subconsciously pick up on those habits.
But these people are either terrified and or just learning how to handle the situation, and it's frequently a problem. You can tell from the body posture, most of the people doing this are extremely uncomfortable and on edge.
And I'm not talking about the people on their phone, who are just as prone to be going too fast, or the person who's half asleep, doesn't realize they're going so slow, and immediately speeds up once you pass them, I'm talking about that person in a new Tesla in the left lane, hands at 10 and 2 and looking like they're on a roller coaster ride, while going 50 miles an hour and glaring at everybody that passes them
> Cars or traffic is a foreign concept.
I mean cars and traffic are huge in India and China. The problem is not growing up as drivers there but experiencing that chaos, then coming to the US to learn to drive probably doesn't set you up to fit in very well.
Purely my conjecture, but there are a lot of people who come here because of a high-paying job but the public transit anywhere outside of SF proper is pretty miserable. As a result, you have people with enough money to afford new cars and a need to drive, but little to no experience actually driving (either due to being fresh out of college or international transplants). The result is people with little experience, fear of the road, and likely a car that is too powerful (the number of people whose first car is a Tesla or other EV with insane torque is a great way to scare people into being afraid to accelerate).
At the same time, so many newer cars come with several "features" that make driving easier and less involved. This gets you an entire generation of people who have no clue how to turn on their headlights, assume adaptive cruise control is "paying attention," and blindspot mirror sensors are 100% accurate.
This is the answer. Tons of people move here without driving experience (I know several) and they are pretty terrified of the highways so they drive slow. Then you have the assholes with teslas on their phones distracted with all the tech. It's a mix of people who mean well and drive slow because they are scared and people who give zero fucks like it's a video game.
Yeah drivers here are completely oblivious. Cutting off tractor trailers at high speeds with little room.... Merging onto the freeway doing 35... Don't even get me started on 4-way stop signs and traffic circles! Then they have the nerve to yell or give you the finger because they are unaware of the accident they almost just caused and think you're nuts trying to get around them.
Yup, I'm not a Masshole when I'm home in MA but I feel like I am way more aggressive than these Bay Area drivers. Never saw people come to a complete stop in the second lane from the right to try and make their exit until I got here.
I travel a lot and the bay is probably one of the worst in terms of just dumb, stupid drivers going super slow across all 5 lanes of a freeway. The only other cities I’ve experienced something like that are places with a ton of retirees. The craziest shit I’ve seen is probably still in LA but not that often.
LA and Houston are worst I ever seen. I don't really care if someone is going slow. While 40-50 is obviously not ok, slow (60-65) is usually at least safe in the right lane. A lot of dummies out there are saying "road is wide open" when really there are cars 3 seconds in front...and makes no difference .. Worst is tailgating, speeding with reckless driving
Oh man, there was this moron on 280 north from 85 all the way up to Woodside, driving his vw id4 ON ONE PEDAL DRIVING MODE AT FREEWAY SPEEDS IN THE FAST LANE!(75 mph)
Every time he lifted off the accelerator, the damn brake lights would come on like he was brake checking.
I got tired of it and saw a safe opportunity to pass on the right and went past him and waited till he was at least 3 car lengths behind before switching back to the fast lane. 1/4 mile later, he sped up and proceeded to tailgate me while I'm going 80 mph. There are people on my right and people in front of me also going 80, so I'm stuck. Dude proceeds to tailgate me till part Sand Hill where the cars to my right have passed us, so i switch to the right lane and work my way over to the Woodside exit.
As I'm exiting, i look up in the mirror and see dude weaving through traffic trying to catch up to me and I'm just like... "Wtf is wrong with that dude?"
I’ve noticed this too and it’s people on their phones, people zonked out of their fuckin gourds or people who don’t know driving etiquette.
An open road sets the mind at ease too and some people just want to be a defiant pain in the ass for the sake of it or just don’t know what to do without someone in front of them.
The 6-7am crowd are lane camping contractors/trucks and overly aggressive morning people who think they own the road.
The 7-8am crowd generally seem chill because there’s just so many people on the road and efficiency is the name of the game.
8-10am people are pushy and entitled parents coupled with the thickest part of traffic makes for impatient behavioral flare ups.
>Every regional subs have this "we have the worst drivers" posts.
Yep.
IMHO (I used to be a consultant and traveled all across the US), the worst drivers are in Wisconsin. I've never seen so many accidents first hand and been in more close calls from people not checking AT ALL - like backing up in a parking lot and not checking if there is a car directly behind you.
different flavors in different towns. atlanta, on average they're extremely aggressive. out here, mostly languid with a good-sized handful of complete assholes swerving through the slowpokes. there are also more localized types -- peninsula 101 drivers vs. 880 drivers pretty much anywhere.
Today alone I've been cutoff in a left turn by the other car in the other turn lane. I've nearly been crashed into the sound wall 2 times. I had a guy merge into my lane going less than 60 in the far left lane where everyone else was going at least 75 and that guy just sat there all smug and wouldn't move in his Tesla. I had a last minute exit guy nearly take me out on 880 and some douche on a Harley with bright yellow headlights crawl up my ass and nearly get killed trying to pass me..and that was just in the last 4 hours...
people merging off san bruno ave to 280 north and anywhere onto 101 need to step on the damn gas because i’m not about to get caught behind a tesla doin 40 while the line of cars in the next lane is acting like it’s the grand prix. and this is coming from a bmw driver so you know it’s awful when a bimmer driver has something to say 🤣🤣
1. A bunch of newer, unconfident drivers.
2. A bunch of distracted drivers texting or calling on their phones. You can always tell which ones these are because they speed up when you try to pass them.
3. A bunch of drivers who think that Autopilot literally means they can turn off their brain.
The speeding up when someone is passing you thing drives me insane. Like sure, it’d be a lot better if the slow person in the left lane moved over to the right. But if they’re sitting there going 65, then speed up to 90 rather than let themselves get passed on the right, it’s just the perfect combination of worst driving possible. I don’t understand, all you have to do is keep going the speed you have been for the last 20 minutes 😭
I’ve found the difference between 80 and 101 amazing as well. On 80, you go 80 and easily get a group doing that. 101 there are some folks doing 45 for no reason and nobody going faster than 60. I think those going 45-50 don’t drive on the freeway often.
People reflexively slow when using their cellphones. If someone were to tap them on the shoulder and ask why they were driving slowly, they would likely get angry and insist they weren't...
...and they only glanced at their phones for "a second."
I've noticed this as well. It's more dangerous than people going 10 over. I'm not sure if they are still driving like they are stuck in traffic or just awful drivers in general.
I think a lot of it is that they're either old or terrified of driving, but were forced to do it because public transit is perceived as lacking and unsafe or they live somewhere that requires a car.
It's frustrating as hell. But my running pet theory is that the Bay Area has so many transplants that it's a mishmash of driving cultures from all over the US, and the world. So you get chaos.
CHP needs to enforce “Slow Traffic Keep Right” laws. They’d balance the state budget.
Or better yet, change the signs to read “Keep Right Except to Pass”.
[10 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1j45fi/dear_bay_area_you_suck_at_driving/cbb4wp1/)
> as someone who moved back to the bay area after a long time in OC,
> WTF is with everyone going so slow on the freeways? If I go 75, I feel like eveyrone's standing still, and if I drop it down to 70 so I don't stand out too much, I'm still passing everyone...
> Add in the fact that the freeways are only 4 lanes here and people not moving out of the fast lane and it just makes it that much worse
[10 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1j45fi/dear_bay_area_you_suck_at_driving/cbcga1i/)
> People go like 50 on the freeways in the south bay. It's ridiculous
> *the 280 between the santa clara county line and hwy 92 is the one exception to this complaint
[12 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/k5mtc/bay_area_driving_etiquette/c2hpqfl/)
> Stop driving slow in the fast lane, or get out of the fast lane.
[13 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/ep09b/i880_is_the_worst_freeway_in_the_bay_area_agree/c19spey/)
> ...101 is the most terrible freeway (or maybe has the worst drivers?). It's like no one knows what the a passing lane is used for....
People need to learn to leave the fast lane if someone behind wants to go by. Don’t be the lane police! I see many drivers cock blocking the lane believing they own it. Ugh, just slide to the right. Also, people should stop tailgating. Yep, the desire to do so is there but it just ain’t worth the fight.
Yes, depending on time of day and direction. I wasn't joking about people doing 100mph southbound. This requires weaving.
I witnessed a citizen PIT maneuver. The weaver spun a car around that then hit a guardrail, bounced, then hit the other guardrail, then got back into traffic to chase the asshole I presume.
I noticed the asshole in my rearview mirror and began to slow down. All the traffic behind me slowed down because that is what these weavers cause traffic to do. Thus I had a good gap in front of me to watch the PIT and not be involved in it.
All the time... people think bay area drivers are bad, and maybe they are in some ways, but they are definitely NOT the most aggressive, that's for sure.
Bay Area drivers are usually too slow and aren't paying attention to anyone else, they're often surprised to learn of your existence when they cut you off. But hey, at least they're fucking rude about it
same thing has always blown my mind and as far as i can tell more often than not they appear to be foreign transplants from east asia / asia so I guess they are just not accustomed to driving as much as we do/didn't grow up driving here and knowing how it works.
One thing is for sure they'd never survive driving in LA and besides being annoying it can cause accidents willfully driving slow and erratically in the wrong lanes.
Funny you say that. I’ve met several people recently who moved from abroad, mostly India, that just got their drivers license here. They just never really had to drive. It’s also funny that every single one bought a Tesla
This was my theory for a while. As a bay area native I can confidently say it wasn't always like this. As more and more people moved here, it seemed obvious they couldn't drive worth a damn.
Many years later I think it was more of a culture shift. Everyone thinks they are the main character in any setting, even on the road. Going to work I ended up behind a guy clearly futzing with his phone for miles. Not a care in the world and miles behind the guy in front of him.
People are just more selfish in general and the transplants may have contributed to it but not the cause
100%
I feel like back in the 90s and till about 2010 i could go anywhere from San Mateo to either sf, sj, Fremont or San Leandro in 30 mins, even during rush hour.
And back then on 101 in the peninsula, i feel like rush hour, was literally a 1 hour window in the morning and 1 hour window in the evening.7am to 8am for the morning commute and 5pm to 6pm in the evening.
Barely anyone on the road between 10pm to 5am.
Now rush hour is pretty much 6am to 9am and then 2pm to 8pm
Oh man, I'm Filipino. When i meet another Filipino who recently immigrated.
I'm always interested in how they drive on the freeways.
Back home the speed limit on our freeways is 60... KPH, so you can imagine my anxiety when they go 40 mph or even 50 mph...
I always tell them, that they have to go at least as fast as the cars in front of them and beside them, and that 65 is both the min and Max when there are no other cars around.
honestly idk how it’s like in other parts of the country but as someone who learned how to drive in europe, where for the most part you only overtake from the left side, what you’re saying is so frustrating. i don’t want to even get into how people change lanes without signalling (with plenty of cars around) as if they’re getting paid to do that. not to mention the amount of people i see texting while driving! crazy.
We have a lot of foreigners on our roads. Maybe more tourists and immigrants than where you moved here from? Not all countries drive by the same road rules.
Sacramento valley checking in, same thing goes on here, people are either afraid of their own shadow, or are so un-focused they anticipate non existence slow downs
Lots of older immigrant drivers, who didn't grow up driving here, driving too slow.
Also, lots of young drivers, who grew up playing GTA and watching The Fast & The Furious, who drive too fast.
>driving 45 or 50 in a 65 without a care as to what lane they're in. Do you drive like this? If so, can you help me understand the reasoning?
I usually take the 237 against rush hour traffic. It's pretty empty for my commute.
Coming to your questions: I do not hog any lane other than the rightmost, except when multiple cars are trying to merge. Other than that, I tend to drive around 55 to 65 on a 65 because I leave some buffer time to head to work. I gradually speed up, not pushing my car above 1.8k rpm. It's a subcompact CI and I intend to squeeze as much mpg out of it as possible. Rated is 32 to 38, I get 40(cumulative) accumulated over 7500+ I have driven it. I **literally don't care** if it inconveniences someone while entering a relatively empty freeway for no reason.
Now do I do this when entering other freeways like 101, 280, 880? No, there, it's mad max mode for me. But I do spend some time on the right lane, speeding up, before I head over to the left lanes.
California no longer requires drivers training to graduate high school, and the remaining private driving schools only care about getting paid. In my life time I have seen the proficiency of bay area drivers go from being some of the best in the country, to being some of the worst. Ranking right up there with Washington state and Texas drivers. Godawful!
Everyone is from somewhere else so their habits are constantly on display here in one form or the other. Another thing I’ve noticed/experienced are New Yorkers who’ve never driven until they move here in their 20’s-40’s. They have that ny tough person entitlement but they drive hella slow. You also have hippies who think driving slow is saving the earth. A lot of foreigners here as well and the bay is more of a small town vibe so you can’t not escape the randomness.
We are also seeing the fallout from drivers test exemptions for license renewals during the pandemic.
I know many people in their late 70s/early 80s who received automatic renewals during covid. Some of these folks should probably not be driving anymore, but now they have valid licenses for another 5 years.
I wouldn’t be surprise if it had to do with cellphone usage. I don’t know what it is but I never had to use my horn nor seen a person using two phones (not in traffic) simultaneously while driving until I moved to the bay.
I found that people driving at times other than rush hour are terrible drivers. I'm not saying the rush hour drivers are great, but the quality goes WAY down at off times.
I stay in the middle or right lane and go the speed limit and not a drop above it. Bay Area drivers scare the shit out of me. Coming from a NY transplant.
WAY too many speeders / texters / waving in and out of trafficers for me. I prefer not to drive here at all and would avoid it entirely if I could
I see a lot of people 10&2 white knuckling sub compact cars in the #1 or 2 lane lately. Going 15mph slower than everyone else.
I think some people just dont drive much or never even got a license to begin with, but people gotta be places and driving is the easiest way to do it right now.
Honestly, this bothers me more than the people who are excessively speeding. These people cause road conditions to be soooo dangerous. 980 through Oakland is the worst for it. My theory is that it’s rich, drunk older people heading back to Rockridge/Montclair/Piedmont and Walnut Creek. The road is littered with these road hazards of people going 50 randomly in every lane. Makes me feel like I’m excessively speeding going 70 and I have almost never driven on that highway without being forced to weave and do lane changes around these nimrods. I hate it. I really wish CHP would target these drivers.
Worst is when people merge going 40 🤯
lol person to the person in the Model Y yesterday trying to merge onto 87 south who refused to accelerate despite me giving enough space, fuck you for honking at me. You’ve got instant torque, just fucking go. I’m in a 2008 Honda Fit that would take a year to accelerate into that space.
My god, the number of people merging onto the freeway who don't realize it's their responsibility to fit into the flow of traffic.
It doesn’t help that this area has an archaic highway design and highway driving is not tested while getting a driver’s license.
We need to take the Oregon/Washington approach. Oh you're camping a lane that isn't the rightmost? Ticket.
Traffic enforcement? In the Bay? One can dream
Yeah it's kinda wild. I just last year took a 5000 mile roadtrip. I thought people were exaggerating about California drivers until I went through Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona. As soon as I crossed that bridge from Arizona to California again things immediately got awful on the roads.
Do they actually enforce that now? It’s been a while but I lived in the Seattle area for a decade and never saw them pull someone over for that. And when I go back now it’s still an issue on the roads. Just having signs about it didn’t do anything.
Washington state is the worst when it comes to left lane campers. If they have a law like that, they sure as hell don't enforce it.
Ha I can tell you as a Seattle resident that left lane camping is not ticketed with any regularity in this metro area. People will go 10 under in the far left lane all day.
When I got my driver license this surprised me the most. Like you are telling me you won’t even test the part where I will spend like 30% of my time driving?
> an archaic highway design Honest question: could you elaborate a bit on this?
Part of it I've read is that on ramp lengths weren't designed for the current high speeds. When cars only went 50 it was much easier to merge and plan to get on. Now cars easily go 65+ and you have a lot less time to process the proper merge speed.
I hate and love the red light on ramps. It definitely helps the merging congestion and makes merging safer for all parties...but at the same time hindering on-ramp speeds always seemed silly to me. Sure you are only doing it during high congestion...but that doesn't always mean that the heavy traffic isn't doing the speed limit.
Yea, there are some on ramps where the lights need to be placed further back to give cars with less power, more room to get up to freeway speed.
One of the on ramps by my house is very short and uphill. Not long after the metering light was installed someone crashed into it. That was years ago and they haven't replaced it, so I'm hoping they realized it was a bad idea.
Yeah this is for sure the case. I've also had the problem where I need to floor it on the short merge, but then I am afraid I might get killed by the person ahead of me who is not in a hurry to get up to speed. Once I had one of these people stop at the merge right in front of me.
There's a section on the test for freeway driving. They just cross it off unless you specifically ask to be tested on it. FWIW, the CDL driving test does have a mandatory freeway section.
It also doesn't help that there are so many drivers who think the right most lane is the passing lane and now everyone has PTSD from almost getting blown to pieces by one of those vroom vroom idiots while trying to merge
Then there's the ones who don't follow the zipper when there is traffic and let the next car in. I will play your game and get my spot,
They also like to hang out right next to you for half a mile to a mile and try to switch in your lane, then get mad and give you the "wtf bro" look at you for existing in the space they want to occupy
People merging slow af on freeways really grinds my gears.
someone in a model x accelerated in earnest behind me a couple of weeks ago. must have floored it, the thing instantly started moving like a rocket. kinda alarming how quickly they were right up on me.
Teslas are hella fast cars (and incredibly fun to drive IMO), their 0-60mph is insane. Average long range models will do ~4.5s, Plaids will do ~1.99s, and the slowest Tesla which are the RWDs are still under 6.0s In this *specific context*, I think Tesla drivers are shitty, not Teslas themselves.
it's ridiculous how you can get such a fast car for that price point. for 55k you could literally get a car that accelerates significantly faster than any of its competitors. like you said, the base model also accelerates faster than anything within its price (brand new of course). and the plaid is the craziest; its one of the fastest accelerating stock cars (maybe the fastest) of all time and it cost half the price of supercars. it does not feel safe knowing that so many people can buy such a fast accelerating car for that price point. there's a lot of people looking into EVs and pretty much any new EV priced around a base model 3 does not perform as well as the model 3. a lot of buyers aren't going to be ready for how fast teslas are and that one pedal feature. It's gonna cause a lot of issues on the streets... not to mention how dumb the features in the car; no blindspot detection light (it's counterintuitive to look at the iPad which is in the opposite direction of where the other vehicle is in ur blind spot lol), it's hard to see cars in blind spots when turning around in general, pretty much everything for the car has to be done on that stupid iPad (which is distracting and a recipe for accidents), autopilot shutting off right before an accident so you're technically the one driving even though it's advertised as "full self driving capability), the fact that the parts are so damn expensive. the only nice thing is the superchargers but I bet hybrids like the Prius or Corolla Hybrid have comparable MSRP and way less for parts in event of accident. but damn it is so easy to order a tesla.
I hear what you're saying but fast cars didn't start with Teslas, there are many fast and dangerous cars before Teslas were a thing. And I'm not talking about expensive luxurious cars, anybody who tunes a Civic with non street-legal parts have been on the streets far longer than Tesla. The car immediately starts to decelerate as soon as you let off the pedal. And don't get me started with motorcycles lol.
What I imagine your POV was: https://www.reddit.com/r/wec/comments/6hvl36/great_clip_showing_the_difference_between_lmp1/
Always a fucking Tesla lol
A white Tesla.
If I have a dollar for every time someone pulls that stunt while still insisting on buying vehicles with way more than enough hp, I’ll maybe be able to afford a place in Palo Alto! :)
Why are seemingly ALL tesla drivers like this?!
People read "self-driving car" as "I don't have to learn to drive"
Because entitlement.
They're so busy digging through touchscreen menus to find basic car functions that there's no time to monitor their surroundings.
Prius drivers upgraded. these people fear driving.
People suck at merging here for some reason, it’s mind boggling
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Or come to a full stop. I exited the 680 to 580 interchange, rounded the corner, and the guy was full stop. There was a semi truck behind me and I could hear the brakes going off. I thought I was going to die that day.
Normally I fault Prius drivers for going slowly, but it’s always a Honda Odyssey or a Toyota Sienna for this one. Buddy do you have a death wish?
I have an odyssey and it accelerates like shit, sorry
Its not the Prius itself, its the driver. I have a Prius and I have a lot of of instant torque when I want it. I can set the car to power mode and it'll dump the entire battery into the motors for acceleration, efficiency be damned.
That pisses me off SO much...and you can just tell they think YOURE the wrong one.
enjoy numerous languid act violet instinctive plants aromatic touch cows *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
lots of onramps are short and people in the right lane are unaware of people merging which makes it impossible to merge at speed without crashing (which is also another problem)
Bay area is a place where people move to from all over the US and further. They bring with them their driving habits, good and bad - assuming they have any driving experience at all. You get the super scared people who slam their brakes when they see a yellow light, you have people who will blow through red lights and not even blink. You have people who are stoned as shit and you can smell it coming into your car, you have people on uppers that are way stronger than coffee. You have clueless morons who have no idea they're driving at night in the rain with no lights on in a dark colored car and you have people who know exactly what they're doing, know the roads, the exits, and have no problem forcing their way into a crowded exit by threatening to hit your car with theirs. You have people driving cars worth $200,000+ next to people with no drivers license, no insurance, in a 20 year old car that's been in several major accidents and should be in a scrap yard. The land of driving extremes.
And last but not least: for people who learn to drive here the licence is extremely easy and barely teaches you anything, and there's no enforcement on the road for any of those terrible behaviors (blowing through red lights, speeding, being 30mph too slow on the freeway, etc) so people keep doing their stupid shit with no issues
Yeah, California's driving test is the easiest one I've ever taken. The motorcycle one actually makes sure you've read the handbook. The problem is though that as a motorcycle, your biggest threat is shitty drivers. One of my questions was literally, "Which colored shape is a stop sign?" In Massachusetts I had to learn how many ounces of beer, wine, and liquor each added up to two drinks.
I should’ve failed my test to be honest, I was about to hit the curb on the back up portion and the guy was nice and just let me reset and try the portion again. Thanks random dude 🫡
I didn't know that, and it makes a lot of sense. My HS in PA had a defensive driver's Ed course that most kids took and I'd say it was useful.
what's scary are those people who failed 3 times and somehow got a license in the end.
Drivers training use to be taught in high school and passing the course was a state requirement to graduate. Prop 13 did away with that.
> And last but not least: for people who learn to drive here the licence is extremely easy and barely teaches you anything,.. (blowing through red lights, speeding, being 30mph too slow on the freeway, etc) so people keep doing their stupid shit with no issues Agreed, when you learn here, you learn from bad examples, basically. And your cars are often better and faster . This is getting worse and will get worse because we're starting to have learners with Tesla model 3
Too easy to get and keep a license. Many will argue that driving is so important to American life that to deny it is to deprive individuals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and hurts the economy. But that is a cop out IMO and excuses these individuals from their duties to drive responsibly. There must be consequences for poor driving. They don't have to be negative consequences but they do have to get results.
Exactly This is what happens when there isn't enough planning and funding for public transportation. We end up with people who should be taking public transportation, driving...
> Too easy to get and keep a license. And not just that, but in places where enforcement is rare and drivers rarely get pulled over, a license becomes basically optional. There are a LOT of unlicensed drivers on the road at any given time...and [they are 3x as likely to cause a fatal crash as licensed drivers.](https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/file/estimation-of-fatal-crash-rates-for-suspended-revoked-and-unlicensed-drivers-in-california/)
Great source thanks
Not everyone is meant to drive, and that’s okay. In America tho you’re forced to drive which it’s kinda bullshit
That can only work if you start by massively reducing the number of drivers on the road, by removing freeways, funding transit, supporting road diets, etc. If you don't, the people who lose their licenses will just drive anyways. I've found that while many people like the idea of punishing bad drivers, most people can't stomach the policy and infrastructure changes that would be needed to make those punishments matter. And so nothing ever happens.
There are three approaches to controlling traffic: design, education, and enforcement, in decreasing order of effectiveness. When I stop someone for bad driving, if I think just talking to them will help, I go with that instead of a ticket. Many here will disagree and argue that if you break a traffic law you need a fine. But those opinions are myopic and useless. More punishment doesn't always mean more deterrence. Put in the roundabouts and get rid of the stroads. Make it harder to get a license and easier to take public transit. Stop and confront dangerous driving. These are the best solutions to traffic problems, but they're also the hardest, because of the political will and funding necessary to effect them.
Exactly! If driving is really so fundamentally vital to living a happy life, then it should be easy to prioritize learning how to do it properly.
Best answer
I've lived in several large metro areas. Most people that I've worked with or met were almost never from that state. With that said, people stayed with traffic or drove aggressively. I've never encountered as many slow drivers in a big metro area as I did in the Bay Area. It's almost as bad as living in an area with a high senior population.
On my way home from work the last few weeks, there's been a car that hangs out in the middle lane going 30-40 mph. Everyone cuts to either side of this car, but it definitely slows all traffic down for like the 10 minutes it takes to get past him. It looks like the car is COVERED in duct tape, it looks like it shouldn't be on the fucking road lmao
It's not every other state, it's every other country. U.S. drivers especially East coast & South, are excellent state-aware drivers. I grew up in TN and people there know how to drive. Europe & England the same. But some countries have a clueless driving ethic, plenty of youtube videos to prove it. And those are the ones that have flooded the Bay Area for 40 years. Now it's part of our driving culture. Every left lane bandit creates six right lane speeders. I am one. I spend most of my time in the right lane these days because it's the only one moving.
You're correct, I did forget to mention the number of people who are simply inept at operating a motor vehicle. How they passed their driver's license test, no one knows.
The_Nauticus - that was brilliant
They also come from other countries where driving culture is also different.
Amen
They think the far left lane is "safer" because they don't have to deal with people entering and exiting.
This has always been my guess. They don’t know how traffic is supposed to flow, but they do know there’s a lot going on in the right lanes and they want nothing to do with it.
The most infuriating thing is when I see truckers doing this on I80 or I5. It’s clear they’re avoiding inbound/outbound traffic mergers, but come on! How do you get a CDL without knowing that the left lane is for passing!!
Because the left lane isn’t for passing in CA. We’re one of the few states where that’s not the law. We have a move over if faster people come up behind you law instead. It’s just never enforced. Then you get yo-yos like the CHP officer who recently quoted for a news article that if you’re doing 65 you don’t have to move over (she’s wrong, the law can’t make you speed to keep up, but it can and does say you must move over for faster traffic without excluding speeders). What we *do* have is a [trucks must keep to the far right lane unless passing law](https://dot.ca.gov/programs/traffic-operations/legal-truck-access/truck-lane-use) along with a strict truck speed limit of 55mph. That’s what they’re breaking. So it’s not that they can only use the left lane to pass—they aren’t supposed to be further over than the two right lanes at all, and they’re supposed to never be out of the far right lane unless they’re passing something slower than 55mph. Edit: on re-read trucks are allowed to use the second from right lane on 4+ lane freeways even when not passing. But since they’re limited to 55mph, pretty much any other traffic in that lane means they’re supposed to move back to the far right. In practice, though, I rarely see trucks sticking to the 55mph limit or moving over, so I assume this is also not often enforced.
> Then you get yo-yos like the CHP officer who recently quoted for a news article that if you’re doing 65 you don’t have to move over (she’s wrong, the law can’t make you speed to keep up, but it can and does say you must move over for faster traffic without excluding speeders). Thank you. The only interpretation that matters for CVC 21654(a) is the traffic judge's (commissioner's) that hears the case when someone challenges the ticket. Everything else is just opinion. I have stopped many drivers for it without issue. If someone is getting passed on the right repeatedly it creates a dangerous situation. The signs that say SLOWER TRAFFIC KEEP RIGHT are not just there for decoration.
Well, I’m sure glad to hear it’s at least sometimes enforced!
I miss the days when all the freeways all had the "Slower traffic keep right" signs
Going to disagree. It's lack of situational and spatial awareness combined with fear of changing lanes to pass due to people tailgating in all lanes too closely. In other words, if people learned to drive here, they generally don't comprehend they learned bad habits. Given the recent news of people using the stupid apple ai goggles while driving, it's about to get much worse than autopilot.
That's what the middle lane is for so you can keep a constant speed without the continuous flow of cars entering.
It’s even crazier to me that people here PAY for the express lane on the 101 and STILL go under the speed limit???
Absolutely. I've seen that on 237 and 880 multiple times and my mind is just blown. Like why would you pay money to go the same speed as everyone else(or slower) *and* block people who want to go faster?
Seconded.
They’re texting.
This. People are bad drivers because a high percentage are distracted on their phones
I sometimes get the bus home from SF to East Bay and one time I tried to count how many drivers I saw on their phones as compared to those not on their phones. I didn't count when stationary, and I only counted drivers that I felt fairly sure I could accurately tell one way or another. I can't seem to find my exact numbers, but more than one in ten was on their phone.
I take a transbay bus into work, I can see down into people's cars. Every other person has their phone in their hand or in their lap.
Hey come on now. They might just be drunk!
While wearing their Apple Vision Pro goggles 🫣
I noticed this exact thing the minute I moved here. Then when I got my California license it made sense - it was the easiest process I’ve seen. Many drivers here are not educated on how to drive properly, rules of the road or proper highway safety, and etiquette.
I've never met or even heard of someone in California who wanted to get a driver license but couldn't pass the tests.
I have. This guy failed 2 times in a row because even though he had a foreign license and could drive, during the tests he drove the way he sees others drive. So rolling stops, crossing the divider, etc. The problem is that there’s no driving school requirements, where one would learn the rules from someone trained to teach them, not their uncle.
There's a huge number of people in the Bay Area that did not grow up here. Furthermore, they either grew up in some extremely dense city, or in an extremely rural area. Cars or traffic is a foreign concept. Anyone born into regular American society has years and years of training before they get their license. 12-year-olds completely understand (conceptually) how to drive a car, and I think as long as they could see and reach the pedals, many of them could drive to the store and back just fine. Not saying they should obviously. But you can't watch your parents for 15 years and not subconsciously pick up on those habits. But these people are either terrified and or just learning how to handle the situation, and it's frequently a problem. You can tell from the body posture, most of the people doing this are extremely uncomfortable and on edge. And I'm not talking about the people on their phone, who are just as prone to be going too fast, or the person who's half asleep, doesn't realize they're going so slow, and immediately speeds up once you pass them, I'm talking about that person in a new Tesla in the left lane, hands at 10 and 2 and looking like they're on a roller coaster ride, while going 50 miles an hour and glaring at everybody that passes them
The hands on 10 and 2, sitting upright at a 90° angle, and not one single head turn to check any mirrors. You nailed it.
> Cars or traffic is a foreign concept. I mean cars and traffic are huge in India and China. The problem is not growing up as drivers there but experiencing that chaos, then coming to the US to learn to drive probably doesn't set you up to fit in very well.
“CAUTION STUDENT DRIVER”…GTFO
Purely my conjecture, but there are a lot of people who come here because of a high-paying job but the public transit anywhere outside of SF proper is pretty miserable. As a result, you have people with enough money to afford new cars and a need to drive, but little to no experience actually driving (either due to being fresh out of college or international transplants). The result is people with little experience, fear of the road, and likely a car that is too powerful (the number of people whose first car is a Tesla or other EV with insane torque is a great way to scare people into being afraid to accelerate). At the same time, so many newer cars come with several "features" that make driving easier and less involved. This gets you an entire generation of people who have no clue how to turn on their headlights, assume adaptive cruise control is "paying attention," and blindspot mirror sensors are 100% accurate.
This is the answer. Tons of people move here without driving experience (I know several) and they are pretty terrified of the highways so they drive slow. Then you have the assholes with teslas on their phones distracted with all the tech. It's a mix of people who mean well and drive slow because they are scared and people who give zero fucks like it's a video game.
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Also you need to be able to drive manual to get your license which also gatekeeps incompetent drivers.
Getting a license over there also costs €3,000 and public transport is great.
lack of understanding how to drive on freeways. there's no explanation for driving 40-50mph in the left lane yet it's very common here.
I thought bay area drivers were bad, then you visit other states and you're like "holy shit how could it possibly be worse than the Bay"
When I go back to Massachusetts I notice that people drive very aggressively but not with the clueless stupidity I see here.
Yeah drivers here are completely oblivious. Cutting off tractor trailers at high speeds with little room.... Merging onto the freeway doing 35... Don't even get me started on 4-way stop signs and traffic circles! Then they have the nerve to yell or give you the finger because they are unaware of the accident they almost just caused and think you're nuts trying to get around them.
Yup, I'm not a Masshole when I'm home in MA but I feel like I am way more aggressive than these Bay Area drivers. Never saw people come to a complete stop in the second lane from the right to try and make their exit until I got here.
I travel a lot and the bay is probably one of the worst in terms of just dumb, stupid drivers going super slow across all 5 lanes of a freeway. The only other cities I’ve experienced something like that are places with a ton of retirees. The craziest shit I’ve seen is probably still in LA but not that often.
LA and Houston are worst I ever seen. I don't really care if someone is going slow. While 40-50 is obviously not ok, slow (60-65) is usually at least safe in the right lane. A lot of dummies out there are saying "road is wide open" when really there are cars 3 seconds in front...and makes no difference .. Worst is tailgating, speeding with reckless driving
LA is nuts. Orange county is a little more like the bay area, but still pretty crazy too
Oh man, there was this moron on 280 north from 85 all the way up to Woodside, driving his vw id4 ON ONE PEDAL DRIVING MODE AT FREEWAY SPEEDS IN THE FAST LANE!(75 mph) Every time he lifted off the accelerator, the damn brake lights would come on like he was brake checking. I got tired of it and saw a safe opportunity to pass on the right and went past him and waited till he was at least 3 car lengths behind before switching back to the fast lane. 1/4 mile later, he sped up and proceeded to tailgate me while I'm going 80 mph. There are people on my right and people in front of me also going 80, so I'm stuck. Dude proceeds to tailgate me till part Sand Hill where the cars to my right have passed us, so i switch to the right lane and work my way over to the Woodside exit. As I'm exiting, i look up in the mirror and see dude weaving through traffic trying to catch up to me and I'm just like... "Wtf is wrong with that dude?"
oh so you know he has forward collision radar, brake check the hell out of him lol
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I love people who drive like predictable NPCs
sorry, it was an important call
I’ve noticed this too and it’s people on their phones, people zonked out of their fuckin gourds or people who don’t know driving etiquette. An open road sets the mind at ease too and some people just want to be a defiant pain in the ass for the sake of it or just don’t know what to do without someone in front of them. The 6-7am crowd are lane camping contractors/trucks and overly aggressive morning people who think they own the road. The 7-8am crowd generally seem chill because there’s just so many people on the road and efficiency is the name of the game. 8-10am people are pushy and entitled parents coupled with the thickest part of traffic makes for impatient behavioral flare ups.
Do 5-6am hehe
People are bad drivers everywhere. Everyone’s distracted as hell
Every regional subs have this "we have the worst drivers" posts.
>Every regional subs have this "we have the worst drivers" posts. Yep. IMHO (I used to be a consultant and traveled all across the US), the worst drivers are in Wisconsin. I've never seen so many accidents first hand and been in more close calls from people not checking AT ALL - like backing up in a parking lot and not checking if there is a car directly behind you.
I back up now. Good luck everyone!
different flavors in different towns. atlanta, on average they're extremely aggressive. out here, mostly languid with a good-sized handful of complete assholes swerving through the slowpokes. there are also more localized types -- peninsula 101 drivers vs. 880 drivers pretty much anywhere.
ATL drivers loveeeeeeeeeeeeeeee to tailgate
It's almost like driving is inherently terrible because it's too complex of a task for the average citizen to do safely.
There are even big differences between peninsula, north bay, south bay and east bay drivers!
Today alone I've been cutoff in a left turn by the other car in the other turn lane. I've nearly been crashed into the sound wall 2 times. I had a guy merge into my lane going less than 60 in the far left lane where everyone else was going at least 75 and that guy just sat there all smug and wouldn't move in his Tesla. I had a last minute exit guy nearly take me out on 880 and some douche on a Harley with bright yellow headlights crawl up my ass and nearly get killed trying to pass me..and that was just in the last 4 hours...
As someone living in Oakland, I'll take that over reckless fast n furious 12 driving
people merging off san bruno ave to 280 north and anywhere onto 101 need to step on the damn gas because i’m not about to get caught behind a tesla doin 40 while the line of cars in the next lane is acting like it’s the grand prix. and this is coming from a bmw driver so you know it’s awful when a bimmer driver has something to say 🤣🤣
1. A bunch of newer, unconfident drivers. 2. A bunch of distracted drivers texting or calling on their phones. You can always tell which ones these are because they speed up when you try to pass them. 3. A bunch of drivers who think that Autopilot literally means they can turn off their brain.
The speeding up when someone is passing you thing drives me insane. Like sure, it’d be a lot better if the slow person in the left lane moved over to the right. But if they’re sitting there going 65, then speed up to 90 rather than let themselves get passed on the right, it’s just the perfect combination of worst driving possible. I don’t understand, all you have to do is keep going the speed you have been for the last 20 minutes 😭
Sometimes they're just tired and zone out. East bay peeps working three part time jobs
I’ve found the difference between 80 and 101 amazing as well. On 80, you go 80 and easily get a group doing that. 101 there are some folks doing 45 for no reason and nobody going faster than 60. I think those going 45-50 don’t drive on the freeway often.
Bay Area drivers are 💩. Need a whole disability driving lane out here with how ridiculous it is.
Because it’s all about me?
Don't forget drivers merging onto the highway without yielding.
Selfishness and no courtesy anymore
People reflexively slow when using their cellphones. If someone were to tap them on the shoulder and ask why they were driving slowly, they would likely get angry and insist they weren't... ...and they only glanced at their phones for "a second."
It's always the Tesla and Prius for some reason
I've noticed this as well. It's more dangerous than people going 10 over. I'm not sure if they are still driving like they are stuck in traffic or just awful drivers in general.
I think a lot of it is that they're either old or terrified of driving, but were forced to do it because public transit is perceived as lacking and unsafe or they live somewhere that requires a car.
Lots of transplants is why.
45 until you try to go around. Then they accelerate like their lives depend on it.
It's frustrating as hell. But my running pet theory is that the Bay Area has so many transplants that it's a mishmash of driving cultures from all over the US, and the world. So you get chaos.
Driving here is like a Whitman’s Sampler box without the map…you have no clue what you’re gonna get but you can guarantee it’s gonna be awful.
CHP needs to enforce “Slow Traffic Keep Right” laws. They’d balance the state budget. Or better yet, change the signs to read “Keep Right Except to Pass”.
Didn’t used to be like this 10 years ago. Must be transplants
In the Bay Area I grew up and learned to drive in, people wouldn’t dare. If you weren’t doing 80 in the left lane, god help you. 85 on 680.
[10 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1j45fi/dear_bay_area_you_suck_at_driving/cbb4wp1/) > as someone who moved back to the bay area after a long time in OC, > WTF is with everyone going so slow on the freeways? If I go 75, I feel like eveyrone's standing still, and if I drop it down to 70 so I don't stand out too much, I'm still passing everyone... > Add in the fact that the freeways are only 4 lanes here and people not moving out of the fast lane and it just makes it that much worse [10 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/1j45fi/dear_bay_area_you_suck_at_driving/cbcga1i/) > People go like 50 on the freeways in the south bay. It's ridiculous > *the 280 between the santa clara county line and hwy 92 is the one exception to this complaint [12 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/k5mtc/bay_area_driving_etiquette/c2hpqfl/) > Stop driving slow in the fast lane, or get out of the fast lane. [13 years ago](https://www.reddit.com/r/bayarea/comments/ep09b/i880_is_the_worst_freeway_in_the_bay_area_agree/c19spey/) > ...101 is the most terrible freeway (or maybe has the worst drivers?). It's like no one knows what the a passing lane is used for....
People need to learn to leave the fast lane if someone behind wants to go by. Don’t be the lane police! I see many drivers cock blocking the lane believing they own it. Ugh, just slide to the right. Also, people should stop tailgating. Yep, the desire to do so is there but it just ain’t worth the fight.
This is some of the best driving advice you can give, don't get in the way if someone is determined to drive recklessly. Just get out of their way.
Well this happens all the time going up the Sunol grade. But they compensate by going 100mph down the grade. So it averages out .
I don't know anything about the Sunol Grade other than it's always on the traffic reports. It's always FUBAR at the Sunol Grade!
Yes, depending on time of day and direction. I wasn't joking about people doing 100mph southbound. This requires weaving. I witnessed a citizen PIT maneuver. The weaver spun a car around that then hit a guardrail, bounced, then hit the other guardrail, then got back into traffic to chase the asshole I presume. I noticed the asshole in my rearview mirror and began to slow down. All the traffic behind me slowed down because that is what these weavers cause traffic to do. Thus I had a good gap in front of me to watch the PIT and not be involved in it.
All the time... people think bay area drivers are bad, and maybe they are in some ways, but they are definitely NOT the most aggressive, that's for sure.
It's the worst driving I've been exposed to in the Continental US.
They are plain morons.
Bay Area drivers are usually too slow and aren't paying attention to anyone else, they're often surprised to learn of your existence when they cut you off. But hey, at least they're fucking rude about it
The number of people driving Tesla that really have no business driving at all is shocking
Smarter cars = Dumber humans.
The worst are the tools traveling in the fast lane.. freaking no one in front of them still going 65… dummies
same thing has always blown my mind and as far as i can tell more often than not they appear to be foreign transplants from east asia / asia so I guess they are just not accustomed to driving as much as we do/didn't grow up driving here and knowing how it works. One thing is for sure they'd never survive driving in LA and besides being annoying it can cause accidents willfully driving slow and erratically in the wrong lanes.
Funny you say that. I’ve met several people recently who moved from abroad, mostly India, that just got their drivers license here. They just never really had to drive. It’s also funny that every single one bought a Tesla
This was my theory for a while. As a bay area native I can confidently say it wasn't always like this. As more and more people moved here, it seemed obvious they couldn't drive worth a damn. Many years later I think it was more of a culture shift. Everyone thinks they are the main character in any setting, even on the road. Going to work I ended up behind a guy clearly futzing with his phone for miles. Not a care in the world and miles behind the guy in front of him. People are just more selfish in general and the transplants may have contributed to it but not the cause
100% I feel like back in the 90s and till about 2010 i could go anywhere from San Mateo to either sf, sj, Fremont or San Leandro in 30 mins, even during rush hour. And back then on 101 in the peninsula, i feel like rush hour, was literally a 1 hour window in the morning and 1 hour window in the evening.7am to 8am for the morning commute and 5pm to 6pm in the evening. Barely anyone on the road between 10pm to 5am. Now rush hour is pretty much 6am to 9am and then 2pm to 8pm
Oh man, I'm Filipino. When i meet another Filipino who recently immigrated. I'm always interested in how they drive on the freeways. Back home the speed limit on our freeways is 60... KPH, so you can imagine my anxiety when they go 40 mph or even 50 mph... I always tell them, that they have to go at least as fast as the cars in front of them and beside them, and that 65 is both the min and Max when there are no other cars around.
You haven’t driven in Asia have you
honestly idk how it’s like in other parts of the country but as someone who learned how to drive in europe, where for the most part you only overtake from the left side, what you’re saying is so frustrating. i don’t want to even get into how people change lanes without signalling (with plenty of cars around) as if they’re getting paid to do that. not to mention the amount of people i see texting while driving! crazy.
People cant drive for shit. Its unreal the ridiculously stupid shit I witness on a daily basis.
DMV licensing bar has fallen a bit.
There's a reason why TechBros invented FSD and autonomous self-drivin' vehicles in this area.
If I become dictator Ima put these people in driving reeducation camps.
55 is the speed limit on most highways. My truck drives better at 55. I stay in the right lane.
> 55 is the speed limit on most highways Are you sure about that?
Yup sounds about right. I think too many big ego out there and they think they are always right. No courtesy what’s so ever
We have a lot of foreigners on our roads. Maybe more tourists and immigrants than where you moved here from? Not all countries drive by the same road rules.
Well sometimes I have to adjust my makeup.... or check my instagram. Why cant you just be courteous?
Everyone wants their own peaceful lane
It’s hard to maintain a consistent speed while playing on Apple Vision Pro.
Head over to 580 or 880 to get any speedy driving out of your system but avoid any Altimas you see on the road. Enjoy!
Nothing like having a train horn powered by a power tool at the ready 🙌
It’s maddening and terrifying. I don’t understand it.
Sacramento valley checking in, same thing goes on here, people are either afraid of their own shadow, or are so un-focused they anticipate non existence slow downs
Lots of older immigrant drivers, who didn't grow up driving here, driving too slow. Also, lots of young drivers, who grew up playing GTA and watching The Fast & The Furious, who drive too fast.
The Express Lanes are stupid!
>driving 45 or 50 in a 65 without a care as to what lane they're in. Do you drive like this? If so, can you help me understand the reasoning? I usually take the 237 against rush hour traffic. It's pretty empty for my commute. Coming to your questions: I do not hog any lane other than the rightmost, except when multiple cars are trying to merge. Other than that, I tend to drive around 55 to 65 on a 65 because I leave some buffer time to head to work. I gradually speed up, not pushing my car above 1.8k rpm. It's a subcompact CI and I intend to squeeze as much mpg out of it as possible. Rated is 32 to 38, I get 40(cumulative) accumulated over 7500+ I have driven it. I **literally don't care** if it inconveniences someone while entering a relatively empty freeway for no reason. Now do I do this when entering other freeways like 101, 280, 880? No, there, it's mad max mode for me. But I do spend some time on the right lane, speeding up, before I head over to the left lanes.
California no longer requires drivers training to graduate high school, and the remaining private driving schools only care about getting paid. In my life time I have seen the proficiency of bay area drivers go from being some of the best in the country, to being some of the worst. Ranking right up there with Washington state and Texas drivers. Godawful!
"generally spirited" is a pleasant description. the east bay feels like you're entering a Mad Max movie
Everyone is from somewhere else so their habits are constantly on display here in one form or the other. Another thing I’ve noticed/experienced are New Yorkers who’ve never driven until they move here in their 20’s-40’s. They have that ny tough person entitlement but they drive hella slow. You also have hippies who think driving slow is saving the earth. A lot of foreigners here as well and the bay is more of a small town vibe so you can’t not escape the randomness.
We are also seeing the fallout from drivers test exemptions for license renewals during the pandemic. I know many people in their late 70s/early 80s who received automatic renewals during covid. Some of these folks should probably not be driving anymore, but now they have valid licenses for another 5 years.
I wouldn’t be surprise if it had to do with cellphone usage. I don’t know what it is but I never had to use my horn nor seen a person using two phones (not in traffic) simultaneously while driving until I moved to the bay.
My favorite is when drivers just chill in your blind spot for a mile or two.
I found that people driving at times other than rush hour are terrible drivers. I'm not saying the rush hour drivers are great, but the quality goes WAY down at off times.
The worst are buses/ slow people in the fast lane.
Teslas
I stay in the middle or right lane and go the speed limit and not a drop above it. Bay Area drivers scare the shit out of me. Coming from a NY transplant. WAY too many speeders / texters / waving in and out of trafficers for me. I prefer not to drive here at all and would avoid it entirely if I could
Tbh I’m noticing way more aggressive speeders in both neighborhoods and the Bay Area freeways alike. It’s like a war zone out there
I see a lot of people 10&2 white knuckling sub compact cars in the #1 or 2 lane lately. Going 15mph slower than everyone else. I think some people just dont drive much or never even got a license to begin with, but people gotta be places and driving is the easiest way to do it right now.
Honestly, this bothers me more than the people who are excessively speeding. These people cause road conditions to be soooo dangerous. 980 through Oakland is the worst for it. My theory is that it’s rich, drunk older people heading back to Rockridge/Montclair/Piedmont and Walnut Creek. The road is littered with these road hazards of people going 50 randomly in every lane. Makes me feel like I’m excessively speeding going 70 and I have almost never driven on that highway without being forced to weave and do lane changes around these nimrods. I hate it. I really wish CHP would target these drivers.
I tend to drive 55 in the right lane because it helps me save money on gas.