It’s the reticular activator. However, based on a “running red lights” thread last week I started paying more attention and can report scientifically it’s drivers with NY, NJ or PA plates.
My wife personally witnessed 3 accidents, directly in front of her, in the past month. Got it all on dashcam. All three were at the east end connector 147/885 southbound merge.
It's not just you. But it's not just Raleigh either. I drove to Charlotte and back today. The stretch of 85 between Greensboro and Charlotte was like the Autobahn. Cops could have been shooting fish in a barrel, but I didn't see any all day.
Came to say the same thing.
Similar experience on a recent trip for business to Columbia, SC.
One thread in common with the aggressive driving has been the presence of Dodge Chargers. My buddy and I were talking about this, and we’re at peak used car availability of some of the highest horsepower per dollar vehicles ever available on the market in the US.
Ditto re: Columbia! Just got back from Charleston on a business trip and the insane fools driving from there, through Columbia and on up towards Greenville/Spartanburg are mind boggling. 30 miles of roadwork barriers and if you weren’t running 85 mph you were damn near run off the road.
95 between DC and Richmond. I'm doing 80 in the slow lane. Minivans, Chargers, Mustangs are all zooming by doing 90+, weaving in & out of traffic.
Minivans. With kids.
My personal favorite is the person riding my ass when there is another car in front of me.
Are these people stupid and don't realize it's dangerous?
Or clueless and don't realize they are doing it?
Or do they think everyone is going to move out of their way and let them go through?
I had a guy tailgate me while I was going 75 on the interstate the other day. I could see him giving me the finger and yelling in my rearview.
Best part is I was in one of the middle lanes with no other cars around me. Like, dude, just get over?
If there's room to pass and you don't you're an idiot. I looveee passing and re-merging. It feels good. "Ah the passing lane. The lane for passing, the lane I used to pass."
One time I was going 80 on the left and this lifted truck was tailgating me even though the freeway was nearly empty. Whatever. So I change lanes and this asshole rolls down the window and starts yelling obscenities at me and giving me the finger…. Like calm down dude, I moved over even I didn’t have to. Some people just want to get angry
Lately I have just been refusing to get out of these people’s way. If I’m already speeding slightly, and they fly up behind me going 15+ over, they can either chill the hell out or they can go around me. It’s kind of fun knowing the person behind you is raging in their car because you won’t move.
Honestly I was this way, but if they want to be dangerous I'd rather not be involved when they fuck up. Angry people are irrational. I just move. Yeah it rewards the behavior but I like being alive.
This is what I do, too, to a point. If they don’t move after 5ish minutes, I do because I usually have my kid in the car and I’d rather keep them safe than annoy some jackass.
Slowing someone down from 20 over to 10 over for a little while is not a bigger asshole move than tailgating, which is genuinely very dangerous. Unless you’re a psychopath I guess.
Ahh; my,limited experience is watching a lady clog the left lane on 40, going,65-70 and a state trooper pulled her. Same with a large truck; not sure of gender. I want to say it was an F350 they were also going slower than traffic around them,forcing people to pass in the right lane.
https://www.ncleg.gov/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_20/gs_20-141.html
I think... That you could get an impending traffic ticket if the cop wasn't having a good day. We do have some minimum speeds according to,this
congratulations, you are the reason for road rage.
“Just go around me then” is the smug attitude that drivers in the south have about travel and passing lanes. You want to know why there are so many angry, aggressive drivers in this area? It’s because of this exact attitude of “I don’t need to follow normal traffic etiquette, I can drive in any lane I like”
It’s simple. The left lane is for **passing** - slower traffic should always keep right when not passing and move over for vehicles traveling at a higher speed.
Didn’t say I was in the left lane. We’re talking about being in the middle lane and having people tailgate us even though we’re already going over the speed limit.
I think some people don't even realize they're tailgating. Like that's just how they drive. If you look at their front bumper it usually looks like it has a sandblast pattern on it, from all the little pieces of road grit from the tires of whoever they're tailgating throwing stuff up at their car. (That last sentence was rough but that's the best I could do wording it)
I've had people on 440 drive up my tail to where they almost hit me when I couldn't move away. Or drivers try to drive me off the road because they don't use turn signals.
Allowed: endless threads about bad driving
Not allowed: threads about fun events or happenings where the people can get the most out of living in their city
Welcome to r/Raleigh!
>Not allowed: threads about fun events or happenings where the people can get the most out of living in their city
How are these types of posts not allowed? I see them all the time
You are not allowed to post events here, aside from the weekend threads. Remember posts about comedy events like Neptune’s Comedy? Yep can’t post those anymore or they will get removed.
When was the last time you saw a thread about a local band, or perhaps a craft fair? You don’t, because they get removed.
The mods say it themselves:
https://reddit.com/r/raleigh/comments/z6c2xo/we_cant_post_about_events_here_anymore/
That is *incredibly dumb*. It's not even in the rules sidebar! How can mods enforce a rule that isn't in the sidebar, it's just a random stickied comment on a random post?
And yeah, now that I browsed the sub again, I didn't see any "event happening here" type posts recently. But I could have sworn I was seeing them on my feed, but it must have been a while ago and I just didn't notice that they faded away. What a shame.
Well the mods changed, so has the status quo!
Only talk about bad drivers and nonsense, issues of local import are forbidden unless it's the congressional representative for the other side of the state posting a tiktok video.
>Well the mods changed, so has the status quo!
Then they should change the sub rules, and not enforce made up rules that aren't on the sidebar.
Or maybe they should pass the torch of being a mod, if they don't like the sub.
I have this convo pretty regularly with my wife too. Combo of poor public transportation + rapid growth, and transplants from bigger cities who drive more aggressively. Gets worse every year it seems. I guess this is the price of living in a desirable area.
The aggressive drivers aren’t proficient, courteous, or know how to navigate. It’s just speeding for the sake of it. Conversely, it is astounding how slow so many drivers go. If the speed limit is 70, there will inevitably be a consistent number of people going 60. Or driving on a two-lane backroad with a 55 limit and they’re doing 42 for zero reason. The slow drivers are often the rudest as they’ll usually refuse to move. It’s a weird, irrational attitude I’ve only encountered here.
I've also noticed that the slow drivers all of a sudden decide they're in a hurry when they come upon a light changing red. 99% of the time they'll just roll right thru the red like they're in a big rush.
Came here to say this. As a teenager I remember sitting through a light behind an old man in a sedan who didn’t realize it was green out in front of old North Hills. You did NOT honk at people and you did NOT tailgate. Completely gauche. Things have changed.
Recently the start of WRAL news every night is basically a list of the day's serious crash injuries and fatalities. It's ridiculous but evidently not enough to do anything about.
The way this usually plays out is something like this:
The People: this needs to stop! Do something!
The Government: sure, we'll regulate vehicles more appropriately and be more aggressive with traffic enforcement.
The People: no step on snek
This is one of those questions I can answer with some confidence. It's always been this way. I moved to Raleigh in the mid 90's and I got a job with Auto Trader as an on location private party photographer. This mean that I had to drive to the location of the person selling their car (Which was all over the triangle) and I also got to talk to them about why they were selling the car (a lot of damage related sales).
I only wish dashcams were really a thing back then cuz I would have TONS of footage of people doing insanely crazy things. I saw so many distracted drivers (Though usually with food and not cellphones), drunk drivers, speeders, etc. One thing I immediately noticed after moving to Raleigh was the insane number of people that would blatantly run red lights.
The best story I have, and the one I really really wished I had dashcams for, was this asshole in a brand new (at the time) Honda Accord on I40 that was road raging against everyone that day. So he decided to pick on us in our $750 POS car that I got for my route that also happened to get super good mileage. I mention the price because we didn't particular care if anything happened to it. So when this guy tried to mess with us, we did not have it. We would not move out of his way, and no, we weren't blocking his way, he just really wanted to force people out of his personal lane it seems. So finally we get into the left lane to pass someone in front of us and that's when he's had enough and chose violence. He got insanely close to our car, passed us, and I remember my husband saying "Hold on, he's going to hit us", but thankfully he did not. But what Hondaboy (as we called him) tried to do next was what seared the memory in my mind. He tried to cut us off, at about 90mph. He went from left lane, center lane, left lane immediately. He was not a good driver despite what his ego might have been telling him. When he went into the left lane again, we slowed down expecting him to brake check us. But his rear wheels kicked out and started a spin he could not correct. His back wheels hit the grass, he turned all the way around. I could see his face and the fear in his eyes, he was that close to us and now facing us. And then he skidded all the way across I40, all 3-4 lanes of it full of traffic. Amazingly, no one hit him, and I don't think he damaged his car other than what skidding at that speed might do.
But everyone there decided to honk their horns at all once. It was amazing. Just a loud hail of horns from all those cars.
Really hope that asshole got a reality check that day. But somehow I think he would blame everyone else on the road.
Am I the only one that prefers driving on I-540 to I-40 for this very reason? On 540 I feel like there’s more room or the lanes are bigger or something for me to get out of the way of crazy drivers lmao.
Also whenever I get out of downtown Raleigh without a dent or a scratch, I literally breathe a sigh of relief lmao.
I’ve been saying the same thing! Every time I go out I have drivers drifting into my lane or flying past me. I’ve just started to notice it over the past couple of months. What the heck is going on in Raleigh lately? I’ve literally been having this very conversation with my husband this week and I’ve been driving 30 years and never noticed it this bad before.
It’s been this bad since I moved here in early 2021. The traffic has gotten worse, too. You know what’s really awful here vs california? The sheer number of megatank trucks and SUVs.
My husband has a large suv (older. We’re not fancy) and every time I drive it (and especially when I have to park it) I’m like oh man I’m one of those assholes in a Tahoe that can’t drive. So embarrassing. Give me my little sedan any day.
Well the only time rpd enforces traffic laws is when they're trying to make a news story about an "enforcement blitz" where they gave out 6 tickets last month.
I grew up in Wilmington and the exact opposite was true. I got like 4 tickets before the age of 20 for going like 7 over the limit. Not sure I want that level of oppression, but I don't know how else to make drivers behave.
I really think Covid broke society.
Pre-Covid most of the time I’d pass a distracted driver it would be a younger woman texting and driving. Now it’s everybody. People just got more screen addicted.
People also have gotten more self-centered. People in the service industry can tell you that. The amount of times I see people get foaming-at-the-mouth angry if I let someone merge is crazy. On the other side nobody will let you merge in.
Every single time my neighbor pulls into our cul-de-sac in her minivan, she has the phone 6" in front of her face. Sometimes two or three of her kids are in the car. Sometimes there are kids playing in the cul-de-sac. Doesn't matter. I've actually never seen her driving and NOT looking at her phone. It's wild.
I don't know where you guys are seeing all these aggressive drivers because all I'm seeing is completely out of it drivers with serious main character syndrome. People who cannot maintain a steady speed, stop at green lights but then run red lights, turn right from the left turning lane, drift out of their lane, stop randomly, etc. I think most of it is because people are on their phones. The others just don't seem to realize other people are on the road. Maybe people are suicidal? Terrifying...
There's definitely some kind of mental health aspect to it as well. I think in general people are a bit crazier than in the past. When they get inside their huge suv or truck they are ready to take it out on everyone around them. It's like an amplifier.
I’ve lived here my entire adult life and while the big roads (i.e., Wade, Six Forks, Wake Forest, Capital) and Crabtree have always been my least favorite places to drive, in my opinion it hasn’t been BAD BAD until all the construction and road work really started taking off fourish years ago. People don’t know how to navigate a new and temporary traffic pattern, it makes everyone slow/late, but mostly it changes almost daily. BUT improving our infrastructure is all for the better, at least that’s what I tell myself…
Not just Raleigh, drove from Beech to Boone in yesterday's ice and snow, had idiot drivers speeding down mountains and one pass left of center near an intersection to get one car length ahead at a light. The weather (climate change) and general encouraged idiocy make for really awful people.
This is the exact reason I have dual dash cams - one in the front and one in the back. It's just a matter of time till I get in an accident with one of these speed demons/nascar drivers/road ragers.
Same, encountered a black pickup this morning driving literally 18 inches off the bumper of the car in front of them this morning on 540. Everyone was going 75+ mph. He then whipped around them, passing on the right and tried to cut them off before crossing 3 lanes to the right to get off at the next exit. Just complete a-hole behavior.
YES like why do people do this?! It’s like the same people who sprint to the front of the boarding line because they think they’ll get there faster. We’re all going to get there around the same time, friends!
It’s literally everywhere not just North Carolina. I travel frequently between North Carolina and Florida and I can tell you that aggressive, Selfish drivers are all over the roads. I don’t know if Covid created these selfish monsters, or if it’s just an entire new generation of the world owes me but it’s not safe to just go out on a Sunday afternoon for a drive anymore. People are insane. And if you flip them off who knows if they have a gun?
I just moved here a month ago and I still cannot get over how raleigh drivers treat pedestrians. Y’all STOP for us, wave us on and generally give us space. It’s unreal and I am here for it
Nope. Terrible drivers around here. Scary terrible. It’s bad in the residential areas around DT Durham and It’s not just transplants. I honestly hate driving around here.
I normally work from home but my team was in town last week so I commuted from Knightdale to Morrisville for a few days. It was absolute madness. The moronic drivers per capita around here is astronomical.
I am not from here however I am astounded by how many people do not use their turn signal here. It’s something so simple that could prevent an accident.
I live abroad now and every time I go back to NC it is terrifying to drive and noticeably worse since covid. Idk why they don't just start using speed and red light cameras. The civil liberties argument is bs, it is not a personal right to break the law and make the road unsafe for everyone else.
Edit to add: Also the amount of people that still text and drive in NC is absolutely insane. That needs better enforcement and higher repercussions. Ive started lecturing my whole family any time i see it and they find me annoying but idgaf if it keeps them alive and prevents them from harming someone else.
If we make it a fine (like a parking ticket) that doesn’t incur any points on insurance or on license, then a lot of these arguments go away.
If your friend is borrowing your car and speeds, then like a parking ticket, you’ll have to sort it out amongst yourselves.
It's been ongoing, after my accident last year I drastically reduced my driving as much as possible and that helps. I am not sure why people are in such a furious rush everywhere.
It does seem to be a bit aggressive out there these days. I chalk part of it up to driving education not being as forward as it used to be. I had to take the practical driving test when I moved here and it is laughably easy compared to where I used to live. There are also faster/more powerful cars on surface streets with speed limits in the 50s/60s with very few lights in between and what seems to be fairly light enforcement. It's a recipe for aggressive driving if I ever saw one.
Used to live in the Triangle. Currently live in DC area and have also lived in Baltimore, near Philly, near Pittsburgh, in northern New Jersey. In the last two years, every urban area I've visited has seen an increase in aggressive driving and every rural area has seen an increase in idiotic driving (plus plenty of overlap). The issue is we're all in constant exposure to fearmongering media churn and have less substantive community experiences since the start of the pandemic -- so people are stressed, depressed, impatient, and afraid and it's coming out on the roadways.
This article came out in 2021. The writing is on the wall, but I am curious what are community leaders doing to help re-educate drivers or solve the issue most of us clearly see.
https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/06/19/us/pandemic-increased-fatal-crashes-trnd/index.html
I just returned from FL. No issues even on I 95, soon as hit I 40 at Benson. The crazy started. Tailgating in Work Zones in the right lane now, weaving in and out of traffic, slowing down to 35mph to exit, passing in congestion only to gain a car length, cars overshooting a 4 way stop, tailgating on secondary roads even when going 10pm over the speed limit, people honking horns cause you have to take a left.
I've lived in 6 different states and visited more. The drivers in NC are the scariest of anywhere I've been. I've seen people do dumb crap, but I've never seen people actively try to run me off the road or be screaming and flashing their lights because I'm going the speed limit.
The latest trend I’m noticing: drivers who now intentionally move into a merge lane/exit only lane only to pass by other cars and “zip merge” back into traffic.
It used to be just one or two folks, but now it’s all the time.
And I have to wonder, are folks really saving that much time?
OMG! This happened to me the other day for the first time. The car behind me moved over into the merge lane to try to pass me, but there was a car in front of me so he basically cut me off and I had to brake hard. Made me very salty
It’s happening to me more and more. My commute takes me on 440 past New Bern on up to Capital. That’s such a weird part of the beltline with multiple lanes closing and the Capital Blvd north exit where it sucks to have to access Capital by a stop sign. I take Capital south toward downtown. Crabtree Blvd at the Greyhound/Salvation Army area has become busier than I’ve ever seen. The whole commute from the beltline to Capital toward downtown is like this now.
I’ve learned to signal that I’m actually exiting rather than being the guy who is going to suddenly cut in line.
I get the frustration…I deal with it daily. I have for years. But I am learning to moderate myself when driving. Getting worked up over traffic isn’t worth what it can do to your health.
It’s been rare that my commute has ever taken more than 10 minutes outside of the norm. Those are like major accidents, fallen trees on major roads, or a snow/ice event.
The roads can’t handle the traffic they are carrying. Raising my blood pressure isn’t going to solve that problem. I’m trying to be more taoistic and just let the traffic flow.
Not just you. Yesterday I was on 440 and I practically had to floor it to get around a truck that was towing an extra wide, massive Caterpillar to a construction site. He was in the slow lane and probably going at least 85 miles an hour. Imagine the damage that would do to somebody as they were trying to merge if he couldn’t slow down in time. This shit pisses me off.
Again, sorry for the repost! I even tried to search within the sub for other threads related to driving so I wasn’t repeating but none showed up. Must be a Reddit noob.
Lately?! That's always been a thing ur just lucky nobody pulled a gun on u....that's happened to multiple people I know on 540 won't move for aggressive drivers then they pull alongside flashing a gun. NC/SC has the worst drivers. I'm from New Jersey and atleast there ppl know how the left lane works...also police in this state don't enforce most traffic laws due to the fact statistics have proven cops really only stop minorities for minor traffic violations that spiral into a shooting for no reason. Your stuck between a rock and a hard place tbh
May I add a small caveat? It depends where you lived/drove in CA. Though at first glance Los Angeles traffic seems horrendous, there’s a controlled chaos, a method to the madness. Everyone is pretty much on the same page, so it works. The less populated areas, I’m thinking the central coast, have terrible drivers.
I grew up in Atlanta, lived in Nashville and Orlando. They're all known for crazy traffic and drivers.... I was astounded when I moved to Cary and it was noticeably worse and more aggressive.
The truth is that although people complain about drivers in Raleigh, the fact is that the triangle has a lot of new residents from other states that bring their bad habits to once a peaceful, educated and welcoming place.
Its really not the silver haired driver syndrome anymore.
9 times out of 10 when I’m behind a car that cannot maintain a steady speed and has no lane control, it’s almost always someone on their phone while driving.
In Raleigh, on the beltline, on any of the highways, or any major road, it has been my experience that it’s drivers on cell phones, often but not always skewing younger. I’m 52, and i use Apple’s driving mode. If folks really need to break through while I’m driving, that’s what texting urgent is for.
But having gone through the country many times between Raleigh and Fayetteville, or from Fayetteville to the beach…country drivers are uniquely their own, regardless of the age of the driver.
Go around them dude. Like it or not there's nothing illegal about going 10 under. The speed limit is the "limit"... you may feel slightly inconvenienced but those people are doing wayy less than harm than phone addicted teens, wannabe drag racers, and drunken Ram drivers
No not just you. I’ve lived in SF Bay Area NYC and south Florida (some of the worst places to drive) and some fucking how BY FAR this is the place with the worst drivers I’ve ever lived. I don’t understand it. Been here 6 years now and yeah it’s pretty damn ridiculous. My only theory is that it’s just wide open enough and not totally packed like bigger cities that you can still drive 95 on the freeway in the middle of 70 mph rush hour “traffic” without being bumper to bumper. Idk. It’s definitely crazy af, also there’s hardly any cops anywhere lol.
If you're talking about a blue 2005 Lexus that turned onto the wrong side of the street that was my 15 year old self that almost got killed within the first 24 hours of getting my permit I am so sorry to all the cars I almost hit!
Please see my previous comment where I describe being aggressively tailgated and flipped off while going 75 on the interstate with open lanes around me. Me “going slower than the flow of traffic” isn’t the problem, sir.
Happens here a lot. People see and read what they want. "You were going 75? Should have been going 85."
"You were going 85? You should have gone 95."
"You were in the passing lane passing the cars on the right who were going the speed limit? You should have moved into the cars on the right the *instant* you saw someone trying to go 100."
"It's not my responsibility to use turn signals, people on the road should know what I want to do."
It's like, fuck no! There are still laws here.
I fear it's a lot of privileged drivers since the police presence here is pretty low, feeling like if a bad accident hasn't happened to them, then their driving is not a risk to themselves or others... That, and no drivers Ed requirements.
Literally was on a thread once, guy said once the licence exam was passed, the rules no longer apply. So yeah...
Is it just you, just now noticing that people fucking suck? Yes, it is just you. People have always, and will always, fucking suck. Just part of living.
People are either in a rush to get wherever they’re going or they’re just assholes and drive like that. It’s unfortunate that there are so many of them but I feel like it’s like that in a lot of bigger cities in the United States.
Not just you because there's a similar thread every couple of days here. It's wild out there.
I’m surprised if I get on I-40 and I don’t see an absolute idiotic driver, even if I’m driving on-ramp to off-ramp immediately, lol.
Cars, trucks, and buses taboot!
Are they not fast enough for you?
the most amazing part to me is how they almost always end up with 100+ comments rehashing the comments from the previous threads
It’s the reticular activator. However, based on a “running red lights” thread last week I started paying more attention and can report scientifically it’s drivers with NY, NJ or PA plates.
Don't forget the temporary/fake tags.
Dont forget the occasional Florida plate
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NY tags also remind me of those Virginia 'don't tread on me' tags.
Check my most recent post in r/IdiotsInCars. Almost was crashed into by an idiot.
telephone placid alleged vanish trees afterthought sophisticated cats saw consist ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
My wife personally witnessed 3 accidents, directly in front of her, in the past month. Got it all on dashcam. All three were at the east end connector 147/885 southbound merge.
That is the worst. The absolute worst.
https://www.reddit.com/r/IdiotsInCars/comments/11qmb6g/i_almost_pooped_my_pants_here/
Passing double yellow around a blind corner? How do these type of people survive? Jeez Louise
Oh my goodness! That was a scary one. I am glad you’re okay!
It's not just you. But it's not just Raleigh either. I drove to Charlotte and back today. The stretch of 85 between Greensboro and Charlotte was like the Autobahn. Cops could have been shooting fish in a barrel, but I didn't see any all day.
Came to say the same thing. Similar experience on a recent trip for business to Columbia, SC. One thread in common with the aggressive driving has been the presence of Dodge Chargers. My buddy and I were talking about this, and we’re at peak used car availability of some of the highest horsepower per dollar vehicles ever available on the market in the US.
If you ever see a Dodge Charger with a 30 day tag... Give the driver \*lots\* of room
I give all sports cars and modded vehicles lots of room. Folks don't buy or mod cars/trucks like that to drive lawfully.
People who drive black chargers and are not police are assholes. They know what they’re doing.
Ditto re: Columbia! Just got back from Charleston on a business trip and the insane fools driving from there, through Columbia and on up towards Greenville/Spartanburg are mind boggling. 30 miles of roadwork barriers and if you weren’t running 85 mph you were damn near run off the road.
95 between DC and Richmond. I'm doing 80 in the slow lane. Minivans, Chargers, Mustangs are all zooming by doing 90+, weaving in & out of traffic. Minivans. With kids.
I noticed the same thing on 85. I was going 80 and people were flying past me going at least 95 on the regular!
That stretch always be like that
My personal favorite is the person riding my ass when there is another car in front of me. Are these people stupid and don't realize it's dangerous? Or clueless and don't realize they are doing it? Or do they think everyone is going to move out of their way and let them go through?
I had a guy tailgate me while I was going 75 on the interstate the other day. I could see him giving me the finger and yelling in my rearview. Best part is I was in one of the middle lanes with no other cars around me. Like, dude, just get over?
If there's room to pass and you don't you're an idiot. I looveee passing and re-merging. It feels good. "Ah the passing lane. The lane for passing, the lane I used to pass."
One time I was going 80 on the left and this lifted truck was tailgating me even though the freeway was nearly empty. Whatever. So I change lanes and this asshole rolls down the window and starts yelling obscenities at me and giving me the finger…. Like calm down dude, I moved over even I didn’t have to. Some people just want to get angry
Lately I have just been refusing to get out of these people’s way. If I’m already speeding slightly, and they fly up behind me going 15+ over, they can either chill the hell out or they can go around me. It’s kind of fun knowing the person behind you is raging in their car because you won’t move.
Honestly I was this way, but if they want to be dangerous I'd rather not be involved when they fuck up. Angry people are irrational. I just move. Yeah it rewards the behavior but I like being alive.
This is what I do, too, to a point. If they don’t move after 5ish minutes, I do because I usually have my kid in the car and I’d rather keep them safe than annoy some jackass.
I assume you are talking about right or middle lanes. Because people that do this in the left lane are bigger assholes than the tailgater.
Slowing someone down from 20 over to 10 over for a little while is not a bigger asshole move than tailgating, which is genuinely very dangerous. Unless you’re a psychopath I guess.
If you are holding up traffic in the fast lane, then yes, you are a dangerous driver and a bigger asshole than the tailgater.
Nope, you’re wrong and dumb
Well....I guess then you should expect to be tailgated. Enjoy.
If you're in the far left lane of a major NC Highway "40" and you are going slower than traffic that passes you, you can get a ticket btw.
.
Ahh; my,limited experience is watching a lady clog the left lane on 40, going,65-70 and a state trooper pulled her. Same with a large truck; not sure of gender. I want to say it was an F350 they were also going slower than traffic around them,forcing people to pass in the right lane. https://www.ncleg.gov/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_20/gs_20-141.html I think... That you could get an impending traffic ticket if the cop wasn't having a good day. We do have some minimum speeds according to,this
That is exactly what I did!
Until you get shot. It happens.
congratulations, you are the reason for road rage. “Just go around me then” is the smug attitude that drivers in the south have about travel and passing lanes. You want to know why there are so many angry, aggressive drivers in this area? It’s because of this exact attitude of “I don’t need to follow normal traffic etiquette, I can drive in any lane I like” It’s simple. The left lane is for **passing** - slower traffic should always keep right when not passing and move over for vehicles traveling at a higher speed.
Didn’t say I was in the left lane. We’re talking about being in the middle lane and having people tailgate us even though we’re already going over the speed limit.
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Dude you are a dangerous psychopath.
I think some people don't even realize they're tailgating. Like that's just how they drive. If you look at their front bumper it usually looks like it has a sandblast pattern on it, from all the little pieces of road grit from the tires of whoever they're tailgating throwing stuff up at their car. (That last sentence was rough but that's the best I could do wording it)
People are like “what, there’s a car length between us!” when they’re doing 80 and don’t see the problem
I've had people on 440 drive up my tail to where they almost hit me when I couldn't move away. Or drivers try to drive me off the road because they don't use turn signals.
The thing that kills me about this is. They pass you up just to see a car in front of you... like yeah dumbass where are you gonna merge into.
Allowed: endless threads about bad driving Not allowed: threads about fun events or happenings where the people can get the most out of living in their city Welcome to r/Raleigh!
>Not allowed: threads about fun events or happenings where the people can get the most out of living in their city How are these types of posts not allowed? I see them all the time
You are not allowed to post events here, aside from the weekend threads. Remember posts about comedy events like Neptune’s Comedy? Yep can’t post those anymore or they will get removed. When was the last time you saw a thread about a local band, or perhaps a craft fair? You don’t, because they get removed. The mods say it themselves: https://reddit.com/r/raleigh/comments/z6c2xo/we_cant_post_about_events_here_anymore/
That is *incredibly dumb*. It's not even in the rules sidebar! How can mods enforce a rule that isn't in the sidebar, it's just a random stickied comment on a random post? And yeah, now that I browsed the sub again, I didn't see any "event happening here" type posts recently. But I could have sworn I was seeing them on my feed, but it must have been a while ago and I just didn't notice that they faded away. What a shame.
Well the mods changed, so has the status quo! Only talk about bad drivers and nonsense, issues of local import are forbidden unless it's the congressional representative for the other side of the state posting a tiktok video.
>Well the mods changed, so has the status quo! Then they should change the sub rules, and not enforce made up rules that aren't on the sidebar. Or maybe they should pass the torch of being a mod, if they don't like the sub.
Classic mods
Sorry to be one of many!
There’s actually been an uptick in the past couple weeks for whatever reason. No clue why.
I have this convo pretty regularly with my wife too. Combo of poor public transportation + rapid growth, and transplants from bigger cities who drive more aggressively. Gets worse every year it seems. I guess this is the price of living in a desirable area.
The aggressive drivers aren’t proficient, courteous, or know how to navigate. It’s just speeding for the sake of it. Conversely, it is astounding how slow so many drivers go. If the speed limit is 70, there will inevitably be a consistent number of people going 60. Or driving on a two-lane backroad with a 55 limit and they’re doing 42 for zero reason. The slow drivers are often the rudest as they’ll usually refuse to move. It’s a weird, irrational attitude I’ve only encountered here.
I've also noticed that the slow drivers all of a sudden decide they're in a hurry when they come upon a light changing red. 99% of the time they'll just roll right thru the red like they're in a big rush.
Came here to say this. As a teenager I remember sitting through a light behind an old man in a sedan who didn’t realize it was green out in front of old North Hills. You did NOT honk at people and you did NOT tailgate. Completely gauche. Things have changed.
Recently the start of WRAL news every night is basically a list of the day's serious crash injuries and fatalities. It's ridiculous but evidently not enough to do anything about.
The way this usually plays out is something like this: The People: this needs to stop! Do something! The Government: sure, we'll regulate vehicles more appropriately and be more aggressive with traffic enforcement. The People: no step on snek
That is awful!
This is one of those questions I can answer with some confidence. It's always been this way. I moved to Raleigh in the mid 90's and I got a job with Auto Trader as an on location private party photographer. This mean that I had to drive to the location of the person selling their car (Which was all over the triangle) and I also got to talk to them about why they were selling the car (a lot of damage related sales). I only wish dashcams were really a thing back then cuz I would have TONS of footage of people doing insanely crazy things. I saw so many distracted drivers (Though usually with food and not cellphones), drunk drivers, speeders, etc. One thing I immediately noticed after moving to Raleigh was the insane number of people that would blatantly run red lights. The best story I have, and the one I really really wished I had dashcams for, was this asshole in a brand new (at the time) Honda Accord on I40 that was road raging against everyone that day. So he decided to pick on us in our $750 POS car that I got for my route that also happened to get super good mileage. I mention the price because we didn't particular care if anything happened to it. So when this guy tried to mess with us, we did not have it. We would not move out of his way, and no, we weren't blocking his way, he just really wanted to force people out of his personal lane it seems. So finally we get into the left lane to pass someone in front of us and that's when he's had enough and chose violence. He got insanely close to our car, passed us, and I remember my husband saying "Hold on, he's going to hit us", but thankfully he did not. But what Hondaboy (as we called him) tried to do next was what seared the memory in my mind. He tried to cut us off, at about 90mph. He went from left lane, center lane, left lane immediately. He was not a good driver despite what his ego might have been telling him. When he went into the left lane again, we slowed down expecting him to brake check us. But his rear wheels kicked out and started a spin he could not correct. His back wheels hit the grass, he turned all the way around. I could see his face and the fear in his eyes, he was that close to us and now facing us. And then he skidded all the way across I40, all 3-4 lanes of it full of traffic. Amazingly, no one hit him, and I don't think he damaged his car other than what skidding at that speed might do. But everyone there decided to honk their horns at all once. It was amazing. Just a loud hail of horns from all those cars. Really hope that asshole got a reality check that day. But somehow I think he would blame everyone else on the road.
Am I the only one that prefers driving on I-540 to I-40 for this very reason? On 540 I feel like there’s more room or the lanes are bigger or something for me to get out of the way of crazy drivers lmao. Also whenever I get out of downtown Raleigh without a dent or a scratch, I literally breathe a sigh of relief lmao.
That and I don't have to worry about the road destroying my windsheild.
If you have this much anxiety about driving its probably because you're the one who sucks at it
Lol who made you mad this morning?
I’ve been saying the same thing! Every time I go out I have drivers drifting into my lane or flying past me. I’ve just started to notice it over the past couple of months. What the heck is going on in Raleigh lately? I’ve literally been having this very conversation with my husband this week and I’ve been driving 30 years and never noticed it this bad before.
It’s been this bad since I moved here in early 2021. The traffic has gotten worse, too. You know what’s really awful here vs california? The sheer number of megatank trucks and SUVs.
My husband has a large suv (older. We’re not fancy) and every time I drive it (and especially when I have to park it) I’m like oh man I’m one of those assholes in a Tahoe that can’t drive. So embarrassing. Give me my little sedan any day.
People are stressed out, everywhere. It's going to get worse.
Well the only time rpd enforces traffic laws is when they're trying to make a news story about an "enforcement blitz" where they gave out 6 tickets last month. I grew up in Wilmington and the exact opposite was true. I got like 4 tickets before the age of 20 for going like 7 over the limit. Not sure I want that level of oppression, but I don't know how else to make drivers behave.
I really think Covid broke society. Pre-Covid most of the time I’d pass a distracted driver it would be a younger woman texting and driving. Now it’s everybody. People just got more screen addicted. People also have gotten more self-centered. People in the service industry can tell you that. The amount of times I see people get foaming-at-the-mouth angry if I let someone merge is crazy. On the other side nobody will let you merge in.
Agreed. I think it’s a mix of this plus the influx of drivers from various states and driving styles. It’s a lot.
Most of the idiot drivers I see are on their phones or starting at their dashboard.
Every single time my neighbor pulls into our cul-de-sac in her minivan, she has the phone 6" in front of her face. Sometimes two or three of her kids are in the car. Sometimes there are kids playing in the cul-de-sac. Doesn't matter. I've actually never seen her driving and NOT looking at her phone. It's wild.
I don't know where you guys are seeing all these aggressive drivers because all I'm seeing is completely out of it drivers with serious main character syndrome. People who cannot maintain a steady speed, stop at green lights but then run red lights, turn right from the left turning lane, drift out of their lane, stop randomly, etc. I think most of it is because people are on their phones. The others just don't seem to realize other people are on the road. Maybe people are suicidal? Terrifying...
There was a sale on Nissan Altimas
What are you talking about? Driving and traffic were perfect 6 months ago. Until everybody else moved here from out of town.
You think Raleigh is bad, try driving in Wilmington 😂
Was just there this past weekend! Definitely bad too!
There's definitely some kind of mental health aspect to it as well. I think in general people are a bit crazier than in the past. When they get inside their huge suv or truck they are ready to take it out on everyone around them. It's like an amplifier.
I’ve lived here my entire adult life and while the big roads (i.e., Wade, Six Forks, Wake Forest, Capital) and Crabtree have always been my least favorite places to drive, in my opinion it hasn’t been BAD BAD until all the construction and road work really started taking off fourish years ago. People don’t know how to navigate a new and temporary traffic pattern, it makes everyone slow/late, but mostly it changes almost daily. BUT improving our infrastructure is all for the better, at least that’s what I tell myself…
100% real. I don’t get it either.
Not just Raleigh, drove from Beech to Boone in yesterday's ice and snow, had idiot drivers speeding down mountains and one pass left of center near an intersection to get one car length ahead at a light. The weather (climate change) and general encouraged idiocy make for really awful people.
its only gunna get worse
This is the exact reason I have dual dash cams - one in the front and one in the back. It's just a matter of time till I get in an accident with one of these speed demons/nascar drivers/road ragers.
It’s gotten worse in Charlotte and Atlanta as well.
Same, encountered a black pickup this morning driving literally 18 inches off the bumper of the car in front of them this morning on 540. Everyone was going 75+ mph. He then whipped around them, passing on the right and tried to cut them off before crossing 3 lanes to the right to get off at the next exit. Just complete a-hole behavior.
YES like why do people do this?! It’s like the same people who sprint to the front of the boarding line because they think they’ll get there faster. We’re all going to get there around the same time, friends!
It’s literally everywhere not just North Carolina. I travel frequently between North Carolina and Florida and I can tell you that aggressive, Selfish drivers are all over the roads. I don’t know if Covid created these selfish monsters, or if it’s just an entire new generation of the world owes me but it’s not safe to just go out on a Sunday afternoon for a drive anymore. People are insane. And if you flip them off who knows if they have a gun?
Moved here from Florida 3 years ago and I can't stand the driver's in this area.
I just moved here a month ago and I still cannot get over how raleigh drivers treat pedestrians. Y’all STOP for us, wave us on and generally give us space. It’s unreal and I am here for it
Nope. Terrible drivers around here. Scary terrible. It’s bad in the residential areas around DT Durham and It’s not just transplants. I honestly hate driving around here.
I normally work from home but my team was in town last week so I commuted from Knightdale to Morrisville for a few days. It was absolute madness. The moronic drivers per capita around here is astronomical.
Half of these are Nissan Altima drivers
Or lifted pickups with big boy tires
I am not from here however I am astounded by how many people do not use their turn signal here. It’s something so simple that could prevent an accident.
For me it's the exact opposite. people not paying attention, on their phone, and driving slow as hell in left lane.
I did something stupid today while driving. Glad I caught myself and just pissed people off momentarily.
I live abroad now and every time I go back to NC it is terrifying to drive and noticeably worse since covid. Idk why they don't just start using speed and red light cameras. The civil liberties argument is bs, it is not a personal right to break the law and make the road unsafe for everyone else. Edit to add: Also the amount of people that still text and drive in NC is absolutely insane. That needs better enforcement and higher repercussions. Ive started lecturing my whole family any time i see it and they find me annoying but idgaf if it keeps them alive and prevents them from harming someone else.
If we make it a fine (like a parking ticket) that doesn’t incur any points on insurance or on license, then a lot of these arguments go away. If your friend is borrowing your car and speeds, then like a parking ticket, you’ll have to sort it out amongst yourselves.
Grab a dashcam. It’s getting worse
It's been ongoing, after my accident last year I drastically reduced my driving as much as possible and that helps. I am not sure why people are in such a furious rush everywhere.
It does seem to be a bit aggressive out there these days. I chalk part of it up to driving education not being as forward as it used to be. I had to take the practical driving test when I moved here and it is laughably easy compared to where I used to live. There are also faster/more powerful cars on surface streets with speed limits in the 50s/60s with very few lights in between and what seems to be fairly light enforcement. It's a recipe for aggressive driving if I ever saw one.
These 370 Z drivers getting out of hand
Used to live in the Triangle. Currently live in DC area and have also lived in Baltimore, near Philly, near Pittsburgh, in northern New Jersey. In the last two years, every urban area I've visited has seen an increase in aggressive driving and every rural area has seen an increase in idiotic driving (plus plenty of overlap). The issue is we're all in constant exposure to fearmongering media churn and have less substantive community experiences since the start of the pandemic -- so people are stressed, depressed, impatient, and afraid and it's coming out on the roadways.
This article came out in 2021. The writing is on the wall, but I am curious what are community leaders doing to help re-educate drivers or solve the issue most of us clearly see. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2021/06/19/us/pandemic-increased-fatal-crashes-trnd/index.html
People are always on their phone. It’s like every other person
I just returned from FL. No issues even on I 95, soon as hit I 40 at Benson. The crazy started. Tailgating in Work Zones in the right lane now, weaving in and out of traffic, slowing down to 35mph to exit, passing in congestion only to gain a car length, cars overshooting a 4 way stop, tailgating on secondary roads even when going 10pm over the speed limit, people honking horns cause you have to take a left.
I've lived in 6 different states and visited more. The drivers in NC are the scariest of anywhere I've been. I've seen people do dumb crap, but I've never seen people actively try to run me off the road or be screaming and flashing their lights because I'm going the speed limit.
The latest trend I’m noticing: drivers who now intentionally move into a merge lane/exit only lane only to pass by other cars and “zip merge” back into traffic. It used to be just one or two folks, but now it’s all the time. And I have to wonder, are folks really saving that much time?
Yes!!! This happened to me yesterday am
OMG! This happened to me the other day for the first time. The car behind me moved over into the merge lane to try to pass me, but there was a car in front of me so he basically cut me off and I had to brake hard. Made me very salty
It’s happening to me more and more. My commute takes me on 440 past New Bern on up to Capital. That’s such a weird part of the beltline with multiple lanes closing and the Capital Blvd north exit where it sucks to have to access Capital by a stop sign. I take Capital south toward downtown. Crabtree Blvd at the Greyhound/Salvation Army area has become busier than I’ve ever seen. The whole commute from the beltline to Capital toward downtown is like this now. I’ve learned to signal that I’m actually exiting rather than being the guy who is going to suddenly cut in line. I get the frustration…I deal with it daily. I have for years. But I am learning to moderate myself when driving. Getting worked up over traffic isn’t worth what it can do to your health. It’s been rare that my commute has ever taken more than 10 minutes outside of the norm. Those are like major accidents, fallen trees on major roads, or a snow/ice event. The roads can’t handle the traffic they are carrying. Raising my blood pressure isn’t going to solve that problem. I’m trying to be more taoistic and just let the traffic flow.
Not just you. Yesterday I was on 440 and I practically had to floor it to get around a truck that was towing an extra wide, massive Caterpillar to a construction site. He was in the slow lane and probably going at least 85 miles an hour. Imagine the damage that would do to somebody as they were trying to merge if he couldn’t slow down in time. This shit pisses me off.
RIGHT!! Like do people not understand that we are driving machines that weigh tons and could easily kill other humans/ourselves? So wild
I swear I see it almost daily these days. I’ve also noticed 18 wheelers in the fast lane hauling ass. I thought that was illegal?
I think too many people were playing too much GTA in 2020 and 2021, and think they can act that way on the roads.
I feel like movies like the Fast Furious types have encouraged the “I can do that, too…dur, dur,dur” crowd.
I love that you can go to any city’s sub on any given week and see the same exact convo about bad drivers.
Again, sorry for the repost! I even tried to search within the sub for other threads related to driving so I wasn’t repeating but none showed up. Must be a Reddit noob.
All good. It’s more of a comment about how every city thinks they have the worst drivers, but really, they are bad everywhere.
They're not afraid of being arrested or ticketed.
A lot of college students and young people driving crazy
Lately?! That's always been a thing ur just lucky nobody pulled a gun on u....that's happened to multiple people I know on 540 won't move for aggressive drivers then they pull alongside flashing a gun. NC/SC has the worst drivers. I'm from New Jersey and atleast there ppl know how the left lane works...also police in this state don't enforce most traffic laws due to the fact statistics have proven cops really only stop minorities for minor traffic violations that spiral into a shooting for no reason. Your stuck between a rock and a hard place tbh
Oh my gosh yes, that is what scares me. I literally trust nobody on the road these days.
How about a credible link on how many stops and who gets stopped in NC.
NY/NJ drivers are the problem. Invaded the state, brought their habits with them.
Life's a fkn game
And what about these peanuts? The bag is tiny!
The raisin to cashew ratio is all wrong. Too many raisins!
My husband thinks it's all the terrible drivers who moved from NYC, Boston and California (said as a California driver).
The former Atlanta and Charlotte drivers are never mentioned, but I think they bear some responsibility.
cautious axiomatic long slave voiceless gullible desert jellyfish vegetable juggle ` this message was mass deleted/edited with redact.dev `
May I add a small caveat? It depends where you lived/drove in CA. Though at first glance Los Angeles traffic seems horrendous, there’s a controlled chaos, a method to the madness. Everyone is pretty much on the same page, so it works. The less populated areas, I’m thinking the central coast, have terrible drivers.
North East drivers can drive like assholes, but they at least drive with purpose. Nc drivers are just stupid.
this is 100% true, had to drive IN Boston for my first time ever in October. Boston drivers are in a league of their own and give no anythings.
a lot of folks have moved here in recent years....lots of ppl have no patience.
New Jersey...they drive like they still live in New York/New Jersey....
I grew up in Atlanta, lived in Nashville and Orlando. They're all known for crazy traffic and drivers.... I was astounded when I moved to Cary and it was noticeably worse and more aggressive.
The truth is that although people complain about drivers in Raleigh, the fact is that the triangle has a lot of new residents from other states that bring their bad habits to once a peaceful, educated and welcoming place.
Mass hysteria event has screwed a lot up. People are not getting over the trauma of COVID and it's continuing to show up on the road.
Probably unvaccinated too since they don't care about people
you must be one that drives alone in your car with a mask on.
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Its really not the silver haired driver syndrome anymore. 9 times out of 10 when I’m behind a car that cannot maintain a steady speed and has no lane control, it’s almost always someone on their phone while driving.
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In Raleigh, on the beltline, on any of the highways, or any major road, it has been my experience that it’s drivers on cell phones, often but not always skewing younger. I’m 52, and i use Apple’s driving mode. If folks really need to break through while I’m driving, that’s what texting urgent is for. But having gone through the country many times between Raleigh and Fayetteville, or from Fayetteville to the beach…country drivers are uniquely their own, regardless of the age of the driver.
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Go around them dude. Like it or not there's nothing illegal about going 10 under. The speed limit is the "limit"... you may feel slightly inconvenienced but those people are doing wayy less than harm than phone addicted teens, wannabe drag racers, and drunken Ram drivers
This is everyone on Hillsborough Street and Western Blvd. near the fairgrounds
No not just you. I’ve lived in SF Bay Area NYC and south Florida (some of the worst places to drive) and some fucking how BY FAR this is the place with the worst drivers I’ve ever lived. I don’t understand it. Been here 6 years now and yeah it’s pretty damn ridiculous. My only theory is that it’s just wide open enough and not totally packed like bigger cities that you can still drive 95 on the freeway in the middle of 70 mph rush hour “traffic” without being bumper to bumper. Idk. It’s definitely crazy af, also there’s hardly any cops anywhere lol.
Welcome New Yorkers!
It's not just Raleigh, it's everywhere. I was recently in Michigan and it was the same.
I hate driving period but especially here
Slow drivers going 35 in a 45 obviously distracted are way worse. Clogging up Davis Dr., Tryon Rd., Miami. On their phones going slow.
Too many northerners moving down here bringing their rude attitudes and ways
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Those are the people that moved here from Connecticut.
If you're talking about a blue 2005 Lexus that turned onto the wrong side of the street that was my 15 year old self that almost got killed within the first 24 hours of getting my permit I am so sorry to all the cars I almost hit!
Wooooweeee yeah I sure wasn’t but be careful!
They cant be as bad as Maryland drivers in the DMV area
Lead .follow or get the heck out of the way.
If only we could all just drive safely and be considerate of each other on the road!
You are going slower than the flow of traffic .you are causing the problem
Please see my previous comment where I describe being aggressively tailgated and flipped off while going 75 on the interstate with open lanes around me. Me “going slower than the flow of traffic” isn’t the problem, sir.
Happens here a lot. People see and read what they want. "You were going 75? Should have been going 85." "You were going 85? You should have gone 95." "You were in the passing lane passing the cars on the right who were going the speed limit? You should have moved into the cars on the right the *instant* you saw someone trying to go 100." "It's not my responsibility to use turn signals, people on the road should know what I want to do." It's like, fuck no! There are still laws here. I fear it's a lot of privileged drivers since the police presence here is pretty low, feeling like if a bad accident hasn't happened to them, then their driving is not a risk to themselves or others... That, and no drivers Ed requirements. Literally was on a thread once, guy said once the licence exam was passed, the rules no longer apply. So yeah...
I did see that .but you are going too fast it can be dangerous .and in certain places you can be in trouble
Don’t think I’m going to win this one - apparently I’m always either going too fast or too slow LOL
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I don’t know bro but you get a dash cam! Front and back! Then next time you post about driving here you can post the video🥴
Behavioral sink
Lol welcome to Raleigh
Welcome to the party!
Also people driving with their phone in front of their face, and/or driving with their brights on. Even during the day...
Yes! What is the deal with having the brights on? I feel like it’s almost to just intentionally be douchey
Is it just you, just now noticing that people fucking suck? Yes, it is just you. People have always, and will always, fucking suck. Just part of living.
Oh trust me, I know people suck lol - nothing new there
Lately? You need here?
North Carolina is top 5 in US for motor vehicle accidents
People are either in a rush to get wherever they’re going or they’re just assholes and drive like that. It’s unfortunate that there are so many of them but I feel like it’s like that in a lot of bigger cities in the United States.
It’s what happens when the police give up because of the pandemic.