People are driving faster and weaving around cars (exactly like mario cart) ever since the pandemic. Pre-pandemic there would be maybe 10% driving like this and now it's more like 60%. I will drive between 5 to 10 mph over the limit and will still have a line of cars on my rear. The differences between driving behaviors pre and post pa…
People are driving faster and weaving around cars (exactly like mario cart) ever since the pandemic. Pre-pandemic there would be maybe 10% driving like this and now it's more like 60%. I will drive between 5 to 10 mph over the limit and will still have a line of cars on my rear. The differences between driving behaviors pre and post pandemic are highly noticeable. It's a different world on the roads now.
I wonder how much is due to simple pent-up anger, frustration and lack of interaction with other human beings over the past few years. Also, I do think there might be a increase in "medical emergencies" taking place while driving. Case in point, my volunteer-firefighter husband attended a call a few days ago where the driver "suddenly felt ill" and in the process of trying to get to the side of the road actually crossed the middle line and was hit head on by a car coming the other way. Obviously these situations happened before Covid so I don't want to overstate the case, but this scenario is becoming more common-place. They have also had calls where they arrive to find a person dead in a car which has been parked on the side of the road. My husband is new in the department, but his more experienced volunteers note the uniqueness and increased frequency. Not to mention the uptick in calls for family members finding loved ones dead in their beds...
"how much is due to the...lack of interaction with other human beings..."
I think a lot.
So many peeps already felt comfortable flipping someone off when they are behind the wheel, but would never, when face to face. I think Zoom is evil, and that with many people either a) working/schooling remotely, and so all of a sudden able to "express" feelings about or 'to' others without those others actually being there, or b) being essential workers kind of taking the brunt of all this pent-up frustration and anger, plus enduring the cognitive dissonance of "you're so special, essential worker, we looooooove you" but nonetheless also being viewed as 'the expendable one who can risk all those nasty germs in the grocery store that I'm too good/important/rich to face'...yeah.
A lot of impulse control and inhibitions just eroded, gone.
OMG, you are so right!! Worse in the east. We just drove from Sarasota to Southern Louisiana and it was bonkers! On a weekend, no less. My husband says "this guy is driving like an a**hole!! Either that or he is having a heart attack." And, one tries to keep up with the flow of traffic, but that is almost impossible. He was trying (on I-10) and I looked at the speedo and said "Uh, honey, you are going 95 MPH." He was so concentrated on keeping us in the game, and people were passing us even at this rate. In real life we live in Idaho and the west and it is not nearly as nuts as down here. We had several close calls with other drivers not knowing where the hell their bumpers are and cutting us off or weaving through traffic at 90 MPH. And...he honked at a guy in Tallahassee and I was literally scared of pulling up and being next to that car at a stoplight as I didn't want to get shot. It is real!
Quite true. Having been on the road for many decades, I have noticed the different driving patterns that developed during the plandemic and currently. Not enough law enforcement on the road?
It was easy during the pandemic, when roads were empty, to not realize just how fast one was going. I had to go into the office most of the pandemic and found that to be true for myself. I assumed that once the roads were "filled up again" that people's speed would return to the normal speed but that has not been the case. I'm not sure why. Selfishness? It certainly isn't excitement to get to work! I don't know what it is specifically but it is scarier on the roads now.
As far as I can tell, the law "enforcement" complex doesn't have enough bodies and are switching over to cameras and sensors. Don't be too surprised if robots start popping up soon.
I pray before I leave the driveway. & for a hedge of protection over our home- we’re in the flight path for southwest Florida airport. Last summer I was getting anxiety attacks driving because of the erratic traffic.
I've noticed this, too. I'm aboslutely certain it came from folks being locked down and playing "Mario Karts" and such all day long. They have taken it to the road....impatient and angry to boot. I nearly T-boned someone as the driver was speeding and cut in front of me, at a severe angle, crossing several lanes. I too am a left lane driver and have no problem keeping up with traffic, but this has really gotten out of hand. I've also been worried, for some time, about drivers stroking out behing the wheel as well.
People are driving faster and weaving around cars (exactly like mario cart) ever since the pandemic. Pre-pandemic there would be maybe 10% driving like this and now it's more like 60%. I will drive between 5 to 10 mph over the limit and will still have a line of cars on my rear. The differences between driving behaviors pre and post pandemic are highly noticeable. It's a different world on the roads now.
I wonder how much is due to simple pent-up anger, frustration and lack of interaction with other human beings over the past few years. Also, I do think there might be a increase in "medical emergencies" taking place while driving. Case in point, my volunteer-firefighter husband attended a call a few days ago where the driver "suddenly felt ill" and in the process of trying to get to the side of the road actually crossed the middle line and was hit head on by a car coming the other way. Obviously these situations happened before Covid so I don't want to overstate the case, but this scenario is becoming more common-place. They have also had calls where they arrive to find a person dead in a car which has been parked on the side of the road. My husband is new in the department, but his more experienced volunteers note the uniqueness and increased frequency. Not to mention the uptick in calls for family members finding loved ones dead in their beds...
"how much is due to the...lack of interaction with other human beings..."
I think a lot.
So many peeps already felt comfortable flipping someone off when they are behind the wheel, but would never, when face to face. I think Zoom is evil, and that with many people either a) working/schooling remotely, and so all of a sudden able to "express" feelings about or 'to' others without those others actually being there, or b) being essential workers kind of taking the brunt of all this pent-up frustration and anger, plus enduring the cognitive dissonance of "you're so special, essential worker, we looooooove you" but nonetheless also being viewed as 'the expendable one who can risk all those nasty germs in the grocery store that I'm too good/important/rich to face'...yeah.
A lot of impulse control and inhibitions just eroded, gone.
Nevermind transient ischemic attacks andcetera ....
I get that impression too, just from reading the news. More frequent and common to have an unexpected medical emergency while drinking.
OMG, you are so right!! Worse in the east. We just drove from Sarasota to Southern Louisiana and it was bonkers! On a weekend, no less. My husband says "this guy is driving like an a**hole!! Either that or he is having a heart attack." And, one tries to keep up with the flow of traffic, but that is almost impossible. He was trying (on I-10) and I looked at the speedo and said "Uh, honey, you are going 95 MPH." He was so concentrated on keeping us in the game, and people were passing us even at this rate. In real life we live in Idaho and the west and it is not nearly as nuts as down here. We had several close calls with other drivers not knowing where the hell their bumpers are and cutting us off or weaving through traffic at 90 MPH. And...he honked at a guy in Tallahassee and I was literally scared of pulling up and being next to that car at a stoplight as I didn't want to get shot. It is real!
It is crazy and scary 😞
I've always liked I10. Try the NYC area. Not that fast but unnerving enough in other ways.
Quite true. Having been on the road for many decades, I have noticed the different driving patterns that developed during the plandemic and currently. Not enough law enforcement on the road?
It was easy during the pandemic, when roads were empty, to not realize just how fast one was going. I had to go into the office most of the pandemic and found that to be true for myself. I assumed that once the roads were "filled up again" that people's speed would return to the normal speed but that has not been the case. I'm not sure why. Selfishness? It certainly isn't excitement to get to work! I don't know what it is specifically but it is scarier on the roads now.
As far as I can tell, the law "enforcement" complex doesn't have enough bodies and are switching over to cameras and sensors. Don't be too surprised if robots start popping up soon.
I pray before I leave the driveway. & for a hedge of protection over our home- we’re in the flight path for southwest Florida airport. Last summer I was getting anxiety attacks driving because of the erratic traffic.
In many places they've stopped ticketing drivers due to short staff -- I do rarely see police anymore. (However, I'm in Vermont, so...)
More so after the George Floyd riots. There are a lot of what seem to be immune drivers. I guess they have a vaccine against being pulled over.
This morning's thought....Are the jabs having a neurological impact that is creating a "need for speed"?
Some sort of disinhibiting brain effect?
I've noticed this, too. I'm aboslutely certain it came from folks being locked down and playing "Mario Karts" and such all day long. They have taken it to the road....impatient and angry to boot. I nearly T-boned someone as the driver was speeding and cut in front of me, at a severe angle, crossing several lanes. I too am a left lane driver and have no problem keeping up with traffic, but this has really gotten out of hand. I've also been worried, for some time, about drivers stroking out behing the wheel as well.
I noticed that too!! Right after the lockdowns eased, and people were out more. It’s like they just didn’t care any more. Everyone for him/herself.