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Purely anecdotal: I work from home but one day per week head out during rush hour and drive across town for a gym appointment. I almost never drive between 4p-6

Purely anecdotal: I work from home but one day per week head out during rush hour and drive across town for a gym appointment. I almost never drive between 4p-6p anymore — my usual gym hours are 5am. The rush hour commute is crazy and scary enough that I have considered cancelling it. One factor I notice is most drivers have their phone up in front of their faces. And at least during rush hour, the biggest trucks are driving pretty slow and the smaller more random drivers definitely correlate to smart phone obsessed drivers. Lots of sudden moves. Further, people on the freeway totally obsessed with their phones are easy to spot: lane drifting and driving speeds that are typically inconsistent with the prevailing speed of the cars around them. I drive a Tesla and use auto pilot almost all the time (I don’t have FSD). When you’re going a very consistent speed, the inconsistent behavior of the cars around you feels way more prevalent. Another potential factor: left lane highway driving. I drove in a 3rd world country this summer and they were very consistent about driving in the right lane and only passing in the left lane. No one at all drove in the left lane. I think left lane driving in the US leads to more risky maneuvers and road rage responses.

pessimizer 4y ago
> people on the freeway totally obsessed with their phones are easy to spot: lane drifting Drift, JERK, drift, JERK. It's the mating dance of people who can't stop twittering, facebooking, or texting for even a second.
timeon 4y ago
> most drivers have their phone up in front of their faces I've noticed this as well (but I'm not in US).
- bluedino 4y ago
  I wondered if it's only common in the US
  - 6LLvveMx2koXfwn 4y ago
    It was common in the UK too until it was made illegal [1], still happens, but less so. 1. https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
    - moistly 4y ago
      A big reduction in British Columbia when it started being penalized. Except at stoplights, still way too many people not prepared to go when the light changes.
    - deadbolt 4y ago
      I believe it is illegal in Michigan as well, but it doesn't appear to be actually enforced. Frankly, it seems few traffic laws are enforced here (Detroit and its suburbs). I've discussed this with a lot of people, and the general conclusion is that "nobody cares anymore". Not drivers, not police, nobody. I'm not surprised there is a rise in roadway deaths. I feel some of it is due to the form factor of the cars on the road, but some must be how people just don't care anymore, and I'm not sure how to address that, when even the police don't seem to care.
khalilravanna 4y ago
The consistent speed thing is so crazy to me as someone who almost always uses cruise control. Why don’t more people use it? (Pretty sure it’s been standard on every car since like 2005?) If people used cruise control and stayed in their lane most of the time (i.e. not switching lanes constantly to try and “get ahead”) I feel like traffic would improve noticeably everywhere. When I drove in Germany it was eye opening to no longer be the exception as a person actually following the rules and not driving like someone on amphetamines in a rush for a meeting. It’s the same feeling when you work at a company with bad management and then work at one with good management: “You mean I can just trust you to do your job…?” -> “You mean I can trust you to drive a car at high speeds without killing me…?”
- ghaff 4y ago
  >(Pretty sure it’s been standard on every car since like 2005?) Only have had adaptive cruise control the past few months. I had regular cruise control for ages. I mostly stopped using it. On roads with any amount of traffic, I found it encouraged driving in a way that prioritized maintaining speed no matter what including getting close or changing lanes when it really wasn't necessary. And if I just constantly overrode it, why bother using it?
  - alar44 4y ago
    Because it makes you more predictable to other drivers.
    - ghaff 4y ago
      Staying in a lane while also maintaining appropriate distances seems better than focusing on maintaining constant speed in traffic. The key is whether you can maintain a reasonable constant speed relative to traffic without changing lanes. Basically, always driving at exactly the speed limit to the degree possible is a questionable heuristic when there are a lot of cars.
    - frosted-flakes 4y ago
      On freeways, yes. But on city streets and roads with many intersections, driveways, turn lanes, etc., I don't think that's really true.
JTbane 4y ago
>Another potential factor: left lane highway driving. I drove in a 3rd world country this summer and they were very consistent about driving in the right lane and only passing in the left lane. No one at all drove in the left lane. I think left lane driving in the US leads to more risky maneuvers and road rage responses. I try to stay in the right lane at all times, but according to truckers it's safer to stay in the left lane, as vehicles merging onto a highway from the right act poorly.
- deleted 4y ago
  [deleted]
soneil 4y ago
I stopped cycling since lockdown. There's been a complete shift in attitudes. Every public space is adversarial. But totally with you on phones. I've always made a habit of making eye contact with people so I know I've been seen (on bike & on foot). It's very difficult to do now - everyone's staring at their knees. (Not in the US, and yes it's illegal here.)
DamnInteresting 4y ago
Likewise anecdotal: At least in the area where I live (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA), there seems to be a sharp rise in drivers who tailgate dangerously close on the freeway, especially in the carpool lane. I can be going 9+mph over the limit, and cars will still come flying up from behind, follow dangerously close for a few minutes, then illegally pass over the solid double white line so they can proceed 2-3 mph faster. And the drivers look so pissed off. Like it was a major insult that they were temporarily forced to drive slightly slower than their preferred speed. Yikes, people. Check your priorities.
whateveracct 4y ago
In Seattle, the left-most lane is carpool. Which means it is often people who would normally be in the right lane. It completely destroys the idea of certain lanes being faster. "Traffic" is frequently 4 cars all going through speed limit next to each other. People don't get out the way, although they are easy to bully if you apply Chicago driving behavior to them ;)

pessimizer 4y ago

> people on the freeway totally obsessed with their phones are easy to spot: lane drifting Drift, JERK, drift, JERK. It's the mating dance of people who can't stop twittering, facebooking, or texting for even a second.

timeon 4y ago

> most drivers have their phone up in front of their faces I've noticed this as well (but I'm not in US).

bluedino 4y ago
I wondered if it's only common in the US
- 6LLvveMx2koXfwn 4y ago
  It was common in the UK too until it was made illegal [1], still happens, but less so. 1. https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law https://www.gov.uk/using-mobile-phones-when-driving-the-law
  - moistly 4y ago
    A big reduction in British Columbia when it started being penalized. Except at stoplights, still way too many people not prepared to go when the light changes.
  - deadbolt 4y ago
    I believe it is illegal in Michigan as well, but it doesn't appear to be actually enforced. Frankly, it seems few traffic laws are enforced here (Detroit and its suburbs). I've discussed this with a lot of people, and the general conclusion is that "nobody cares anymore". Not drivers, not police, nobody. I'm not surprised there is a rise in roadway deaths. I feel some of it is due to the form factor of the cars on the road, but some must be how people just don't care anymore, and I'm not sure how to address that, when even the police don't seem to care.

khalilravanna 4y ago

The consistent speed thing is so crazy to me as someone who almost always uses cruise control. Why don’t more people use it? (Pretty sure it’s been standard on every car since like 2005?) If people used cruise control and stayed in their lane most of the time (i.e. not switching lanes constantly to try and “get ahead”) I feel like traffic would improve noticeably everywhere. When I drove in Germany it was eye opening to no longer be the exception as a person actually following the rules and not driving like someone on amphetamines in a rush for a meeting. It’s the same feeling when you work at a company with bad management and then work at one with good management: “You mean I can just trust you to do your job…?” -> “You mean I can trust you to drive a car at high speeds without killing me…?”

ghaff 4y ago
>(Pretty sure it’s been standard on every car since like 2005?) Only have had adaptive cruise control the past few months. I had regular cruise control for ages. I mostly stopped using it. On roads with any amount of traffic, I found it encouraged driving in a way that prioritized maintaining speed no matter what including getting close or changing lanes when it really wasn't necessary. And if I just constantly overrode it, why bother using it?
- alar44 4y ago
  Because it makes you more predictable to other drivers.
  - ghaff 4y ago
    Staying in a lane while also maintaining appropriate distances seems better than focusing on maintaining constant speed in traffic. The key is whether you can maintain a reasonable constant speed relative to traffic without changing lanes. Basically, always driving at exactly the speed limit to the degree possible is a questionable heuristic when there are a lot of cars.
  - frosted-flakes 4y ago
    On freeways, yes. But on city streets and roads with many intersections, driveways, turn lanes, etc., I don't think that's really true.

JTbane 4y ago

>Another potential factor: left lane highway driving. I drove in a 3rd world country this summer and they were very consistent about driving in the right lane and only passing in the left lane. No one at all drove in the left lane. I think left lane driving in the US leads to more risky maneuvers and road rage responses. I try to stay in the right lane at all times, but according to truckers it's safer to stay in the left lane, as vehicles merging onto a highway from the right act poorly.

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]

soneil 4y ago

I stopped cycling since lockdown. There's been a complete shift in attitudes. Every public space is adversarial. But totally with you on phones. I've always made a habit of making eye contact with people so I know I've been seen (on bike & on foot). It's very difficult to do now - everyone's staring at their knees. (Not in the US, and yes it's illegal here.)

DamnInteresting 4y ago

Likewise anecdotal: At least in the area where I live (Salt Lake City, Utah, USA), there seems to be a sharp rise in drivers who tailgate dangerously close on the freeway, especially in the carpool lane. I can be going 9+mph over the limit, and cars will still come flying up from behind, follow dangerously close for a few minutes, then illegally pass over the solid double white line so they can proceed 2-3 mph faster. And the drivers look so pissed off. Like it was a major insult that they were temporarily forced to drive slightly slower than their preferred speed. Yikes, people. Check your priorities.

whateveracct 4y ago

In Seattle, the left-most lane is carpool. Which means it is often people who would normally be in the right lane. It completely destroys the idea of certain lanes being faster. "Traffic" is frequently 4 cars all going through speed limit next to each other. People don't get out the way, although they are easy to bully if you apply Chicago driving behavior to them ;)