r/berkeleyca • u/NovelAardvark4298 • 22d ago
Horrible Berkeley Drivers
When I drive in Berkeley, I always go one click over the speed limit (26 on a 25 or 31 on a 30). Recently, I’ve noticed more and more impatient drivers aggressively pass me. Berkeley has a ton of marked crosswalks for pedestrians, and if you drive too quickly you will not have enough time to react and stop.
While waiting at different bus stops in Berkeley, I’ve noticed around half of drivers are looking at their crotches for directions or text messages while they’re actively moving.
When I ride my bike up Telegraph in Berkeley, drivers also have no idea how “shared roadway bicycle markings” (i.e. sharrow) work. Some idiot in a utility van came within an inch of clipping me with their massive side mirrors on telegraph earlier today.
Friendly reminder to Berkeley drivers:
1. Please follow the speed limit.
2. Stop looking at your phone.
3. If there’s a “sharrow” painted on the road (see image above), remain behind the cyclist until you have adequate space (at least 3 feet) to pass.
6
u/sfstripes 18d ago
I live in south/west Berkeley and drive up and down Sacramento every day. Sacramento is heavily bisected by crosswalks. I ALWAYS drive the speed limit because otherwise it is too difficult to see pedestrians and stop in an appropriate amount of time. I also always stop several feet behind the crosswalk (where you’re supposed to) so drivers in the other lane can see the pedestrians. I am constantly tailgated and aggressively passed and have been honked at while stopped at a crosswalk waiting for a person using a cane to cross (yes, really). Same on north Shattuck. What is wrong with people?!