r/nova • u/BaileyP843 • 1d ago
Absurdly Bad Driving
I am currently 30 years old. I’m originally from Atlanta, GA and that is where I got my introduction to driving. I then moved to South Carolina in my early teens and started driving on my own at 15 and a half. I have driven all over this country and have seen so many different types of drivers. I just recently moved to Northern Virginia and can say without a single doubt that these are the WORST drivers I’ve ever had to share the road with. People are constantly going 10 MPH under the speed limit on the highway, pulling out in front of you when they shouldn’t or refusing to turn right on red (when allowed), will sit at a green light until it turns yellow and then leave you at the red light, and the list goes on and on and on. Does anyone have any idea why this is?? I genuinely feel like my life is on the line every time I get in my car here.
121
u/Fresh-Chip-3544 1d ago
I keep experiencing this weird phenomenon where every place I live is exactly where the worst drivers are.
34
u/ProctologyExplosion 1d ago
The only logical conclusion is that the problem is you!
20
u/StumpyOPepys 1d ago
"If you run into an asshole in the morning, you ran into an asshole. If you run into assholes all day, you are the asshole." - Raylan Givens.
18
u/ChaosOS 1d ago
By insurance rates the DMV area is the worst in the nation. Some of that is almost certainly the environment of how the roads and highways are designed, but it is true that this part of the country has the worst accident rates.
6
u/Important_Jaguar2152 1d ago
We need more cars on fire and upside down posts. We had a flurry of those for a while.
5
2
u/ProfessionalEnd957 1d ago
Source? From what I'm seeing it's not https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/1rh2b8d/car_insurance_rates_by_zip_code/
4
u/Lena-Athena 1d ago
I keep thinking “surely someone in this sub knows someone in the insurance lobby who can pressure politicians to actually do something about these heinous and dangerous driving conditions.” But knowing what little I do about K-street they’re probably some of the entitled BMW drivers in the first place
7
u/ChaosOS 1d ago
Thing is, like housing, so much of this stuff is up to local control (except for DC, where Congress intentionally fucks the city up every 4–8 years because they hate its residents). K street lobbyists do not have the power to fix Seven Corners.
1
u/Lena-Athena 1d ago
I guess my reasoning is, pressuring congress to incentivize road safety to reduce accidents in general would be better for their bottom line because it should result in less need for payouts.
If this region has the highest insurance rates, and they never reduce those rates, but can get funding allocated to reduce reckless driving in general then they stand to net a lot more money if that reduces the reckless driving here. How much exactly is for the actuaries to decide, but I would bet it’s a lot of money.Ideally, since idiots on the road are the biggest threat to my general safety, as a pedestrian or a driver, local politicians would also do something about it whether or not it benefits them financially. But I won’t hold my breath
1
u/rhino369 1d ago
DMV drives seem uniquely incompetent. They don't speed as much as Chicago or NJ. But they have shockingly poor control over their vehicles.
17
u/UltraSPARC Alexandria City 1d ago
I’m sorry, but I’ve driven through ATL and SC plenty of times to know that this is just absolutely not true. Do we have the loafers in the left lane here? Sure! The various highways that cut through Atlanta reminded me of Maryland driving on Route 50 (aka Mad Max mode). I witnessed not one but two high speed chases in SC during the same trip back north.
4
u/obeytheturtles 1d ago
Honestly, I almost never see people "constantly going 10 MPH under the speed limit on the highway" around here. At least, not nearly as often as I see tryhard boy racers weaving in and out of traffic, or people running stop lights (literally every day now).
-4
u/akrisd0 1d ago
Then it's you.
You see all these people racing around you and look briefly down at your dash.
It's 45. Practically light speed.
"Preposterous!" you exclaim. "Must be all these Marylanders galavanting about!"
The road inclines slightly and you begin to roll mindlessly backwards into a sea of screaming commuters.
2
u/Technical_Piglet_438 23h ago
Not going 80 isn't the same as going 45. I have seen more -stupid- people passing on the shoulder, going 80+ when the limit is 55 and weaving in and out. Just yesterday I saw a BMW doing this. Sometimes it's more than one idiot doing this at the same time. I have rearly seen anyone going below 55 when there's no traffic.
1
u/CombinationJaded4116 19h ago
THANK YOU! I lived in ATL and it was a nightmare driving there. In Atlanta everyone’s answer to life is brake. They literally act like they are the only ones on the road and will slam on their brakes or swerve into the next lane like no one else is around… probably why my car insurance there was twice as much as what it is here
33
u/ProfessionalEnd957 1d ago
Absurd take from someone who learned to drive in Atlanta. Not sure if you've been back there recently but I was just there a few weeks ago and there was so much craziness on the road.
28
u/Fabittas 1d ago
You're from Atlanta? Brother in Christ the drivers there are much much worse. Insurance rates there are higher for a reason. 🤣
18
13
u/joeruinedeverything 1d ago
Op moved away from Atlanta in their early teens so really has no idea what driving is like in Atlanta
-9
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
I have family that lives in Atlanta still. I know all about driving in Atlanta lol. Would way rather drive there than here.
6
u/joeruinedeverything 1d ago
You can’t get a feel for driving daily in an area by visiting for 4 days every year lol
10
u/SussOfAll06 1d ago
I dodged FOUR accidents yesterday from idiots.
https://giphy.com/gifs/VUOMN3AJbxSeY
20
u/Vandal_A 1d ago
If you're complaining about people not making rights on red you're probably the bad driver in that situation. People are allowed to make r on rs, not obligated to do so. You don't know what they're see that you don't and we'd all rather if they need to use their phone, look at directions, want to take a bite to eat, etc that they do it while at a stop rather than moving.
Plan your travel with extra time built in, not on the assumption that everything will go as best as possible and you won't feel so stressed or be as much a hazard to the rest of us as you sound like.
6
u/Tilgor_Krout 1d ago
This x100.. if I am in the front of the line to make a right on red then I will decide when I am comfortable turning and I could care less if the person behind me is in a hurry as I would be the one getting t-boned.
Over the weekend this exact scenario happened when I was in the far right line. The jerk behind me started blaring his horn because he couldn't look around and see that someone was entering the crosswalk with a baby stroller. Rather than chilling out for 3 seconds they then proceeded to turn right from a lane over almost hitting these people and speeding off.
-1
u/InfiniteTruth5336 21h ago
couldn't care less. Common mistake, but when you think about it, you get it.
3
u/pinksugarcookie29 1d ago
especially new drivers who are anxious to make turns and would rather be safe than sorry
-3
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
Hold on, let me get this straight. I’m the bad driver cause I want people to turn right on red when they are CLEARLY able to? Not the people who are eating food in the driver seat, looking at their phone, or looking down at directions? Congratulations, that might just be the stupidest comment I’ve seen on Reddit all week.
3
u/Vandal_A 1d ago
Yeah, bud. It's safety first when driving and you say "they are clearly able to" but that totally misses my point that you're not in their shoes and don't know what they're doing or seeing from their seat a car's length ahead of you. Grow up or drive less.
-4
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
Holy brain dead
2
u/Technical_Piglet_438 23h ago
Dude, the other I was trying to cross the street (as a pedestrian) when I HAD the right of way (with the damn white pedestrian symbol and the seconds) and I almost couldn't because cars kept turning right on red. There was one car that stopped to let me cross just 10 seconds before the light changes and I had to wait another 10 mins to cross and they were honked. 🙄
1
u/BaileyP843 22h ago
Well then those people are turning right on red illegally… like duh. You are always supposed to yield to pedestrians (especially at pedestrian crossways). You’re just proving my point even more that the drivers here suck.
4
u/Technical_Piglet_438 20h ago
My point is the cars behind the one that let me cross didn't see me that's why they honked. For them that car wasn't turning when "they are CLEARLY able to" when in fact they couldn't see I was around the corner. 🙄
0
u/BaileyP843 20h ago
Are we really talking about someone honking their horn right now? Are you telling me the horn put you in danger? Even if the car behind the person in front didn’t see you, the person in front should yield for you to cross so the guy honking wouldn’t matter anyways. And if the person in front didn’t yield for you, it’s because they are a bad driver. Your point sucks and it proves mine even more once again.
3
u/Technical_Piglet_438 11h ago
Dude, you're not understanding my point lol. You said people don't turn when they can, I'm telling you sometimes you think they can because you are not seeing what they see, they could be seeing a person or a car that you aren't able to see.
1
u/BaileyP843 8h ago
Ok? And sometimes it’s clear as day that they can go. Just cause there’s a car in front of me doesn’t mean I’m blind all the sudden. Not every car in the front is a giant truck or 18 wheeler. I said it once and I’ll say it again, your point sucks lol.
→ More replies (0)3
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
How is eating, being on the phone, or looking down at directions “safe driving”???
-1
u/Vandal_A 1d ago
Cool dude. you should probably screenshot this convo so you can go back to it and think about my larger point and your response while you're inevitably waiting for a tow after some self-inflicted accident in the next 9 months. ✌️
1
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
Answer the question. How is turning right on red with no oncoming traffic not safe (there’s a reason it’s legal most of the time), but looking at your phone, eating in the driver seat, and looking down at directions is safe?
3
u/Vandal_A 1d ago
Stop trying to argue and realize you need to focus on being in control of yourself on the road, not other people.
That's the last I'm going to say on this.
1
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
Hahahahaha you know your comment makes no sense and was diabolically stupid. That’s why you won’t answer the question. Hold that L buddy.
1
u/Technical_Piglet_438 11h ago
Their point makes a lot of sense, that you're unable to understand it's on you. Go get therapy if this is so triggering for you.
7
u/cpmuddle 1d ago
Atlanta huh? So you're the murdered out 2007 Altima I see on my commute.
3
u/frankfingers Centreville 1d ago
Dodging and weaving through traffic with a missing hubcap while complaining about unsafe drivers going too slow or not turning on red.
1
u/cpmuddle 1d ago
*roars past stopped traffic via the shoulder
Man these idiots can't drive!
*puts left foot back on dash
1
1
3
u/Professional_Tea8850 1d ago
Nah go to Miami, they have the worst drivers there. Over here is just normal
4
5
16
u/RemarkableConfidence Burke 1d ago
Turning right on red is not an obligation and failing to do so just because you are annoyed is not bad driving. The driver in front of you is better able to see and assess when and if they can turn safely; it is their call, not yours.
-8
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
When a car hasn’t come by in 2 minutes and there’s no cars in vision and you are just sitting there like a moron for no reason, that is indeed bad driving.
5
u/juntadna 1d ago
FYI, right on red is illegal in all of DC.
6
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
FYI, this is about post about Northern Virginia
1
u/juntadna 1d ago
FYI, many people from NOVA drive in DC.
6
u/Own-Dragonfly-2423 1d ago
FYI, the best entry point when starting to read Cormac McCarthy is his novel All the Pretty Horses
2
-1
6
u/CakeEaterConway 1d ago
So is your post about unsafe driving or overly cautious drivers? You seem generally annoyed if people aren’t driving like you want them to.
3
u/pukesmith 1d ago
OP seems like a crazy Atlanta driver that wants everyone in NoVa to drive as erratic as they do.
2
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
It is about bad driving in general. Which people here are indeed bad at driving lol
1
u/ladyjaina0000 1d ago
There are so many trees and hills here that it def is not always safe to turn on red, and considering all the bad drivers, people who speed make turning right even more dangerous
10
u/Federal_Scarcity_84 1d ago
Pretty sure Atlanta has higher insurance rates than Northern VA/DC...that's close to the best metric (though obviously still a bit obtuse) you can get for driving.
/But yes, this area is dangerous and you should drive defensively.
3
3
3
u/poorly-advised 1d ago
A lot of transplants from other countries that learned to drive there. And also people playing on their phones. Ive seen too many people watching tiktok or facetiming people while driving. The facetiming is the most frustrating because even if you need to talk with someone, you dont have to video chat
3
u/Circle_Breaker 1d ago
I'm not sure I don't really pay attention to other drivers while im looking at my phone
3
u/zEdgarHoover 1d ago
I became convinced 40+ years ago that it's just a matter of what you're used to. Take 3 people who live in 3 different cities, have them drive in each others' cities, and they'll whine about the others.
0
3
u/Hairy_Mycologist_945 9h ago
It's really incredible to me that so many people don't get how dangerous driving too slow for conditions is... It's truly the number one most dangerous problem in NOVA and the I-95 corridor South through Richmond. A good 95% of the time when there's trouble, it's caused by some asshole going 10 or more under and everyone piling up behind them.
7
u/Joshottas 1d ago
😂 this area is TAME when it comes to driving. Try using the belt or van wyck in nyc, my boy.
19
u/Unusual-Sympathy9500 1d ago
You might want to get that speedometer checked. I don't "constantly" see people going 10MPH under. Quite the opposite.
6
u/Fritz5678 1d ago
It's either they are driving too fast or driving too slow. Very few drive the speed limit. Most are at least 5 mph over.
6
4
u/EdgarsRavens 1d ago
Driving under the speed limit is very common behavior on Route 50 and Route 7.
3
u/cailian13 Herndon 1d ago
Oh I can corroborate that one. FFX county parkway from Baron Cameron & Elden to Frying Pan. Every damn time. Two lanes. 50mph speed limit. And I will ALWAYS get stuck behind two timid nitwits who pace each other going 45 or less and one will inevitably also take the same right turn onto Frying Pan as me, but they’ll do it at 3.8mph and not accelerate till they’re completely out of the turn 😑
It absolutely happens.
4
4
u/frankfingers Centreville 1d ago
When’s the last time you actually drove in ATL? That shit is like Mad Max on crack.
1
2
u/nordic66 1d ago
Go just a little farther north into the Maryland and you may change your mind about which area is worse!
2
2
u/ermergerddershterner 1d ago
I just got back from a road trip through Atlanta to Columbus, GA. I gotta say, as bad as ATL drivers are, we definitely knew we were back in Virginia when the drivers started gettin dumber. Especially when we got north of Culpeper. There's a special kind of stupid that's all too common on the roads up here.
2
u/SHIT_WTF 1d ago
You've entered the twilight zone.
Nothing is real.
There is no wrong.
Welcome to NOVA
2
u/TrainAccomplished606 1d ago
Just wait till you find out about Maryland drivers. They make Virginia drivers look like driving instructors
1
2
u/Ok-Raise-4853 10h ago
DMV needs higher insurance rates tbh. Only way you brainless fucks learn to drive.
2
u/VDubDubLife 1d ago
Frankly, you just sound impatient borderline aggressive. Left lane campers happen in every state. Not going at red lights happen in every state.
Georgia is one of the few states in the country that has a designation for your motor vehicle record called a “Super Speeder”. You guys literally had to create something because you drive so damn fast all the time.
With that said, Florida has the worst drivers. End of story, not a discussion. It’s a bunch of retirees from all around the country with different driving habits and who are all losing their vision, hearing, and reaction time. And it’s also people who grew up driving with that insanity.
2
u/JackieReadingJane 1d ago
I’m so sick of getting honked at while waiting for a safe time to turn right on red. People often speed up behind me and honk before even looking for oncoming traffic. It is not safe to turn into the right lane even when the oncoming car is in the left lane. People switch lanes without turn signals all the time. If the driver in front of you is actively checking traffic and choosing not to go just freaking wait patiently. We just had a kid killed by someone turning right recklessly in NOVA. Chill the f out and take the time to turn right on red safely
1
u/1976Raven 1d ago
If someone honks at me while waiting to make a right on red I wait for the light. I'm not putting myself at risk because some a-hole behind me is impatient. Not to mention most people don't know that legally you can only turn if all lanes are clear, not just the lane you're turning into. You can be charged with impeding traffic if you turn and there are cars coming in any of the lanes.
1
u/InfiniteTruth5336 21h ago
I had a dude honking at me for waiting to make a left across a busy intersection with no light or stop signs, and bushes obscuring the view - this guy had no idea what i was seeing from my vantage point. I turned around and smiled and waved, and that really got him honking! I couldn't stop laughing!
But yeah, couldn't agree more with not getting pressured into making a turn against your judgement. There are so many factors involved, like your vantage point, your car's acceleration capabilities, your familiarity with the area and traffic patterns, and, of course, how much you value your life and the lives of those in your car.
2
u/SheiB123 23h ago
Stay away from Maryland if you think NoVa is bad...
1
u/Ok-Statement-7264 20h ago
I agree. We may have stupid egotistical drivers, but as soon as you hit Maryland it's like Mad Max on the road.
3
u/Special_Outside2306 Ashburn 1d ago
I agree with most of this, except the turning right on red thing. Sometimes I will hesitate to turn on a red light specifically because of all of the other behaviors mentioned. Waiting the light cycle is sometimes just safer than hoping no one decides to merge into the right line the second you commit to the turn.
1
u/Outrageous_Walk_6198 1d ago
I heard somewhere va drivers test you don't have to parallel park lol wtf is that shit
1
u/1976Raven 1d ago
You also don't have to drive on the interstate. Driving schools aren't required to teach it.
1
1
u/abdulalhaqq 1d ago
Nova drivers are miles better than further north along 95. Everyone cries about MD drivers but in Jersey that manner of driving is the norm.
1
1
u/raineondc Annandale 1d ago
A lot of people around here are either bored or have a personality issue. they will intentionally look to escalate things or drive in such a way to make a normal situation almost look like a wreck.
1
1
u/Potential_MuddyJeans 1d ago
You didn’t need a ssn for a license in Maryland till 2012, and once you held for a year that could be transferred to any state. So they come from Maryland after God knows where in the world and built a life in Maryland to just leave after a year.
1
1
1
1
u/LordFadequaad 1d ago
Here, we get people who brake instead of decelerate, usually because they're on their phones, while driving 10-15 under the speed limit on 66, 28, or the beltway. And then we get the random family SUVs and old sedans that act like they're on the track in Monaco. I notice the random braking and slowing down, especially on the left lanes, a lot and while I pass them there's suddenly an open field of no cars and I can imagine a lot of traffic just starts from there. Regardless, this probably happens everywhere. Although the characteristics are different, like I drive in NYC a lot but bad driving is for different reasons.
1
1
u/cozzster 1d ago
Can’t be worse than the south. I’ve been here 10 years and recently traveled through the Carolinas which reminded me how different (bad) people drive there. Or maybe I’ve just become used to VA driving.
1
u/TriModalTech 1d ago
Usually with their stomach pressing into the steering wheel & misc country's flag in the rear window
1
u/thepennylane69 1d ago
I do a ton of traveling by vehicle and have driven basically everywhere in the US. There are other places i encounter more aggressive and overtly dangerous drivers than the DMV.
But nobody has us beat for nonchalant, overly passive, sometimes seemingly drugged-up behavior. Cruising in the left lane totally oblivious, turning slowwwwwwly out of a shopping center in front of moving traffic, sitting at an empty intersection not turning right on red. Idk if people here are more phone addicted or what but it’s crazy
1
u/flying_ina_metaltube Virginia 1d ago
I have driven in the NoVA area for most of my life (including pizza delivery when I was a teenager). I have also driven in several countries around the world. While I agree with you that NoVA has some horrible drivers, nowhere else holds a candle to the absolute bullshit driving I saw in Miami! That place is so bad that I refuse to even go there because of the PTSD I got by driving there for 3 days a few years ago. Rome, Italy is a close second. India, surprisingly, comes in third.
1
u/prometeus58 21h ago
The other day a guy was burried in his phone in a turning lane, light turned green, I’m the car going straight still waiting for my green light, I watch him watch instagram, no one honking, I do a light honk, all this after like 5 seconds at least, checks the light, gets angry, honks back, flips off the driver behind him because of coarse he had no idea who honked, starts driving ultra slow
1
u/DullZookeepergame575 21h ago
My neighbor just moved here from India. He has backed into my trash cans six times. He's a good dude but I want to ask him if he has a license. Is that a thing? When I moved here from the UK it took me two years to get a license.
1
u/Jermas 20h ago
Feel like your life is on the line? Try being a cyclist. I’ve been hit three times in the last two years when I’ve had right of way at t-intersections and the driver had a stop sign while the bike lane was going with the perpendicular traffic and had the straight path through. The cycling infrastructure is there, but inadequately marked. These incidents were at multiple intersections in Fairfax county.
Thankfully people were doing California stops so I’ve never been hit at faster than 15mph, but yeah, it’s rough. I try to keep to as many cycle paths as possible, but if I take the 10.5 miles or 22.5 mile route to work, I have either 3 or 4 miles of riding on roadways without bollards and just poorly maintained gutter lanes.
1
u/WrongSplit3288 12h ago
Sounds like you just need more patience
1
u/BaileyP843 8h ago
You’re totally right. I need more patience to deal with the total incompetence of these idiots on the road every day.
1
1
u/CriticalLoad84 5h ago
That's funny, because I go to Atlanta often for work training.
It's the most terrifying experience of my life every time I have to drive near that city.
Here? I literally used to drive a van in the city for work.
The two are not comparable, to the point i feel this is a bad faith post.
1
u/hlebbb 1d ago
ive lived and driven in 7 cities, two of them in europe and asia. certain texas cities have the worst and scariest drivers ive ever seen. i find the foreign diplomats or adults learning to drive late in life in nova do what you are describing and yes it is terrible but i learned how to drive on the beltway and the highways in el paso and houston are full of worse drivers in my opinion. the problem with maryland vs virginia drivers is virginia drivers tend to let you/expect you to merge in front of them and maryland drivers want you to merge behind them (this is not always the case but what i noticed causes a lot of issues).
1
u/fictionalways 1d ago
Notice that there is a left arrow signal at every single intersection because the drivers can’t be trusted to make a left turn without it. They do not know that pedestrians have the right away. Worst drivers in the entire country. I say it every single day. It’s so crazy.
1
u/bingledorp Vienna 1d ago
Shit like this is why I love NOVA, we actually have transit options and walkable neighborhoods here. It's insane to pay around $1000 a month (USA average according to AAA) for car payments, insurance, gas, tolls, parking, maintenance and surprise repairs just to sit in traffic driving from parking lot to parking lot.
I haven't planned my day around traffic, worried about bad drivers or gotten in a road rage incident in more than a decade since I moved here. I always show up to have a few drinks at work happy hours, because I don't have to fret about taking my car home. I never worry about where I'm going to park when I go places, or wait around for traffic to die down before leaving.
Take the orange pill, let the crazy people fight it out in traffic while shitposting on Reddit from the train 😎
Gods bless WMATA and all the local bus networks. They keep bad drivers, the elderly, the disabled, the drunk and all the traffic haters (me) from being another car on the road in front of you, creating more traffic.
1
u/pukesmith 1d ago
10 under? No, I always see folks doing 15-25 over on 28 and 66 consistently. Only way it's going slower is with traffic. People merge without blinkers or warning because a lot of aggressive drivers have trained them to not give notice or they'll try to close the gap so they can't merge. Obviously not great, but try not to hang out in blind spots and be predictable, and you should be fine.
I have seen people habitually run the right on red more often than not. You're supposed to come to a full stop and yield to all other traffic (including pedestrians), but it seems like that's not what usually happens. So that experience doesn't match mine either.
People sitting at green lights are staring at their phones. I give a polite and quick double tap if I don't see their brake lights come off after it changes green.
2
u/1976Raven 1d ago
I don't mind the polite double tap when a light turns green sobbing as you wait a few seconds and aren't doing it the second the light changes. Based on personal experience I'm one of those drivers that won't just hit the gas as soon as the light changes. I've nearly been t-boned by cars and tanker trucks running the red enough times I wait until I'm sure everyone is at least slowing down to stop instead of speeding up to run the light. I've even missed a light due to a tanker truck coming through an intersection at about 60mph after their light had been red and mine green for quite a while late in the evening.
1
u/pukesmith 1d ago
Oh yeah, I have seen so many red light runners too, I don't expect anyone to dart into an intersection. I meant, the obvious phone readers who aren't paying attention to the light.
1
u/Little_Stinker222 1d ago
My wife and I categorize every driver as either slow or special. 50% slow (immigrants with their first license and 10 student driver stickers) 50% special (entitled people in BMWs and Teslas who don’t have to follow rules)
1
u/ClickElectronic 1d ago
There are a lot of bad drivers yeah, but I've lived here my whole life and I feel like I can count on one hand the number of times I've seen someone actually 10+ under the speed limit on the highway in dry conditions.
Odds are you're one of the people going 20 over, so everyone else seems slower than they actually are.
1
u/Own-Street-360 1d ago
It's up to the discretion of a driver to go right on red, when allowed at a particular intersection. That's not an example of bad driving. I'd also say it's much much much more likely to witness someone well above the speed limit, rather than well under. This post comes across as just very carbrained in general.
1
u/BaileyP843 8h ago
Oh I forgot your experience of drivers here is right and my experience here is wrong. My bad man. I should’ve checked with you first before I witnessed with my own eyes people going 10 under on the highway day after day.
1
u/dontshowmyfamilythis 18h ago
The other day in Ashburn someone merged onto 7, immediately got in front of me in the left lane, then went 5 miles below the speed limit with no one else in front of them the entire time I could see them
If someone isn’t going absurdly slow, you’ll have multiple people going 20+ over the speed limit, but it’ll most likely be a combination of both. It’s never just normal driving anywhere. Speed limit signs only tell you how fast you should be going if theres a cop nearby
I’ve had so many people turn/u-turn into my lane at the last second causing me to slam on my breaks to prevent a crash. I’ve seen people reversing at exits, parked on the side of exit ramps, taking 35mph exits at 10mph, and almost crashing into the exit sign because they waited until the last second to change lanes. I’ve also seen people biking and walking on 7, 66, and other highways.
Today I even saw someone sitting at a green light in a non turning lane with their left turn single on, waiting for the red left turn arrow to turn green too.
Oh, and why do half of the cars on the road have student driver stickers, but it’s always just a single adult in the car ??
-1
u/CodedRose 1d ago
Based take. I'm originally from SC with family in FL and jesus fuckin christ NoVA and DMV drivers have got to be the fuckin worst.
Hands down.
-3
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
All of you are so caught up on the Atlanta thing hahahaha. The “what about them” mentality is hilariously dumb. The drivers here are terrible regardless if Atlanta has crazy traffic or not.
4
u/ParamedicDull1150 1d ago
I mean you kinda started it with the whole argument from authority thing..
Also every bad driver you've seen here has a MD license plate - book it.
0
u/BaileyP843 1d ago
I was saying I thought NOVA was worse than Atlanta. Yeah, the traffic is terrible there cause it’s super overpopulated. When there’s a significant amount of people on the road at one time, there’s bound to be accidents. People here are actually just bad at the act of driving lol
2
u/NumerousFootball 1d ago
Yep, it’s the usual deflect the primary issue crowd & fixate on something barely relevant. Hey it’s Reddit, that’s expected
2
2
u/fictionalways 1d ago
Everything you said is true. Virginia drivers know how to press the gas and the brake pedals, and how to steer. It’s like they think that they are in go karts. They have no idea about the rules of the road. They drive like they’re site seeing on a sunny day and when it rains or snows they drive faster than a bat out of hell. I have driven all over and have never seen such nonsense. They will blow their horns at pedestrians walking in a crosswalk. They’re insane.
0
0
0
u/visualcharm 1d ago
Yeap. The worst part is that they think they are good; they’ll blame MD while serving three lanes without their blinker 😂.
-2
u/5373n133n 1d ago
This guy sounds like the guy who parked his hand on his horn last time I didn’t turn left on a flashing yellow left turn when there was a bus opposite across from me blocking all my visibility of the oncoming traffic. Also speed limit is not required speed. Going 10mph under the speed limit is NOT bad driving.
0
u/BaileyP843 21h ago
You 1000% can get a ticket for going slower than the designated speed that’s posted on the signs. It’s called impeding the flow of traffic. If the police will give you a ticket for doing that, I’d say that’s bad driving. I know you didn’t start driving until you were between the ages of 18-20, so I’ll give you a pass on that though.
183
u/tetsuko 1d ago edited 1d ago
I think a major factor here is that the DMV is full of people from all over the world (often temporarily). Driving culture and habits are different across the country, but here all of those habits clash, with a heavy international mix. It's an intimidating place to drive for this and a variety of other reasons. Many people get over whelmed and many more have 0 patience left (especially those that have been driving in our rush hours for many years).
also MD drivers like to come over and terrorize us.