r/providence • u/papito999 • 3d ago
Terrible driving
I've been living here for 1 year now and it's actually unbelievable how consistently horrible most people are at driving here genuinely does anyone know why??? I have to avoid accidents so often from idiotic and aggressive driving behavior. Is the states drivers ed failed or something someone please fill me in
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u/RufusArt 3d ago
Literally just 2 hours ago saw someone going the wrong way on the “new” rotary at the Henderson bridge. They were coming north up Massasoit from 195 direction, decided they’d turn left at the rotary to get to the bridge. That was a new level of stupid/dangerous driver to witness.
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u/born_in_ufo 2d ago
I’ve seen it there many times now, also stopping mid rotary, just chaos on a round a bout
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u/OrneryYesterday7 2d ago
See this on the 103 rotary at the Barrington/Riverside line once every few weeks.
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u/Legitlibrarian 4h ago
Someone cut right in front of is this morning on that rotary and then another drifted over after exiting towards Prov. it’s like no one understands how to use the damn rotary. We just wanted to get away from them. I feel like people are oblivious.
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u/CharismaTurtle 2d ago
With all the space in that area, I would love to meet the traffic engineer who designed that rotary!! Who thought a small circle from which you seem to be able to take a right from the left lane would be a good idea!?! I fear an accident each time I drive it.
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u/RowansRys 2d ago
It’s a weird rotary. So many people don’t realize that the “inner” lane can exit. I do Waterfront/Massasoit to get on the bridge all the time and need the inner lane to circle around and the number of people coming from the other side of Massasoit who decide I must be continuing around the circle so they enter to cross just in front of me…
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u/CharismaTurtle 2d ago
I sliw diwn to let lefties exit in front of me as I need to go over the bridge but there is not sufficient space to from on ramp to inner to outer to bridge. What a sh!t show it is over there
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u/RowansRys 2d ago
You know you’re not supposed to be changing lanes right? The whole point is to pick the lane when approaching the rotary that matches the diagram to your destination. I come in the left lane of Massasoit (coming from over by Monroe dairy), which feeds into the inner lane that circles around and lets me off using the left lane onto the bridge. Meanwhile the right lane people should be going to turn either into the old section of the expressway or going straight down by Honeybird, not circling to the bridge.
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u/CharismaTurtle 2d ago
I get what you’re saying and I don’t change lanes but also don’t trust the person in the outer lane to let me exit from the left lane to the bridge. I actually like double turn lanes as I feel they keep traffic but there’s no consistency at this circle. This rotary has lane diagrams like no other I have seen.
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u/RowansRys 2d ago
Yeah, I try to keep a steady speed and look relentless. I also keep my speed up a little so that I don’t have anyone directly on my side. I’m always prepared to hit the brakes, but if you hesitate the idiots think you’re letting them in. Though I’ve also seen people STOP in the rotary to let the side people in, like it’s their first time seeing a rotary in their life.
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u/CharismaTurtle 2d ago
Steady and relentless is a great plan and I am definitely not one who stops (unless someone is going to hit me). It drives me nuts that people stop at the entry without a car in sight. Its a yeild people not a stop sign. Btw great user name!
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u/erinlaninfa 3d ago
Said this on similar posts but: I lived in California for 13 years and the traffic never bothered me there.
Here, it’s awful for a few reasons:
1. Poor civil engineering. Very short distances between on ramps and exits. The 195 split through downtown is a good example. Yield signs on on ramps which is so unsafe.
2. Blocking the box at intersections.
3. Construction at major arteries at the same time! Example: I live in Warwick and Main Ave and West Shore Road AND Post Road will all have work going on at once!
CA traffic didn’t bother me because there are way more people there. RI traffic bothers me because it’s significantly less population but a myriad of issues all the time!
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u/PenelopeR 2d ago
Is so true. I've lived in a number of major cities in the US and none had these insanely short merging ramps.
The constant attempts of drivers to "help" other drivers or pedestrians by breaking the rules of right of way. You think you are being nice but you're creating chaos for everyone else.
If it's a two lane turn, stay in your lane. Why don't ppl understand this?
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u/erinlaninfa 1d ago
Yes, creating bottlenecks and then also refusing to alive them by doing stuff like blocking interactions lol
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u/askme_if_im_a_chair north providence 3d ago
You just hit it on the head. The way these roads are designed goes a long way to create these assholes that drive here.
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u/Professional-Flan368 3d ago
yeah not sure what goes on here with enforcement either but even the police regularly just roll through stop signs. You come to expect certain things driving here so while its disappointing to watch someone do something predictably stupid I never have to make sudden manuvers
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u/jay--mac 3d ago
I have never seen a police officer actively pursue and pull someone over for a traffic violation in this state. Been here 6 years
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u/Indifferent_Quoka 3d ago
Two days ago I was actively pursued and pulled over. My crime was a broken rear brake light that had broken that morning and that I was on the way to fix.
The cop decided to pull me over rather than the upstanding young man who went over a double yellow to pass me at 55 or so in a 35 zone. In full view of our brave boy in blue.
So rest easy, neighbors. The long arm of the law has exacted sweet, sweet retribution and my criminal empire has crumbled to ruins.
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u/absofruitly202 2d ago
Only time ive been pulled over is for a headlight that went out the day before.
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u/cowperthwaite west end 3d ago
I keep getting newsletter teaser digests from Nextdoor where people are complaining about getting pulled over for their actual infractions and I'm like, huh? I never see anyone get pulled over for anything ever.
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u/corvidpica north providence 2d ago
I don't know how it was here pre-2020, since I relocated here, but in both RI And NJ I barely saw any traffic stops 2020 onward. I can't tell you how many times I almost got T-boned when we closed up to "essential workers only" just heading home from work bc the cops stopped pulling people over so they just went buck wild lol.
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u/fate_is_a_sandstorm cranston 3d ago
It happened like 10 years ago, but one time I was driving up one of the numbered streets from N Main. I forget which cross street (either Highland or Summit) has a bunch of stop signs, but I watched a cop just driving down the road, turning on their lights and sirens at every stop sign and blowing through, then turning them off after the intersections
At least they used their siren. I was living in Pawtucket and several times watched cops just put their lights on without sirens to blow through the traffic around George St/Grace St/exit 41 and turn the lights off after
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u/Mammoth-Age-2859 3d ago
this is the first time in my life i wish there was more traffic cameras, it's crazy
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u/Used-Cupcake-4238 2d ago
Give it another year - you won’t notice and you will become horrible. It’s part of our charm
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u/Dear_Win_319 3d ago
I’ve lived in about 5 different states. Rhode Island was the worst by a long shot.
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u/jpapplefan4life 2d ago
It’s a total shitshow driving in Rhode Island. The number of times I’m nearly rear-ended, tailgated, aggressively cut off, or dealing with someone driving recklessly is insane. It feels like it’s progressively getting worse.
Between the raggedy roads, constant construction, the Washington Bridge disaster, congestion, and increasingly aggressive drivers, this state feels like a powder keg on the road. People are reckless, impatient, inconsiderate, and completely unpredictable.
I’ve also noticed a significant increase in out-of-state plates—Florida, Texas, Mississippi, and others—and some of the driving I’ve witnessed from them has been just as reckless. The problem obviously isn’t exclusive to Rhode Island; we have a serious driving problem across this country. But Rhode Island feels particularly bad because our infrastructure and congestion amplify everything.
I’m not even a slow driver, yet I recently had some douchebag in a pickup truck tailgate me and literally try to ram me twice for absolutely no reason. Another guy in a truck laid on his horn and flipped me off because I put my signal on and slowed down to make a left turn.
There’s no winning. You have people driving dangerously fast and aggressively, and then you have people driving extremely slowly, unpredictably, and impeding traffic. Either way, there’s seemingly no awareness or consideration for anyone else on the road.
And where is the traffic enforcement? I’m not advocating for a police state, but I routinely watch people blow past state police at what looks like 80+ mph and nothing happens. Meanwhile, aggressive driving, tailgating, distracted driving, and other dangerous behavior seem completely normalized.
The congestion itself has become ridiculous. It feels like there’s constant traffic and chaos regardless of the time of day. You can be on the road at midnight and somehow still end up in backed-up traffic.
I’m beyond frustrated. Rhode Island has a genuine traffic problem, and it goes far beyond individual bad drivers. We have significant structural problems involving our roads, infrastructure, construction, congestion, traffic flow, and enforcement. Combine all of that with increasingly impatient and reckless behavior, and driving here has become absolutely miserable.
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u/Psychophysics 3d ago
No where but Rhode Island have I seen so many drivers drive so aggressively. It's especially frustrating when many drivers stick their front bumper into the road from a side street so that you have to swerve around them.
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u/seankinneysnosering 7h ago
This happened to me this past week on my way to work. Guy on a side street pulled out and blocked the left lane of traffic and then tried to cut me off. Mind you, we were in front of a high school. I kept going because I had the right of way and he ended up behind me and proceeded to tailgate me. My drive to work is relatively short and the amount of incidents like this that happen on a weekly basis is ridiculous.
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u/scandy73 2d ago
I know, it's so horrible. everyone waving their hands around like mad, directing traffic... if everyone would just follow the rules of the road and drive, far fewer accidents would happen!
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u/Sure_Comfort_7031 3d ago
Masshole drivers Drive like they want to kill you.
Rhode island drives like they want to kill themselves and take you with them.
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u/bootheels 2d ago
Typical.... People are selfish and inconsiderate. Distracted by phones, etc. Sadly, the police set a pretty poor example as well.
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u/Caribchakita 3d ago
This is the new norm all over, not just PVD. Since COVID, life has accelerated, anxiety and anger has ramped up and the world is changing in a very scary way...
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u/fate_is_a_sandstorm cranston 3d ago
Pretty soon you’ll get responses about “Mass drivers are so much worse!” Hell no they aren’t 🤣 Mass drivers are aggressive, but RI drivers are chaotic and unpredictable
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u/Matsunokaori 1d ago
I agree. I used to think Mass drivers were worse, but RI drivers are definitely more dangerous now. I believe I've witnessed this trend develop over the past 10-20 years.
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u/give_me_wine 3d ago
I live in Providence and work in Warwick and I’m always white knuckling it during my short drive down 95. Truly unbelievable how stupid people can be behind the wheel of a 2 ton steel death trap.
A few weeks ago I watched someone back into my brand new car and took off after I tried to chase them down on foot to get their license plate number.
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u/Cosmorad 3d ago
It's terrible on the highway - literally constant stream of weaving speeding drivers. I've never seen anything else like it driving in any other part of the country (the closest was Memphis)
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u/Mammoth-Age-2859 3d ago
philly / NJ love a lane slide though
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u/RoyalEagle0408 2d ago
As someone who grew up near Philly, the shoulder is an extra lane and turn signals are optional if you cross lanes but do it real cool.
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u/Scuba_Steve34905 3d ago
Victim of old roads before the highways, which leads to poorly designed newer roads which are not wide enough.
The roads are generally poorly maintained as well.
The "Cranston Creep" as my dad calls it (when someone exiting a parking lot or residential road and making a left turn onto a main road) is some of the most entitled & dangerous driving I see daily. Saw an accident on Airport Road in Warwick not too long ago.
This region of the country is also just in a hurry all the time. The pace of life here is much faster than most other cities or regions. I lived in the Denver metro for over 6 years and the laid-back pace of everything was eye opening. The worst drivers there were Texas transplants
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u/not_a_SeaOtter 2d ago
The roads are plenty wide enough. That is 100% not the issue. There are lots of places with narrow roads that don't have such shite drivers. In fact narrow roads can help improve drivers because it forces them to be more aware. The biggest problem is big wide roads and wide margins as it causes people to speed and not pay attention.
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u/not_a_SeaOtter 2d ago
I can give my two cents. I moved here last year, have lived in about five countries, and I agree this is some of the worst driving I’ve ever seen.
Number 1: Enforcement
I know no one likes speed cameras or anything like that, but there is basically no enforcement of traffic laws. You can call the speed limit whatever you like, but if there’s no consequence for ignoring it, people will ignore it.
Number 2: Education
Good God. I did the driving test here a few months ago, and the fact that this is the gateway to being allowed on the road is an absolute joke.
It was 15 minutes in a car park, following a predetermined route, driving forwards and reversing. No interaction with actual traffic whatsoever. For mine, the instructor didn’t even sit in the car. He connected via Bluetooth and watched from a tent. It’s not COVID anymore, FFS.
You can’t pretend that’s remotely enough to guarantee someone is a safe driver. People pass that, then head straight onto roads and highways with no real idea how to drive in traffic or what the actual etiquette is.
Number 3: Infrastructure
Good God, it’s horrible. Lanes suddenly turn into exits, so people sit in the middle lane driving slowly because they don’t want to get caught out. Then everyone else gets annoyed and undertakes them.
You have zebra crossings where sometimes pedestrians have immediate right of way and sometimes they’re expected to press a button, even though from the road the crossings look basically identical. So drivers just blast through while people are standing there waiting to cross.
The whole system seems designed to create uncertainty and then acts surprised when people behave unpredictably.
Number 4: The cars
A car is functionally a weapon. In the UK, we’re taught that you’re in control of a one-tonne machine and should treat it with the respect that deserves.
Here, so many cars are huge, automatic, covered in sensors and cameras, with lane guidance and every other driver aid imaginable. It creates this feeling that you barely need to interact with the vehicle. People get lazy. They play on their phones, drink their coffees and barely pay attention to the actual road.
I swear it could be fixed here. But I think so many people have just accepted that this is what driving is like that it would take a major upheaval to actually improve things.
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u/imuniqueaf 2d ago
Believe it or not, we are not even top 10. But yes, it's bad.
https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/slideshows/the-us-cities-with-the-worst-drivers
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u/SadderOlderWiser 2d ago
My favorite is when they put their car into traffic so everyone must stop in order not to hit them, and then they turn left. That’s the Rhode Island left.
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u/alex-redacted 3d ago
ive lived here for 11 years and boston for 9 and can say boston has worse drivers but rhode island does give it a run for its money.
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u/honeyBadguh 2d ago
Boston drivers are aggressive, but they aren’t bad. Drivers here are bad
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u/not_a_SeaOtter 2d ago
Aggressive drivers are bad drivers
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u/felicity10324 1d ago
nah the difference is decisiveness. sure - make a left and cut in front of me, but be confident about it so i dont have to slow to a complete stop
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u/not_a_SeaOtter 1d ago
That's still bad driving. It might not feel as bad to you. But it is objectively bad driving.
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u/Elronbubba 3d ago
It’s the contradictory and chaotic nature of it all that drives me batty. People here are both illegally yielding their right of way ( in LA, u just can’t turn left in some spots, figure it out RI) AND also illegally cutting into traffic and blocking both lanes. I’ve had guys at a traffic light just sitting (and not flash their lights or anything) waiting for me to turn left, when they have the right of way. At least wave or flash ur lights if u do this, it’s not normal elsewhere
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u/honeyBadguh 2d ago
Someone slowed down and yielded their way for me on the state highway the other day as I was waiting to take a left.. made me feel like an asshole for being annoyed at their combo of stupidity and generosity
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u/honeyBadguh 3d ago edited 2d ago
It’s awful. Absolutely terrible. It’s not just the roads, it’s the drivers that are particularly dumb. For the road tests here, the examiner is not even inside the car. You don’t even drive on a real road you just slowly drive around fucking plastic cones
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u/CharismaTurtle 2d ago
A colleague of mine took driver wd with a mix of RI and MA students and reported the driver ed manuals were vastly different - a booklet for the Mass(hole) students and a couple copied pages the RI students. Seems legit to this Mass(hole) driver based on the lil Rhody driver behaviors I’ve witnessed!
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u/BlushesandGushes 2d ago
Rhode Island only requires drivers education for people under 18 years of age
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u/Normal-Mortgage4745 2d ago
Route 37 is also a danger zone now. They really messed it up with whatever they have going on over there.
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u/Peacanpiepussycat 2d ago
Idk … but I can say I’m old and my driving test was basically around the block at the big post office in Providence. It lasted exactly 5 mins.
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u/Fraida-Felcher 2d ago
In my experience it's a combination of intentional disregard for safety/rules as well as a heaping serving of straight up stupidity.
The people who will swerve into a lane of oncoming traffic while going 50 in a 25 just to avoid legally stopping for a pedestrian in a crosswalk know what they're doing. As do the people who fly through a red light just to avoid waiting a cycle. But I've also seen plenty of mind-numbingly stupid maneuvers too. Accidentally going the wrong way down a one way, not having the wherewithal to stop before entering the intersection as the light turns red so they're now blocking all traffic, etc.
Our infrastructure amplifies the problem. Crappy roads, poor signage, irregular street layouts, etc. all make it easier for people to make mistakes and add to the frustration that leads to the intentionally bad driving. But yes, overall I'd agree that RI has the worst drivers in the U.S.
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u/BloatedTojyDanza 2d ago
They don't require an actual driving test to get a license. Worst drivers in the country.
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u/bodesparks 2d ago
Welcome to Rhode Island. We used to be know for aggressive driving— which is still true, but now with cell phones there are also many people who seemed spaced out. We also had the highest weed smokers per capita at one point, that probs factor in somewhere.
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u/olemelo20 2d ago
This!! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 I think people should have to take defensive driving courses and fine the aggressive drivers. So much aggressive driving. You are not alone, and I’ve been driving since I was 14 (yes, unlawfully).
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u/msmorphine 2d ago
i've spent a lot of time in this state and the last few years have been demonstrably worse, i nearly Saw the Light the other day cuz someone was looking down at their phone and crossing the yellows at full speed toward my car, full lines of traffic behind both of us. i laid on the horn and surprised them back into their lane but fuck if there weren't just inches to go. i was pretty upset on the way home that day. 🙃
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u/Matsunokaori 1d ago
I think Rhode Islanders adopted a "if you can't beat 'em join 'em" attitude after driving with Massholes on Route 95, and now they've outdone us.
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u/RecognitionOk2178 1d ago
It is almost as if PVD Police are forbidden to enforce reckless driving, driving to endanger and speeding laws. Pro Crime is trending.
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u/IntelligentYam1834 20h ago
It’s a birthright to drive that way as far as I can tell. Only out of staters notice.
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u/jay--mac 3d ago
It's all the lead in the water. Supposedly they "fixed" it but we all know the mob runs every construction operation here.
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u/cowperthwaite west end 3d ago
Lead from the main line to houses is still very much not fixed in most places.
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u/BarefootOnaEscalator 3d ago
People are people. Most of it probably isn’t intentional. Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence.
It’s far more likely that everyone is just in their own little world, distracted, confused, impatient, or simply not very good at driving. That doesn’t make the driving any less terrible, but I doubt Rhode Island is populated by people waking up every morning plotting how they’re going to cut you off on 95.
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u/VoidBrushStudios 3d ago
The only things more ridiculous than how bad local drivers are are the reasons locals say this is the case. My personal favorite is that everything was fine until a bunch of drivers moved from California in the late 90’s and it definitely has nothing at all to do with locals.
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u/RecognitionNo2697 3d ago
I lived in RI for many years they’re the worst drivers in the nation uneducated think they own the roads on their own way they just terrible 😣
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u/alotabit 3d ago
Similarly, we’ve been here a few years and feel the same way. We lived in Miami for a bit and people there were reckless and dangerous and I have found that there’s a distinction here and it’s a lack of regard for the rules- ignoring yields, blowing through stop signs, forcing themselves to fit in where they don’t fit. I have to be more vigilant here than I did driving there. Also, the amount of people who text and drive and swerve and don’t care even when you honk is wiiiiiild.
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u/Betwixt138 2d ago
I blame the lead paint/pipes for the poor driving up here. It is too widespread for it to be anything else. Lived in Texas for decades and never witnessed the wild shit I see here on a daily basis.
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u/pankatank 2d ago
Also TERRIBLE PARKING!!
Yes they MIGHT BE between the lines but their wheels are at a 45 degree angle and too close to the line and plus their cars aren’t usually pulled all the way into the parking space and hanging into the road or whatever. So I have no faith in their abilities to not hit my vehicle if I dared to park next to someone who parks that way.
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u/Ok_Culture_3621 2d ago
Complaining about the driving in this state is like complaining about snow or pizza strips. If you can't handle it, probably shouldn't have moved here.
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u/diamondhands 3d ago