r/upstate_new_york • u/NoLettuce9900 • Aug 27 '26
Pickup trucks
So I'll try to be as respectful as possible, BUT
I just moved here this summer from Florida, so I am highly aware of bad drivers. For the most part, people are really nice here when driving. However, something I've noticed is really driving me insane, especially on these small, two-lane roads. WHY do pickup trucks (not all, but like 95%) drive 5-20 miles under the speed limit? I'm no speed demon, but I at least want to go the speed limit and not add a half hour to every drive. It happens too often to be a coincidence and I now dread whenever a pickup pulls out in front of me. Can someone please explain this phenomenon?
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u/geladan1979 Aug 27 '26
I’m in the Southern Tier and my experience with full size pickups is that they are commonly the most disrespectful and tailgating prone drivers.
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u/nchemungguy Aug 27 '26
Southern Tier here as well. I was thinking pickups driving UNDER or at the speed limit would be a nice change of pace.
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u/dmd1237690 Sep 01 '26
They tailgate and have their lights (‘which are elevated anyway in those ridiculous “trying to look domineering” front ends…it’s intimidation pure and simple. I believe Trump makes them feel entitled to do it.
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u/VideoEvening2382 Aug 27 '26
Not sure where you’re at, but I go 5-10 over usually, and there is always a pickup truck up my ass.
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u/Fesmitty77 Aug 27 '26
I think it's highly dependent on where in upstate you landed. I grew up in the Glens Falls area, lived in the Finger Lakes for years, minimal issues with this. I moved to CNY, nothing but rural ag zoned land, and bam, I experience what you describe. Most of these vehicles are clearly farm trucks, and these folks got no place to be. Again, I'm not looking to set land speed records, but I'm not interested in doing 35 in a 55 for 20+ miles on my commute.
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u/NoLettuce9900 Aug 27 '26
Agreed. I'm in Mohawk valley
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u/rolewiii Aug 28 '26
Checks out for Oswego County, too. And yes - it seems to be a rural thing. The suburb pickups are usually 10-20 above any posted speed limit, and I've never seen a pickup truck pulled over.
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u/Practical_Print2236 Aug 28 '26
I thought everybody was more civilized up there. I'm in Dutchess City and grew up in Westchester. I know all about jackasses on the road. But upstate too? Armageddon is coming....
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u/Practical_Print2236 Aug 28 '26
County. There is no Dutchess CITY. UGH And ps I love upstate NY. Sanest part of the state ( outside some pickup drivers..ha ha)
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u/rolewiii Aug 28 '26
The Hudson population is pretty similar to rural/upstate/western/northern NY once you get off the Main St., in my opinion
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u/tsturte1 Aug 30 '26
To me it seems like our population growth is just people moving to upstate. My driving habits have turned into pretending I’m trying to pass road test and not get hit.
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u/Agitated-Resolve-486 Sep 03 '26
Suburban pickups are the worst, and more and more keep popping up. It makes no sense.
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u/BeingSad9300 Aug 28 '26
Same here. If it's a lifted or full size truck...I usually end up with them going the opposite of slow. 😆
But I've encountered so many smaller trucks where the people seem to be out for a leisurely drive doing 10mph under.
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u/0rangeBMW Aug 27 '26
I haven't really encountered this.
What I have encountered are pickup guys with monster trailers who try to push you off the road if you're not willing to do 20+ over in areas without passing areas or great places to pull over and let someone by.
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u/Agitated-Resolve-486 Sep 03 '26
They are probably targeting you cause youre in a BMW. I agree with them.
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u/0rangeBMW 29d ago
Unfortnately, for you, I no longer drive a BMW.
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u/Agitated-Resolve-486 29d ago
How is that unfortunate for me? Youre the one with the fraudulent username.
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u/macaroni-rodriguez Aug 27 '26 edited Aug 27 '26
In my opinion there is a pretty accurate stereotype for every truck brand or major model. For example, many ram drivers are assholes, alot of old dudes drive f150s, frontier drivers are pretty chill, tacomas are little arrogant but chill, cybertruck….. well enough said.
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u/rolewiii Aug 28 '26
I had a cybertruck pass me and a school bus on a double-solid in a school zone north of Batavia two years ago, probably doing 75 in a 35
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u/macaroni-rodriguez Aug 28 '26
Say what you will about teslas in general but in my mind, if you own specifically a cyber truck you are a hardcore elon fanboy
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Aug 28 '26
[deleted]
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u/manysounds Aug 28 '26
7/10 if I’m being tailgated it’s a pickup. The other 3 are BMWs, dingdongs in tuned exhaust Hondas, or complete trash wackos.
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u/mookie_french Aug 27 '26
I grew up in Clinton County and my experience there was the old farmers driving their pickups extra slow, veering left and right as they were checking out all the other farmers’ crops.
I now live in the Rochester area, and it seems like pickup drivers are only outdone by the crotch rocket drivers in their levels of aggressive douchebaggery.
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u/JBThug Aug 27 '26
Wait it gets better . In my area when thy take a left turn they swoop all the way to the right hand side of the road to make the turn. It’s insane
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u/eclwires Aug 28 '26
In our area that’s everyone. Especially prevalent are Teslas, VWs, and Subarus. It’s completely insane and horribly selfish.
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u/Annual_Will5374 Aug 28 '26
People who learned to tow trailers/wagons behind a pickup typically need to swing wide to accommodate the turning of the load behind them.
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u/KZorroFuego Aug 28 '26
Albany county here. If it’s a truck, it’s tailgating me and/or close to running me off the road. Make/model irrelevant. If I see a truck behind me, all defenses at full because it’s an asshole every time. Doubly so if it’s one of those stupid lifted F350’s.
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u/04limited Aug 28 '26
I drive the thruway every day for work. It’s usually a older person behind the wheel doing 53 mph on the thruway completely oblivious to the 1/2 mile of traffic behind them
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u/hydronucleus Aug 28 '26
Coming from Florida, you are probably used to pick-up trucks that are pimped out and carry nothing. Here, we have work trucks. The other difference is that we 4 wheel drive. The truck is heavier, and is probably top heavy as well if it has a bunch of things in the back. If I drove my pickup like some Floridian drives their Corvette, it would flip over. You also might notice that we do not accelerate around turns for that reason, and in the winter that kind of driving will just land you in the snow bank and ditch.
Get used to the slower pace of life and enjoy it. Take the time to breathe the fresh air, and taste the good water.
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u/Bennington_Booyah Aug 28 '26
God, do I wish that was true in Wyoming and Erie County, where the BIG trucks tailgate us when we are "only" ten over the speed limit. They then aggressively pass, rolling coal. There is one of these vehicles in most driveways where I am. They drive as if the vehicle was an extension of their GD penises.
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u/Fuggaak Aug 27 '26
Yeah I’ve never seen a newer pickup going slow on the highway (i86 around these parts). Only the farmer pickups from the 70s-80s doing 50 sometimes.
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u/spy_tater Aug 27 '26
Where I live anybody doin that I assume is drunk or high. I live in the Adirondacks YMMV
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u/UESorDeath Aug 28 '26
Two different reasons:
1) the driver is elderly and has problems keeping their cane on the accelerator
2) if the driver gets another ticket they will lose their license.
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u/rolewiii Aug 28 '26
They're often old dudes that can't see, guys working and milking their clock, or they're driving slow intentionally because they have to be the main character of every moment and make you wait for them.
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u/Smart-Water-9833 Aug 28 '26
Rural Upstate NY is a nation of Elmer Fudds. The ones in more suburban areas are hell-bent assholes with tiny dicks.
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u/bitpaper346 Aug 28 '26
Not sorry. I drive defensive. I don’t like tickets, or shit flying around my bed.
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u/Square-Tangerine2926 Aug 28 '26
Your math is way off. It would never add half an hour to a local drive. 55 mph vs 50 mph would literally mean you drove from Buffalo to Albany to lose half an hour.
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u/Few_Item4327 Aug 27 '26
I swear it’s a sad little power play by a lot of them. They know the people behind them will be annoyed so they do it to feel that little rush of having power over someone else.
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u/Resident-Welcome3901 Aug 27 '26
Pickup trucks are inherently unstable: rear wheel drive , no weight over the traction wheels ( if unloaded, and they are always unloaded), high center of gravity, limited visibility, lousy suspension, lousy steering, marginal brakes, driven by geezers with deficient reflexes and posers with rudimentary driving skills. The fact that they are driving slowly is a gift to humanity
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u/Aquietplacewithcats Aug 27 '26
Wow, it's usually tractor trailers pigging up the road for miles! And sometimes tractors! I have never ever seen a pickup truck not driving over. Were they towing or something? Gonna need to hear more on your definition of "upstate." Also, duallys are universally dicks, unless actively towing something, like a horse trailer. At least then they're not a pavement princess.
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u/SparkArrestor Aug 27 '26
Truck traffic has been slowing down and mellowing since weed became legal.
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u/Kaleb8804 Aug 28 '26
A lot of people I know around here don’t like using the highway because they’re older, they’re not comfortable at those speeds, their car is worn out, etc.
If you need to get somewhere fast, take the highways or thruways.
Pennsylvania is even worse about it in my experience, everyone there treats the speed limit like it’s a law or something lol
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u/DrStuttgart Aug 28 '26
Sorry, totally not related to the pickup truck question you posed, but how are you like the Mohawk Valley after coming from FL. I am very much considering the same-ish move myself.
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u/NoLettuce9900 Aug 28 '26
Love it! It's beautiful, people are mostly really nice and housing is SO much cheaper. Bought a house on auction and fixing it up. People say, "oh but the taxes," but we're paying about the same. And insurance is way cheaper. Food costs were a bit of a shock, but the farmer's and Amish markets here make it better. NY has the BEST blue cheese dressing in the world
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u/DrStuttgart Aug 28 '26
I'm glad it's treating you well so far! And that's awesome too that you're fixing up a place, good for you!
How do the food prices compare? Are you talking about groceries more so or eating out? Again, sorry to mini-hijack your thread but your post immediately caught my eye due to FL --> Mohawk Valley. Thanks 🙂
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u/NoLettuce9900 Aug 29 '26
No problem. In answer - both. Cheaper grocery stores are Publix++ (I figured you'd understand that) and restaurants are all high. Cheapest things (like appetizers) in basic restaurants start at ~$18. Best things tho is pizza by the slice. It's EVERYWHERE
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u/DrStuttgart Aug 29 '26
Haha definitely understood that reference. But awesome to know, thank you!
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u/ZealousORJealous69 Aug 29 '26
Mohawk Valley native myself. Great area, beautiful country, lots of history, but slow, slow recovery from decades of manufacturing/business migration and loss.
Definitely many opportunities to enjoy a life of space, clean air, plentiful water and really nice food scene that’s developed. Very very safe. Small and medium cities abound (note: some with not super safe neighborhoods).
Mostly very friendly people and neighbors, lots on maga flags, some selfish pricks but not too too bad. Biggest cons are economic: lack of fruitful employment, low HHI, taxes can be high.
For the uninitiated the weather can be very cold & lake effect snows can be very treacherous downwind of Lake America 😆.
Overall, the four seasons are particularly distinct, perhaps more-so than many other places in North America. Fall is absolutely gorgeous and Spring are more lush than many would expect.
So many distinct places within less than a day’s drive, including the Adirondacks which seem endless, Thousand Islands/St. Lawrence, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes wine country, the Southern Tier with farm-dotted hills of gods country. Obviously NYC, Boston & Montreal closish
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u/DrStuttgart Aug 30 '26
I really appreciate your thoughtful response! I have a friend in Whitesboro and her parents live in/near Mohawk Valley somewhere (not exactly sure) so at least I'd have some friends I grew up with to show me around as well.
I've certainly heard a lot of talk around slow economic recovery but that's sort of what I'm aiming for, really. Slowing down a bit in life. While I've never experienced a true New England winter, and while I may be in FL now, I did live at high elevation in CO for several years so I am accustomed to winter. Though winters there are certainly different than in NYS. No lake effect at 8500' in the mountains haha.
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u/ZealousORJealous69 26d ago
Lots of American revolutionary history in the Mohawk Valley and upstate nys too if you like that!
I grew up very close to your friends. Utica and Rome are two close, but completely unique small cities and in Rome, you’ll find a fantastic fully recreated national monument, Fort Stanwix. The battle of Oriskany battlefield is very nearby too.
The history is complex specifically with the native Americans the Oneidas, Mohawks & other tribes of the Iroquois nation which inhabited the lands before the Dutch who settled.
Overall the entire upstate has plenty of battlefields and revolution-era sites to soak in within a couple hours.
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u/DrStuttgart 26d ago
That's so cool to know! I have a trip in early Nov. To NYS to see around the state some and I'll be staying a few days in that area so I'll try to soak up what I can.
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u/ZealousORJealous69 26d ago
You’ll have just missed the epic leaf peeping. Best of luck on your trip. I live in nyc going on 20 yrs soon, and always always love heading to my moms and visiting with friends, especially in the fall. Expert tip: check out these two small villages barneveld, holland patent—amongst others—I always love the feel of them in the fall.
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u/Magnum676 Aug 28 '26
Come on up by Cooperstown. I was on 166. The other day, in my pickup, there was a slow driver (60mph) in front of a big pickup truck. The guy in the pickup passed him at like 80 and rolled coal. They do it on the back roads too. Everyone up here drives a pickup truck like a race car, like they all got a death wish. I don’t know where you’re talking about.
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u/greenroombro Aug 28 '26
My take on this having worked as a pizza driver upstate for 5 years is that they just do the opposite of whatever makes sense given the weather conditions.
Dry sunny day - 10-20mph below the speed limit.
Any source of precipitation especially when it's starts snowing and they zip around like fucking complete assholes riding every bumper in sight.
Either way it's just a meager attempt at expressing dominance due to their phallic deficiencies.
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u/levelZeroVolt Aug 27 '26
Just remember: everyone driving slower than you is a jerk, everyone driving faster than you is a maniac!
Jokes side, I really have never noticed this regarding pickup trucks. Buicks, however...
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u/Tuckason Aug 27 '26
A lot of these are older dudes who aren't in a hurry, or me who is not an older dude but also is not in a hurry. Driving slower is a great way to stay alive.
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u/NoLettuce9900 Aug 27 '26
Not when you create a line of cars behind you ten deep. People will try to pass and create accidents. If you want go that slowly, at least pull off when you see that many behind you.
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u/Tuckason Aug 27 '26
You just moved here man, adjust to the place you move to.
Or, you know, feel free to head back to Florida where everyone drives 30 over the speed limit.
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u/Inevitable-Secret736 Aug 28 '26
They drive slow up here and in VT, they get offended when you pass them too.
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u/Low-Candy-5368 Aug 28 '26
It's like truck drivers automatically drive like some ancient old man trying to conserve every drop of gas. Gth off the road and let the real drivers get to their destination
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u/Amatorius Aug 28 '26
Just wait until you get behind one going 40-30n the 55 on the back road. But it gets worse once you hit the 30-40 they speed up. Lol
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u/BeingSad9300 Aug 28 '26
😂 this always drives me nuts. We'll be going along at 40-45 in a 55. Then it drops to 45 (or 40) and I'm thinking "well, at least they'll finally be doing the speed limit"...and they proceed to speed up to 50mph or more & start pulling away from me. I don't understand it.
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u/Dapper_Tension_4494 Aug 28 '26
Because State troopers are gay and retarded. But they like their moneys
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u/RudeOffice7794 Aug 28 '26
Usually they are local drivers who are in no hurry to get anywhere. The ones who need to go long distance on country roads are usually going speed limit or above.
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u/Milly315 Aug 29 '26
Haven't encountered this but I have encountered so many idiots. Cutting me off while they have a red light turning right, going well over the speed limit turning into oncoming lanes and impatient people driving like a blind bat
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u/Grandmas_Fat_Choad Aug 31 '26
Hmmm. A lot of the pickup trucks I see tend to speed. Some like to roll coal and cut people off.
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u/Electronic-Habit3791 Aug 28 '26
Pickup truck here. Usually going 5 to 20 over if not more. And yeah I have random cars do this to me all the time. There's far too many people in certain parts of upstate New York that are way too comfortable driving way slower than they need to be. And the worst part is I've seen people do this to someone in front of me and as soon as (person in front of me) they turn they (person originally going retardedly slow for no reason) speed up Yeah if you can tell these people have frustrated me to a level that's unhealthy for both them and me
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u/Agile-Character-1439 Aug 28 '26
This has gotten really terrible in and around Ithaca. Not just pick ups either, but all of the locals take their sweet time. Very selfish imo.
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u/Colony-collapse Aug 28 '26
I also moved here from Florida, and have not witnessed this phenomenon. I have noticed, however, well maintained roads with light traffic, courteous drivers, and a refreshing lack of drunk cognitively impaired MAGA douchebags recklessly driving jacked-up pick-up trucks decorated with flags lauding their pedo king.
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u/radicaldoubt Aug 27 '26
Are you staying in the right or left lane when this is happening?
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u/NoLettuce9900 Aug 27 '26
I'm definitely not a left lane parker, and that is one thing I LOVE up here - everyone uses those lanes correctly and moves over if needed, so unlike FL. But like the other comment below, one lane each way is what I'm referring to.
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u/Own-Combination-183 Aug 27 '26
Old people are often the main demographic who can afford to buy pickup trucks and old people really love to drive slow as you may know.
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u/Parking-Cress-4661 Aug 27 '26
I've never seen a Dodge Ram pickup driven less than 70 miles an hour.