I’m sure that anyone in the US who has to negotiate travel near, in, or around cars as noticed that our gas prices finally catching up to what they’ve always been in Europe has completely broken the brains of a significant portion of drivers on the road. Every time I’ve traveled around town over the past few days, save for the light rail, I’ve experienced at least one trauma-inducing brush with death at the hands of someone who’s budget apparently depended on those 5 extra dollars they’re now spending on their commute, and has begun driving like Cruella De Ville as a result.
Just now I was nearly run over in a crosswalk less than a block from my house by a driver who looked left, looked right, looked left, and only just then saw me waving my arms and literally yelling to get his attention (I gave him a thumbs up after he heel-toed from the gas to the brake at last moment).
I drove across town to pick up some heavy stuff from my girlfriend earlier, which puts me on the highway for one exit. Which is long enough for me to have a brush with death, the literal split second between looking at my right mirror and then looking forward while changing lanes (Signal already on of course) was enough time for a sedan to materialize and zoom past me while blaring his horn, rather than slow he passed in the shoulder a full 30MPH faster than traffic.
I’m in Portland OR where typically nobody ever uses their horn unless there’s an actual emergency. That veil of kindness has been vaporized these past few weeks, and the honking is now a continuous song of rage-induced impotency.
Fam I am done with cars. No more. Can we be through with them, please? Mine is gonna stay parked for now I think but even as a cyclist or pedestrian I am getting a whiff of death every fucking time and it’s just not OK. Post your anecdotes of gas price crazies over the past few weeks, get it off your chest. Literally this is PTSD therapy, you almost died.
I’m in Portland OR where typically nobody ever uses their horn unless there’s an actual emergency.
Which is how it should be used - it is an emergency signal. And using them without need is making them useless for real emergencies, which is just antisocial behaviour.
I mean, when I am having breakfast in a hotel and the coffee that was served to me, is too cold, I am not pressing the fire alarm either.
Yeah I’m not suggesting that was a problem, I prefer it that way and as you said, that’s their intended use.
why are they driving like “riving like Cruella De Ville”? they should be hypermiling which I vaguely do anyway ever since I heard about it 20 years ago.
There’s a lot of things I’d like to ask someone doing 70 MPH on a highway merge shoulder, if only I ever got the opportunity.
Here in Minnesota, funding for public transit has been CUT, actually. So I’m sorry but we can’t be done with cars quite yet.
30MPH faster than traffic
Not only is that monstrously dangerous, but it also wastes gas.
Sadly, I live in a place where people have always driven like they are out for blood
Sorry but why would higher fuel prices induce such behaviour? Weren’t some people assholes before?
To me, in Canada, the sudden and steep increase in people driving like assholes dates from the pandemic. The price doesn’t seem to have changed much.
However I have never driven a car among traffic, only my bike when I have no other choice, so I may not be super aware of the latest rage. In fact, me not having a car and avoiding them makes the rising prices not so much of an issue for me. Food prices and everything else will increase, but I’m lucky enough not to pay directly for fuel nor mix with car drivers daily.
It’s going to take statistics to confirm it.
I’d say that people who feel threatened by the higher prices may become shittier drivers by losing even more focus or may become shittier drivers by becoming more delusional about their driving skills, their carbrain identity, as a reaction.
You’d think that they feel more unity and solidarity with others, but cars encourage the sociopath behavior. I’ve only seen some sense of solidarity with professional drivers. That should be visible soon if they protest the high prices (truckers, taxi drivers.)
I gave up on cars 20 years ago. Nothing has changed for me.
I’ve found it notably more hairy when walking and cycling around cars, even moreso than usual.
That is not an option where I am at.
Are you a tree?
😆
? No public transport, and I couldn’t use it for my work even if there was. I live amongst the trees.
I think he means some life forms can change their location and are not permanently fixed to one place.
Have you considered swinging tree to tree like Tarzan?
And one more thing: If you do drive, if you must drive, please be kind. Take it easy, stay defensive, forgive, defer, and thank others for doing the same. I know that $5 is make or break for many of us but the risk of altering from safe behavior is not worth it, and taking it slow is well worth the mental health benefits. Thank you.
I try and assume everyone driving like an asshole has to poop so freaking bad and they’re trying to make it before shitting themselves. Makes it a lot easier to give their terrible driving some grace
The truth is most of them aren’t even in a real hurry, it’s human nature to want to drive like an asshole, and many if not most never mastered their emotions with reason as such to prevent indulging being reckless.
I don’t think it’s human nature to want to drive like an asshole, but cars remove most of the interpersonal nuance from social encounters that makes other humans relatable while putting them in control of large, easily lethal machinery.
Not sure there are any new changes. As there have always been mentally unstable or just careless drivers and as im always going to be the losing side in that interaction. I’ve always been rather careful and assumed the driver wants to hit me. So not really surprised if there are few more cars running the red light or ignoring some traffic laws, i already expected that.
