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I'm generally driving to/from work 6:30AM and 5:00 PM, living in Concord and working in the Myers Park area. I've been down here from LI NY for about 5 years. The biggest difference I see is that there seemed to be a lot more tailgating on Long Island, but here a lot of people do not use turn signals when changing lanes. On the LIE, some guy might be road-raging his way to the next drive-by, but he would signal (2" behind your bumper) to get there.
I've been driving for a long time and in many parts of the country and the world, including England where they drive on the wrong side of the road. So I've seen all kinds of incidents. I've witnessed horrible accidents unfortunately, including fatalities. Once when I was in Dallas I saw an overturned tank trailer launch like a rocket when it ignited.
But the FREQUENCY of the inane and illegal behavior I see on the roads around Steele Creek is somewhat concerning. It's an everyday thing. People doing u-turns in traffic, running red lights, speeding, tailgating, passing other cars in the grass, completely ignoring right-of-way, driving through medians, etc. I see it every single day.
Not to mention, people casually walking in the road. Just walking, like they were in a park on a Sunday afternoon. Yesterday I left work and headed east down Westinghouse Blvd. Just so you know, that's a busy thoroughfare through a large industrial park. Steady to heavy traffic around rush hour. And there's a guy, just walking right down the middle of the road. Just walking casually. I drove past him slowly and looked him over, he didn't appear intoxicated or injured or anything. He looked at me with an empty stare and just kept shuffling along. It's just... bizarre.
You see the same thing on 49 through that area. That's a busy stretch, and people drive fairly fast through there. Yet you see people casually crossing all four lanes on foot, nowhere near a crosswalk. Just wandering around. Even animals have the sense to run from approaching cars.
Traffic in Matthews can be pretty bad, depending on the time. But the farther east you go towards Union County, it's pretty much a nightmare nearly all of the time, with the exception of 9pm-6am or so.
Happened again today. People can't even handle a parking lot. I stopped by the Wild Wing Cafe to grab a bite since I was in the area. As I was driving out of the parking lot, some guy was backing out of his parking spot. I waited until he backed out and got going, then proceeded behind him. Some girl in a silver compact whipped around the corner and almost hit me, as she was trying to get into the spot the guy had just vacated. Luckily she saw me in time and slammed on the brakes. As I continued along, she started rolling down her window. She was really giving me the business. LOL. Oh how she must've been inconvenienced by a few seconds by other drivers carefully following the rules.
By the way, in every situation I had the right of way. Since it is a tight parking lot and the original guy was already blocking the lane of traffic I yielded to him and let him get going. I didn't get mad about it or anything either.
Come on... worse than it used to be maybe, but traffic in Charlotte is nothing compared to most cities.
over 6.5 years living in Charlotte over the last 10 years, never sent more than 35 minutes on the road during a commute. Ask people in Atlanta, DC, DFW, Denver, Minneapolis or even here in Tampa how they like their commutes.
Figured I'd offer a New England, Boston area perspective as I'm planning a relocation to NC myself. I am currently in the airport here in Charlotte heading back home and had my first taste if commuter traffic. I've monitored this thread and noticed much of what people stated. However, it's nothing compared to Boston. I live 40-50 minutes outside of the city in a suburb and heading into Boston sucks. My dad's drives takes upwards to 2 hours to get home from Logan airport each day. 10 years ago it was about 1 hour.
Sometimes I feel like an old man (26), but I think much of what we are seeing are the realities of just "Crappy" drivers. I witnessed this morning on 485 weaving cars, (what's a directional?) getting cut off, 3 lane changes at a time, and even a lady flipping out at me when I yielded entering the 485 ramp as I couldn't tell if it was 2 lanes or not at first. My mistake lol. People are distracted and selfish and it's a large part of the population and it's all across the country. To avoid an accident, you need to he a combat and defensive driver. I drove all across New England for my job previously, and the accidents and near misses are insane. Most people are truly just inconsiderate, crappy and distracted drivers. Phone in hand, blabbing away with not regard for anyone but themself. No idea how to maintain speed, merge at speed, check blind spots etc. Just bad drivers.
Charlotte is busy no doubt and I definitely noticed a lot of recklessness and selfishness this morning, but still not as bad as Boston. Another thing to add, is I wonder how many of those crazy NC plates I saw this morning are transplants.
Charlotte is busy no doubt and I definitely noticed a lot of recklessness and selfishness this morning, but still not as bad as Boston. Another thing to add, is I wonder how many of those crazy NC plates I saw this morning are transplants.
More than 60% of Mecklenburg County residents were born outside of North Carolina.
Figured I'd offer a New England, Boston area perspective as I'm planning a relocation to NC myself. I am currently in the airport here in Charlotte heading back home and had my first taste if commuter traffic. I've monitored this thread and noticed much of what people stated. However, it's nothing compared to Boston. I live 40-50 minutes outside of the city in a suburb and heading into Boston sucks. My dad's drives takes upwards to 2 hours to get home from Logan airport each day. 10 years ago it was about 1 hour.
Sometimes I feel like an old man (26), but I think much of what we are seeing are the realities of just "Crappy" drivers. I witnessed this morning on 485 weaving cars, (what's a directional?) getting cut off, 3 lane changes at a time, and even a lady flipping out at me when I yielded entering the 485 ramp as I couldn't tell if it was 2 lanes or not at first. My mistake lol. People are distracted and selfish and it's a large part of the population and it's all across the country. To avoid an accident, you need to he a combat and defensive driver. I drove all across New England for my job previously, and the accidents and near misses are insane. Most people are truly just inconsiderate, crappy and distracted drivers. Phone in hand, blabbing away with not regard for anyone but themself. No idea how to maintain speed, merge at speed, check blind spots etc. Just bad drivers.
Charlotte is busy no doubt and I definitely noticed a lot of recklessness and selfishness this morning, but still not as bad as Boston. Another thing to add, is I wonder how many of those crazy NC plates I saw this morning are transplants.
Ohhh, welcome to your first visit to Charlotte. Guess we forgot to warn you about the crazy driving patterns here. When convincing you to come in the other post.
Last edited by The True CLT Native Gal; 03-26-2018 at 10:43 AM..
Reason: For remembrance from previous post
Well thx for all the replies. I for one, will be a transplant from central ny, and i promise you, i am not aggressive. I drive the limit. .i will also stay in the right lane ��
People that live in or near matthews are constantly complaining about traffic and how everyone is a racecar driver, running red lights, cutting you off. Etc etc. The past 3x we have been there, there were no real issues w driving. Ive yet to meet someone who has something positive to say, or someone to say that not all drivers there are aggressive.
I live close to Matthews and I agree with those people.
I see a lot of accidents at the intersection of Monroe Rd and Sardis.
Just wish people wouldn't take stupid chances for no reason.
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