Road Rage in the Valley (versus, safer, license)

[chaparrito]

[PhoenixSomeday]

Originally Posted by heidimsw

Every time you get in your car, you are putting your life in danger.

Real example just today. Left work and got to the 4-way stop at Kyrene and Allison near the 202 in Chandler. I was going east on Allison and came to the stop to turn left to go north on Kyrene. I was the first one to the intersection. This truck or suv and a white sedan were approaching the intersection as well going south on Kyrene at a pace about 2 seconds behind me. Truck was going to turn right onto Allison, white sedan was going to go straight on Kyrene, past Allison. They were still approaching the intersection as I made my full, complete stop like I always do at stop signs (even in the middle of the night with no one around).

Since I was clearly first, I started to pull forward, but before I could even get past the two crosswalk lines, the white sedan with these two stupid little girls driving it BLEW right through the stop sign, no brake lights, like it wasn't even there. Speed limit is 25 and they were easily going over 40.

If I were the type to roll through stop signs, I would have been t-boned right into my driver's side door and probably either dead or critically injured.

Just like that, that could have been all she wrote about me! Not a result of a road rage incident, but didn't want to start another thread or dig up an old one.

[shyguylh]

I used to live in Tucson, and visited Phoenix occasionally. I must say, I also observed the aggressive driving in Phoenix, and I absolutely LOVED it to pieces. More places should be like them, frankly. Tucson was way too laid back for me.

I have NO INTEREST in patience towards people who can't move quickly on the roads. They need to stay off the roads completely and take a cab or the bus, especially in a large city like Phoenix where you have such options. I am on the road to do one thing--MOVE. Period. Anything or anyone that is anything else--out of the way. Period. If you can't run with the big dogs, you stay on the porch.

Bring it on, I say.

[R_Cowgirl]

Ah yes, Phoenix is the ONLY city where people get agitated in traffic
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AADAD


~~~~
Seriously, I drive all over the world - I rent cars in foreign countries and in every city I visit. We're not all that bad here. Big trucks are a bit scary when they come up fast on me in traffic, but I just take a deep breath and move over. I decided to imagine they are on their way to an emergency that I don't know about and I give them space. That actually happened to me once. I was living high up in the hills in Hawaii when our little neighbor girl was badly cut. We knew it would take too long for the ambulance to get to us, so we called it in and put her in my car and headed down the mountain. Time was of the essence, and I got behind a slowpoke who decided to "teach me a lesson." I was not speeding, but I was going fast. She slowed down to 10 mph. Did I get aggravated. Yup. Finally there was a break where I could take a different route and we got our little girl to the hospital in time. Ever since then, I just pretend that speeder behind me has a little kid in the car on the way to the emergency room. It works for me and keeps me calm. The worse thing that can happen is when more than one person is PO'd.

[ElleTea]

I was at a drive-thru this AM to get a drink. Instead of pulling up behind the car in front of me, which would block the parking lot, I stayed back a little ways to allow cars to pass. That's the right thing to do, right? Well, a huge truck came barrelling in and honked and cussed at me as he passed me. I guess he didn't like the fact that I was trying to be courteous to other drivers using the parking lot area.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I was at a drive-thru this AM to get a drink. Instead of pulling up behind the car in front of me, which would block the parking lot, I stayed back a little ways to allow cars to pass. That's the right thing to do, right? Well, a huge truck came barrelling in and honked and cussed at me as he passed me. I guess he didn't like the fact that I was trying to be courteous to other drivers using the parking lot area.

Sounds like another one of those, uh, younger drivers... which continue to drive aggressively in order to teach the rest of us how to drive in Arizona!

[Pretzelogik]

Originally Posted by new2colo

Is there a reason that road rage seems to be so commonplace throughout the Valley? Numerous people complain about slow drivers in the left lane of the freeway, but it seems that the slightest move will set too many drivers here off into a blind fury on a freeway, surface street, in a parking lot, etc. For instance, I witness countless people who are exceeding the speed limit on surface streets by 15 MPH getting passed and cut off by vehicles deciding they want to go 25 MPH over the limit, I witness people laying on their horns because the driver in front of them has the audacity to make a turn into a driveway or onto another road (with a turn signal), I witness people racing up, tailgating, and cutting off cars that changed into the lane they were cruising in hundreds of feet ahead of them, I witness drivers who otherwise dawdle along then decide to speed up to pace and/or race people in other lanes who were about to pass them, I witness drivers who leave about 3 inches of space between their front bumper and the preceding car's back bumper at a red light, I witness pickup drivers who flick on their high beams and make sure to position their trucks so that their bright lights are shining directly in smaller cars' mirrors, I witness drivers who will tailgate you no matter what speed you're traveling regardless of what lane you're in, etc. I have driven in A LOT of places, so I know that road rage is not at all a problem isolated within the Valley. It just seems like the prevalence of rage here is just really out of control. For an area that is considered to be "laid back" it is confusing to me why this is a daily thing here. Thoughts?

Clueless snow birds?

[jaredC]

If I'm going a safe 5-7 mph OVER the limit, AND I'm in the middle lane, I tend to ease off the accelerator when a tailgater is on me.

[blisterpeanuts]

Americans are meaner, ruder drivers today than 30 years ago. Much meaner and ruder than 50 years ago. It's a generational thing. Generally, the WWII generation drove more politely.

Then the entitled, self-centered Baby Boomers came along and demeaned the experience. Now that the WWII generation is almost gone, the Boomers and younger generations dominate the roads, with predictable results: extreme impatience, contempt for the law, a me-first attitude.

If I were in charge, I'd hire 5,000 mean-tempered traffic cops on motorcycles and in high powered unmarked patrol cars and just WHIP PEOPLE INTO SHAPE. I'm sick of it. Seriously, what do people need to convince them that it's dangerous to tailgate, do the Jersey slide, threatening other drivers with violence, and all the other shenanigans they pull? Maybe a month in county lockup followed by a year without a driver's license might convince some of them to slow the hell down and stop endangering the rest of us.

To the commenter above who said, in essence, "speed like me or get off my road": get the hell off MY road and GROW UP. This isn't a game. 32,000 of us die on the roads every year, and hundreds of thousands are injured. For comparison purposes, consider that the 9/11 Islamic (yes, that's what they were) terrorists killed about 3,000 people which is a pretty mild month on the roads. Speeding ALWAYS increases risk of accidents because it takes away reaction time.

There's also the illegals, which I notice no one's mentioned. Somehow they must have different traffic laws or lack thereof in the rural villages in Mexico, because they run lights like it's a game. Maybe they're afraid if they stop at the red, the border patrol will catch them. A friend of ours got T-boned in an intersection by such a one, and lives now with brain and spine damage.

Sure, skillful drivers will boast that they can handle speeding and lane jumping because they're good at it. Well, maybe some of them are, maybe some of them aren't. But consider that in a city like Phoenix, EVERYONE drives, from the professional drivers to Joe and Mary Sixpack to the mentally ill guy to the just plain stupid. EVERYONE. Therefore, we have to cater to the lowest common denominator (in other words, compensate for the morons).

The roads are for getting from point A to point B, preferably in one piece and without endangering others. I say, crack down and make it that way instead of tolerating people's basest behavior which makes a trip to the grocery store a life threatening experience.

[Colt AZ]

Originally Posted by blisterpeanuts

Americans are meaner, ruder drivers today than 30 years ago. Much meaner and ruder than 50 years ago. It's a generational thing. Generally, the WWII generation drove more politely.

Then the entitled, self-centered Baby Boomers came along and demeaned the experience. Now that the WWII generation is almost gone, the Boomers and younger generations dominate the roads, with predictable results: extreme impatience, contempt for the law, a me-first attitude.

I dunno, Peanuts...

I remember hearing about some pretty rude drivers (which were also killers) before WWII, and all the way back to the 20's and 30's!

Surely you've heard of 1920's Prohibition and its rude-driving rum runners & bootleggers across America? How about the 1930's which brought us Bonnie & Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, and other mobsters like Al Capone and John Dillinger, and so many others who spread their terror across America?

I seriously doubt that the WWII generation were the only decade in America which were without rude drivers and without road rage. I have to respectfully disagree, or can you provide verification of less rudeness and less road rage from that era?