Been here 2 weeks.... (Austin: transplants, university, dangerous)

[Jimmyp25]

Already seen a ton of car crashes.....more than usual...a car flipped upside down on grimes at 8 am, 4 car accident today on university, and about another 6 different car crashes.... Whats up with the lunatic driving? I thought people drove slow?

[RoadWarrior12]

You're in transplantville. Get used to it. All about defensive driving over there.

[Idlewile]

Originally Posted by Jimmyp25

Already seen a ton of car crashes.....more than usual...a car flipped upside down on grimes at 8 am, 4 car accident today on university, and about another 6 different car crashes.... Whats up with the lunatic driving? I thought people drove slow?

Search "Drivers" in this forum for an education on the real 'The Texas Way'. Welcome to Austin and Texas! BUCKLE UP.

[Shredding_Gnar78]

The transplants that come here are rat racers. They climb the ladder and push and shove to get ahead. I'm one of them.. its been 4 years, but I drive very mild and relaxed because I don't have to commute everyday in gridlocked traffic with crazy people.

You mix these A-Types from Socal, Boston, Chicago, New York, New Jersey and other big city competition cultures, and you get what we have here. Throw in the drunks and the idiots who are simply too slow mentally to be on the road.

Anywayz, its the worst. The traffic and the attitudes behind the rage machines. Its literally a significant risk being a commuter in Austin, the sold out capital of the world

[usernamenottaken]

That's the first thing that I noticed when moving here a year ago. It's nuts. I worry every time my 74 year old mother gets on the road. People tailgate and honk at her constantly. Leave a little earlier people, what's the rush?

[mark311]

Originally Posted by Jimmyp25

I thought people drove slow?

Not unless you drive around on Sunday mornings. Believe it or not, I feel the safest times to drive around here are actually during rush hour. These are drivers that commute back and forth to work every day at the same time. They know where they're going and drive pretty safe because they take the same route every day. Whenever I'm out on the road mid-day or on a Saturday afternoon, I see a lot more indecision and aggressiveness on the roads here. It makes my 40 to 60 minute weekday commute during rush hour seem relaxing.

[Jimmyp25]

Originally Posted by mark311

Not unless you drive around on Sunday mornings. Believe it or not, I feel the safest times to drive around here are actually during rush hour. These are drivers that commute back and forth to work every day at the same time. They know where they're going and drive pretty safe because they take the same route every day. Whenever I'm out on the road mid-day or on a Saturday afternoon, I see a lot more indecision and aggressiveness on the roads here. It makes my 40 to 60 minute weekday commute during rush hour seem relaxing.

Now i know why everyone drives trucks here...its because they drive like lunatics and are most likely to survive when they flip it over driving at lunatic speeds

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by Shredding_Gnar78

The transplants that come here are rat racers. They climb the ladder and push and shove to get ahead. I'm one of them.. its been 4 years, but I drive very mild and relaxed because I don't have to commute everyday in gridlocked traffic with crazy people.

You mix these A-Types from Socal, Boston, Chicago, New York, New Jersey and other big city competition cultures, and you get what we have here. Throw in the drunks and the idiots who are simply too slow mentally to be on the road.

Anywayz, its the worst. The traffic and the attitudes behind the rage machines. Its literally a significant risk being a commuter in Austin, the sold out capital of the world

This. Throw in a large percentage that only got their licenses within the past few years (UT) AND got them in other places with other traffic laws and other traffic customs, and it's hard to hold the line and maintain your cool and be the Texas friendly driver (though it's possible). And then the above get all mad at you because you're not driving like a bat out of hell in rush hour (or other) traffic.

[mark311]

Originally Posted by Jimmyp25

Now i know why everyone drives trucks here...its because they drive like lunatics and are most likely to survive when they flip it over driving at lunatic speeds

Actually, you're not too far from the truth for some people, but it's the same thought across the U.S. in a defensive sense. I know many parents that purposefully let their teenage kids drive the family SUV, truck, or larger sedan instead of getting them a cheaper compact car and it's for safety. I've been commuting into downtown Austin for the past 8 years from the Northern suburbs and I've been rear ended twice during that time which I guess isn't that bad for driving on I35 everyday. The second time on I35, my bumper was only slightly dented, but the six cars behind me involved in the chain reaction from the big semi that plowed into our group of cars that were at a dead stop weren't as lucky.

But yes, I don't think anyone that actually drives here has any misconceptions about the dangerous traffic in the Austin area. It really isn't that much different than any other metro area of its size though. I've even seen some of the recent positive national reports about Austin finally stating the heat and traffic as (the only mentioned) negatives. I know quite a few people that refuse to drive on I35 at all. They will always take a longer route to avoid it.

[mackenziep]

I disagree with the above theories. My experience here, and I've been here 10 years, is that the drivers here just aren't skilled. When you combine that with folks who think that 70 mph is an appropriate speed in rush hour traffic, it's a recipe for disaster. Most of my driving is on MoPac, and every damn day some idiot has rear-ended someone else.

Really people? This is really basic stuff - use your turn signal, keep a little bit of distance between you and the next car, and for Dog's sake, learn how to merge!

It's not that difficult.