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^ LOL Wilson. Has nothing to do with commuting, this was around 6:30 pm around Western Hills Plaza (or whatever Target/Bed Bath/Old Navy is called). I agree it's stress, still no excuse...I'm embarassed and infuriated for that driver and kids that may have heard it.
I have to check myself too because I was trying to track down the car I heard it from (driving crazy to catch it) they must've turned before I could catch up.
Yes, Cincy Rider, it is inded, sad that we're so stressed behind the wheel nowadays. And we've really gotten into an "It's all about me" mentality, as well. Season's Greetings, anyway!
This goes on every day where I live. For that reason I gave up on vehicle ownership after my four-wheeled baby breathed its last exhaust. It's been nearly 13 years, and I've only rented cars on maybe three occasions since. Luckily I have the luxury of being a city dweller where there's decent mass transit. (Of course, having plenty of friends with "wheels" helps at times too.)
It stays funny to me that folks think Cincinnati drivers are so incompetent and nasty, when it's a breeze to be behind the wheel there. Most streets and highways are capable of carrying the volume of traffic they have, rush hours don't take up half the day, fellow motorists actually allow people in from side streets or to make a quick lane change, etc etc. But there's been a definite increase in careless driving all the same. In recent years, my dad's cars have wound up on the wrong side of: an SUV being operated way too fast for conditions during a snowstorm on I-75, someone parked behind him on a street who hit-and-ran the left rear of his car when leaving, and a trucker arriving to make a Kroger* delivery who "didn't notice" that the end space on a parking-lot row was occupied. Mom refuses to drive any more in part due to some moron's rear-ending her car as she waited in traffic with the left-turn signal on. Any number of factors could be causing all this, but I think an "insurance will take care of it" attitude plays a part. Recklessness, cellphone yakking, rude behavior, etc can go on unchecked when the offender knows their policy will cover expenses and only cost them a few "points."
*I made sure to mention the supermarket chain here, in case Crew Chief reads this post.
Goy Guy, I'd LOVE to be able to use public transport everywhere I go and just have a nice car to go on weekend jaunts with...sigh. (Mrs. CC did without a car for 3 years while she taught in Germany; stores, all within walking distance, had her daily needs. And the city bus system ran every 10 minutes most of the day.)
Cincinnati traffic, IMHO, really isn't that bad. Especially for a city its' size, IMHO. Heck, there's stupidity behind the wheel everywhere in America. Ya just have to shrug your shoulders and go on with life. And, yes, many retailers build their stores with truck deliveries as a mere afterthought...
Yesterday brought me a new bumper snicker (with apologies to Jeff Foxworthy):
"If I can pass you going uphill on I-75 in a 40-ton truck, you're NOT very good at texting while driving"
I love Cincinnati traffic. I don't commute on I-71 but drive straight through the city. At 5 PM, which would be a total nightmare everywhere else I lived, there is moderate traffic and you might wait for the most 2 cycles at the busiest light.
Agreed! 'tis funny how things turned out. The expressways were supposed to help everybody go faster, and relieve all the city streets of congestion. But what happened in reality? The expressways are congested and you can zip down the street! Once-clogged thoroughfares like Reading and Paddock Rd's are often almost completely free of traffic across all four lanes. No wonder so few people who have a choice take the Metro.
Meanwhile here in Beantown, every street and every expressway are jammed up pretty much all the time during the day.
C-R's tale shook loose an old memory of hostile Cincy drivers. That it stuck with me after all this time says something about how most motorists still behave there, since I've already mentioned that idiots behind the wheel are a dime a dozen in New England. One sunny afternoon during my restless adolescence, I made a right turn onto Ludlow Ave from a side street with no threat from oncoming cars. A couple of guys in a pickup truck, maybe "out looking for trouble," decided that they didn't like having somebody in front of them. They started leaning on the horn and flippin' the bird, moving in close and keeping at my car's back bumper. When we reached the Clifton fire station, the right lane was open so I darted over there and then made a fast turn onto Clifton Ave. They stayed on my tail as I put the pedal to the metal towards UC in light traffic. As we got to the corner of West St Clair (now MLK Dr) I again tried an unannounced lane change and turn. But the pickup was still after me. Finally, I made a big U-turn at the bottom of the first hill - only to not shake the characters even then. They continued to blast the horn and holler stuff out the windows. Moving back towards Clifton Ave, they gunned their accelerator and raced by. Any doubt I had that the pair were "brars" was gone when the one on the passenger side shouted, "PULL OVER 'AIR!" That was when I finally found my way out, for they'd sped beyond the entrance road to Burnet Woods and I hadn't. While they pulled over 'air and tried to back up to continue the pursuit, I got the hell outta Dodge.
Out of all the nut cases and near-misses and you-name-it that I encountered while driving in New England, that incident in Cincinnati a long time ago was the scariest by far. Nothing had happened to provoke those clowns that I could tell. Maybe they didn't like that Goyguy Sr's "salmon"-colored Subaru might've appeared pink? That it was a Japanese car and didn't have a Kentucky license plate? Or that the radio I was singing and air-drumming along to wasn't playing Charlie Daniels? Collar-length hair too hippie-like? Who knows, who cares.
I think it bears saying again that the existence of this thread is a testament to how Cincy motorists are way better than other Northerners, as a rule. That goes for how well they drive as well as how they treat other drivers. A story like C-R's is told every night around dinner tables in Massachusetts and wouldn't've been deemed worth mentioning online.
From everything you all are saying, it just emphasizes we are a nation of people without manners, whether it be driving a car, standing in line at the grocery store, etc.
Yesterday, I was at my local Kroger and a very nice elderly lady was in front of me in a checkout line. Now when I say elderly, you have to consider I am 71 myself. She was checking out her purchases and taking her own good natured time at it. The cashier said to me, they are Otterbein People. For you uninitiated, Otterbein is a retirement community to the West of Lebanon at the intersection of Ohio 63 and 741. Friday is the day their bus brings them to Kroger to do their weekly shopping. Obviously these are the ones fit enough to be in an independent living environement.
While this little old lady was desiring to give hugs to the cashier, myself, and anyone else within reach, since it is the highlight of her week, I am hearing murmurs from futher back in the line let's get going, what are you doing up there?, if you want to sleep go home and go to bed! Very little of it was complimentary.
I am an old man, but when I hear this kind of talk, particularly in a Kroger in Mason, Ohio I become incensed. I probably cannot hold up my end of a physical encounter, but I will go down in flames trying. Unless we develop a little more understanding of our fellow man, we are doomed.
Respect does go both ways kjbrill. There's no need for the people at the back of the line to be rude, but they could very well be in a hurry to get some diapers home for the baby, or to get that emergency jar of tomato sauce for the pasta that's already being cooked, etc. The time to dawdle around is not in the checkout line when others are waiting, but in the aisles or the entrance or something where it won't cause an obstruction to those who just don't have the time to waste. It sounds rather selfish I know, but those people at the back of the line are mad at the little old lady because she's the one being inconsiderate as far as they're concerned.
It's the same sort of thing on the roads. If someone is going slow for whatever reason, they can do that, but at some point if it's causing a big backup behind them, then they need to give way (that's even a law). I think part of the problem is that there's no lane discipline around here. People just wander all over the road paying no attention to relative speeds. This is mostly a factor in the interstates, but when there's four travel lanes and relatively light traffic, there shouldn't be anyone cruising in the left lane, or even the next lane to the right. Yet instead, people avoid the right lane like the plague, partly because people don't understand how to get up to speed to merge properly, and then they end up making a beeline for the left lane anyhow. These are the kinds of things that may not cause an outburst right away, but they tend to add up over time.
I lived in Center City Philly for 7 years, and even though Philly is a bigger city, the drivers were similar to that of Cincy's. Maybe a little more aggressive and traffic was worse, but it was very common for me to travel to NYC for the weekend. I will never forget one time I was right outside of Chinatown in Manhattan, and a guy in a white SUV got upset with a taxi for pulling over to drop off its passenger. The SUV with windows down and cursing, flipped the taxi driver off and threw a drink on the car getting it on the passenger in the back seat, and then sped off.
Today's society is in such a hurry. It all comes down to it in the morning, for me at least. Cutting people off and driving like maniacs on the freeway in the morning rush. To people reading the papers and putting on their make-up because they don't have time in the house, so do it on the road and put peoples' lifes at stake. We are a "have it now" society, and if we continue to stretch our days out, we will be that kind of society for a long time.
C-R's tale shook loose an old memory of hostile Cincy drivers. That it stuck with me after all this time says something about how most motorists still behave there, since I've already mentioned that idiots behind the wheel are a dime a dozen in New England. One sunny afternoon during my restless adolescence, I made a right turn onto Ludlow Ave from a side street with no threat from oncoming cars. A couple of guys in a pickup truck, maybe "out looking for trouble," ...the pair were "brars" was gone when the one on the passenger side shouted, "PULL OVER 'AIR!" ...Nothing had happened to provoke those clowns that I could tell. .
To me its often a mystery what the "rednecks" are "thinking" in such cases!! Glad you ditched them, I'll bet they were mad.
I had only one violent encounter with another driver but it taught me a lesson when I was a young man. We had a dispute (this was in NY not Cinci) over some trivia in a parking lot. The guy got out of his car and came over and we exchanged words. Then he tried to punch me through the partly open window, but he misjudged the opening and smashed his fist. I found this humorous and said as much. Whereupon to my surprise he opened the door of my car (stupid me it was unlocked) and invited me out.
This enraged me so I got out and he discovered I was at least a foot taller than him.
Now this is where I learned my lesson. He ran back to his van and I remember thinking that he could whip out a gun and kill me. That is the point that prevented me in the future from getting into these conflicts over stupid things.
Anyway he only whipped out a 12 inch steel wrench. I realized that he could still kill me so I backed down and told him he was right. He hesitated (I thought he might smash my window) but the conflict ended there. Lesson learned!!!
Nice to start your commute going through ault park!
Thanks! The lesson from this video is that if you live near the city there is really no traffic. I am always amazed when I drive back from a meeting in Mason or West Chester that there are secondary streets where traffic is congested to the point that one can sit through several cycles of traffic signals. These are not expressways that are overloaded and that would be alleviated by trains along the Xway route. These are neighborhood service roads. I am specifically referring to streets like Northland Blvd., Union Center, Mason Montgomery Road, etc.
I simply would not tolerate it. I'd move.
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Once-clogged thoroughfares like Reading and Paddock Rd's are often almost completely free of traffic across all four lanes. No wonder so few people who have a choice take the Metro. 
When we reached the Clifton fire station, the right lane was open so I darted over there and then made a fast turn onto Clifton Ave. They stayed on my tail as I put the pedal to the metal towards UC in light traffic. As we got to the corner of West St Clair (now MLK Dr) I again tried an unannounced lane change and turn. But the pickup was still after me. Finally, I made a big U-turn at the bottom of the first hill - only to not shake the characters even then. They continued to blast the horn and holler stuff out the windows. Moving back towards Clifton Ave, they gunned their accelerator and raced by. Any doubt I had that the pair were "brars" was gone when the one on the passenger side shouted, "PULL OVER 'AIR!" That was when I finally found my way out, for they'd sped beyond the entrance road to Burnet Woods and I hadn't. While they pulled over 'air and tried to back up to continue the pursuit, I got the hell outta Dodge. 
