is sacramento ghetto? (San Francisco, Arden-Arcade, Roseville: renters, crimes, transfer)

[wburg]

Really? The first time I drove in Los Angeles, I noticed that people didn't start driving until about 5-10 seconds after the light turned green. It seemed odd until I noticed that people would often tear through the red light within those 5-10 seconds, and people had apparently gotten into the habit of waiting just in case those idiots who consider red lights optional were going to barrel through. I notice it a bit more here over the past decade, but not remarkably so. I do notice a lot of drivers downtown who don't look for pedestrians--I see them most often in afternoons and evenings, so I assume they are suburban drivers unused to the idea of pedestrians actually walking on sidewalks. And yeah, the secret to long life as a pedestrian, pretty much anywhere, is "make eye contact with the driver before stepping in front of the car."

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by wburg

Really? The first time I drove in Los Angeles, I noticed that people didn't start driving until about 5-10 seconds after the light turned green. It seemed odd until I noticed that people would often tear through the red light within those 5-10 seconds, and people had apparently gotten into the habit of waiting just in case those idiots who consider red lights optional were going to barrel through. I notice it a bit more here over the past decade, but not remarkably so. I do notice a lot of drivers downtown who don't look for pedestrians--I see them most often in afternoons and evenings, so I assume they are suburban drivers unused to the idea of pedestrians actually walking on sidewalks. And yeah, the secret to long life as a pedestrian, pretty much anywhere, is "make eye contact with the driver before stepping in front of the car."

I adopted that "pause" after many years of driving in SoCal. In Sacramento it didn't always help. Most of the time the "offender", to include the one who totaled our car, was busy running their mouth into their cell phone and not paying attention to the task of driving.

Haven't observed one case of road rage in the almost year we've been gone. It's nothing less than refreshing!

[misc916]

And yeah, the secret to long life as a pedestrian, pretty much anywhere, is "make eye contact with the driver before stepping in front of the car."

I was struck by a car as a pedestrian in Midtown when I was living there in the 90's. It was around '96 and I was walking from my apt on I St to The Beat and was struck at 18th & J. There is a 2-way stop sign at the intersection and the person waiting to turn right from 18th was only looking left at traffic moving along J St since it is one way. I was approaching from the drivers right and as soon as traffic cleared on J, the driver stepped on the gas without even looking and I of course was directly in front of her car at that exact moment! She hit the side of my left leg and I flew up in the air a few feet and landed on my butt in a sitting position. She stopped immediately and I was shaken up a bit, but thankfully not badly injured except for a bruise.
I sure learned my lesson after that experience and now always make eye contact or walk behind cars!

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by KC6ZLV

Well, I could argue that it is all subjective. I don't know what the deal is with Allstate, but about ten years ago several insurance companies started hiking insurance rates in the area, not because the drivers were bad, but because there are several intersections where numerous major collisions occurred. It wasn't the drivers, it was the environment around the intersections. Visibility, timing of the lights, etc.

I think I have multiple stories of being cut off, passed on the right, or some such other nonsense in every city I've logged miles in. So, really, making a point you've seen it in Sacramento doesn't really say much because I've driven a lot of miles in the last five years, and I've probably seen it all, and I really don't think things are all that different in Sacramento than anywhere else, with the exception of a few annoying regional habits, and every region seems to have a unique set of them. If you spend any time in Fresno it will not be long before you notice people waiting to exit a shopping center parking lot. You see them way up the road, and they wait until you are 25 ft from them, then they pull out in front of you and go slow. Right hand turns from the far left lane aren't unusual there either.

I think the biggest bonehead maneuver I've seen was on I-280 south of Daly City. That stretch seems to have an abundance of middle-aged men who buy a tiny foreign sports car to go cruising down the freeway at 50 mph, and everyone else has to go around them. Well, one day I got stuck behind one, along with someone else. Eventually, both of us were able to pass this guy. I guess he felt like being passed was a challenge to his masculinity or something, so he felt the need to get in front of us again. However, the way the traffic filled in around him left him no choice but to pass on the right, and that is exactly what he did, kicking up rocks and fishtailing on the loose gravel, which sent him about five feet in front of the car ahead of me, and two more lanes to the left. Not too bright! He almost became another statistic along a stretch of freeway known for high-speed accidents.

I have to make one correction: The bad driving I experience is on the 50, not the 80. Now, is it a coincidence that going East on the 80 you run towards more affluent areas, and the driving is noticeably better (as you mentioned, and I'd agree, fast lane is about 70-75 mph there), whereas on the 50 east towards Rancho Cordova it is noticeably worse? Possibly, possibly not.

In any event, yes, every city has its' share of complaints or bad drivers. But no, I have never experienced people swerving intentionally towards my car as a measure of "revenge" as I have here, which has happened 4 or 5 times in 3 years. That's just flat out insane. And, it's also true that people drive differently in different geographical areas, so it's not entirely accurate to make a blanket assertion that every area is by and large the same. Washington drivers are noticeably more curteous. I can almost state that as fact. They always signal, they break for pedestrians, and in Oregon if you are behind someone driving 70 in the fast lane, they will signal and merge right in anticipation that they may not be driving fast enough. New York drivers are consistently rated worst in the country. The social and culteral norms or each given area definitely affect the driving.

[wburg]

Maybe they're just upset that you use the prefix "the" in front of highway numbers.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by wburg

Maybe they're just upset that you use the prefix "the" in front of highway numbers.

Picky, picky, picky! Kinda like "THE" OC, huh?

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by wburg

Maybe they're just upset that you use the prefix "the" in front of highway numbers.

LOL wow, quite the personal attack! Maybe they were more upset that I didn't call it "da aytee yo". Hey, I'm an accountant. We're not known for our spelling or grammar .

[wburg]

Sorry, casportsfan, I forget how sensitive you can be. Prefixing "the" onto highway names is kind of a SoCal thing, I never hear it from people who grew up in northern California--typically you'll hear "I-80" or "I-5" or just the highway number, but never "the (X)". It's a poke at regional dialect rather than a spelling or grammar flame--and perhaps at differing perceptions of this region.

[Casportsfan]

Originally Posted by wburg

Sorry, casportsfan, I forget how sensitive you can be. Prefixing "the" onto highway names is kind of a SoCal thing, I never hear it from people who grew up in northern California--typically you'll hear "I-80" or "I-5" or just the highway number, but never "the (X)". It's a poke at regional dialect rather than a spelling or grammar flame--and perhaps at differing perceptions of this region.

No offense was taken W. You always have well thought out points (even if I disagree sometimes) anyway so I really wouldn't have minded a personal attack from you . . . .other people maybe, but not from you

[EarthEclectic]

So upon reading this I'm making a foolish decision to move up to Sacramento. I currently live in So Cal and my wife and I are transferring to Sac State to continue our school. We have about three years to complete our schooling. Our plan was to get a nice house in Land Park so we could ride our bikes around to school and to the stores. Apparently that's crazy to do. It's pretty discouraging because, for some reason I was really excited to move up there and live in one of those cool French Victorian style homes. Maybe I should live in Roseville and drive to school and live that secure, private life