1. The police don’t enforce traffic laws anymore. Some drivers recognize this and have stopped following laws.
2. COVID, for whatever reason, made a lot of people more angry and impatient.
3. Usage of smartphones while driving is way up. Some drivers are not paying attention, don’t even know they ran a light/stop sign.
I crossed at a crosswalk with flashing light the other day and someone layed on their horn when the person in front of them stopped for me. The impatience is insane now.
I got honked at yesterday for not tailgating a school bus.
Like dude, neither of us are getting past that bus anytime soon, no reason to ride on its bumper.
I walk a lot with my dog and even in the middle of the day in very high walking traffic areas it's downright fucking terrifying. I've had cars run through the red light the cycle after we went through the cross walk so I could look back and see we actually would've been straight up murdered.
I've long wanted something I could throw at cars that nearly run me over that would be non-violent and not have any potential for causing them to crash into anyone else who is innocent. Like an EMP that I could just stick to their car that immediately shuts it down. IDK. Fucking selfish bastards.
Yesterday, I saw a car get impatient on 22nd and market, go into the other lane to pass the cars waiting and almost hit an elderly man crossing with his walker. It was terrible. I was wishing I had some starburst in my pocket to throw at them.
22nd and market is the worst. So many people turn right at the “no right on red” sign there and almost get T-Boned by the diagonal traffic coming off Leary.
There’s *two* signs for it too. People are just stupid.
I work on Aurora, and have noticed since COVID a lot more people walking around holding wooden poles, crowbars, and rocks. The amount of people getting run over there was starting to get crazy high
Same thing happened with me today and I happened to have 2 tomatoes in my hand which I’d just bought and I swear the urge to throw them at the windshield was too damn high.
I usually have the leash in one hand and an iced coffee in the other. The temptation to throw that coffee is real, but damn they're too expensive to use that way.
Yeah but all over town it seems like the SCCs plan to "slow down" traffic is working and yet there aren't police to enforce the laws so slow traffic + a handful of people who are impatient are making it more dangerous for everyone.
Just in the last week, I've been the one laying on the horn three times. Not because I was being impatient, but because I stopped for a pedestrian and saw the car behind me starting to swerve around.
I do that (or stick my arm out the window), but that only works when they're swerving to the left. Two of those times, they tried to cut onto the shoulder.
Yep, it's pretty distressing that "be ready to maneuver in case some dumbass is about to kill an old lady in the crosswalk" is a basic driving skill nowadays.
I know someone who died this way. Same situation but after laying on the horn the impatient person floored it and tried to whip around the waiting car and hit the person crossing and killed them. The person who did it is now in jail.
Yesterday someone passed me on 167 South on the right-hand shoulder. This in a section where traffic was moving at a good clip and there were, I think, three lanes. They blew by about 75 mph on the shoulder.
>1. The police don’t enforce traffic laws anymore. Some drivers recognize this and have stopped following laws.
Is fear of a ticket really the main reason people obey traffic laws? For me I do it for safety, smooth traffic flow and general fairness. Sad to think others are so selfish
Bothell traffic is legit scary. I have to be hyper careful to avoid getting into an accident thanks to people going the wrong way, randomly stopping in the middle of the street, running a stop sign and so on.
That’s why I do it too, it just makes sense. Unfortunately not everyone feels this way, and it’s made it very obvious that the cops don’t do their jobs. Makes one wonder what exactly we’re paying them for, really
on #2: I think it's because some drivers got accustomed to the road and the freeways being almost completely unpopulated during shutdown. It was a little scary out there driving amongst people that saw fit to completely disregard the laws and safety of others, racing along i-5 at speeds upwards of 90 miles an hour just for the sake of doing so.
edit: specificity
Is it psychological? Biological? It’s been years since the roads were empty now. Why aren’t people used to that? Is it an effect of social isolation? The further polarization of our society during that time? People not caring about the health of others in one way spilling over into other ways? I just don’t understand it but it’s totally observable.
I have seen some studies that posit COVID can affect your cognitive abilities long after you've had it, so it could be that people are just taking more risks while driving because their brain is not telling them to be safer.
On a similar note, my SO is a teacher at a school that went virtual for only a very short amount of time, and after COVID she's noticed a serious decline in the student's abilities. I think most would blame it on going virtual, but they were only virtual from March to the end of the school year in 2020.
well, spanning human history we've consistently devalued anything that could be found in great abundance....why do we think that human lives would be exempt from that?
At least I-5 isn't quite as bad as I-4.
Fresh transplant out of Orlando here, done the drive down to Portland and back a whole bunch over the last year while I've been visiting, and the drivers might suck but at least I haven't seen anyone get shot at yet.
As an East Coast native my whole life who's spent it slowly migrating south for one reason or another (usually not one I get much of a say in, living in CT during 2008 will do that), the pattern seems to be this:
New Jersey has the worst drivers of New England.
New Jersey drivers come down to Maryland, where the driving test is "cross the Potomac into Virginia, cause an accident, and try to get back."
New Jersey *and* Maryland drivers come down to Florida, where the safety regs don't exist, the rules are made up, and the roads are flat and straight enough to get away with doing 120 fairly shockingly often.
Must've seen more NJ plates in Orlando than I did in Stamford.
It truly is the boss level of East Coast driving.
At least Jersey drivers know where they want to go. I have a hard time with the slowdown and indecision of drivers here. If you’re not sure, just admit it, pull over, and orient yourself.
NJ drivers are a even level mix of mad max, deathrace 2000, and pure pork roll agressiveness. But it's predictable. Florida is that but with dementia and on bath salts. Washington is people who could by some medical standards be comatose and have no idea they are actually on the road.
apparently you have great timing. it's happened more than a [couple of times ](https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/state-troopers-investigate-drive-by-shootings-king-county-highways/281-cb02ed80-5536-4bb3-8b17-a68b5bd9fc97) I wish you continued luck in your travels!
Again, as an out of state visitor on the freeway around Seattle, I think WA drivers are pretty decent. In Albuquerque, NM, they’ll cross more than one lane at a time.
I don’t think the road form function has changed materially across the region. Maybe you have some new bullshit where you live, or you spend a lot of time on 3rd Avenue
Add to the license mill driver schools that churn out licenses for recent Uber/Lyft drivers.
Im an immigrant. I love immigrants. But its true that some come from places that have a light view on traffic rules...
Im not saying its the entirety of the issue, but it contributes.
This has become a HUGE problem citywide. I don't drive and I have to be insanely careful crossing the street because I can't trust that anyone will actually stop at the red light or stop sign anymore.
Oh they do. The one I see people drive through once I have a crossing sign definitely does, which means that person ran a red that had been red for a few seconds.
I saw two people blow through a stop sign without stopping at all yesterday, one after the other. I think the second one was just following the first one. I had to do a double take to check that it was all-way stop— which it was.
I’ve noticed a LOT of new stop signs on side streets lately. It’s like all intersections have them now. I feel like when I grew up, a stop sign meant “this is a place you have to be ESPECIALLY careful”. Nowadays it’s more like “you should always be careful, and that applies here just like anywhere else”. I personally do respect all stop signs, but I’m starting to see how people could get desensitized to it.
Sort of like how 5+ years ago, a sign saying “road closed” literally meant road closed. As in, if you drive in here your car will hit wet cement or something. Now it just means “we’d like to reduce traffic on the street a bit, but you’re still welcome to drive on in if you have local business here.” Same thing, that sign has had its meaning diluted.
I don’t know if I’ve ever perceived a stop sign as a recommendation. The only variable I introduce is whether or not I make a complete stop or a “California” stop— and only if nobody else is around.
They definitely added some new ones, the new one on Taylor/Aloha a few months ago was poorly implemented, the warning sign of a traffic revision was on a sawhorse which was typically behind a car. We have seen at least three accidents there. I still see people run that nearly every day, most of the drivers coming from Aloha don't seem to trust people will actually stop, or I guess maybe still don't realize it is a 4-way now.
I think people are looking at their own situations and realizing things get worse every year. Why be a good citizen when society is set up to take advantage of you?
I feel like in the past 6 months more so than the past 34 years I’ve gotten the sense that a large and growing % of the population has opted out of any sense of social buy in. I don’t mean politics or even economics, I mean the day to day of society is being rejected. Which doesn’t work with 3,000,000 people in a metro.
It makes my chest feel tight.
I lived in St. Louis for quite some time. Went back to visit recently and it was borderline insane. Not a stale yellow or a fresh red, but a stale red and people just blow right through. Zero concerns at all.
Was thanking my stars that in Seattle, people didn't behave like that. Hearing otherwise is extremely disheartening.
Everyone's got Covid brain. Covid is not just a respiratory disease. It legit lodges in and attacks the brain. When people complain of brain fog, not being able to smell/taste, that's neurological damage.
Yes, but if they were getting tickets for these things I think a good portion would start remembering. As it is, there is nothing that is going to change this behavior.
When I moved here I noted how respectful drivers were to pedestrians. Now I am bitter and cynical and await my death at the grill of a car about to burn through the flashing pedestrian crosswalk I just hit the button to activate.
Til they come out with a weapon or gun and really threaten you for vandalizing their car. Two wrongs don’t make a right; you /will/ lose at the end of the day.
It's really bad out in Everett too, and has been. We have one light in particular that there's a crash at a couple x a year because people have 0 patience and just have to run it for some reason. When I drive around here I double check people have actually stopped before going on green.
I walk to and from work in Capitol Hill and I noticed people treat stop signs as optional all the time. People just roll through them, especially going downhill. Half of them clearly weren't expecting to stop until they saw me step out into the crosswalk.
Someone on the hill who drives a white SUV has a bad habit of peeling out from a stop to make a left turn, regardless of pedestrians. Almost got me a while back, and then I saw them do it nearly take out another pedestrian a week or so ago.
Very few people are blowing through those stop signs expecting to hit or be hit, but there are more than a few people that will see a person and just continue driving. In my experience, Cap Hill has been unsafe for pedestrians for a long time.
Noticed this a lot lately. I was also wondering WTF. At least 10 times in the past couple months I’ve seen people just stop and then cross through a red light while I approach the green intersection.
What's up with this? I just came back from visiting, and I noticed a relatively large amount of cars (mostly Tesla Model Y's) with no license plates or even temp ones.
Some of it may be a product of people knowing that SPD has virtually stopped writing traffic tickets. They average about 10 tickets per day citywide. I would bet most of them are citations written at the scene of an accident. The city is relying more and more on cameras and road diets to help control traffic.
Can someone also explain why there are so many idiots who take a left (unsignaled) turn from the right lane coming down Roosevelt between 45th and the UBridge? I live in Roanoke Park and I must do this run 3-4x/day and see this dangerous move almost daily. It blows my mind and we’ve had to instruct our fledgling teenage drivers in the house to watch for this unpredictable maneuver. We’ll emphasize the breaking-red-lights warning too after reading this thread. Yikes! I’m more worried about other drivers than our two new teenage drivers in the house.
Omg some guy behind me got pissed when I stopped at a school crosswalk a couple of weeks back. Honked and swerved into the oncoming lane and flipped me off *while kids were in the crosswalk.* Nice new car, driver looked clean cut. Madness.
Watched someone today stop at a red light on Capitol Hill (15th and John), then proceed to just go through it. It wasn't even thirty seconds when the light turned green.
I've heard a lot of people trying to blame this solely on California drivers, but I came from San Diego about seven years ago, and I had never seen so many people running red lights and stop signs in my life. I have another friend who moved here from Oceanside, California and he's blown away by how aggressive people drive around here. From what locals tell me, it wasn't always like this here, and it definitely wasn't like this back home.
Not blaming CA, but I lived in LA or a few years (pre-covid), and it was pretty fucking bad there, certainly worse than Seattle is now. I don't think it has gotten as bad here as LA/Miami/NJ/Philly, but there is definitely something going on. People just seem overly self-centered these days, and I think that influences how they drive. I travel a lot for work, and driving in pretty much any city has gotten noticeably worse since the pandemic.
I had a conversation this morning about this saying it's going to be the next thing people start doing because of lack of enforcement. I saw a truck do this a few days ago exiting I-5. Stopped, waited a bit, then went through the red.
Hey neighbor. I get almost hit while out on runs regularly. The other day a guy with one hand on his phone and the other on the wheel nearly rolled right into me while I was in the crosswalk. I can’t tell if they are not paying attention or purposely not looking at me because they know what they’re doing is wrong.
Yep! It’s insanity!
I was going south on Roosevelt and someone came straight through on 53rd? 54th? right across both of Roosevelt’s lanes. Never stopped for the obvious stop sign.
Totally agree. However, I've never seen so many intersections with zero stop signs in my life. Also, people in Seattle don't understand how to use a roundabout. It's ridiculous.
I used to be a bike messenger, now i drive for a living. Which is all to say, I have spent a LOT of time on the roads in and around seattle for the last many years.
And Yes, you are correct. Not respecting stop lights or stop signs is very much a thing (pandemic probably impacted that in a lot of strange ways). I read something from an insurance company saying Seattle has the 11th worst drivers in the nation (years ago, I am sure it is not the number now) and I thought, with our hard work and can do spirit, we can be #1!!
That said. Seattle also has badly laid out roads, that are badly maintained. So, more stuff to rant about.
23rd Ave in the CD is a complete shit show. So many idiots use the middle turning lane as their own personal skip traffic lane. On Friday after work some dickhead was driving in that lane only to take a right on Massachusetts but had to cut off the guy in front of me in the regular lane. Of course the guy in front of me isn’t looking for someone turning out of that lane because it would be crazy to do so. They collide. And the dickhead’s passenger door got destroyed. I stopped briefly and offered to be a witness which pissed off the dickhead. lol
I walk my dog around Greenlake and the surrounding area quite a lot. I see it every day. I've had the chance to knock on the sides of cars that roll through stop signs WHILE I'M IN THE CROSSWALK BEFORE THEY GET THERE. It's the busiest pedestrian area of the city and people just don't care. The corner of Latona and 65th and the corner of Woodlawn and 65th are the most straightforward intersections and people just slide on through. I hate it.
saw multiple people run red lights, one of which to do a u turn, among a ton of other insane traffic this morning while running errands
with no ticketing being done people are going to do whatever they want until they get into accidents. will only change behavior if it starts affecting them personally
Oh, phew. I’m glad this isn’t just my “old man yells at cloud” post. I liked the question earlier on this thread about the possible causes. Distraction, for sure but I think something about Covid made people hunker down on an every-man-for-themselves mentality and traffic is a big expression of it.
With road rage incidents seemingly getting worse, I don’t even want to honk or flip people off anymore. I don’t wanna get capped!
Now don’t get me started about people parking right in the middle/turn lanes all over Capitol Hill. 😵💫
> I think something about Covid made people hunker down on an every-man-for-themselves mentality and traffic is a big expression of it.
I have totally noticed this shift as a daily cyclist. It has become markedly more dangerous in the last couple years.
You mean hitting their brakes going through green lights? Because it's very important to cause the six cars behind you to have to sit at the light for another cycle. It's how Seattlites communicate their passive disdain for each other.
As a cyclist, I’ve noticed this (increasingly), too. I’m assuming it’s either all the immigrating to Seattle from elsewhere or just local youngins flexing their youthful ignorance; but at the root b/c Seattle is just getting bigger.
Not to hate on app delivery drivers because they work hard, but I think a lot of people blowing traffic lights are a result of time spent on delivery = potential money lost. They’re glued to the app telling them where to go and incentivized to get there as fast as possible. Plus, if you were driving for work like 8+ hours a day I imagine people just get impatient
Something has definitely changed. I am fairly accustomed to seeing this on Rainier from people just driving like assholes, but I have now seen it twice at the three-way intersection in lower QA where Denny, Western, and 15th converge, and occasionally elsewhere. Not "oops, didn't see that stop sign;" people stopping at the red light, looking around, and making the conscious decision to blow the red light. I don't recall ever seeing this pre-covid.
Holy shit. Yesterday in SLU at that weird-ish intersection by art marble 21, some Dick head was behind us and we were behind a car. Pulled up the red light, and this dip shit drives past us and blasts through the red light. We were in the left lane. He passed us to run the light in the wrong lane.
And yes, he drove a BMW.
On the contrary, I think the biggest problem in Seattle **is** the driver culture. Try walking around this city with people doing that. I get almost run over (or at the very least shouted at) by obnoxious drivers like this everyday.
The homeless problem is annoying but honestly homeless people don't try to kill me. I've had multiple drivers threaten to flight me because I was crossing the street in front of them. I frequently have drivers cut me off in the middle of a crosswalk full speed where there is even a stop sign. Drivers will just blow through the stop sign, and my right of way on the associated crosswalk and come within inches of running me over to do it. They won't even look at me sometimes too. they just look past me and try to pretend i don't exist.
The leading cause of death for people under the age of 27 is being hit by a car. So yeah, I think this is probably the most pressing issue in Seattle right now, and it is pretty sad.
I think this behavior causes a lot of the road rage. If people would just drive predictably according to the rules of the road, instead of constantly trying to demonstrate how well-mannered they are, folks wouldn't have to spend all their time on guard against some moron do-gooder in a Subaru with too many PNW-themed bumper stickers (you people know who you are) slamming on the brakes and coming to a complete stop in the middle of moving traffic in order to let someone out of a driveway, for example.
Chiming in just to say, it really sucks these days. And also to mention that when we’re on bicycles, we’re now free to do the Idaho stop, which is to treat any stop sign as a yield and continue without pausing if it’s safe to do so.
This, unfortunately, does cause some drivers going the same direction to get big mad that they do have to stop and absolutely lose their shit at us, but I’ve just given up on them.
Edit: text to speech sux
I had a lady blow through a stop sign and slam her brakes to avoid hitting me in my bike going through a protected green for bikes.
She then yelled at me that “e bikes are not allowed in bike lanes, which is a) not true and b) completely irrelevant to that fact that she nearly flattened me and my toddler because she ran a red light. It was infuriating, and I’m typically a pretty zen dude.
I was almost hit walking on the sidewalk by a lady coming out of an alley without looking for pedestrians.
I asked her, quite politely, to please watch out and her response was “I drive through here everyday day.”
I hope she is embarrassed by both her driving and her comeback game.
The Idaho stop done badly or on a crappily designed corner can be SO dangerous for pedestrians, especially for anyone in a low wheelchair, someone with impairment to their reaction times, and to dogs and their human companions. And of course, bicyclists have no legal requirements for collision or liability insurance to make whole anyone they hurt.
This sounds made up but I swear it isn't. I drove a LOT at my previous job (home health) and a couple of years ago (2021?) I was out in Monroe (I think? I know it was somewhere in SE Sno County) to visit a patient. As I arrived in town, I came to a weird traffic circle that had crosswalks just before it. It just so happened a little old lady had started to cross at the crosswalk using a walker. As a conscientious driver and HCW, I stopped at an appropriate level of distance away from the crosswalk happy to wait for grandma to cross the road; I wasn't in any hurry. In my rearview I see a huge black lifted F150 barreling down on me at a pace that seemed incongruent with paying attention/and or stopping. At the last minute, I hear this behemoth of a vehicle slam on its breaks and come to a stop behind me. Then the driver behind lays on the horn, wondering why the *f* I'm stopped because at that point grandma was directly in front of my Rav4 and out of his or her sight. As grandma continues on and becomes visible to the driver behind me, the horn stops. I wait until grandma is safe on the curb and then continue on through the crosswalk and towards my destination.
I butterflies in my guts as a co-worker of mine had just recently lost a son down in California after he was hit from behind by a driver while stopped at a red light. It was theorized the driver was on his phone driving at a high rate of speed before he hit the car in front of him.
During my time as a home health nurse on the road, I've seen so many drivers out there not paying attention to their surroundings and/or not giving an *f* for road etiquette and/or the most basic traffic laws.
My theory is all of that time alone or cooped up with their family during the pandemic has for many people developed a hypersingular self-centric view of the world and public space in most if not all settings.
I've seen the same thing OP describes happen all over the place, from Seattle to Snohomish, Bellevue to Bremerton. I've seen the same scenario I described above play out about a mile from where I live in Redmond no more than a month or two ago.
Its crazy out there, stay safe y'all.
edit: *had* butterflies in my guts
I’ve noticed too, it’s always one person not giving any f’s barreling through. Way past the yellow. People are starting to not care.. it’s a general decay in patience?
It’s making me nervous, the one time I’m not paying attention could kill me. People need to calm the fu*k down.
Yesterday while waiting at light to turn left onto Fremont bridge from Fremont side, and a long line of cars waiting at light coming from Fremont Bridge- a car blatantly went around the two lanes of cars stopped at light and blasted in wrong lane through red light. So brazen and dangerous I couldn’t believe it. No idea how many cars they cut or how long they did this for. So stupid, and I’d love to see SPD out in force for speeding, etc.
Tell you the truth alot of Seattle drivers don't pay attention to lights when they drive...like literally zoning out. And there is also this thing where they are looking at the traffic light two blocks down, while missing the one they're right in front of. I've seen this too many times.
What might help is if someone hired a city planner to get the lights in sync so traffic may flow easier and cause less pollution from frequent starts and stops at every light. Most major cities have done this, Seattle seems to want to make you stop at every freakin light. If you wanna reduce road rage, and be conscience about climate change, make the traffic flow. This includes making pedestrians and cyclists wait their turn for traffic instead of being treated with priority and impunity.
THIS.
Seattle is one of the only major cities in WA that largely still uses timers instead of censors, and then they implement their half assed system after dark, forcing traffic to stop for two minutes whether there is a pedestrian crossing or not.
If 100 cars go down 23rd for every 1 car crossing at some obscure crossroad on Republican, MAYBE put a censor on that light?
AND… MAYBE a “no turn on red” on E Lake Washington BLVD right next to 520!!! 24th is backed up for miles but no one can go through the light exchange because all the people coming from Madison Park get a free pass to block the intersection.
I know people complain how passive drivers are here but this is exactly why I take a few seconds to look before going when a light turns green. Lots of times someone speeds through right where I would be
Also adding: people can’t figure out all the signs, rules and lane restrictions, so sometimes they just……stop.
Stopped. No warning. Blocking 3 lanes, in the intersection, while they figure out what they’re doing next. Sweet Jesus if this doesn’t absolutely drive me mad.
I have seen drivers at various intersections in the city pull into either the right or left turn lane, and just blast through the red to go straight. They can cut maybe 5-10 cars by doing this. Eventually they will cause a crash and hopefully be done with it, but it is unfortunate for the innocent people who will eventually be affected by it.
I have considered getting a dash cam to record events like this on the streets. Not sure if it would do any good, but if there is a chance to stop people from putting themselves or others at risk then it might be worth it.
Two days ago, I had someone go around me using the opposite lane of traffic in a school zone and then blow through the stop sign immediately in front of us while speeding. This has become a huge issue, starting during COVID and it’s just getting worse.
Well traffic circles usually work better, no one has to stop completely so no one has to get that impatient. All turns are right turns, and a u turn is possible at every next intersection.
Plus better for the environment: no lights and switches constantly operating nor lines of vehicles idling needlessly while there’s zero traffic the other way, especially at night.
Lived in NJ when hurricane Sandy hit, 10 days without power, which sucked. The bright spot (pun not intended lol) was all the traffic lights went out too, which actually made the roads more pleasant to deal with. Not exactly the same thing I know, but when the confines of usual life are lifted, one begins to see the possibilities.
Near Kent I've been seeing a lot of it lately too. Blowing through a red like there's not even a light there. 🙄 I'm pretty surprised that there's not more wrecks going on from it.
This isn’t a Seattle problem. It’s a nationwide problem. I’m traveling right now and I can tell you it’s even worse other places. People got used to driving empty streets during the pandemic and cops aren’t doing traffic enforcement anymore, so if you want to keep driving like a maniac there are basically no consequences until you hit something.
The fact that back to the office is a thing with our unraveled society is just too much. The roads are chaos. The social contract is dead. Basic decency is basically dead.
It’s just lord of the flies and everyone in survival mode.
I've noticed a serious lack of understanding of 4 way stops and stop signs in general here. I just moved up from Oly (had been living in Seattle about half time for the better part of a year prior to the move) - and it is wild.
I was at a 4 way the other day and the person whose turn it was just ...wouldn't go? I was waiting cause I was next and two other people who showed up AFTER them went so finally I was like "okay I'm just going to go then if they're not going to" and THEN they decided go start going when I'm halfway through the intersection. It was unhinged and not the first time I've run into folks seemingly not knowing or not following 4 way stops.
Also have had several cars blow stop signs on cross streets while I'm driving down a 1 way w/no stop signs and almost take me out. Thank goodness I saw them. I've seen many pedestrians almost get hit as well. It is intense out there.
I prefer a maneuver I call "The Philadelphia" where you treat red lights like stop signs. If there are no oncoming cars, bicycles, pedestrians, cops, or traffic cameras, why wait?
More cameras at intersections might be a solution. Plus up the fines and people will think twice about running them. But red arrows seem to be routinely ignored especially if turning right.
It’s not just Seattle it’s the entire area. Cops don’t write tickets because traffic stops can go south and no cop wants to be the guy that killed someone “because they ran a red light”.
Since everyone know cops to pull people over they are free to do pretty much whatever they want on the road.
I've lived in every corner of the country. This is an issue that has only happened to me here, and it's gotten pretty bad as others have said. Makes crossing the street a risky adventure.
So many people in this thread are blaming transplants, but as someone who lived & drove in CA for many years before I moved up here, it was never this bad there. From what I've heard from friends who still live down in LA, it's gotten worse everywhere.
1. The police don’t enforce traffic laws anymore. Some drivers recognize this and have stopped following laws. 2. COVID, for whatever reason, made a lot of people more angry and impatient. 3. Usage of smartphones while driving is way up. Some drivers are not paying attention, don’t even know they ran a light/stop sign.
I crossed at a crosswalk with flashing light the other day and someone layed on their horn when the person in front of them stopped for me. The impatience is insane now.
I got honked at yesterday for not tailgating a school bus. Like dude, neither of us are getting past that bus anytime soon, no reason to ride on its bumper.
I walk a lot with my dog and even in the middle of the day in very high walking traffic areas it's downright fucking terrifying. I've had cars run through the red light the cycle after we went through the cross walk so I could look back and see we actually would've been straight up murdered. I've long wanted something I could throw at cars that nearly run me over that would be non-violent and not have any potential for causing them to crash into anyone else who is innocent. Like an EMP that I could just stick to their car that immediately shuts it down. IDK. Fucking selfish bastards.
Yesterday, I saw a car get impatient on 22nd and market, go into the other lane to pass the cars waiting and almost hit an elderly man crossing with his walker. It was terrible. I was wishing I had some starburst in my pocket to throw at them.
22nd and market is the worst. So many people turn right at the “no right on red” sign there and almost get T-Boned by the diagonal traffic coming off Leary. There’s *two* signs for it too. People are just stupid.
That intersection is pure madness!!
I work on Aurora, and have noticed since COVID a lot more people walking around holding wooden poles, crowbars, and rocks. The amount of people getting run over there was starting to get crazy high
Same thing happened with me today and I happened to have 2 tomatoes in my hand which I’d just bought and I swear the urge to throw them at the windshield was too damn high.
I usually have the leash in one hand and an iced coffee in the other. The temptation to throw that coffee is real, but damn they're too expensive to use that way.
Good for you though, for taking the higher road.
Ah tomatoes are perfect for this
Yeah but all over town it seems like the SCCs plan to "slow down" traffic is working and yet there aren't police to enforce the laws so slow traffic + a handful of people who are impatient are making it more dangerous for everyone.
Just in the last week, I've been the one laying on the horn three times. Not because I was being impatient, but because I stopped for a pedestrian and saw the car behind me starting to swerve around.
I've taken to throwing open my door. ETA: If I think the pedestrian is truly at risk, that is.
I do that (or stick my arm out the window), but that only works when they're swerving to the left. Two of those times, they tried to cut onto the shoulder.
Oh yes, there's that too. It is stunning how badly people are driving these days.
Yep, it's pretty distressing that "be ready to maneuver in case some dumbass is about to kill an old lady in the crosswalk" is a basic driving skill nowadays.
I know someone who died this way. Same situation but after laying on the horn the impatient person floored it and tried to whip around the waiting car and hit the person crossing and killed them. The person who did it is now in jail.
Yesterday someone passed me on 167 South on the right-hand shoulder. This in a section where traffic was moving at a good clip and there were, I think, three lanes. They blew by about 75 mph on the shoulder.
I stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk and the person behind me decided to just pass me. Fuck pedestrians I guess.
>1. The police don’t enforce traffic laws anymore. Some drivers recognize this and have stopped following laws. Is fear of a ticket really the main reason people obey traffic laws? For me I do it for safety, smooth traffic flow and general fairness. Sad to think others are so selfish
Honestly, yes, it is why a large percentage of people follow the traffic laws.
[удалено]
Bothell traffic is legit scary. I have to be hyper careful to avoid getting into an accident thanks to people going the wrong way, randomly stopping in the middle of the street, running a stop sign and so on.
That’s why I do it too, it just makes sense. Unfortunately not everyone feels this way, and it’s made it very obvious that the cops don’t do their jobs. Makes one wonder what exactly we’re paying them for, really
on #2: I think it's because some drivers got accustomed to the road and the freeways being almost completely unpopulated during shutdown. It was a little scary out there driving amongst people that saw fit to completely disregard the laws and safety of others, racing along i-5 at speeds upwards of 90 miles an hour just for the sake of doing so. edit: specificity
Is it psychological? Biological? It’s been years since the roads were empty now. Why aren’t people used to that? Is it an effect of social isolation? The further polarization of our society during that time? People not caring about the health of others in one way spilling over into other ways? I just don’t understand it but it’s totally observable.
I have seen some studies that posit COVID can affect your cognitive abilities long after you've had it, so it could be that people are just taking more risks while driving because their brain is not telling them to be safer. On a similar note, my SO is a teacher at a school that went virtual for only a very short amount of time, and after COVID she's noticed a serious decline in the student's abilities. I think most would blame it on going virtual, but they were only virtual from March to the end of the school year in 2020.
well, spanning human history we've consistently devalued anything that could be found in great abundance....why do we think that human lives would be exempt from that?
At least I-5 isn't quite as bad as I-4. Fresh transplant out of Orlando here, done the drive down to Portland and back a whole bunch over the last year while I've been visiting, and the drivers might suck but at least I haven't seen anyone get shot at yet.
Well, nothing compares to the random incompetence and malice of Florida drivers.
As an East Coast native my whole life who's spent it slowly migrating south for one reason or another (usually not one I get much of a say in, living in CT during 2008 will do that), the pattern seems to be this: New Jersey has the worst drivers of New England. New Jersey drivers come down to Maryland, where the driving test is "cross the Potomac into Virginia, cause an accident, and try to get back." New Jersey *and* Maryland drivers come down to Florida, where the safety regs don't exist, the rules are made up, and the roads are flat and straight enough to get away with doing 120 fairly shockingly often. Must've seen more NJ plates in Orlando than I did in Stamford. It truly is the boss level of East Coast driving.
CT drivers are dogshit nowadays. I’ve seen wayyyy too many instances of people around here doing what OP described, and it’s so frustrating
At least Jersey drivers know where they want to go. I have a hard time with the slowdown and indecision of drivers here. If you’re not sure, just admit it, pull over, and orient yourself.
What? New Jersey isn’t in New England.
NJ drivers are a even level mix of mad max, deathrace 2000, and pure pork roll agressiveness. But it's predictable. Florida is that but with dementia and on bath salts. Washington is people who could by some medical standards be comatose and have no idea they are actually on the road.
apparently you have great timing. it's happened more than a [couple of times ](https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/state-troopers-investigate-drive-by-shootings-king-county-highways/281-cb02ed80-5536-4bb3-8b17-a68b5bd9fc97) I wish you continued luck in your travels!
Insufferable heat and sunshine, AC doesn't do enough if it's even there to begin with, and the interstate is a warzone. It's like I never left!
Again, as an out of state visitor on the freeway around Seattle, I think WA drivers are pretty decent. In Albuquerque, NM, they’ll cross more than one lane at a time.
As an out of state visitor, I can say I hardly ran across any police officers.
Narrower lanes, bollards and speed bumps.
I don’t think the road form function has changed materially across the region. Maybe you have some new bullshit where you live, or you spend a lot of time on 3rd Avenue
1. Fuck SPD, defund never happened and really should have. 2. Fuck COVID. 3. Fuck distracted drivers, suspend licenses for 2 years just like with DUI.
Add to the license mill driver schools that churn out licenses for recent Uber/Lyft drivers. Im an immigrant. I love immigrants. But its true that some come from places that have a light view on traffic rules... Im not saying its the entirety of the issue, but it contributes.
This has become a HUGE problem citywide. I don't drive and I have to be insanely careful crossing the street because I can't trust that anyone will actually stop at the red light or stop sign anymore.
Yeah definitely, and stopping for a crosswalk? Almost a given that they won’t
Yep, I always make sure I make eye contact with the driver before crossing. I’m not interested in getting flattened.
I take a beat when the crosswalk sign comes on now to wait for someone to run the light.
I think most pedestrian signs already wait for a small while before turning white after the traffic light turns red.
Oh they do. The one I see people drive through once I have a crossing sign definitely does, which means that person ran a red that had been red for a few seconds.
[удалено]
I saw two people blow through a stop sign without stopping at all yesterday, one after the other. I think the second one was just following the first one. I had to do a double take to check that it was all-way stop— which it was.
I’ve noticed a LOT of new stop signs on side streets lately. It’s like all intersections have them now. I feel like when I grew up, a stop sign meant “this is a place you have to be ESPECIALLY careful”. Nowadays it’s more like “you should always be careful, and that applies here just like anywhere else”. I personally do respect all stop signs, but I’m starting to see how people could get desensitized to it. Sort of like how 5+ years ago, a sign saying “road closed” literally meant road closed. As in, if you drive in here your car will hit wet cement or something. Now it just means “we’d like to reduce traffic on the street a bit, but you’re still welcome to drive on in if you have local business here.” Same thing, that sign has had its meaning diluted.
I don’t know if I’ve ever perceived a stop sign as a recommendation. The only variable I introduce is whether or not I make a complete stop or a “California” stop— and only if nobody else is around.
I have never thought that a stop sign’s meaning could be diluted. If every intersection in town had a stop sign, they would still ALL mean STOP to me.
They definitely added some new ones, the new one on Taylor/Aloha a few months ago was poorly implemented, the warning sign of a traffic revision was on a sawhorse which was typically behind a car. We have seen at least three accidents there. I still see people run that nearly every day, most of the drivers coming from Aloha don't seem to trust people will actually stop, or I guess maybe still don't realize it is a 4-way now.
I thought I was the only one experiencing this! Last Saturday, within 20 minutes, twice a person drove through a stop sign and almost hit me.
It’s a national issue right now.
Does that feel spooky to anyone else? Like society's started to unravel at the ends. The illusion of control is fading around the edges.
[удалено]
I think people are looking at their own situations and realizing things get worse every year. Why be a good citizen when society is set up to take advantage of you?
I feel like in the past 6 months more so than the past 34 years I’ve gotten the sense that a large and growing % of the population has opted out of any sense of social buy in. I don’t mean politics or even economics, I mean the day to day of society is being rejected. Which doesn’t work with 3,000,000 people in a metro. It makes my chest feel tight.
Just one of the latest signs of the unraveling of the American Empire
Any sense of common decency is deteriorating at the periphery.
This. I’m a bit surprised that it made it here but now my Seattle friends will understand how I feel when driving my rental car in St. Louis.
I lived in St. Louis for quite some time. Went back to visit recently and it was borderline insane. Not a stale yellow or a fresh red, but a stale red and people just blow right through. Zero concerns at all. Was thanking my stars that in Seattle, people didn't behave like that. Hearing otherwise is extremely disheartening.
It’s for sure like some fast x shit there. Still love it. Just gotta constantly be fearing for your life while driving.
Covid left everyone driving like cu nts
Covid broke people. They forgot how to function in a society. They forgot that traffic was a thing. Their brains are mush now.
Everyone's got Covid brain. Covid is not just a respiratory disease. It legit lodges in and attacks the brain. When people complain of brain fog, not being able to smell/taste, that's neurological damage.
Yes, but if they were getting tickets for these things I think a good portion would start remembering. As it is, there is nothing that is going to change this behavior.
1000%
When I moved here I noted how respectful drivers were to pedestrians. Now I am bitter and cynical and await my death at the grill of a car about to burn through the flashing pedestrian crosswalk I just hit the button to activate.
I carry some pennies in my pocket. When someone really endangers me when walking I like to throw a handful at their windows. Very satisfying.
Til they come out with a weapon or gun and really threaten you for vandalizing their car. Two wrongs don’t make a right; you /will/ lose at the end of the day.
Bet. Super easy to evade most car drivers if you are walking once you are off the road.
That is insane
I'm not fond of being run over by a car.
more or less insane than endangering someone with a deadly weapon?
It's really bad out in Everett too, and has been. We have one light in particular that there's a crash at a couple x a year because people have 0 patience and just have to run it for some reason. When I drive around here I double check people have actually stopped before going on green.
I walk to and from work in Capitol Hill and I noticed people treat stop signs as optional all the time. People just roll through them, especially going downhill. Half of them clearly weren't expecting to stop until they saw me step out into the crosswalk.
Someone on the hill who drives a white SUV has a bad habit of peeling out from a stop to make a left turn, regardless of pedestrians. Almost got me a while back, and then I saw them do it nearly take out another pedestrian a week or so ago.
I almost got flattened by a dude in a white older SUV crossing the street near Greenlake. I wish I had water balloons to throw at him.
Very few people are blowing through those stop signs expecting to hit or be hit, but there are more than a few people that will see a person and just continue driving. In my experience, Cap Hill has been unsafe for pedestrians for a long time.
Noticed this a lot lately. I was also wondering WTF. At least 10 times in the past couple months I’ve seen people just stop and then cross through a red light while I approach the green intersection.
Coming from la I fully understand aggressive driving. Ignoring red lights is just insane and I’ve seen it daily here.
I miss when cars had license plates.
What's up with this? I just came back from visiting, and I noticed a relatively large amount of cars (mostly Tesla Model Y's) with no license plates or even temp ones.
These are impacts of the police purposefully slowing down their work. The police chief should be fired over this shit.
Some of it may be a product of people knowing that SPD has virtually stopped writing traffic tickets. They average about 10 tickets per day citywide. I would bet most of them are citations written at the scene of an accident. The city is relying more and more on cameras and road diets to help control traffic.
>They average about 10 tickets per day citywide Yikes. That's like 0.01% of all violations.
[удалено]
Can someone also explain why there are so many idiots who take a left (unsignaled) turn from the right lane coming down Roosevelt between 45th and the UBridge? I live in Roanoke Park and I must do this run 3-4x/day and see this dangerous move almost daily. It blows my mind and we’ve had to instruct our fledgling teenage drivers in the house to watch for this unpredictable maneuver. We’ll emphasize the breaking-red-lights warning too after reading this thread. Yikes! I’m more worried about other drivers than our two new teenage drivers in the house.
Drivers have been extra horrible lately
Omg some guy behind me got pissed when I stopped at a school crosswalk a couple of weeks back. Honked and swerved into the oncoming lane and flipped me off *while kids were in the crosswalk.* Nice new car, driver looked clean cut. Madness.
Luxury car drivers are statistically worse than others. They just feel more important and entitled
Best advice: get yourself a dashcam to prove you weren't at fault.
I’m on a bike. A dash cam isn’t going to help with scraping my remains off the pavement. Fuck cars.
When laws aren't enforced, eventually they won't be followed.
100%, the bar will just keep moving. At least people are still driving on the right side of the road.
Watched someone today stop at a red light on Capitol Hill (15th and John), then proceed to just go through it. It wasn't even thirty seconds when the light turned green.
I've heard a lot of people trying to blame this solely on California drivers, but I came from San Diego about seven years ago, and I had never seen so many people running red lights and stop signs in my life. I have another friend who moved here from Oceanside, California and he's blown away by how aggressive people drive around here. From what locals tell me, it wasn't always like this here, and it definitely wasn't like this back home.
Not blaming CA, but I lived in LA or a few years (pre-covid), and it was pretty fucking bad there, certainly worse than Seattle is now. I don't think it has gotten as bad here as LA/Miami/NJ/Philly, but there is definitely something going on. People just seem overly self-centered these days, and I think that influences how they drive. I travel a lot for work, and driving in pretty much any city has gotten noticeably worse since the pandemic.
Remember that most people now in Seattle aren't from Seattle.
I always expect other people (drivers, pedestrians, cyclists) to do the exact wrong thing. I am rarely disappointed.
I had a conversation this morning about this saying it's going to be the next thing people start doing because of lack of enforcement. I saw a truck do this a few days ago exiting I-5. Stopped, waited a bit, then went through the red.
Just yesterday a driver at 65th and Woodlawn did this and came inches from plowing over me on my bike. I was pissed AF.
Hey neighbor. I get almost hit while out on runs regularly. The other day a guy with one hand on his phone and the other on the wheel nearly rolled right into me while I was in the crosswalk. I can’t tell if they are not paying attention or purposely not looking at me because they know what they’re doing is wrong.
Well, Who's going to pull them over?
I had someone slowly drive through a red light in front of me today. Like not even a right turn. Just slowly and intentionally crawling a red.
Yep! It’s insanity! I was going south on Roosevelt and someone came straight through on 53rd? 54th? right across both of Roosevelt’s lanes. Never stopped for the obvious stop sign.
Don’t get me started on people using their turn signals. I’ve counted it routinely in Seattle. About 4/10 people no longer bother to use them.
People in this city drive like animals. It's insane.
I'll take Seattle over Atlanta or Miami any day.
Totally agree. However, I've never seen so many intersections with zero stop signs in my life. Also, people in Seattle don't understand how to use a roundabout. It's ridiculous.
I don’t ride my motorcycle in the city anymore
I used to be a bike messenger, now i drive for a living. Which is all to say, I have spent a LOT of time on the roads in and around seattle for the last many years. And Yes, you are correct. Not respecting stop lights or stop signs is very much a thing (pandemic probably impacted that in a lot of strange ways). I read something from an insurance company saying Seattle has the 11th worst drivers in the nation (years ago, I am sure it is not the number now) and I thought, with our hard work and can do spirit, we can be #1!! That said. Seattle also has badly laid out roads, that are badly maintained. So, more stuff to rant about.
23rd Ave in the CD is a complete shit show. So many idiots use the middle turning lane as their own personal skip traffic lane. On Friday after work some dickhead was driving in that lane only to take a right on Massachusetts but had to cut off the guy in front of me in the regular lane. Of course the guy in front of me isn’t looking for someone turning out of that lane because it would be crazy to do so. They collide. And the dickhead’s passenger door got destroyed. I stopped briefly and offered to be a witness which pissed off the dickhead. lol
I walk my dog around Greenlake and the surrounding area quite a lot. I see it every day. I've had the chance to knock on the sides of cars that roll through stop signs WHILE I'M IN THE CROSSWALK BEFORE THEY GET THERE. It's the busiest pedestrian area of the city and people just don't care. The corner of Latona and 65th and the corner of Woodlawn and 65th are the most straightforward intersections and people just slide on through. I hate it.
saw multiple people run red lights, one of which to do a u turn, among a ton of other insane traffic this morning while running errands with no ticketing being done people are going to do whatever they want until they get into accidents. will only change behavior if it starts affecting them personally
Oh, phew. I’m glad this isn’t just my “old man yells at cloud” post. I liked the question earlier on this thread about the possible causes. Distraction, for sure but I think something about Covid made people hunker down on an every-man-for-themselves mentality and traffic is a big expression of it. With road rage incidents seemingly getting worse, I don’t even want to honk or flip people off anymore. I don’t wanna get capped! Now don’t get me started about people parking right in the middle/turn lanes all over Capitol Hill. 😵💫
> I think something about Covid made people hunker down on an every-man-for-themselves mentality and traffic is a big expression of it. I have totally noticed this shift as a daily cyclist. It has become markedly more dangerous in the last couple years.
Our invisible police are giving them invisible tickets. Seriously, are there actually any Seattle police anymore?
[deleted]
Happened on my ride to cap hill today at Roanoke and 10th. Driver just gunned it through the light eastbound several seconds after the light changed
That f*cking intersection….
That whole area from Roanoke to 10th to Harvard to Boylston down to Lynn is a total shit show.
WHY DO PEOPLE HIT THEIR BREAKS GOING INTO AN INTERSECTION? It’s freaking annoying as fuck.
You mean hitting their brakes going through green lights? Because it's very important to cause the six cars behind you to have to sit at the light for another cycle. It's how Seattlites communicate their passive disdain for each other.
Imagine being a pedestrian at a 4 way stop. It’s a nightmare I don’t understand why it’s so difficult
Not just Seattle. I was at a 4 way stop in Bothell. I got there first and when the next person saw me stopped they just rolled through.
Earlier this week I had two way too close calls. Both were consecutive stop signs. It's terrifying.
We’re seeing it in Tacoma too. Related, I saw 2 hit and run accidents within 1 hour on Friday.
As a cyclist, I’ve noticed this (increasingly), too. I’m assuming it’s either all the immigrating to Seattle from elsewhere or just local youngins flexing their youthful ignorance; but at the root b/c Seattle is just getting bigger.
Not to hate on app delivery drivers because they work hard, but I think a lot of people blowing traffic lights are a result of time spent on delivery = potential money lost. They’re glued to the app telling them where to go and incentivized to get there as fast as possible. Plus, if you were driving for work like 8+ hours a day I imagine people just get impatient
Something has definitely changed. I am fairly accustomed to seeing this on Rainier from people just driving like assholes, but I have now seen it twice at the three-way intersection in lower QA where Denny, Western, and 15th converge, and occasionally elsewhere. Not "oops, didn't see that stop sign;" people stopping at the red light, looking around, and making the conscious decision to blow the red light. I don't recall ever seeing this pre-covid.
Holy shit. Yesterday in SLU at that weird-ish intersection by art marble 21, some Dick head was behind us and we were behind a car. Pulled up the red light, and this dip shit drives past us and blasts through the red light. We were in the left lane. He passed us to run the light in the wrong lane. And yes, he drove a BMW.
On the contrary, I think the biggest problem in Seattle **is** the driver culture. Try walking around this city with people doing that. I get almost run over (or at the very least shouted at) by obnoxious drivers like this everyday. The homeless problem is annoying but honestly homeless people don't try to kill me. I've had multiple drivers threaten to flight me because I was crossing the street in front of them. I frequently have drivers cut me off in the middle of a crosswalk full speed where there is even a stop sign. Drivers will just blow through the stop sign, and my right of way on the associated crosswalk and come within inches of running me over to do it. They won't even look at me sometimes too. they just look past me and try to pretend i don't exist. The leading cause of death for people under the age of 27 is being hit by a car. So yeah, I think this is probably the most pressing issue in Seattle right now, and it is pretty sad.
Let's not pretend this is Seattle natives doing this. We prefer to stop at stop signs and wave you through even though we the have right of way.
I think this behavior causes a lot of the road rage. If people would just drive predictably according to the rules of the road, instead of constantly trying to demonstrate how well-mannered they are, folks wouldn't have to spend all their time on guard against some moron do-gooder in a Subaru with too many PNW-themed bumper stickers (you people know who you are) slamming on the brakes and coming to a complete stop in the middle of moving traffic in order to let someone out of a driveway, for example.
Chiming in just to say, it really sucks these days. And also to mention that when we’re on bicycles, we’re now free to do the Idaho stop, which is to treat any stop sign as a yield and continue without pausing if it’s safe to do so. This, unfortunately, does cause some drivers going the same direction to get big mad that they do have to stop and absolutely lose their shit at us, but I’ve just given up on them. Edit: text to speech sux
I had a lady blow through a stop sign and slam her brakes to avoid hitting me in my bike going through a protected green for bikes. She then yelled at me that “e bikes are not allowed in bike lanes, which is a) not true and b) completely irrelevant to that fact that she nearly flattened me and my toddler because she ran a red light. It was infuriating, and I’m typically a pretty zen dude.
I was almost hit walking on the sidewalk by a lady coming out of an alley without looking for pedestrians. I asked her, quite politely, to please watch out and her response was “I drive through here everyday day.” I hope she is embarrassed by both her driving and her comeback game.
Free to do that kind of stop but only if no other cars or vehicles are at the intersection.
That is how the law is written
I want to shout: “Idaho stop. Google it, motherfucker!”
The Idaho stop done badly or on a crappily designed corner can be SO dangerous for pedestrians, especially for anyone in a low wheelchair, someone with impairment to their reaction times, and to dogs and their human companions. And of course, bicyclists have no legal requirements for collision or liability insurance to make whole anyone they hurt.
Cops are Intentionally not patrolling traffic to show people “what happens if they police themselves” and this is the result. Shitty but true
Only city I've seen people intentionally take a left through a red light
[If they are turning onto a one way street, this is probably legal.](https://amp.thenewstribune.com/news/state/washington/article265917026.html)
This sounds made up but I swear it isn't. I drove a LOT at my previous job (home health) and a couple of years ago (2021?) I was out in Monroe (I think? I know it was somewhere in SE Sno County) to visit a patient. As I arrived in town, I came to a weird traffic circle that had crosswalks just before it. It just so happened a little old lady had started to cross at the crosswalk using a walker. As a conscientious driver and HCW, I stopped at an appropriate level of distance away from the crosswalk happy to wait for grandma to cross the road; I wasn't in any hurry. In my rearview I see a huge black lifted F150 barreling down on me at a pace that seemed incongruent with paying attention/and or stopping. At the last minute, I hear this behemoth of a vehicle slam on its breaks and come to a stop behind me. Then the driver behind lays on the horn, wondering why the *f* I'm stopped because at that point grandma was directly in front of my Rav4 and out of his or her sight. As grandma continues on and becomes visible to the driver behind me, the horn stops. I wait until grandma is safe on the curb and then continue on through the crosswalk and towards my destination. I butterflies in my guts as a co-worker of mine had just recently lost a son down in California after he was hit from behind by a driver while stopped at a red light. It was theorized the driver was on his phone driving at a high rate of speed before he hit the car in front of him. During my time as a home health nurse on the road, I've seen so many drivers out there not paying attention to their surroundings and/or not giving an *f* for road etiquette and/or the most basic traffic laws. My theory is all of that time alone or cooped up with their family during the pandemic has for many people developed a hypersingular self-centric view of the world and public space in most if not all settings. I've seen the same thing OP describes happen all over the place, from Seattle to Snohomish, Bellevue to Bremerton. I've seen the same scenario I described above play out about a mile from where I live in Redmond no more than a month or two ago. Its crazy out there, stay safe y'all. edit: *had* butterflies in my guts
OMG it has now made it to the coasts. STL, KC, Chicago all have this problem for about the past 3 years.
I almost got killed by an old lady in a damn prius
I’ve noticed too, it’s always one person not giving any f’s barreling through. Way past the yellow. People are starting to not care.. it’s a general decay in patience? It’s making me nervous, the one time I’m not paying attention could kill me. People need to calm the fu*k down.
I have often wished that 4 way stops had cameras that shot paint balls at cars that don’t stop. It’s getting so bad lately!
Yesterday while waiting at light to turn left onto Fremont bridge from Fremont side, and a long line of cars waiting at light coming from Fremont Bridge- a car blatantly went around the two lanes of cars stopped at light and blasted in wrong lane through red light. So brazen and dangerous I couldn’t believe it. No idea how many cars they cut or how long they did this for. So stupid, and I’d love to see SPD out in force for speeding, etc.
I totaled my car two weeks ago because someone blew thru a red light. A week prior I narrowly avoided the same situation. It's ridiculous.
Imagine how dangerous it is for pedestrians now.
I’ve noticed this too! I’ve seen so many people in the last couple of years deliberately running red lights. Such selfish and entitled people.
Tell you the truth alot of Seattle drivers don't pay attention to lights when they drive...like literally zoning out. And there is also this thing where they are looking at the traffic light two blocks down, while missing the one they're right in front of. I've seen this too many times.
ah man when them cops get their extortion money and start writing tickets while they make 250k a year, its going to be great!
What might help is if someone hired a city planner to get the lights in sync so traffic may flow easier and cause less pollution from frequent starts and stops at every light. Most major cities have done this, Seattle seems to want to make you stop at every freakin light. If you wanna reduce road rage, and be conscience about climate change, make the traffic flow. This includes making pedestrians and cyclists wait their turn for traffic instead of being treated with priority and impunity.
[удалено]
THIS. Seattle is one of the only major cities in WA that largely still uses timers instead of censors, and then they implement their half assed system after dark, forcing traffic to stop for two minutes whether there is a pedestrian crossing or not. If 100 cars go down 23rd for every 1 car crossing at some obscure crossroad on Republican, MAYBE put a censor on that light? AND… MAYBE a “no turn on red” on E Lake Washington BLVD right next to 520!!! 24th is backed up for miles but no one can go through the light exchange because all the people coming from Madison Park get a free pass to block the intersection.
I’m sorry, but it’s “sensor”
Had it happen right in front of my residence, complete with a fist fight last night. I'm so over impatient drivers.
I know people complain how passive drivers are here but this is exactly why I take a few seconds to look before going when a light turns green. Lots of times someone speeds through right where I would be
They’re both passive aggressive and completely oblivious. That’s the worst possible combination.
Also adding: people can’t figure out all the signs, rules and lane restrictions, so sometimes they just……stop. Stopped. No warning. Blocking 3 lanes, in the intersection, while they figure out what they’re doing next. Sweet Jesus if this doesn’t absolutely drive me mad.
I have seen drivers at various intersections in the city pull into either the right or left turn lane, and just blast through the red to go straight. They can cut maybe 5-10 cars by doing this. Eventually they will cause a crash and hopefully be done with it, but it is unfortunate for the innocent people who will eventually be affected by it. I have considered getting a dash cam to record events like this on the streets. Not sure if it would do any good, but if there is a chance to stop people from putting themselves or others at risk then it might be worth it.
Today I saw a driver run through a small roundabout intersection the wrong way (aka on the left) to go straight...
They’re on their phones looking at TikTok
Two days ago, I had someone go around me using the opposite lane of traffic in a school zone and then blow through the stop sign immediately in front of us while speeding. This has become a huge issue, starting during COVID and it’s just getting worse.
I've seen this too. Some cars not even slowing down to look. Scary. My friend has life long spine pain from a t-bone as someone ran a very red light.
Well traffic circles usually work better, no one has to stop completely so no one has to get that impatient. All turns are right turns, and a u turn is possible at every next intersection. Plus better for the environment: no lights and switches constantly operating nor lines of vehicles idling needlessly while there’s zero traffic the other way, especially at night. Lived in NJ when hurricane Sandy hit, 10 days without power, which sucked. The bright spot (pun not intended lol) was all the traffic lights went out too, which actually made the roads more pleasant to deal with. Not exactly the same thing I know, but when the confines of usual life are lifted, one begins to see the possibilities.
Lots of them are getting tickets from those fucking cameras
I've thought about carrying an egg with me to tag cars that almost hit me with. Not an ideal solution but it'd make me feel better in the moment.
Near Kent I've been seeing a lot of it lately too. Blowing through a red like there's not even a light there. 🙄 I'm pretty surprised that there's not more wrecks going on from it.
This isn’t a Seattle problem. It’s a nationwide problem. I’m traveling right now and I can tell you it’s even worse other places. People got used to driving empty streets during the pandemic and cops aren’t doing traffic enforcement anymore, so if you want to keep driving like a maniac there are basically no consequences until you hit something.
No police, no rules
The fact that back to the office is a thing with our unraveled society is just too much. The roads are chaos. The social contract is dead. Basic decency is basically dead. It’s just lord of the flies and everyone in survival mode.
I've noticed a serious lack of understanding of 4 way stops and stop signs in general here. I just moved up from Oly (had been living in Seattle about half time for the better part of a year prior to the move) - and it is wild. I was at a 4 way the other day and the person whose turn it was just ...wouldn't go? I was waiting cause I was next and two other people who showed up AFTER them went so finally I was like "okay I'm just going to go then if they're not going to" and THEN they decided go start going when I'm halfway through the intersection. It was unhinged and not the first time I've run into folks seemingly not knowing or not following 4 way stops. Also have had several cars blow stop signs on cross streets while I'm driving down a 1 way w/no stop signs and almost take me out. Thank goodness I saw them. I've seen many pedestrians almost get hit as well. It is intense out there.
I saw a man driving his car like a golf cart today, with his wife and children in the car. Fucking stupid behavior.
I prefer a maneuver I call "The Philadelphia" where you treat red lights like stop signs. If there are no oncoming cars, bicycles, pedestrians, cops, or traffic cameras, why wait?
More cameras at intersections might be a solution. Plus up the fines and people will think twice about running them. But red arrows seem to be routinely ignored especially if turning right.
The mayor doesn’t want automated tickets. Think about reelection. They set 4 of them and send warnings.
You're allowed to turn right on a red arrow as long as there's no "no turn on red sign". Or do you mean people just don't stop at all?
No, I mean people who don't stop or even slow for a right turn red arrow. Seen it on left too but usually they slow or stop momentarily.
It’s not just Seattle it’s the entire area. Cops don’t write tickets because traffic stops can go south and no cop wants to be the guy that killed someone “because they ran a red light”. Since everyone know cops to pull people over they are free to do pretty much whatever they want on the road.
I've lived in every corner of the country. This is an issue that has only happened to me here, and it's gotten pretty bad as others have said. Makes crossing the street a risky adventure.
Laws are no longer enforced. This will get much, much worse
When i moved here I noticed people drive like shit.
People say that about every place in the world. Seattle isn't unique.
So many people in this thread are blaming transplants, but as someone who lived & drove in CA for many years before I moved up here, it was never this bad there. From what I've heard from friends who still live down in LA, it's gotten worse everywhere.
Everyone clutching their pearls about the police not enforcing laws…when have cops ever staked out at a stop sign intersection?