In the two months I’ve lived here, I’ve never seen a city have such utter disregard for driving etiquette. Parking wherever and whenever they please, not following marked lines, driving recklessly at crazy speeds down the freeway, using the shoulder lane as an actual lane, not letting one merge, stopping in the middle of the freeway after a minor accident, stopping in the middle of the freeway to yell at someone who just honked at them, motorcyclists who use the bike lane, busting u-turns whenever and wherever they feel like it…. The list could go on and on but it’s never been so nerve wracking that any day, something could happen to you or your car. And then the nerve of these idiots to lash at you as if YOU’RE in the wrong, after you’ve called attention to their idiocy. I’m ashamed of these people who represent our capital. I’m already embarrassed by those who govern us. I’d expect more from these people. Maybe all of DC is one big virus that spreads stupidity to all those it can reach.
This is the real answer as far as I'm concerned. Why not drive like a loon if there are no consequences? I can't believe the shit I've seen people do on the roads right in front of the police, without them even giving the offending driver a second glance. The one time I've seen the police pull someone over for blowing past a pedestrian in the middle of a mid-block crosswalk in the last 10 years was on Wilson Boulevard near Courthouse Station in Arlington, of all places.
Just this evening there was a car with its blinkers on chilling in the middle of the only southbound lane on 9th St NW. Guy standing outside the open passenger door just hanging out. There was a cop car sitting in the middle of the road about 10 feet away doing absolutely fucking nothing.
My options were either to wait for a while or blind turn into the opposite lane to pass.... What the fuck, DC?
I would have asked for his badge number and filed a formal complaint
Because that would have done something?
For every 20 people complaining on Reddit or in the comments of an Instagram Instagram or TikTok, maybe one (and that's being generous) actually does something about it. If we had more people writing to our representatives, that would probably do a whole lot better than just complaining online. But sure you do you
I know you’re not telling dc residents to write their representatives
Excellent point!
But hey, she can vote in committee!! Right? 😖
Ha haaaa haaaa ha ha!!! That's a good one! You're "cracking me up like a egg"!!!
Why don't you take out your phone and record the event ? Just tell them you're a citizen journalist exercising your 1st Amendment rights! Better yet, tell them you're a sovereign citizen auditing police malfeasance - they LOVE that one!!!
Stop! My side hurts!
Pffftt
Which is wild to me because I feel like my dog and I have 2-3 near collision experiences a month in Arlington with drivers unable to give us the time of day
Arlington honestly tends to be a bit worse about stopping for pedestrians than a lot of DC is for some reason.
My general rule is prevailing speeds. DC is more cramped and congested, but suburban drivers are used to driving 50+ on wider roads with fewer intersections and longer light timings. When people think they’re “supposed” to be driving at highway speeds, stopping for a pedestrian is an imposition and, of course, the increased lethality means that pedestrians are less assertive.
The worst places I see in DC tend to follow that trend, too: places where people recently got off of a highway or fast road (e.g. Military, North Capitol) and haven’t recalibrated their baseline speed to 20mph city streets.
C St NE tends to be bad about that too with the PG folk getting off of 295 around there. It has gotten better lately since they have done a lot of traffic calming infrastructure in the past few years, but its still annoying to see out of state drivers (and locals) acting foolish.
Yeah, drivers hate cameras but that kind of thing needs 100% enforcement so people actually retrain their instincts. Everyone’s cruising along on autopilot and it just sucks for anyone in the neighborhood.
It is also really really easy to not get camera tickets. They are all set 11mph over or more, which is kind of nuts on its own. Generally, the speed limit is plenty fast throughout the city, I have gotten all of maybe 3 camera tickets in the 25+ years I have been driving around here and 2 of those were kind of suspiciously placed on off-ramps from 295 where I didn't slow down quickly enough.
People bitching about getting a lot of tickets are telling on themselves for driving like psychos and deserve to lose their licenses.
I always find it amusing when people whine about camera tickets and it’s like “here’s my one weird trick for not getting them…”
The secret is to drive like you are supposed to, or at least stay within a very very lenient band around that.
I saw someone the other day who was driving erratically clearly run a red light directly in front of a police officer. The officer looked at them as they drove past and did nothing. People may think it's hyperbolic, but in my experience as well, there's absolutely no enforcement at all.
Yesterday I called the police because I was driving down North Capitol Street and a maniac in a $100k Mercedes GT without plates was fast and furiousing around traffic and making pedestrians dodge them. This is North Capitol Street like a mile from the Cap building... I doubt anyone did anything
Yeah most depts have pretty stringent policies on pursuits now.
Surely there's a difference between a car chase and pulling someone over?
If they don't pull over then it's a chase and cops are open to liability. Two DC cops got charged with murder (one convicted) after a guy fled on a moped through an alley, then got hit by a minivan on Kennedy St. Look up Karon Hylton-Brown
Thanks for the clarification!
I looked it up, your account is misleading. They chased him, in violation of department regulations at double the posted speed limit and even going the wrong way down one way streets. They were also charged with conspiracy and obstruction of justice for running over evidence, turning off body cams to discuss their stories, and trying to impede the investigation into the event.
"Chase" is not defined law or MPD policy. It's all subjective to the officers boss.
"vehicular pursuit" is certainly defined?
I get that but they should still put their lights on and try to pull these offenders over. My guess is the vast majority are not going to run and turn it into a friggin car chase! I think this all started around the time certain people were calling to defund the police and saying all cops are bad. Between that, COVID, and the MPD’s apparent lack of new recruits, they decided to stop enforcing all but the most violent crimes.
You're closer to the truth than some might think. Given the critical shortage of men and women willing to risk their reputation or lives the MPD has all but relinquished most attempts at traffic enforcement and non-violent crimes. It is an impossible task with little to no public support and a justice system that is either unwilling or unable to hold accountable the unending parade of petty criminals, lunatics, thieves, drunks, drug addicts and drug dealers, child molesters and those who feel free to pummel their domestic partners.
But hey, at least every phone in the city is poised to witness their every interaction - so they got that goin' for them.
I would also say our proximity to Maryland doesn’t help.
Fair point. WOW!
I was just going to say. You ever see some badly behaved kids? It's not the kids that raised themselves wrong...
DC never had polite drivers, but the pandemic really broke a lot of people. Not only here, but in other cities I've traveled in as well.
This is the thing I noticed too. Something is really wrong with a lot of people
COVID showed how fragile and brittle our societal fabric has become. For a lot of folk, it showed the "man behind the curtain"- the rules for a lot of things we do are just made up and are only kept as norms via some mechanism of enforcement.
I think once people realized they could get away with not wearing masks, or social distancing, or even working while getting paid- it kind of broke all of their pro-social habits.
I don't mean to sound like some weird ass young Republican, but it does seem like a lot of people in DC just have no respect for others.
Pandemic didn't have anything to do with drivers threatening to kill cyclists if they didn't get out of their way 10 years ago.
Yes, COVID + the really rapid increased prevalence of guns. When getting shot was less of a concern, the general public was able to self-enforce social norms a little better. But now that guns are so prevalent, no one wants to take the chance of physical harm by saying anything.
Yes the correct answer to OP’s question is 2020. That’s “when”. Yes there has been a lack of traffic rule enforcement for a long time in DC. But since 2020 is when it went full Purge.
🌎👨🚀🔫👨🚀
This should have more upvotes
A globe, a helicopter pilot, a water gun, a helicopter pilot?
Thanks!
God I fucking hate emojis for just this sort of reason. Can't even tell WTF they are most of the time, too damn small.
Exactly.
My question is why are trucks unloading inventory for a CVS or restaurant at 8:30 am on K street?!
Because what is anyone gonna do about it?
I didn’t use to be like that. There were restrictions on when you could block a lane for offloading. Post pandemic, all of that is out the window
Exactly. There has been zero traffic enforcement (outside of cameras) for years now, and more and more drivers are learning this and adjusting their behavior accordingly.
Everyone just does what's most convenient to them. Real lack of concern for anyone else. Welcome to DC 2024.
Oh my god, same situation on H St. I've been woken up by semis making CVS deliveries at 6am. It drives me insane
When else are they supposed to do it??
8:30 aint that early. Most neighborhoods have noise ordinances but those end at 7am.
I believe the point is that it's rush hour.
Driving etiquette??!! It's more like Rules of Engagement
The rules of engagement are, there are no rules.
DC driving has been fairly lawless for the past 16 years I’ve been here, but I’ve learned to anticipate the lawlessness: U turns anywhere/anytime to get a parking spot; Going through a light 1-5 seconds after turning red; Disregarding lanes etc.
But I will say DC drivers seem to be more respectful of pedestrians than NYC or Richmond VA. Not saying DC drivers are good, but I feel safer as a pedestrian in DC compared to some other cities.
It’s now become whoever doesn’t come to a full stop has the right of way. It’s ridiculous
I’ve seen several cars basically blow through stop signs recently. It’s insane.
The light m at chain bridge is really just a suggestion it seems. People will block the intersection to just be sitting in the middle of the road fucking everyone else over so they not have to wait for the next light.
I agree that driving in DC has made me a worse and reckless driver but it’s not something I appreciate; I strongly disagree that DC drivers have any respect for pedestrians whatsoever. It’s terrifying.
My wife walks with a stroller and two young children every day. She is shocked out how unsafe it is as a pedestrian and how inconsiderate people are.
For what it's worth I've traveled over a lot of the country and I've found DC to be fairly mild. Out west in Colorado it seems pretty typical for freeways to be 80-90 mph moving traffic, plus I lived in Philly for a while and you have all the same recklessness on top of terrible roads.
Nothing like getting tailgated going 95 on I-25 in the middle of the night by the only other car on the road in Colorado.
I agree DC is Mild.
One thing that I have observed far more in DC than anywhere else is drivers who "block the box." That is, they pull into an intersection when the light is green, but traffic is backed up to the other side of the intersection. This leads to them still being in the intersection when their light turns red, and the cross-traffic's light turns green. Then, the cross-traffic can't move because the intersection is blocked.
It infuriates me. Near where I live, I see it happening every day in front of a fire station. Like, the doors to the fire station are blocked when they do it. They are putting lives at risk in order to not have to wait for a full light cycle.
People are fairly respectful of pedestrians when they SEE them but the reckless driving has really frightened me a few times while walking with my son. The worst is when cars impatiently peel out and pass a stopped car in front of them—BECAUSE THE CAR STOPPED FOR A PEDESTRIAN. I have had this happen a couple of times while crossing on a designated protected crossing. I do not jaywalk, especially not with my baby. One time I saw the driver and they did look pretty chastened realizing they could’ve recklessly taken out a woman, baby and tiny dog in one stupid moment. The other times…I assume the driver is still out in the universe jackassing away.
I recently had two people scream at me from their cars after I honked at them, one for looking at her phone and not responding to a green light, the other for pulling out in front of me out of an alley without looking. And we're talking brief honks, I never lay on the horn. I'm still stunned by their responses. When someone honks at you because you were being an idiot, the correct answer is "You're right, I'm sorry." End of story.
While I basically agree with you, are you aware of the purpose of your horn? It’s not an all-purpose communication device.
Edit: downvotes by people who don’t know DC’s rules (see below)
No, it isn't an all purpose communication device, but it is to alert other cars of your presence and/or say "hey, pay attention, something's happening in front of you".
What they did, was just a right use of the horn.
False. From the DC manual: “Sound your horn only to warn a pedestrian, cyclist or the driver of another véhicule in the event of an emergency… do not use your horn to alert a motorist, cyclist of pedestrian of your approach on a non-emergency situation.”
Thus… the car that pulled out into the roadway was a good use of the horn. The car that didn’t start at a green light is frustrating but a forbidden use of the horn.
So uh, should we be waiting until everybody's done with texting and pray that they look up to realize that it's green light to start flowing the traffic through?
Nobody should be texting. But if somebody is texting, it isn't a good reason to give every pedestrian around hearing damage.
Anyone who lays on the horn is an asshole (unless it's an actual emergency and appropriate under the circumstances). A quick honk to get someone's attention is totally different. Also, could be dependent on the car. I think mine has a pretty pathetic sounding horn.
And fwiw, I think texting is less the problem these days than watching TikTok. The number of drivers I walk past who are watching videos in traffic is astonishing.
DC rules say exactly that, yes.
If it were happening at every light then there would be an issue but I can’t remember waiting more than 5s at any light because of this.
None of this excuses their irresponsible behaviour. But it is not an emergency and one of the least dangerous infractions - there are the other things I would eliminate first.
While I get that, those rules were written when people didn't have all-purpose distraction devices on hand at all times. I honked at the car at the green light because it was a short green arrow cycle and we'd already lost the opportunity to go during the previous cycle because the driver in front of *them* hadn't been paying attention and no one honked (that driver ended up risking turning left at the end of the yellow light, so they weren't involved anymore). So while I understand it's a non-sanctioned horn use, and I'd never advocate laying on the horn like I see people do in that situation sometimes, I think it was plenty reasonable and arguably necessary to keep the people behind *me* from doing something really stupid to get around both of us.
Edit to add: 1) I always give people plenty of time to respond to the light before honking. Arguably sometimes too much time. 2) I always honk for the briefest amount of time possible unless it's an emergency situation.
Because there are no consequences besides cameras and tickets . Those only apply to you if you have a vehicle registered in dc. Police don’t care .
Donde la vida no vale nada 😉
It is not that police do not care, The Metropolitan Police Department has been relieved of the responsibility traffic enforcement.
Photo enforcement itself is not the problem. The problem is that (a) out of state drivers face no consequences to ignoring their DC tickets (i.e., there is very little enforcement of the enforcement) and (b) there is not nearly enough cameras to make up for the MPD's relinquishment of traffic enforcement, which many other commenters have noted.
If MPD is not going to take on traffic enforcement, we need to overhaul the way we do photo enforcement. The basic approach is very old and needs a rethink. We wrote about this here.
Sorry, what?
Bro always lmao. DC cops don’t give af about traffic, bigger fish to fry
Yeah, they gotta beat that candy crush top score!
Yea for real. MPD never does speed traps or none of that.
They do... sometimes. I've seen officers with radar pulling people over on Connecticut just south of the Taft Bridge.
Yup. All those cops are each working on their own super drug busts…. … … (more like catching up on Netflix.)
When the implementations photo enforcement became method of issuing traffic violations.
Photo enforcement traffic citations have no effect on drives records.
Two months? Lol. I've been here 16 years and DC's always been the wild west for drivers. Do whatever you want. Drive over pedestrians and cyclists. Police blame the victims.
I noticed a shift during the pandemic. The streets were so empty that running red lights and stop signs became the norm. So much so that people would go around me upset when I stopped at traffic lights. The cops don’t enforce the laws and I’ve seen that they break them themselves so good luck trying to get that stuff enforced. I’ve noticed since childhood that this has always been the case but the pandemic made it worse.
This is a COVID issue and it has turned into one big mess. No traffic enforcement whatsoever.
Yeah it's like this is many other cities. My friends in NYC are constantly complaining about it.
When the movie DC Cab came out
The number of motorcyclists on the sidewalks—all food delivery guys—is giving my dog a nervous breakdown. She hates bikes and BIG BIKES GO BOOM going right next to her is altogether too much.
Oh this right here! Honestly the moped invasion has been very interesting to see unfold.
mine too, im growing to hate them
Take the metro. And that's just cities, yo. I'm not from here, and the same stuff happened where I'm from down south.
It saves probably 90% of the hassles, but you do have to stay vigilant the other 10% of the time because the problematic drivers don't respect crosswalks either. The most dangerous is probably when a driver actually does stop for a pedestrian, but the person behind them can't see the pedestrians and swerves around them to pass.
The few times I try to drive in this city do give me an extra appreciation for the WMATA bus drivers though. They are really good at their jobs.
I took a cab to a Cubs game in Chicago like 8 years ago, and the cabbie did not pay attention to lights, double yellow lines, anything. He was also watching a movie on his phone at the same time lol. Every city is a free-for-all
Rural areas aren't really any better. My uncle in this rural area outside the city I'm from down south, he used to stop by a grocery store or convenience store after work, pick up a 12-pack and drink 3 or 4 of them on the way home.
Shoutout to one of my all time favorite man on the street interview videos:
“Pretty soon we’re gonna be a communist country.” (the kid in the carseat next to Mom is the best part) 😂
And that's just cities, yo.
Eh I've been here since 2007, and it got WAY worse during the pandemic.Maybe it got worse in all cities, certainly possible! But DC itself at least wasn't always this bad.
I don't know about the pandemic making it worse, but I am 100% certain that rideshare and gig work has made it worse. Again, that's why it is not just a DC thing.
Welcome to DC.
I have been here for over 20 years and it's always been like this in my experience?
I was born here in the early 80's and it is much, much worse than it was prior to 2021 in my opinion.
I only came in 1999. I think people overall have become jerks since COVID, not just in driving so I can see how that would be. But I grew up in a really small town so driving in DC has always been pretty bad to me. It's all about perspective I suppose.
Both points are definitely true. I probably started driving in DC around 1998 so our experiences should match up somewhat. Haha. I'm not saying driving here was ever a pleasure but i did notice a distinct change around 2021 where everyone started to ignore even the most basic traffic laws. On my daily commute, there is usually at least one car that decides to go around me while I am stopped at a light and just run it. Or I am honked and yelled at when I stop at a stop sign. Its really crazy. The scooters are what really get to me though.
Did they ever?
I was in a crosswalk crossing the street - cop on one side of the light - the other directions car comes up and almost hits me in the cross walk and ran a red light. Cop didn’t do anything. Just watched.
DC residents don't drive much. What you're seeing is suburbanites and tourists who don't know how to drive in a city. Yes, it is annoying. But impossible to change because they famously just don't pay their tickets after breaking traffic laws.
As for the embarrassing people in government - also other states not exactly sending us their best.
A lot of Dc residents drive idk what you're saying.
An awful lot of DC plates I see commit a majority of these infractions. I’m assuming they’re rebelling for “no taxation without representation?” lol But yes I agree, our government does not represent our best.
Aside from all of the “cops don’t care” rhetoric in this thread, there’s also a practical reason you see all these DC plates driving like maniacs - most of DC are transplants, just like you. And when you have a city full of national and international drivers all on the road following their local driving styles, it really seems like chaos. I can guarantee the nice, polite, sensible way you’re driving is making someone from some other part of the country who now lives here go NUTS.
Nah my guy. That BS. Just admit you guys are shit drivers.
I mean given the level of transplants, DC license plates mean nothing these days.
The majority of the ones driving like shit aren’t transplants
Ooh do you have a data report I could read? I'm super interested in the breakdown!
Anecdotal from five years of walking to work
How many cars a day do you stop and ask where the drivers are originally from and how long they've lived in dc?
Low SES drivers don’t really city hop like you think they do
I am so confused so are you also stopping to ask them what tax bracket they're in???
You can deduce from the beat to hell Altima and fake tag. Stop being an idiot
It's definitely not me or anyone I know in DC (we don't drive)
Many of the drivers come from other continents, many come from the suburbs; some both. The rage and entitlement I see is much worse than other cities I've lived in. Chicagoans just let the bad drivers go, nobody really thinks their horn does anything. Plus, there could be a gun in that car. The fact that DC is so much less dense than most other cities has much to do with it. People here just drive way too often, which ironically makes owning a car a terrible chore!
I’ve gotten in a couple of (ill-advised, obviously, I know) arguments with different drivers in the past few months. Once we worked out the basic details, like, this is an alley where children play, not an extra highway for you to use to bypass traffic, their argument boiled down to the fact that I probably wasn’t a DC native and they were so they can drive however they please.
I’m sympathetic to frustrations over gentrification, but there are also people who don’t think speed limits apply to them because they’re from here.
just install you own speed bumps in the alley, nobody is going to do anything about them
What a horrible way to consider oneself and neighbors, you were right to call that person out. I imagine he's possibly a DCer who moved out but commutes. Kids play soccer in my alleys too.
I'm less sympathetic than you regarding the gentrification issues. I'm in ward 1. Most of DC is still fairly poor and messed up, it's not all that gentrified, just in the better-known or more visible parts you see the super wealthy. Philadelphia is similar.
I understand the anger from drivers too. They're wasting their precious lives in traffic, dodging through alleys. They might live in a cheap or better-schooled area, and commute in to jobs. They need to adapt though, there are better ways to live.
Sorry most times folks driving on the shoulder, blowing through stop signs or lights, ha creating their own lanes of traffic have MD or VA plates on their car.. not some us dc drivers aren’t doing wild things but my experience it’s the MV breaking all kinds of traffic rules 🤣
Op you barely scratched the service on how bad drivers are here.
Similar to you, I moved here about 6 months ago. I have driven across the country going on 10 times. I have driven in 43 of the 50 states. I probably have close to a million miles driving experience.
And DC is by far the worst drivers I’ve ever come across. And it’s not even close.
You talk about the overly aggressive drivers (who are terrible). On the opposite end of the spectrum is the other half who are so cautious that it becomes dangerous.
I honestly don’t understand how there can be so many terrible driver in one city.
Please take yo slow drivin ass back home
Over a decade…
There is the issue of cops not enforcing existing laws. But there is also the issue of a lot of MD and VA drivers coming into city. There is no reciprocity agreement between the states as far as I know. Out of state drivers can pretty much do whatever they want and as long as they don’t get booted when they’re in district, they can just ignore any tickets they do get with no repercussions.
I rarely see MPD enforcing traffic laws. Far more likely to see Park Police or someone else pulling a car over. And the crazy BS about running red lights got a whole lot worse during the pandemic and has been bad ever since.
I live inn Virginia and I'm seeing more crazy drivers here than before. Almost like Maryland.
I appreciate the conversation this is generating!
Shit has gotten wildly out of hand, but what’s the solution?
- write to your city council members. Tell them you’re concerned
- consider getting a dash cam just to document this shit (I’m thinking of getting one for my bike and car)
- take photos when you see people double parked, in the bike lanes, etc.
It’ll take some effort, but I don’t see how it’ll change if we just scream into the digital void.
I can't speak to residents. But drivers around here haven't cared for rules of the road since I moved here circa 2003.
And I was moving from Boston, where drivers famously don't care much for rules of the road. But what I learned was that the bad driving I was used to there was a little different. It was maybe slightly more aggressive, but also seemed more aware of the driver's surroundings and was easier for me to predict. The bad driving here still leaves me less able to predict exactly what the bad driver will do than it did there, even 20+ years later.
When I first moved here a couple years ago I was absolutely shocked by how bad it was. The worst driving I've ever experienced. It seems to me at this point the only people that freak out about it are the folks that haven't gotten used to it. Give it some time lol. In all seriousness though, if cops would only enforce traffic laws things would get better. When the only enforcement mechanism is a traffic camera, there isn't any immediate consequence, so people don't give a shit. We probably shouldn't talk about the encouraged lack of enforcement...you know...that issue
Generally the worse the traffic is in an area, the worse people will drive due to frustration, trying to get ahead, etc. D.C. has some pretty shit traffic, so yeah. I try my best to stick to the metro.
My neighborhood is a 2 way street without yellow lines. The majority of drivers will drive in the middle of the road as if they get both sides, even with cars coming directly at them.
One issue is that Maryland and Virginia refuse to honor traffic tickets issued by DC. It makes it sort of a free fire zone! Also, gets worse in summer when tourists arrive, stumped by our grid-with- diagonals streets. No doubt but what Covid isolation plus general rise of nastiness (modeled by politicians) have managed to reduce any sense of community responsibility in driving.
I think it was worse in the 90s. That's why all the "aggressive driving" laws were passed.
One unique issue with DC drivers is that many have diplomatic status and truly drive like there are no consequences...because there aren't any for them.
This morning I saw a car run two red lights back to back in front of a cop and the cop just kept driving the other way.
We all had a meeting in February about this. Didn’t you get the minutes? /s
Lived in the DMV area about 8 years and I quickly learned nobody around here follows the rules of the road or legal standards, not even common courtesy among drivers like merging & passing. I'm convinced nobody's turn signal works anymore. I would have been in so many accidents if I wasn't staying hyper aware of those driving around me. I call it vindictive entitled driving around here. You can't allow anyone to ever get in front of you period! Lol
The year I was born. 1805
I noticed every Uber I took stopped in the middle of he road and blocekd traffic. They had room to pull over, but not one did! A few of the busier places car were honking.
Two months, oh you sweet Summer child. Try learning to drive here at 15😂
I would have to say, late 60's, early 70's. If that late.
We always had pretty aggressive drivers but it’s turned into a shitshow after the pandemic.
Just outside of DC, I saw a woman slow down, merge across 4 lanes of traffic (slowly), and then plow through the dividers between the highways.
Absolute insanity
First time in the DMV?
I've been here six years and it's been like that all the time I've been here, and Northern Virginia ain't much better.
Mind you, I came here from London, which isn't much different.
Have you ever been to the Bronx?
It's somewhere between the lack of enforcement from DC to COVID making everyone 10% more antisocial, but driving on the roads can feel truly lawless at times. What some people do directly in front of the police is insane.
But the simple fact that the police don’t do anything when they see it is why the behavior continues….
Exactly, lack of enforcement starts a pretty obvious cycle of behavior, which only escalates and gets worse. It also changes how everyone else has to drive on the roads--if asshole drivers are getting away with it, maybe I can do?
And the cycle continues.
I have had the same thought. I’ve been there 12 years and it’s feels like it’s much worse today than a decade ago. If it’s any consolation I went to rural Delaware last weekend and the same things are happening there. I got passed on a double yellow line by some county bumpkin because I wasn’t going fast enough off the line from a red light in a 30 MPH zone with houses on both sides of the road. I guess the answer is idiots are everywhere.
It started before the pandemic, but holy shit did it ramp up since.
DC drivers stopped caring about the rules of the road around when the roads were built
You’ve never lived in the city, eh?
LOL - that’s funny
They drove like shit in the eighty’s
Welcome! This is the norm. Been here five years. Totally different from the Midwest where I’m from. It sucks so much and oddly has gotten worse. I recommend getting a dashcam. But it’s true that DC drives aren’t the biggest problem. It’s mostly MD and VA cars causing mayhem
We’ve never gave a fuck
You think you’re better then us bro 😎
I almost got hit by a car who swerved into the bike lane to take a right turn onto Columbia Rd last week. That was so fun! Earlier today I saw someone ignore a “No turn on red sign” and turn. She had also sped through a stop sign and had a busted front bumper. I wonder why? DC plates for both. Tonight someone was flashing their high beams at the person in front of them at 9th & Mass because they weren’t turning right quickly enough. There were pedestrians in the crosswalk directly in front of the car. People don’t have any patience.
Lotta words when you could have just said I’ve never lived in a big city
Now hold on there pal. Don't get your brand new blue suit rumpled. You tossed out some pretty hard observations there. Yes, the streets of DC are no place for amateurs and you "Mr. Newintown" sound like a stranger to big city driving. Have you been to LA? How about Boston?? Detroit? New York City??!! If your driving experience is limited to the busy streets of Podunk, USA you might want to reserve judgement.
It's likely whatever internship you're working will expire long before you learn how to commute in a town where the northbound lane becomes the southbound lane in the middle of your drive to work or home. Until you've learned to navigate a two way parkway that becomes a one way artery M-F and is closed to motor traffic on weekends just keep quiet. And for God's sake make no attempt to use any of the roundabouts, aka rotaries, aka traffic circles, aka thunderdomes. Is it a bike lane or a bus lane or is it a left turn only lane and what the hell are those PVC pipes sticking out of the street??? I don't know; what time is it? Just what is the speed limit? 25? 35? It could be 55 mph but you won't know until you get the first few non appealable speed camera tickets in the mail that will cost $150 whether you were 10mph over the speed limit or 110.
Oh and by the way, if you spot one of the renegade gangs of young ATV's and BMX enthusiasts just get the F out of the way, seek shelter, avert your gaze. Be prepared at all times to give up your automobile, scooter or hipster city bike on demand and don't ask questions.
You're embarrassed by the drivers here in the Capitol of Democracy ? Hell our traffic is democracy in action!! Our "rules of the road" are governed by the "Will of the People" - whatever that may be at any given time or place.
If you can walk to public transit, I don’t understand why people bother driving here. Better public transport than probably anywhere but NYC and Chicago.
Delusional.. wards 7 and 8 public trans is a joke although that is by design..
Okay, that may be true. I believe those areas are also less densely populated . But in north DC and Arlington, buses are so much better than in places I’ve lived in the heartland. It’s been awesome.
some of us don’t wanna walk 20 minutes to our closest metro stop. And uber is expensive
Bus? This city has a very dense network of those too. I love it.
waiting for a bus or a 30 second ride to your car. Followed by a comfort space and music or whatever chance throws your way
We’re gonna have to agree to disagree. I don’t miss my car payment, and I’m a huge tree hugger. Rail transit is way more efficient than a car, especially in a city.
don’t get me wrong, I respect and use public transport, but dc is more fun with your car
Yeah, except when you walk: https://www.reddit.com/r/washingtondc/comments/1csyca4/usps_driver_almost_ran_over_my_son_and_dog/
Life has risk. Nothing’s perfect, but it sure beats driving. I don’t miss it. 🙏
This is nothing compared to New England drivers. I was there recently and I almost got run off the road multiple times.
Yeah that's definitely the problem, if only we had put more money into the police budget so we could have more cops playing Candy Crush on their phones all day
Construction. They change the traffic patterns and not the lights, in addition to not getting enforcement officers out. Add three states (well one fake state) of traffic and you have standstill traffic at places like Dave Thomas Circle. Utter disaster. I run red lights there otherwise you won’t move. Sorry it’s not what I want to do :/
They’re not DC residents so much as MD/VA or other out of district drivers
In recent years, certain so-called political “leaders” who fully embrace physical violence, mockery, narcissism, intimidation, bullying, disrespect, and criminal behavior as the daily norm have given a certain section of aggressive individuals the signal to no longer hold back their asinine behavior and do whatever the hell they want, whenever they want.
I would say that more than anything has contributed heavily to the majority of extremely disrespectful, rude behavior in the past eight years. The behavior model trickles down.
And here we discover the root of the problem: people like you.
I’m surprised they gave a child a license.
Terrible mentality. If one thing is to distinguish and separate us from the norm here, it should be civility and actively avoiding being in a car accident. If you feed into a broken system, how can you ever expect to live comfortably? This town is a literal representation of “play stupid games, win stupid prizes.” We don’t all have time and money to be playing along with these people and their jacked up lifestyle.
It certainly won’t be an “accident” when you approach driving like this.
Because cops have stopped enforcing traffic laws, so effectively there are none. Maybe you get a ticket from a camera. Maybe you pay it, maybe you don’t, but that’s traffic enforcement now.