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[2020] Covid has made Houston drivers worse...

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout' started by Sajan, May 29, 2020.

  1. Sajan

    Sajan Member

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    2018 Version

    I have been enjoying driving around the last 2 months...really going nowhere..other than just cruising to take a break from being in the house. Also to add to the pollution, and help oil prices come back up.

    But now that the idiots are back on the road...I am going to lose my mind again. Holy smokes...the amount of bad drivers have dramatically gone up. I am talking about....going 30mph mbelow the speed limit on the left lane with no traffic kind of idiocy.

    1. not using their blinkers. at all. i am just supposed to know you are slowly drifting in to my lane on purpose..or by accident because you are on your phone.
    2. not using headlights in the evening. these are newer cars. why isn't it on auto!??
    3. hogging the left lane. i gave up on this battle a few years ago and just drive in the middle or right lane now.
    4. driving 5-20 mph below speed limit with no regards for traffic flow so now everyone has to make a lane change. i observe this more on highways with more lanes like i-10. apparently it's pick your own speed highway.
    5. what's with people coming over to the straight lanes before they make a left turn at an intersection? you don't drive a freaking 18 wheeler. just turn left.
    6. Folks who have switched over managing their cell phone as priority one, with driving priority two
    7. High beams being left on or used in heavy traffic
      1. Also I hope the idiots who switched over to 100,000 mega watts HID bulbs for their shitty civic crash that into a wall
    8. Not merging at speed! Do they expect everyone minding their business on the highway to come to a halt to let them in??
    9. Not practice zipper merging!
    10. Tapping your brakes to slow down 1 mph. either you are too damn close to the car in front of you, or you just need to let go off the gas.
    11. Does anyone these days know how to make a 90 degree turn these days out of a parking lot without going into the other two lanes? Have cars gotten so powerful you can't control the initial thrust? wtf! A variation of this is people rushing to get onto the main road only to go 20 under the speed limit. WHAT WAS THE HURRY!?! Same goes for the "right turn on red". Seriously. Just wait. You don't need to risk your life to pull out onto oncoming traffic.
     
    tinman likes this.
  2. donkeypunch

    donkeypunch Contributing Member

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  3. Poloshirtbandit

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    I've seen an increase in people just straight up running red lights or blowing past stop signs.
     
    STR8Thugg, CometsWin, ROXTXIA and 4 others like this.
  4. Haymitch

    Haymitch Custom Title
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    To make sure I don't get too rusty, we go on a drive once a week.
     
    Sajan likes this.
  5. RKREBORN

    RKREBORN Member

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    This thread is so true. Assholes everywhere on the road
     
    boomboom likes this.
  6. Reeko

    Reeko Member

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    people who drive slow get on my damn nerves

    Speed up or gtfo the way!
     
    davidio840 and Xerobull like this.
  7. Buck Turgidson

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  8. s3ts

    s3ts Member

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    ... Houston drivers sucked before COVID. People were fine up until 17/18. Worked out of state for 2 years and came back, it was straight-up chaos.
     
    #8 s3ts, Oct 19, 2020
    Last edited: Oct 19, 2020
    Sajan likes this.
  9. jo mama

    jo mama Contributing Member

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    houston drivers have always been aggressive as hell...this isnt a recent thing. it was a great town to learn to drive in b/c if you can hang there you can hang anywhere...but after 25 years in austin i get scared s***less when im back driving in h-town!

    i do think covid is generally making people drive much more aggressive. i work a couple days a week in san antonio so im on I-35 all the time and its definitely gotten worse since march. the funny thing is, its made me start driving slower and being happy to cruise behind an 18 wheeler. i can get 42 miles per gallon on the highway doing that! im also really adhering to the 2 seconds behind the car in front of you rule. people used to be much better about it, but the norm these days is to tailgate the car in front of you while going 80.
     
  10. s3ts

    s3ts Member

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    For safety reasons, I'd avoid following an 18 wheeler. Their tires pop regularly and can kick up all kids of debris and sling it at you, much less cause people to swerve everywhere and potentially cause accidents.
     
    Sajan likes this.
  11. CCorn

    CCorn Member

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    I had to go to the city today for a meeting. Driving is hard.
     
  12. RockFanFirst

    RockFanFirst Member

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    I always thought the traffic on 290 would kill me.

    I now realize it will be the a-holes driving 110 mph on 290 that will kill me, not the traffic.
     
    Sajan likes this.
  13. Bandwagoner

    Bandwagoner Contributing Member

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    It was the wild west out there for months. Tons of insane driving with empty roads and cops less aggressive to give out tickets. That doesn't just go away, especially because heavier traffic has been introduced slowly.
     
  14. TWS1986

    TWS1986 SPX '05, UH' 19

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    That's my stomping grounds. 290 that is. It was so brutal during the construction phases.
     
  15. Buck Turgidson

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    You think Houston drivers, Austin drivers, etc... just magically turned bad?
     
  16. Joe Joe

    Joe Joe Go Stros!
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    What? My experience is the opposite. Get close to UT at night during the school year and all bets are off. Picked up my wife and in-laws from Bass Concert Hall (Hamilton) a while back. Accident on 35 made it incredibly slow and frustrating getting there, but it was chill once I made it to just outside the hall for them. As soon as it let out, traffic laws were abandoned and driving became a game of chicken. Astros games while not fun to leave, are a piece of cake in comparison.
     
  17. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    And a lot of racing. Every night I can hear cars racing now.
     
  18. CometsWin

    CometsWin Breaker Breaker One Nine

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    There seem to be fewer cops on the roads, at least in my area.
     
    Sajan likes this.
  19. tinman

    tinman Contributing Member
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    i had someone turn left from the lane to the RIGHT of me .
     
  20. Xerobull

    Xerobull You son of a b!tch! I'm in!

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    I'm 100% work from home now and we get our groceries & any takeout delivered. No dining out. I have noticed that I am way more tentative driving now. I used to be one of those bat-out-of-hell Houston drivers, now I've finally settled into housewife-on-Xanax driving for my few errands a week.

    @CometsWin coming to you from Fast and Furious World.
     
    B-Bob and CometsWin like this.

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