NW Drivers (rant inside)

[waB5S4]

Self entitled pricks, all of us.

If one more douchebag honks, flashes brights constantly or does anything when they are legally passed on the left I'm going to lose my shit and wind up on the news. What is it about NW drivers that makes us think we can do 40 down the freeway in the passing lane, slam on our breaks on 520, cut people off in stop-n-go traffic (40mph lane change -> 0mph stop in a 3 car length window)? Oh, and changing lanes to whichever lane is moving does not get you anywhere quicker, it does not ease traffic for the rest of us.. it makes you an asshat that's making unneeded lane changes and increasing the risk for every other person on the road.

I'm a roll-in-1st/2nd-in-heavy-traffic kinda guy, leaving plenty of room in front of me. I don't tailgate, I don't pass on the right. I do speed on occasion (every occasion I can) but I don't throw in aggressive lane changing and short stops into the mix when I'm speeding. I know how to zipper with merging traffic and I purposely get into the right lane near some exits to force a proper zipper, even if it only lasts for a couple car lengths, I figure lead by example right? Oh, but I'm 25 and therefore incorrect 90% of the time or at least the looks and responses I get from older individuals would suggest so. It all makes me feel like while I'm judging based on the 10 cars in front of me, the other asshats are judging based on the brakelights in their face.

I was going to type up a bunch of examples of douchebaggery but honestly, we all deal with it day to day so there's no real point. There's no real point to this post even, but I need to vent and maybe this will bring out some mutual rage/lulz.

/rant

[04 S4]

word...people around here dont know how to drive

[Pothole]

honestly I have no idea why people up here cannot drive, It boggles my mind on a daily baisis

yesterday I was going 65-70 in the left lane and creeping up on someone going slower, did not get up on there ass, or lay on the horn, just hung behind them for a while intell I realized that there was no one infront of them, and that they were maintaining a constant 59.5 mph
so I turned my fogs off and back on twice, what did I get from this responce??
the little ****** slams on the breaks and gets down to 30ish in the middle of fucking 405
seriously is there a more polite way to ask someone to pass? it was day time, and I just turned the fogs on and off.....why the hell is it so hard for people to let you by

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/01/opinio...ane/index.html

[waB5S4]

You know, I'm a big supporter of flashing the brights to indicate GTFO of the way. A single blip is all the person in front should need. You even did the more polite choice and used the fogs, noticeable but not as blinding.

Oh, and brake checking? That concept is so ridiculously stupid it infuriates me. So you WANT the guy in back of you to plow into your shit and give you back problems for years to come? Sounds genius.

[04 S4]

Ya, i have brake checked before....but its stupid.
I now just use the rear fog light on our cars :P makes people think you are slowing down haha

[waB5S4]

Ya, i have brake checked before....but its stupid.
I now just use the rear fog light on our cars :P makes people think you are slowing down haha

That's a pretty good idea actually, I'm going to be liberal with the rear fog in traffic tonight instead of constantly planning the best collision path in a rear end scenario hah.

[Jason H]

Yep, at least 1 WTF moment every single commute. But all I can say is you should count yourself lucky as WA drivers, OR is at least 4 times as bad. Leaving town, within 20 miles north of Vancouver people start actually going the speed limit and mostly stay to the right. Numerous occasions I've cruised back from Seattle with no hassles whatsoever until the last 20 miles in OR, when it seems everyone is plodding in the left lane 5 under, or thinks that putting on their blinker means not having to look before changing lanes right in front of you, because somehow the gesture gives them f-ing right-of-way. The same thing happens the minute you cross the Siskyou summit from CA too. Oregonians are morons on the road plain and simple.

I grew up driving on LA's freeways, and apart from Europe, think the drivers there are the best just because when it does open up and move, you learn to be hyper efficient at maintaining speed and flow. BTW, the most subtle indication you want to pass I learned in France, it's put on your left blinker when you are in the far left lane to indicate "I want to go around you but can't, can you please get over". Of course in 6 years in OR this has worked probably twice, but it's where I start before more aggressive means ;-)

[waB5S4]

Yep, at least 1 WTF moment every single commute. But all I can say is you should count yourself lucky as WA drivers, OR is at least 4 times as bad. Leaving town, within 20 miles north of Vancouver people start actually going the speed limit and mostly stay to the right. Numerous occasions I've cruised back from Seattle with no hassles whatsoever until the last 20 miles in OR, when it seems everyone is plodding in the left lane 5 under, or thinks that putting on their blinker means not having to look before changing lanes right in front of you, because somehow the gesture gives them f-ing right-of-way. The same thing happens the minute you cross the Siskyou summit from CA too. Oregonians are morons on the road plain and simple. I grew up training on LA's freeways, and apart from Europe, think the drivers there are the best just because when it does move, you learn to by hyper efficient at maintaining flow. BTW, the most subtle indication you want to pass I learned in France, it's put on your left blinker when you are in the far left lane to indicate "I want to go around you but can't, can you please get over". Of course in 6 years in OR this has worked probably twice, but it's where I start before more aggressive means ;-)

I was going to mention that about LA drivers. Sure, there are some horrible drivers down there. Sure, the traffic is worse. But when it does move then you better be f'ing moving, which is the general mentality adopted by most people hah. I already watch every mirror scared out of my mind that someone is going to nail me, it's second nature, at least in LA I can retain that fear while moving at a reasonable speed, amirite?

[Pothole]

Just drove down to Sand Diego this summer and it is amazing at how much better they drive down there

I would start creeping up on peopple and they got over .... crazy I know!
In LA we hit the normal traffic that it is famous for, and it was intense, I have never seen that many cars at one time going so fast so close together, down there 70-80 mph is the norm, and even in heavy traffic wee were still going 60 ish. Up here in WA everyone would kill them selves trying to maintain flow with that much traffic

[Charles.waite]

I second everything that was said above. I have NO idea why merging is so goddamn hard for people around here. I drove out to Montana for thanksgiving and it was really nice once you got through Idaho. Once you hit spokane though...WTF! GET OUT OF THE LEFT LANE!

The worst is when they wait until you get right up behind them and have to slow all the way down, THEN they move. I am all for flashing people to get them out of the way. I try not to be a prick about it, but I want them to know they should move over for faster traffic. Or better yet STAY RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS as the freaking laws state! Its mind boggling when you get the random person who actually moves over for you. Of course they usually move right back into the left lane...

I should stop now. I could go all day...

[Pothole]

ugh........I dont even want to explain what happened today.... it makes my heart too sad

[hoax56]

This thread is all my thoughts in my head everytime I get in my car and drive around here. lol. Everyone goes 5 mph UNDER the speed limit. Drives me crazy.

[Tgard123]

General rule is always go 5 over in city and 10 on highways


When I had xenons on my S4 people would usually move over when I got behind them cause it was so damn bright.

[j2ther]

Completely agree; anybody every tried merging onto I-5 north at mercer street or driving through chinatown? Its a deathtrap, cars stopped in the middle of the road and going 20 on a freeway onramp.

I like the left land left blinker too, except it only works about once a year.

[Pothole]

When I had xenons on my S4 people would usually move over when I got behind them cause it was so damn bright.

I have Bi-xenons on my car and whenever I have flashed people with all I get is the bird, so now I flash my fogs and get brake checked or the occasional oblivious person that does nothing, I guess there is no winning

[mattsizzle]

Driving through chinatown is like playing russian roulette. I have seen so much crazy shit go down around there, including people missing their turn and backing up back to the intersection, people making left hand turns from the right hand lane, driving on the wrong side of the road...

As far as highway driving goes, I moved here 4 years ago from Houston and I have never seen so much passive aggressive bullshit. I let people merge, slow down to let someone in when they are changing lanes, let people turn in front of me from driveways, etc. I rarely get the same common courtesy from anyone around here. Most people speed up when they see you are about to get in front of them, then if you get behind them they drive slow.

[Tony951]

- I couldn't agree more with the above posts. We just got back from the Boston area (4 years) and the one (and only) thing I miss is the driving. I averaged 85-95 mph on the way to work every morning, and people get the hell out of your way (like driving in Germany). Seattle drivers are indeed passive-aggressive with this left-lane camping - I've never been able to understand it. I'll admit it - I turn into a prick and tailgate, then aggressively pass on the right when I see an oblivious left-lane camper. I don't have any patience for these fools.

[waB5S4]

ugh........I dont even want to explain what happened today.... it makes my heart too sad

Nothing to do with that mess on 405 southbound near Bothell last night I hope. Whole southbound side shut down, luckily I have to head north to drop someone off then head back south to Woodinville so I knew to skip the freeway. I don't rubberneck so I can't vouch for it but the girlfriend said it looked like 3 or 4 car accident, rolled car, the works.

[paulorama]

I moved up to portland for school from San Francisco and all I can say is: Learn to drive oregonians! SOOO many time I get stuck behind someone in the passing lane going 10 below the speed limit and with an open lane to their right. I don't want to pass on the right but after minutes of following and a brights flash, I'll do it. People need to find their gas pedal here. I've also had more close collisions here than anywhere else. I've also never seen so many second guesses with driving moves; probably causing all of the close collisions. I'm used to driving on freeways where the limit is 65 and everyone is going 80+. I HATE driving in oregon.

[Charles.waite]

I miss East Coast drivers...

Also I-5 Mercer is pretty bad. Merging is tough when your cellphone is glued to your ear. I considered myself lucky if I DIDN'T have a near miss on my old Seattle -> Eastgate commute. I-90 drives are marginally better than 520 drivers though, for reasons unknown...

One thing thats buggin me is the people that park with their bumpers over the edge of my driveway. I wouldn't get pissed but my street is really narrow and the other side of my driveway has a tree right there, so it is REALLY tight.

It just comes down to people being inconsiderate, clueless and lazy. Inconsiderate for not caring that they've almost blocked my driveway, clueless if they didn't notice at all, and lazy because if they drove a 1/2 block further there is a plethora of parking that doesn't involve blocking a driveway.

FWIW, by law, people are supposed to leave 5 feet on either side of a residential driveway. If I wasn't renting I would paint a big ass yellow line 5 feet down on either side of my driveway. Colored curbs, if you hadn't noticed, scare the SHIT out of Seattle drivers. Except for the clueless ones...

[paulorama]

YBut all I can say is you should count yourself lucky as WA drivers, OR is at least 4 times as bad. Leaving town, within 20 miles north of Vancouver people start actually going the speed limit and mostly stay to the right.

Its actually very strange when you drive north on the 5. As soon as you cross the border out of oregon, the speed limits increase by 10 as do the drivers IQs. I consider WA drivers to be more like CA drivers. Unless, of course, it snows, they everyone in the PNW is shit outta luck.

Ya, i have brake checked before....but its stupid.
I now just use the rear fog light on our cars :P makes people think you are slowing down haha

The foglight brakecheck works magic. Whenever I have a tailgater, I give them the rear foglight flash and they slam on the breaks and I continue on my way without slowing down at all.

[b6_quattro]

Its actually very strange when you drive north on the 5. As soon as you cross the border out of oregon, the speed limits increase by 10 as do the drivers IQs. I consider WA drivers to be more like CA drivers. Unless, of course, it snows, they everyone in the PNW is shit outta luck.

california driving is contagious. at first i thought it was a little nerve racking to drive 75 in traffic, now im heading back to the nw for christmas and am dreading oregon drivers... just pass the blunt and drive! BTW the worst drivers i have encountered are in ilinios. they drive like @ssholes and everyone is still on their cell phone so your not sure if they are hammered drunk or talking on the phone and taking down notes.

[01xSilverS4]

King County population: approx 2,000,000 people out of roughly 7,000,000 people in WA and 38 OTHER counties they can live in.. Over-crowded much?

[hpfpupgrade]

LOL, this is why I drive a 8,000 Suburban this time of year. Let them hit me!

I agree, so many people don't know how to drive in the NW.

[madkimchi]

what piss me off the most is when people are on the phone either texting or talking and driving like 40mph. yes i flip them off all the time but my windows are tinted.

[eMacPaul]

I recently moved from Redlands in the LA area to Everett, driving up the 5 the whole way. I actually thought OR drivers were the most polite. Although the driving 5 under thing was annoying, the entire height of Oregon I only encountered one chick who stayed in the left lane until she'd been passed a few times. As soon as I got into WA, there were all sorts of people hanging out in the left lane. It's kind of weird not having to do 75-80 to keep up with traffic here, though.

[Charles.waite]

FYI guys, we call it EYE-5 up here. Not THE-5.

But what do we know, we all suck balls at driving...

[Unum]

I recently moved from Redlands in the LA area to Everett, driving up the 5 the whole way. I actually thought OR drivers were the most polite. Although the driving 5 under thing was annoying, the entire height of Oregon I only encountered one chick who stayed in the left lane until she'd been passed a few times. As soon as I got into WA, there were all sorts of people hanging out in the left lane. It's kind of weird not having to do 75-80 to keep up with traffic here, though.

Redlands Huh?


University of Redlands graduate right here!


I spent 4 glorious years in the I.E.

How did you manage to get out?

[Pothole]

FYI guys, we call it EYE-5 up here. Not THE-5.

But what do we know, we all suck balls at driving...

I have always noticed that the Cali folk call it The 5......maybe they respect it a little more than us, treat it nicely by going 80 everywhere

[eMacPaul]

Redlands Huh?


University of Redlands graduate right here!


I spent 4 glorious years in the I.E.

How did you manage to get out?

Heh, nice! I'm actually from Chicago, just spent the last 5 years in the IE working. But now I'm up here for a new job!

I have always noticed that the Cali folk call it The 5......maybe they respect it a little more than us, treat it nicely by going 80 everywhere

Now I'm trying to remember how we called interstates back in the Midwest...

[waB5S4]

The rear fog brake check works WONDERS. I don't know why it never occurred to me before but I've been using it the past week or so and holy crap, that gets people off your ass quick. Some of them get right back on your ass, but rear fog goes on, maybe even flick it a few times, and they're backing off.

So far the left turn signal in the passing lane hasn't been working, I think I'm just confusing people, but I really want that to catch on hahaha. Ever since reading that one here I've liked it but yea.. that ones not going anywhere yet :D

[hpfpupgrade]

I recently moved from Redlands in the LA area to Everett, driving up the 5 the whole way. I actually thought OR drivers were the most polite. Although the driving 5 under thing was annoying, the entire height of Oregon I only encountered one chick who stayed in the left lane until she'd been passed a few times. As soon as I got into WA, there were all sorts of people hanging out in the left lane. It's kind of weird not having to do 75-80 to keep up with traffic here, though.

I agree with this, I have spent a great deal of time driving through Oregon and they really are the most polite drivers I have ever seen. Here in WA, OMG... I get so pissed off sometimes its crazy. I know that yelling at them will not help, but it keeps me sane!

[hpfpupgrade]

The rear fog brake check works WONDERS. I don't know why it never occurred to me before but I've been using it the past week or so and holy crap, that gets people off your ass quick. Some of them get right back on your ass, but rear fog goes on, maybe even flick it a few times, and they're backing off.

So far the left turn signal in the passing lane hasn't been working, I think I'm just confusing people, but I really want that to catch on hahaha. Ever since reading that one here I've liked it but yea.. that ones not going anywhere yet :D

LOL, note to self... order up to 500k driving lights for the back of the Suburban, flick on when people tailgate. :)

[Eteled]

I agree with this, I have spent a great deal of time driving through Oregon and they really are the most polite drivers I have ever seen. Here in WA, OMG... I get so pissed off sometimes its crazy. I know that yelling at them will not help, but it keeps me sane!

Seems to me like most of dudes in here are bitching about Oregonians doing the right thing on the road... I rarely see slow dudes stuck in the left lane. I just do the "GTFOMW" bright flash and they move over. I think most people around here do 5mph over and that's it. Yeah, if you're chronically late for whatever, that probably sucks. I'd suggest leaving earlier.

In my experience the most polite and law abiding drivers are in Oregon. I've lived in Kansas, Missouri, Georgia, Oregon, and have driven all throughout the country many times (military...). This is the only place where 98% of drivers use their turn signals, follow the speed limit, and don't cut other people off. However, people get aggressive on the way to Meadows.

[Charles.waite]

Yea Oregon drivers tend to be really slow which bugs me but other than that they are at least courteous. People here are just oblivious, which I think is far more dangerous than aggressive drivers like in LA or NYC or something. I swear people either don't use their turn signals at all, or just leave them on.

[Pothole]

Yea Oregon drivers tend to be really slow which bugs me but other than that they are at least courteous. People here are just oblivious, which I think is far more dangerous than aggressive drivers like in LA or NYC or something. I swear people either don't use their turn signals at all, or just leave them on.

my new favorite game to play in the car is oblivious or asshole........oblivious always seems to win in this state

[hpfpupgrade]

my new favorite game to play in the car is oblivious or asshole........oblivious always seems to win in this state

This is so true, if you play oblivious you seem to get a very wide gap of people all the way around you, LOL.

[Pothole]

not really a rant but I seem to see lots of people driving with their rear fog light on, not just Audi's but all flavors of cars
are they just being extra safe.....or do most people not know that it is back there??

[Charles.waite]

not really a rant but I seem to see lots of people driving with their rear fog light on, not just Audi's but all flavors of cars
are they just being extra safe.....or do most people not know that it is back there??

I see that a lot too. I think its because they don't realize that 1 click out is front fogs and the second click out is front and rear.

Again, oblivious.

[Charles.waite]

not really a rant but I seem to see lots of people driving with their rear fog light on, not just Audi's but all flavors of cars
are they just being extra safe.....or do most people not know that it is back there??

I see that a lot too. I think its because they don't realize that 1 click out is front fogs and the second click out is front and rear.

Again, oblivious.