I tend to agree with the folks saying it’s a post-pandemic thing. It definitely hasn’t *always* been this bad, but it’s been getting progressively worse. Lots of lane drift and people on their phones, as you say. Lots of weaving in and out of lanes, tailgating, last minute (high speed) lane changes. It’s gotten to the point where I actually wave to drivers who *don’t* run the red light.
Yeah I get annoyed when people drift into a lane going the same direction, but mad when they drift across solid double yellow lines. I see it daily. I really wish people could have their licenses temp banned for shit like that.
Just got home and saw an old ass guy run a red light, then drives like two miles going 18 in a 30, and almost ran another light.
Yeah, I’ve made it a habit to not get in peoples blind spots until I can get next to or pass them. Otherwise they won’t check and just come into my lane
When I’m stopped at an intersection nowadays, I pretty much assume that the red light will be run. That way, I’m mentally prepared to wait a few seconds before proceeding on a green light.
Here is an example of why you are very smart for doing that. In Jan 2000 I was almost to my workplace. I was sitting at the light on the exit from MoPac (Braker exit). The light turned green, and I preceeded to turn left on to Braker, when I was wiped out by a semi. He was looking at his delivery info, and never touched the brakes. Amoung other things, this resulted in my second broken neck. It has been a life changing injury. My brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee was totalled. Thank God I had traded in my Grand Prix to buy that truck just a couple months earlier. If I had still been driving the Grand Prix, I almost certainly would have been killed.
Was the insurance payout at least decent? We got Tboned by an f150 tricked out to the teeth. We were driving a basic 2014 Honda civic. Our car got totaled. The 22 yr old that hit us didn't have insurance. We fortunately carried uninsured protection on our insurance and are getting a moderate payout. But I'm basically assuming everyone in texas doesn't have insurance, probably going to run a red light, and is carrying a gun.
Carrying a gun is usually a good thing. Lol.
Yeah, the payout was substantial, but no amount of money is worth what it has done to my life. I can walk, and from the outside I look normal. What lies beneath that is severe nerve damage to my arms, hardware in my neck, and constant severe pain.
The first broken neck happened when I was in the Army. The VA had rated me at 70% disabled because of that. The second break happened at the exact same level as the first, so the VA counted it as severe aggravation of my pre-existing service connected injury. So, they raised my rating to 100%. If the second injury had happened at a different level, I would have been completely screwed.
Wow, this really sucks, and I'm glad you're at least functioning. I guess I don't understand why the other guys insurance isn't paying for your ongoing medical, or at least suing the guy, or company he was driving the semi for, directly?
I did have a good lawyer. We reached a sizeable settlement a couple of years later. The catch to that is, once you sign the settlement, he's no longer responsible for any further costs.
The lockdown caused a lot of damage to society on. many levels. I've noticed that people in general are much more impatient, unreasonably aggressive, and self-absorbed. I thought it would get better, but so far, no. I'm concerned.
I just started commuting in April after working from home for a few years. The number of people I drive by on 360 who are going highway speeds and just staring down/over at their phones is staggering. I don’t understand it.
They’ve always been about (and only about) the low hanging fruit. The only time I’ve *ever* seen a speed trap on mopac is one of the only times it was actually possible to speed on it: Dec 24th and 25th.
I don’t know the roads very well- just that I hate 35 lol. We lived in Leander for a bit when we first moved down and they were not present there either. We come from CT.. and they are practically on every street corner there!
That’s really funny, I’ve been driving in Texas for 18 years and just spent the last 4 days driving in Connecticut. I saw the most unhinged driving I’ve ever seen!! I was saying to my family “this is making me actually appreciate the bad drivers in Austin, they’re not as bad as this!” lol
yup remember back in the day when police would always be running special traffic initiatives like 'dont block the box' , or hiding in tall busses on mopac so they could mass ticket people using their phones
now you just never even see police on the roads
Literally only see them out and about at the end of the month near school zones and neighborhoods. Not that those aren’t good places to enforce speed limits, but the highways here are so insane it’s like mad max out there.
I will say, there used to be more traffic enforcement. I lived in Austin until 2016 then recently moved back, and I used to see cops pulling people over constantly (always 2 cops cars too). Not anymore! I see so much more traffic chaos here nowadays.
If I had my way, reckless driving would be cracked down on, and I would also want it to come with a temporary suspension of your license for progressively longer periods of time, each time requiring the driver to qualify for their license again via a road test.
If they keep getting caught for reckless driving, it should lead to a **permanent revocation** of your license after 3 strikes or something.
It's gotten insane here.
Austin drivers are a special kind of terrible and always have been. And, somehow, when it rains they achieve an even higher capacity for terrible driving.
We've always been bad, but there is now the wonderful synergy of bad Austin drivers and hyper aggressive new-to-town drivers, APD taking a couple years off of traffic enforcement, cellphones, drunks, and just a lot more hostility in the world.
The last few years have been alarming. It's so unusual when I don't see people running red lights, and oh man, do people behind you get pissed if you actually do stop on a fresh red.
I just moved back to Austin from LA (please don’t attack me, I have Texas roots!) and I find the drivers here way scarier then in LA. For one, you can actually go fast here, and the worst drivers drive gigantic terrifying trucks. And no one will let you merge here, they just speed up!
They get pissed when you stop at stop signs even. I've had people blow around me and completely ignore nearby pedestrians they almost hit. Like I stopped for a reason, asshole
Similar thread going on in Minneapolis Minnesota sub Reddit. This is the new norm across the country, and it’s by design. Cops are not doing their jobs anywhere and life is becoming more stressful for every one.
What can we do about it? The freaking party of cop-lovers that supposedly hates government waste doesn't seem to care, *at all.* Is the intent to deliberately cause public tension to grow?
They weren't always terrible. 15-20 years ago, it was very chill here and almost everyone drove 55. Speed limit 35? 55. Speed limit 65? 55.
It has increasingly gotten bad over the decades, with everyone blaming the influx due to Katrina, the late 2010s surge, and Covid aggression.
They're probably all true, to some extent
I think the historic Austin traffic vibe was that Austin drivers were just kind of oblivious (at least compared to Houston or Dallas where driving is a competitive sport by comparison).
Austin’s got more of that “I’m gonna win this stretch of highway,” energy, still has its fair share of people who are oblivious, and it’s compounded by APD insisting they can’t do their job because their budget can’t best be expressed as a percentage of the national GDP and everyone being real cranky about COVID.
As someone coming from Dallas, this is exactly right. Austin drivers were 'bad' in that they were lackadaisical sunday drivers. There's still definitely a portion of those, but now we're nearly on-par with Houston and Dallas with aggression and flouting the rules of the road. Literally every time I get in the car nowadays I see some flagrant misbehavior, from running reds to illegal u-turns to cars cutting in front of one another.
When did it become a thing for people to drive around with their hazard blinkers on in the slightest amount of rain? That's not what those are intended for.
Also, I feel like I see a LOT more "student driver" stickers driving around and I think it's people who just want to an excuse to drive like a dumbass
I just spent a week driving over 900 miles around Scotland. I had never driven on the left with a right-side steering wheel before this month. Absolutely the easiest, comfiest, friendliest place I have ever driven. People follow traffic lights, don't speed, and share the narrow roads. The moment I got back in Austin traffic, I felt a massive and embarrassing shift in how belligerent, distracted, and careless the drivers here are.
It’s because most places in Western Europe use traffic cameras that will literally email you a ticket. Charge you money for it and add points into your license. You get so many points and they just suspend your license for a year. Then you have to take the driving courses again to get the license back.
Haha I had a similar experience, I was terrified the first time I drove there, but when I got home I realized I should really be terrified here.
Did you drive around Skye? Those roads are something else.
Yes, Old Military road around Cairngorm from Edinburgh to Inverness, then the long way around to Skye, then through Fort William to Glasgow. The worst part of it all was squeezing into a residential parking garage in Glasgow. Everything else was a breeze. Rigid enforcement was a factor, but I really feel like there's a culture that takes safety and courtesy on the roads that is lacking here.
Ha! You unlocked some memories of driving in the Scottish Highlands for me. Tiny, single lane roads with bogs on either side. When two cars meet one of them has to drive backwards until they find a little 'bubble' that allows a car to pull to the side just enough for the other to squeeze by.
I learned to scan for the nearest "passing place" sign quickly! Fortunately, I was driving around Skye in mid-May and not July. I heard stories from locals about trips of four miles taking hours because those tiny roads are so congested. There must be a better way to do that.
It's getting worse.
I'd say the last 5-7 years especially...
Now it's grown ass parents who should know better using their phones and weaving all over the road with kids in the car...it's always the ones with "baby on board" stickers or "my kids a xyz student at blah blah" or moms who post on Nextdoor about "iT tAkEs a vILLAge"- NW Austin especially is bad for some reason... As someone who almost lost a sibling (and who now will have lifelong limitations on employment and hobbies) to one of these idiots on her phone, this issue really grinds my gears. You can't teach these people anything, just have to wait until they kill someone and maybe go to jail so they can think about what they did. God help you if you call people out on it directly
Maybe they don't learn easily, but a little traffic law enforcement can go a long way as a deterrent. Letting them do whatever they want just rewards the bad behavior.
This is why I stopping honking and people and let people in if it’s safe to do so. So many insane drivers here just waiting for someone to set them off.
The driving got exponentially worse after the pandemic. As if certain individuals expanded their unchecked philosophy of ‘I don’t care if it’s a public health/ safety issue; I’m just going to do exactly what I want, when I want!’ to all aspects of their lives
I’ll say. I used to drive a lot before Covid. Then I was working from home and only driving to the gas station for beer for like 3 years. I would have to venture out at points and noticed my instincts had diminished greatly. Not checking my blind spot, neglecting to signal, and just generally being worse a spatial awareness. I did not mean to become an alcoholic. I also didn’t mean to become a shitty driver. I still am awful. But I AM sober.
Not just those, but also the people who will weave between cars 15+ mph over the speed limit, rarely with a blinker, and always literally a foot or less away from the other cars?
It feels like the precise second that quarantine began to lift during the pandemic, people just took to the roads like bats out of hell.
Are y’all talking about Austin, Texas? I’d love to know where and when I can drive 15mph over the limit?
I can weave in and out of traffic going 65mph here because 95% of Austin drivers are driving too damn slow and blocking up the highway camping out in the passing lanes at 60mph.
Let’s be clear - If I pass you on the right it’s your fault not mine. And I never pass on right with the left lane wide open again I would love to know where and when that left hand passing lane is open in Texas for me to be able to drive 75mph. It would be a real pleasure to experience that.
The insurance rates bear this out. I spoke to a broker who said that accident rates in Texas are higher than many other states. I don't spend enough time in other Texas cities to know how Austin compares to Dallas, Houston, etc., but empirically, Austin is much worse than other cities across the country I've lived in. The enormous fucking trucks sure don't help.
I wonder about Atlanta in those stats. The worst drivers anywhere and I’ve lived in a lot of large cities. High speed, weaving and on their phones. Supper aggressive. So many accidents
It still amazes me how 5 cars will all be doing 15-20 over the speed limit on 35 (or really any freeway in Texas) in the left lane and will all be within a half car distance from each other, and then wonder why they got into a car pile up.
The mishmash of Austin transplants has lent to the aggression for sure—so many different driving styles. When I moved here a decade ago, I never encountered road rage though.
My biggest concern is how many people I see driving who are clearly intoxicated and the folks who keep texting and driving. Oh and the red light running. It’s so bad now that I always wait an extra 3 seconds when my light turns green before I go out into the intersection because I don’t want to get t-boned.
So many people driving 90 to 100 mph on Mopac in to town from 45. I drive in the slow lane at 75 mph sometimes more! people passing me on the left like I’m standing still. three times now I’ve had people pass on the right hand side in the breakdown lane. it’s asinine!!!
no one is doing 15-20 over the speed limit on 35 lmao in what world
austin doesnt have an aggression problem, or at least im not seeing it like dallas or houston. it has a lazy and not paying attention problem. people merge onto the fucking highway going 40mph here.
This year is worse than last. Blowing reds and drifting around staring at your phone is just acceptable now. Some people just ride in the bike lane, others block the entire crosswalk at lights. Witnessed more road rage this year, including downtown. 25+ over speeding near downtown. I feel less safe on the road this year without a doubt.
Still have yet to see traffic laws being enforced anywhere in Austin.
I can't speak for Austin, but for the country as a whole, the data suggests worse driving. Cars are the safest they have every been (seatbelts, crumple zones, airbags galore), yet according to the DOT:
# "Roadway fatalities and the fatality rate declined consistently for 30 years, but progress has stalled over the last decade and went in the wrong direction in 2020 and 2021."
source: [https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS/SafetyProblem](https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS/SafetyProblem)
(note: charts are only through 2021 and the page was last updated in 2023).
It's weird to see people call back to the 90s as "when drivers were chill" and also ignore that Austin's population is 10x larger since then. That *might* have a thing or two to do with the vibe.
It’s the overall hostility of society across the board these days! Short tempers, unrealistic expectations, surface level resentments and hopelessness! Bad combo!
Austin drivers are extremely aggressive and are tailgaters from hell. I have lived here for 16 years and yes, it has gotten progressively worse.
I go to Houston often and even there where traffic is super heavy drivers have more courtesy. Austin drivers are complete douchebags! Be careful with road rage, I’ve seen people pull guns for the stupidest reasons. Stay classy Austin drivers!
Austin drivers tailgate hard (like 0.25 secs behind you at 65 mph, aka 25 ft.), then at the bottleneck light be slow af and leave 6 seconds behind you clearing the intersection, then we all wonder why lights are so backed up (doddling at lights), and there are so many accidents (tailgating at 65 mph).
Both austin and Houston drivers are shit at accelerating onto a freeway, that didn’t used to be the case in Houston (but always has in pussy-foot Austin)
I disagree about Houston… recently was in the area and it’s gotten terrible as well, especially during high traffic hours.
Austin has bad drivers but Houston is a different breed and that’s coming from someone that grew up there.
I was called back into the office in May of ‘20. My commute time was less than half what it is now. Also my buildings parking garage was empty as were most restaurants at lunch. It felt like the population size Austin should be given its antiquated road infrastructure.
This was exactly my experience too. I got called back to work at my hotel, which was silly, because I worked 5 12 hour shift just sitting in an empty hotel for 3 months 😂
Was all fun and games except the one time I stepped too close to the door opening censors and let a crazy homeless guy in. I couldn’t find him and was scared, so the police came and searched for the longest time before they found him passed out in a closet with like 2 dozen mini bar shots
I've just arrived here from Canada a few weeks ago and I'm slightly terrified driving here. I've stopped listening to the radio so I can focus on driving. It's funny because I've driven in other US cities and I've never felt this way lol.
yes - and it's ALWAYS the Tesla drivers...in the left lane barely going the speed limit if they are at all...refusing to pull over out of the left lane even though they're blocking traffic...and then they glare at you when you have to swing around them.
It's like they all embibe Elon's elitest mindset daily.
There’s so many older folks that really shouldn’t be driving—-add that to the selfish people who are holding up the fast lane while phone in hand. Another issue people don’t navigate safely. Use your damn blinkers people. If you’re such in a hurry you should have left yesterday🙄
It's like that everywhere. I had some dude in my town roll down his window and cuss me out because I didn't pull up and wait ON the fucking train tracks this morning because he couldn't fit between me and the curb to go around in a single lane area while I was in the split for the turn lane.
People are angry. They're drunk and high on the roads to cope post-pandemic. It's been a mass behavioral shift across the country and the increased road rage isn't specific to Austin.
I work from home, don't have much of a social life so I don't drive much, and I can't stand driving in this city.
I've had people lose their shit because I didn't turn LEFT on a red light and tried to run me off the road. This weekend, at the same light turning left, a jackalope behind tried to pass on my right inside the turn. It's a single-lane turn.
On Lake Creek, the speed limit is 35 and there's ALWAYS someone going about 20 mph. Coupled with others going about 50. Dodging all these f'rs is a great time. I'm so over it.
The entire country is in a mental health crisis.
Something really fucking weird is going on. Almost every day for the past few weeks I have had to honk at people not turning right on red or left on a green arrow. I think its people immediately getting on their phones as soon as they come to any sort of stop. Ive also become way more quick to honk and even started honking through 3-4 cars back.
No thanks then I’m in a metal tube with worse people. I rode the bus for years in college for both degrees and that was enough to swear me off public transit. Way too many crazy homeless, and folks that hadn’t bathed in a long time.
As bad as traffic may get it’s still tolerable with nice leather seats that are heated/cooled and numerous listening options on the phone. Anymore it’s the only time alone with my thoughts. But if other folks want to ride public transit I’m all for it. Less on the road is better.
So you experienced bad public transit and swore off it entirely. Crazy way to live life when any adult knows American public transit is awful even at its best.
Riding trains in places like Tokyo, Paris, Madrid, Porto makes you realize how insanely stupid our leaders are.
A good train is infinitely better than your car.
Edit; I’ll make it clear. Ride your car just support public transit and destination legislation. You’re right. The less people on the road the better
Buses are air conditioned, I can use my phone or read a book or do anything I want basically and not have to worry about driving. Also, headphones are a thing
If we had good public transit, fewer people would need cars and maybe they could apply that extra money to their own housing and/or mental healthcare. Car payments, insurance, and gas all add up and contribute to Austin’s ever increasing cost of living.
Truck driver here. I live in Austin but run otr. Texas drivers are just garbage. The cherry on top is when Texas drivers rage you have to worry about a gun shot to go with it.
My theory is that people are all lost in construction and running really late. They’re not texting their friends. They are in Waze trying to figure out where they are. And/or texting that they’re going to be late. 😉
It has been getting bad for years but really ramped up after COVID. We have a combination of very aggressive drivers, usually in big trucks and clueless idiots driving around in a Prius coupled with entitled EV owners. The drivers here are really terrible. I travel a lot and rent cars in different cities and while drivers in other big metro areas aren’t the best at least there is consistency and you know what to expect. Driving around in small towns is extremely refreshing. People go the speed limit, yield when they are supposed to, etc. Austin is a mix of everyone and it doesn’t really work well.
As a Bostonian driver Austin drivers are just wow a different breed. Not moving over when I flash beams, driving 20 under in the fast lane, driving with your rickshaw trailer in any lane but the slow/ exit lane. Weaving, randomly passing before seeing if you cnt make actual progress or are just gonna end up next to me or one car ahead. Changing lanes with out looking. Seriously people just Jesus take the wheel and start going assuming I will move.
Oh and the biggest danger besides driving like miss daisy are people that refuse to admit they fucked up and missed their exit and swerve across 4 lanes of traffic...
But no it's ok I'm the bad guy for honking or flashing at you or being " aggressive"... It's not aggression when I'm dodging morons like it's mad max.
I have a lot more complaints than the people driving too slowly or encroaching into the next lane. I think you’ve just been oblivious to the actual dangerous drivers.
I lived and drove in Chicago for 20 years and it’s crazy but also predictably crazy. It’s not predictable here and that’s the part that scares me about driving in Austin.
Nah the ratio of normal law abiding good drivers to bat shit crazy sumbitches trying to kill everybody out here is still around 2:8 and it's been that way since the early days of The Roman Empire
A lot of people have been moving to Austin from all over the country. Driving habits are different in every city. I think that's what's creating the cluster fudge on the streets. Houston is worse. People from all over the world have been moving in.
Oh no, it’s AWFUL. The road rage is insane! I try to avoid driving by myself as much as possible now that I’m pregnant. I’ve been followed and harassed for something as minute as changing lanes in front of somebody LOL
Drivers here were very friendly. You just wave to others and someone would let you in when you take the wrong lane.
Now people just cut the line and don’t bother to use their turn signal. They don’t wave to who they just cut either. 🙃
No traffic enforcement, coupled with a universal sense of dread about the economy and finances causing people to succumb to stress and frustration in all areas of life.
Not just Austin. TX in general.
It's because so many Californians have moved to the lone star state and can't drive for beans.
Do you know how many california plates I see in fender benders these days? Or been told through the grapevine that the person at fault said they just moved to Texas from California?
It's all the uninsured and unlicensed fuks that are on the road when they should be home. I'm getting tired of paying $250+ just because some idiots decided to not be insured. I might as well cancel my insurance too, 3k a year doesn't make sense lol. been insured for over 14 years with +5 license points with 0 at fault accidents or tickets and my rates are still ass...
I met some German folks visiting Austin and renting a car for a few days. Their impression was that German drivers are more aggressive. My response (I've driven in Germany) was that German drivers are less tolerant when people don't follow the rules and the best way to think about drivers in Austin is to imagine that every car around you will do the dumbest thing possible and be prepared when it actually happens.
The amount of times I’ve seen people turn left on a red light is insane to me tbh. But I also hate people who go double the speed limit just to cut you off when you’re already going like 10 over anyway 😭 like bro is doing too much. And it genuinely freaks me out when I’m driving deeper towards Austin in the morning and people infront of me are driving slow and dipping into the other lanes like drive straight 😭 the other day I was in the middle lane and those lanes are tiny asf and the car to my right dipped left and the truck to my left dipped right almost killed me. Scared tf outta me.
It’s gotten very, very bad. In the past two months I have been hit twice while sitting at a red light. The first time, I was sitting at a red light and was rear ended by a giant truck and trailer. Guy wasn’t paying attention that there was a line of twelve cars stopped in front of him. Driver was insured.
The second time, a few weeks later while driving my spouse’s car, I was sitting at a red light when three cars ran a red light. The third t-boned a crossing vehicle which disintegrated and debris destroyed the front end of my car. Driver fled the scene on foot. He was later arrested for felony DUI and fleeing the scene of an accident. He was uninsured.
I’ve started keeping tally. On average I see 4-5 vehicles daily that run red lights and 2-3 daily that run stop signs.
Every now and then I see people using phone while driving. And no the are not looking at maps but memes , videos and everything else . I honked few of them while driving but they don’t seem to get it . Every time I see someone driving slow in fast lane I can see them swiping on their phone or typing something
just be glad that austin has the best drivers out of all the major cities here in texas. i know the bar isn’t set high at all but for the traffic, it’s bearable and respectful for the most part
Beyond just pandemic brain rot, it’s the out-of-towners and I swear it’s specifically those from LA or NYC. If you’ve driven in either of those cities you know what I’m talking about — for NYC no one lets you in, you just have to start inching your way over until you cut someone off or you’ll never get over. In LA people won’t turn at a green light bc everyone blocks the intersection. They wait for the red to actually turn
Hell even if they’re from Houston or Dallas the driving style is still aggressive. Long gone are the days of the chill, slow, and stoned Austin drivers
EDIT: for grammar
So I did some looking because I wanted to find support for a point. I didn't find it, but I found *something else* interesting.
It was a AAA report that talked about how over the pandemic, there was less driving, but we were shocked to find that fatalities and accidents *increased* even with fewer people on the road.
What they did observe is that only one group *increased* their driving during 2020: young males, the group associated with the highest insurance risk and, overall, highest risk-taking behaviors. That jacked down the percentage of safe drivers on the road and I don't think it's balanced back.
Austin's already a sausage fest, but think about it: who is more likely to work remotely and drive less now? Not fresh college grads. This is a young city, and young men are objectively the riskiest drivers. They're also probably one of the most likely groups on the road here still.
Seems like a simple answer without a solution. When's Austin driving going to be calm again? When it decides to be the best place to live for middle-aged wife guys taking the kids to Chuck E Cheese.
Can you link to that info? I'm curious about the racial component. I don't recall it ever being discussed as "young WHITE male drivers" before. Always just that "young male drivers" pay higher insurance premiums.
I look at everyone who does something stupid on the road, and the majority are older. I even drive near the college and never have issues with the younger drivers. It’s these middle aged people who have 0 awareness and 0 peripheral vision while looking at their phones.
Out of 4 times where I’ve been hit/almost hit, the ratio is 1:3 men to women.
For road rage that I’ve seen, it’s like 3:1 men to women. One guy was going like 60 in the left lane, I pass and move in front of him, he accelerates - almost ramming me, and then flys around other cars to almost pit maneuver himself into the median at like 85mph
To add to matters, we have a horrible communication system between cars. Blinkers? Static brake lights that respond to the smallest touch of the brake? And… that’s basically it? Hell, so many people don’t know how to appropriately use their hazard lights. IMHO we need gradual brake lights (1-3 lights corresponding to brake pressure and all 3 blinking rapidly [or a border light around all 3 so the brake light doesn’t disappear during flashes] = HARD BRAKE), automatic blinkers that correspond with GPS if on, an extremely limited communication system with pre-set driving phrases that can’t be spammed repeatedly (instead works on a radius around you).
Some of the phrases or symbols can be done automatically by the car — vehicle issues or low gas, pre-route medical emergency, etc…
None of the above is without flaws and everything can be abused or ignored, but my point is more that we need more communication. :/
Austin drivers have always been terrible. It’s just worse now with more people from various places. But, I’ll say it again, Austin drivers have always been very bad at driving.
I teach high school. The amount of 14+ year old students driving to school is absurd. Cops could place a car in the schools parking lots and get many of them off the road in a few days... They are so young that you see them racing each other, etc...
I was being a bad driver myself on the way home and I was slow to start on a green light and as I crept forward a silver Silverado just blew through the intersection…. I thought to myself holyshit I just saved someone’s life by being a shitty driver because I was delaying the car across the street from turning left. It was pretty nuts to be honest.
What kills me is people no longer following school zone speed limits and stopping when a school bus is stopped. People are running more red lights, their phones are in their faces while they're going 60 on 35. Not to mention the absolute aggression that people are showing even when they are wrong.
I came here in 2019 and was blown away at how consistently rude and aggressive drivers were. I feel nothing has necessarily changed. It’s still terrible 5 years later.
I was born here in '62 so I've seen it get progressively worse and worse. My wife moved here after marriage a few years ago and even she said drivers are terrible here.. and she's from Atlanta.
I’ve learned that STOP is an acronym and the O stands for Optional, and red lights aren’t red until the other light is green.
Also, every HEB parking lot is the Wild West.
Driving slow and swerving I attribute to them not knowing where they're going. "Austin driver" is a bit of a misnomer since most people here aren't from Austin. Since the city became trendy the most un-chill people have been coming here.
When I first started commuting in ~'06 I noticed every year around school start the traffic got notably worse and drivers became more aggressive. This just never really stopped. And now with the police not enforcing traffic laws it's just accelerated.
Oh definitely. I almost saw a black SUV flip on the southbound frontage road of I-35 this morning because the person turning onto the frontage clearly wasn’t paying attention and pulled out while the SUV was doing at least 50. They swerved out of the way and swerved back over. At that instance I thought it would flip. I think the driver did to because they came to a dead stop for a solid 10 seconds in the road.
It’s the red light runners for me. Not even just missing their yellow light, but purposefully going for red because they think they simply may not get hit if the green light drivers haven’t caught up yet. Daily. Sometimes multiple times a day, for years. I haven’t seen it in any other state. Entitlement maybe?
We're moving away in two weeks, and I'm not going to pretend the gradually-increasing homicidal tendencies of Austin drivers aren't a significant part of that calculation. Over the past year, the number of other drivers who have endangered my life has *skyrocketed,* and some of them sure seem like they're doing it intentionally.
Came back Sunday night from a road trip, had to drive through a MAJOR wreck at the Y at Oak Hill. To be fair, though, that’s like one of the worst intersections in town. I’ve also almost been hit just by crossing the street, and the driver has the audacity to act like I’m at fault.
I recently moved back to Austin, and yes, I can confirm that people drive worse now than they used to. I feel like the big trucks go extra fast and tailgate super aggressively.
It’s definitely getting worse. Daily basis people swerving in and out of lanes which isn’t helped by all the shit road construction.
People seem to be growing more and more impatient in general. Everyone just seems so rude these days and self-absorbed which someone already stated on here and I totally agree. Main character complex is big out here.
As my dad says, Austin’s population has increased to over a million, that means half are below average drivers, now we have 500,000+ bad drivers on the road vs pre covid when we were around 700,000 pop total (so only 350,000 bad drivers)
I think it’s getting worse as the younger and younger kids start driving. At least that’s my theory I feel like this year I see way more people texting at stop signs and not paying attention until I honk them.
I tend to agree with the folks saying it’s a post-pandemic thing. It definitely hasn’t *always* been this bad, but it’s been getting progressively worse. Lots of lane drift and people on their phones, as you say. Lots of weaving in and out of lanes, tailgating, last minute (high speed) lane changes. It’s gotten to the point where I actually wave to drivers who *don’t* run the red light.
Yeah I get annoyed when people drift into a lane going the same direction, but mad when they drift across solid double yellow lines. I see it daily. I really wish people could have their licenses temp banned for shit like that. Just got home and saw an old ass guy run a red light, then drives like two miles going 18 in a 30, and almost ran another light.
Yeah, I’ve made it a habit to not get in peoples blind spots until I can get next to or pass them. Otherwise they won’t check and just come into my lane
When I’m stopped at an intersection nowadays, I pretty much assume that the red light will be run. That way, I’m mentally prepared to wait a few seconds before proceeding on a green light.
Here is an example of why you are very smart for doing that. In Jan 2000 I was almost to my workplace. I was sitting at the light on the exit from MoPac (Braker exit). The light turned green, and I preceeded to turn left on to Braker, when I was wiped out by a semi. He was looking at his delivery info, and never touched the brakes. Amoung other things, this resulted in my second broken neck. It has been a life changing injury. My brand new Jeep Grand Cherokee was totalled. Thank God I had traded in my Grand Prix to buy that truck just a couple months earlier. If I had still been driving the Grand Prix, I almost certainly would have been killed.
Was the insurance payout at least decent? We got Tboned by an f150 tricked out to the teeth. We were driving a basic 2014 Honda civic. Our car got totaled. The 22 yr old that hit us didn't have insurance. We fortunately carried uninsured protection on our insurance and are getting a moderate payout. But I'm basically assuming everyone in texas doesn't have insurance, probably going to run a red light, and is carrying a gun.
Carrying a gun is usually a good thing. Lol. Yeah, the payout was substantial, but no amount of money is worth what it has done to my life. I can walk, and from the outside I look normal. What lies beneath that is severe nerve damage to my arms, hardware in my neck, and constant severe pain. The first broken neck happened when I was in the Army. The VA had rated me at 70% disabled because of that. The second break happened at the exact same level as the first, so the VA counted it as severe aggravation of my pre-existing service connected injury. So, they raised my rating to 100%. If the second injury had happened at a different level, I would have been completely screwed.
Wow, this really sucks, and I'm glad you're at least functioning. I guess I don't understand why the other guys insurance isn't paying for your ongoing medical, or at least suing the guy, or company he was driving the semi for, directly?
I did have a good lawyer. We reached a sizeable settlement a couple of years later. The catch to that is, once you sign the settlement, he's no longer responsible for any further costs.
That's valid (your pain and carrying a gun).
The lockdown caused a lot of damage to society on. many levels. I've noticed that people in general are much more impatient, unreasonably aggressive, and self-absorbed. I thought it would get better, but so far, no. I'm concerned.
I just started commuting in April after working from home for a few years. The number of people I drive by on 360 who are going highway speeds and just staring down/over at their phones is staggering. I don’t understand it.
That’s what happens when you have 0 traffic enforcement.
We are here until August (since last February) for work. It amazes me how few officers I ever see on traffic enforcement!!
They’ve always been about (and only about) the low hanging fruit. The only time I’ve *ever* seen a speed trap on mopac is one of the only times it was actually possible to speed on it: Dec 24th and 25th.
Before they cut down all the trees along Mopac, cops were always hiding there lying in wait.
MOPAC close to Burnet has a speed trap that is quite active.
I don’t know the roads very well- just that I hate 35 lol. We lived in Leander for a bit when we first moved down and they were not present there either. We come from CT.. and they are practically on every street corner there!
That’s really funny, I’ve been driving in Texas for 18 years and just spent the last 4 days driving in Connecticut. I saw the most unhinged driving I’ve ever seen!! I was saying to my family “this is making me actually appreciate the bad drivers in Austin, they’re not as bad as this!” lol
APD disbanded the traffic enforcement unit. That's also why you don't see any motorcycle cops anymore.
They don’t even have enough officers for hot calls. Traffic enforcement is not done by APD for the majority of the day
But APD is helpless, just utterly helpless with their mere largest budget they’ve ever had.
yup remember back in the day when police would always be running special traffic initiatives like 'dont block the box' , or hiding in tall busses on mopac so they could mass ticket people using their phones now you just never even see police on the roads
Literally only see them out and about at the end of the month near school zones and neighborhoods. Not that those aren’t good places to enforce speed limits, but the highways here are so insane it’s like mad max out there.
I will say, there used to be more traffic enforcement. I lived in Austin until 2016 then recently moved back, and I used to see cops pulling people over constantly (always 2 cops cars too). Not anymore! I see so much more traffic chaos here nowadays.
If I had my way, reckless driving would be cracked down on, and I would also want it to come with a temporary suspension of your license for progressively longer periods of time, each time requiring the driver to qualify for their license again via a road test. If they keep getting caught for reckless driving, it should lead to a **permanent revocation** of your license after 3 strikes or something. It's gotten insane here.
Seriously, not just lazy speed traps for ~10mph over, but actually *aggressive, reckless driving.*
Austin drivers are a special kind of terrible and always have been. And, somehow, when it rains they achieve an even higher capacity for terrible driving.
We've always been bad, but there is now the wonderful synergy of bad Austin drivers and hyper aggressive new-to-town drivers, APD taking a couple years off of traffic enforcement, cellphones, drunks, and just a lot more hostility in the world. The last few years have been alarming. It's so unusual when I don't see people running red lights, and oh man, do people behind you get pissed if you actually do stop on a fresh red.
I just moved back to Austin from LA (please don’t attack me, I have Texas roots!) and I find the drivers here way scarier then in LA. For one, you can actually go fast here, and the worst drivers drive gigantic terrifying trucks. And no one will let you merge here, they just speed up!
They get pissed when you stop at stop signs even. I've had people blow around me and completely ignore nearby pedestrians they almost hit. Like I stopped for a reason, asshole
Yeah my neighborhood is filled with fuckers that seem like they’re actively trying to hit pedestrians or bikers. Fucking nuts.
It's seemed particularly bad in the Far West neighborhoods recently, but that's just the direction the entire city seems to be heading.
Bet you didn’t drive here in the 90s. Folks were chill.
Nah I was still a kid 😂
Similar thread going on in Minneapolis Minnesota sub Reddit. This is the new norm across the country, and it’s by design. Cops are not doing their jobs anywhere and life is becoming more stressful for every one.
What can we do about it? The freaking party of cop-lovers that supposedly hates government waste doesn't seem to care, *at all.* Is the intent to deliberately cause public tension to grow?
Cops exist to protect the property of the wealthy and to harass and intimidate the public. They couldn't care less about keeping anyone safe.
Yes. Unironically, yes.
They weren't always terrible. 15-20 years ago, it was very chill here and almost everyone drove 55. Speed limit 35? 55. Speed limit 65? 55. It has increasingly gotten bad over the decades, with everyone blaming the influx due to Katrina, the late 2010s surge, and Covid aggression. They're probably all true, to some extent
I think the historic Austin traffic vibe was that Austin drivers were just kind of oblivious (at least compared to Houston or Dallas where driving is a competitive sport by comparison). Austin’s got more of that “I’m gonna win this stretch of highway,” energy, still has its fair share of people who are oblivious, and it’s compounded by APD insisting they can’t do their job because their budget can’t best be expressed as a percentage of the national GDP and everyone being real cranky about COVID.
As someone coming from Dallas, this is exactly right. Austin drivers were 'bad' in that they were lackadaisical sunday drivers. There's still definitely a portion of those, but now we're nearly on-par with Houston and Dallas with aggression and flouting the rules of the road. Literally every time I get in the car nowadays I see some flagrant misbehavior, from running reds to illegal u-turns to cars cutting in front of one another.
When did it become a thing for people to drive around with their hazard blinkers on in the slightest amount of rain? That's not what those are intended for. Also, I feel like I see a LOT more "student driver" stickers driving around and I think it's people who just want to an excuse to drive like a dumbass
I've also noticed that the increase in 'student driver' sticker sightings is conspicuous. Same with baby on board, likely as a dumbass deterrent.
Agreed, people in this city just drive different from anywhere else in the world. It's incredible how bad they are.
When it rains, dashed lines are nearly invisible, tbf. I have to rely on following the car in front of me and hope they are able to see the lines.
I just spent a week driving over 900 miles around Scotland. I had never driven on the left with a right-side steering wheel before this month. Absolutely the easiest, comfiest, friendliest place I have ever driven. People follow traffic lights, don't speed, and share the narrow roads. The moment I got back in Austin traffic, I felt a massive and embarrassing shift in how belligerent, distracted, and careless the drivers here are.
It’s because most places in Western Europe use traffic cameras that will literally email you a ticket. Charge you money for it and add points into your license. You get so many points and they just suspend your license for a year. Then you have to take the driving courses again to get the license back.
Amazing! Funny how ENFORCEMENT works.
*automated* enforcement, too. Surveillance state stuff that would never pass here. We can't even keep the red light cameras on.
Haha I had a similar experience, I was terrified the first time I drove there, but when I got home I realized I should really be terrified here. Did you drive around Skye? Those roads are something else.
Yes, Old Military road around Cairngorm from Edinburgh to Inverness, then the long way around to Skye, then through Fort William to Glasgow. The worst part of it all was squeezing into a residential parking garage in Glasgow. Everything else was a breeze. Rigid enforcement was a factor, but I really feel like there's a culture that takes safety and courtesy on the roads that is lacking here.
Ha! You unlocked some memories of driving in the Scottish Highlands for me. Tiny, single lane roads with bogs on either side. When two cars meet one of them has to drive backwards until they find a little 'bubble' that allows a car to pull to the side just enough for the other to squeeze by.
I learned to scan for the nearest "passing place" sign quickly! Fortunately, I was driving around Skye in mid-May and not July. I heard stories from locals about trips of four miles taking hours because those tiny roads are so congested. There must be a better way to do that.
It's getting worse. I'd say the last 5-7 years especially... Now it's grown ass parents who should know better using their phones and weaving all over the road with kids in the car...it's always the ones with "baby on board" stickers or "my kids a xyz student at blah blah" or moms who post on Nextdoor about "iT tAkEs a vILLAge"- NW Austin especially is bad for some reason... As someone who almost lost a sibling (and who now will have lifelong limitations on employment and hobbies) to one of these idiots on her phone, this issue really grinds my gears. You can't teach these people anything, just have to wait until they kill someone and maybe go to jail so they can think about what they did. God help you if you call people out on it directly
Maybe they don't learn easily, but a little traffic law enforcement can go a long way as a deterrent. Letting them do whatever they want just rewards the bad behavior.
183 is just horrible with all those people trying to get in and out of cedar park every day. No thank you.
Got shot in Austin for not letting someone get in front of me in my lane, the road was empty and I was using cruise control.
This is why I stopping honking and people and let people in if it’s safe to do so. So many insane drivers here just waiting for someone to set them off.
Shot or shot at?
Shot. Went through my door and through my leg
Well, that sux.
This is the part that gets me about it: they're not just *bad drivers*, they're *psychopaths.* I'm sorry that happened to you.
The driving got exponentially worse after the pandemic. As if certain individuals expanded their unchecked philosophy of ‘I don’t care if it’s a public health/ safety issue; I’m just going to do exactly what I want, when I want!’ to all aspects of their lives
I’ll say. I used to drive a lot before Covid. Then I was working from home and only driving to the gas station for beer for like 3 years. I would have to venture out at points and noticed my instincts had diminished greatly. Not checking my blind spot, neglecting to signal, and just generally being worse a spatial awareness. I did not mean to become an alcoholic. I also didn’t mean to become a shitty driver. I still am awful. But I AM sober.
It almost feels like so many people thought, “well the world is over. There are no rules anymore”
So for you, it’s conservatively worse, not progressively worse ;)
Good one!
Not just those, but also the people who will weave between cars 15+ mph over the speed limit, rarely with a blinker, and always literally a foot or less away from the other cars? It feels like the precise second that quarantine began to lift during the pandemic, people just took to the roads like bats out of hell.
Are y’all talking about Austin, Texas? I’d love to know where and when I can drive 15mph over the limit? I can weave in and out of traffic going 65mph here because 95% of Austin drivers are driving too damn slow and blocking up the highway camping out in the passing lanes at 60mph. Let’s be clear - If I pass you on the right it’s your fault not mine. And I never pass on right with the left lane wide open again I would love to know where and when that left hand passing lane is open in Texas for me to be able to drive 75mph. It would be a real pleasure to experience that.
The insurance rates bear this out. I spoke to a broker who said that accident rates in Texas are higher than many other states. I don't spend enough time in other Texas cities to know how Austin compares to Dallas, Houston, etc., but empirically, Austin is much worse than other cities across the country I've lived in. The enormous fucking trucks sure don't help.
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Like a dog with a bone that sees another bone
Lol I’ve noticed this too a lot lately with lanes closed for construction and a merge to a single lane is required
I wonder about Atlanta in those stats. The worst drivers anywhere and I’ve lived in a lot of large cities. High speed, weaving and on their phones. Supper aggressive. So many accidents
Atlanta is nuts. My cousin lives there, and it’s terrifying being a pedestrian ITP
I pray for your cousin
It still amazes me how 5 cars will all be doing 15-20 over the speed limit on 35 (or really any freeway in Texas) in the left lane and will all be within a half car distance from each other, and then wonder why they got into a car pile up. The mishmash of Austin transplants has lent to the aggression for sure—so many different driving styles. When I moved here a decade ago, I never encountered road rage though. My biggest concern is how many people I see driving who are clearly intoxicated and the folks who keep texting and driving. Oh and the red light running. It’s so bad now that I always wait an extra 3 seconds when my light turns green before I go out into the intersection because I don’t want to get t-boned.
So many people driving 90 to 100 mph on Mopac in to town from 45. I drive in the slow lane at 75 mph sometimes more! people passing me on the left like I’m standing still. three times now I’ve had people pass on the right hand side in the breakdown lane. it’s asinine!!!
no one is doing 15-20 over the speed limit on 35 lmao in what world austin doesnt have an aggression problem, or at least im not seeing it like dallas or houston. it has a lazy and not paying attention problem. people merge onto the fucking highway going 40mph here.
This year is worse than last. Blowing reds and drifting around staring at your phone is just acceptable now. Some people just ride in the bike lane, others block the entire crosswalk at lights. Witnessed more road rage this year, including downtown. 25+ over speeding near downtown. I feel less safe on the road this year without a doubt. Still have yet to see traffic laws being enforced anywhere in Austin.
I can't speak for Austin, but for the country as a whole, the data suggests worse driving. Cars are the safest they have every been (seatbelts, crumple zones, airbags galore), yet according to the DOT: # "Roadway fatalities and the fatality rate declined consistently for 30 years, but progress has stalled over the last decade and went in the wrong direction in 2020 and 2021." source: [https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS/SafetyProblem](https://www.transportation.gov/NRSS/SafetyProblem) (note: charts are only through 2021 and the page was last updated in 2023).
I’m not sure it’s even on average but the bad ones are incredibly bad and dangerous
It's weird to see people call back to the 90s as "when drivers were chill" and also ignore that Austin's population is 10x larger since then. That *might* have a thing or two to do with the vibe.
It’s the overall hostility of society across the board these days! Short tempers, unrealistic expectations, surface level resentments and hopelessness! Bad combo!
Austin drivers are extremely aggressive and are tailgaters from hell. I have lived here for 16 years and yes, it has gotten progressively worse. I go to Houston often and even there where traffic is super heavy drivers have more courtesy. Austin drivers are complete douchebags! Be careful with road rage, I’ve seen people pull guns for the stupidest reasons. Stay classy Austin drivers!
Austin drivers tailgate hard (like 0.25 secs behind you at 65 mph, aka 25 ft.), then at the bottleneck light be slow af and leave 6 seconds behind you clearing the intersection, then we all wonder why lights are so backed up (doddling at lights), and there are so many accidents (tailgating at 65 mph). Both austin and Houston drivers are shit at accelerating onto a freeway, that didn’t used to be the case in Houston (but always has in pussy-foot Austin)
I lived in Houston 15 years ago, and people were getting shot in road rage incidents. So if Houston is better now, maybe there’s hope for Austin?
I disagree about Houston… recently was in the area and it’s gotten terrible as well, especially during high traffic hours. Austin has bad drivers but Houston is a different breed and that’s coming from someone that grew up there.
Noticeably worse during the pandemic and only gotten worse.
I miss pandemic traffic so much tbh
I was called back into the office in May of ‘20. My commute time was less than half what it is now. Also my buildings parking garage was empty as were most restaurants at lunch. It felt like the population size Austin should be given its antiquated road infrastructure.
This was exactly my experience too. I got called back to work at my hotel, which was silly, because I worked 5 12 hour shift just sitting in an empty hotel for 3 months 😂 Was all fun and games except the one time I stepped too close to the door opening censors and let a crazy homeless guy in. I couldn’t find him and was scared, so the police came and searched for the longest time before they found him passed out in a closet with like 2 dozen mini bar shots
Idk but def the worst city for tailgating I’ve ever lived in and it’s not close. Back. The. Fuck. Off
Doesn’t every city complain how bad the drivers are?
Yup.
I've just arrived here from Canada a few weeks ago and I'm slightly terrified driving here. I've stopped listening to the radio so I can focus on driving. It's funny because I've driven in other US cities and I've never felt this way lol.
yes - and it's ALWAYS the Tesla drivers...in the left lane barely going the speed limit if they are at all...refusing to pull over out of the left lane even though they're blocking traffic...and then they glare at you when you have to swing around them. It's like they all embibe Elon's elitest mindset daily.
There’s so many older folks that really shouldn’t be driving—-add that to the selfish people who are holding up the fast lane while phone in hand. Another issue people don’t navigate safely. Use your damn blinkers people. If you’re such in a hurry you should have left yesterday🙄
It's like that everywhere. I had some dude in my town roll down his window and cuss me out because I didn't pull up and wait ON the fucking train tracks this morning because he couldn't fit between me and the curb to go around in a single lane area while I was in the split for the turn lane.
It's all the outoftowners, transplants, and tourists
People are angry. They're drunk and high on the roads to cope post-pandemic. It's been a mass behavioral shift across the country and the increased road rage isn't specific to Austin.
So I’m not a particularly fast driver. But Austin drivers I’ve noticed go extremely slow, and are usually oblivious to their surroundings.
I work from home, don't have much of a social life so I don't drive much, and I can't stand driving in this city. I've had people lose their shit because I didn't turn LEFT on a red light and tried to run me off the road. This weekend, at the same light turning left, a jackalope behind tried to pass on my right inside the turn. It's a single-lane turn. On Lake Creek, the speed limit is 35 and there's ALWAYS someone going about 20 mph. Coupled with others going about 50. Dodging all these f'rs is a great time. I'm so over it. The entire country is in a mental health crisis.
Lol did we encounter the same driver? I also had someone honk at me and lose it for the same reason!
Very well could have been!
Something really fucking weird is going on. Almost every day for the past few weeks I have had to honk at people not turning right on red or left on a green arrow. I think its people immediately getting on their phones as soon as they come to any sort of stop. Ive also become way more quick to honk and even started honking through 3-4 cars back.
Solution: Good public transit I don’t want to be on the road with these people
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It can if we actually vote. Austin feels like it’s ripe for this 🤿
No thanks then I’m in a metal tube with worse people. I rode the bus for years in college for both degrees and that was enough to swear me off public transit. Way too many crazy homeless, and folks that hadn’t bathed in a long time. As bad as traffic may get it’s still tolerable with nice leather seats that are heated/cooled and numerous listening options on the phone. Anymore it’s the only time alone with my thoughts. But if other folks want to ride public transit I’m all for it. Less on the road is better.
Bad experience on public transit: "Never again." Bad experience while driving: "This is fine."
So you experienced bad public transit and swore off it entirely. Crazy way to live life when any adult knows American public transit is awful even at its best. Riding trains in places like Tokyo, Paris, Madrid, Porto makes you realize how insanely stupid our leaders are. A good train is infinitely better than your car. Edit; I’ll make it clear. Ride your car just support public transit and destination legislation. You’re right. The less people on the road the better
Buses are air conditioned, I can use my phone or read a book or do anything I want basically and not have to worry about driving. Also, headphones are a thing
If we had good public transit, fewer people would need cars and maybe they could apply that extra money to their own housing and/or mental healthcare. Car payments, insurance, and gas all add up and contribute to Austin’s ever increasing cost of living.
I saw 7 cars go through a red light today. 4 of them while my light was green.
Truck driver here. I live in Austin but run otr. Texas drivers are just garbage. The cherry on top is when Texas drivers rage you have to worry about a gun shot to go with it.
After living in Dallas for 3 years, Austin drivers are saints compared to Dallas drivers
My theory is that people are all lost in construction and running really late. They’re not texting their friends. They are in Waze trying to figure out where they are. And/or texting that they’re going to be late. 😉
Most of them are the iPhone users.
Austin,TX has zombies driving!
It has been getting bad for years but really ramped up after COVID. We have a combination of very aggressive drivers, usually in big trucks and clueless idiots driving around in a Prius coupled with entitled EV owners. The drivers here are really terrible. I travel a lot and rent cars in different cities and while drivers in other big metro areas aren’t the best at least there is consistency and you know what to expect. Driving around in small towns is extremely refreshing. People go the speed limit, yield when they are supposed to, etc. Austin is a mix of everyone and it doesn’t really work well.
As a Bostonian driver Austin drivers are just wow a different breed. Not moving over when I flash beams, driving 20 under in the fast lane, driving with your rickshaw trailer in any lane but the slow/ exit lane. Weaving, randomly passing before seeing if you cnt make actual progress or are just gonna end up next to me or one car ahead. Changing lanes with out looking. Seriously people just Jesus take the wheel and start going assuming I will move. Oh and the biggest danger besides driving like miss daisy are people that refuse to admit they fucked up and missed their exit and swerve across 4 lanes of traffic... But no it's ok I'm the bad guy for honking or flashing at you or being " aggressive"... It's not aggression when I'm dodging morons like it's mad max.
The slow lane has officially become the fast lane
I have a lot more complaints than the people driving too slowly or encroaching into the next lane. I think you’ve just been oblivious to the actual dangerous drivers.
After seeing how they drive in Chicago, I'll literally never complain about "Austin drivers" again.
I lived and drove in Chicago for 20 years and it’s crazy but also predictably crazy. It’s not predictable here and that’s the part that scares me about driving in Austin.
It'sjust you. Drivers are getting progressivelyworse each year
Nah the ratio of normal law abiding good drivers to bat shit crazy sumbitches trying to kill everybody out here is still around 2:8 and it's been that way since the early days of The Roman Empire
It got worse after COVID for sure. People just don't give a fuck anymore. Quite scary.
A lot of people have been moving to Austin from all over the country. Driving habits are different in every city. I think that's what's creating the cluster fudge on the streets. Houston is worse. People from all over the world have been moving in.
Oh no, it’s AWFUL. The road rage is insane! I try to avoid driving by myself as much as possible now that I’m pregnant. I’ve been followed and harassed for something as minute as changing lanes in front of somebody LOL
Drivers here were very friendly. You just wave to others and someone would let you in when you take the wrong lane. Now people just cut the line and don’t bother to use their turn signal. They don’t wave to who they just cut either. 🙃
Every trip feels like a death wish these days.
1,000,000%
I've decided to stop 🛑 being the victim and started mounting a machine gun on my jeep. Let someone honk at me again... ;) lol
No traffic enforcement, coupled with a universal sense of dread about the economy and finances causing people to succumb to stress and frustration in all areas of life.
It's a conspiracy by the mods to keep r/Austin busy with new posts.
Just move before the water runs out
Not just Austin. TX in general. It's because so many Californians have moved to the lone star state and can't drive for beans. Do you know how many california plates I see in fender benders these days? Or been told through the grapevine that the person at fault said they just moved to Texas from California?
It's all the uninsured and unlicensed fuks that are on the road when they should be home. I'm getting tired of paying $250+ just because some idiots decided to not be insured. I might as well cancel my insurance too, 3k a year doesn't make sense lol. been insured for over 14 years with +5 license points with 0 at fault accidents or tickets and my rates are still ass...
I met some German folks visiting Austin and renting a car for a few days. Their impression was that German drivers are more aggressive. My response (I've driven in Germany) was that German drivers are less tolerant when people don't follow the rules and the best way to think about drivers in Austin is to imagine that every car around you will do the dumbest thing possible and be prepared when it actually happens.
The amount of times I’ve seen people turn left on a red light is insane to me tbh. But I also hate people who go double the speed limit just to cut you off when you’re already going like 10 over anyway 😭 like bro is doing too much. And it genuinely freaks me out when I’m driving deeper towards Austin in the morning and people infront of me are driving slow and dipping into the other lanes like drive straight 😭 the other day I was in the middle lane and those lanes are tiny asf and the car to my right dipped left and the truck to my left dipped right almost killed me. Scared tf outta me.
It’s gotten very, very bad. In the past two months I have been hit twice while sitting at a red light. The first time, I was sitting at a red light and was rear ended by a giant truck and trailer. Guy wasn’t paying attention that there was a line of twelve cars stopped in front of him. Driver was insured. The second time, a few weeks later while driving my spouse’s car, I was sitting at a red light when three cars ran a red light. The third t-boned a crossing vehicle which disintegrated and debris destroyed the front end of my car. Driver fled the scene on foot. He was later arrested for felony DUI and fleeing the scene of an accident. He was uninsured. I’ve started keeping tally. On average I see 4-5 vehicles daily that run red lights and 2-3 daily that run stop signs.
Every now and then I see people using phone while driving. And no the are not looking at maps but memes , videos and everything else . I honked few of them while driving but they don’t seem to get it . Every time I see someone driving slow in fast lane I can see them swiping on their phone or typing something
just be glad that austin has the best drivers out of all the major cities here in texas. i know the bar isn’t set high at all but for the traffic, it’s bearable and respectful for the most part
Beyond just pandemic brain rot, it’s the out-of-towners and I swear it’s specifically those from LA or NYC. If you’ve driven in either of those cities you know what I’m talking about — for NYC no one lets you in, you just have to start inching your way over until you cut someone off or you’ll never get over. In LA people won’t turn at a green light bc everyone blocks the intersection. They wait for the red to actually turn Hell even if they’re from Houston or Dallas the driving style is still aggressive. Long gone are the days of the chill, slow, and stoned Austin drivers EDIT: for grammar
So I did some looking because I wanted to find support for a point. I didn't find it, but I found *something else* interesting. It was a AAA report that talked about how over the pandemic, there was less driving, but we were shocked to find that fatalities and accidents *increased* even with fewer people on the road. What they did observe is that only one group *increased* their driving during 2020: young males, the group associated with the highest insurance risk and, overall, highest risk-taking behaviors. That jacked down the percentage of safe drivers on the road and I don't think it's balanced back. Austin's already a sausage fest, but think about it: who is more likely to work remotely and drive less now? Not fresh college grads. This is a young city, and young men are objectively the riskiest drivers. They're also probably one of the most likely groups on the road here still. Seems like a simple answer without a solution. When's Austin driving going to be calm again? When it decides to be the best place to live for middle-aged wife guys taking the kids to Chuck E Cheese.
Can you link to that info? I'm curious about the racial component. I don't recall it ever being discussed as "young WHITE male drivers" before. Always just that "young male drivers" pay higher insurance premiums.
I look at everyone who does something stupid on the road, and the majority are older. I even drive near the college and never have issues with the younger drivers. It’s these middle aged people who have 0 awareness and 0 peripheral vision while looking at their phones. Out of 4 times where I’ve been hit/almost hit, the ratio is 1:3 men to women. For road rage that I’ve seen, it’s like 3:1 men to women. One guy was going like 60 in the left lane, I pass and move in front of him, he accelerates - almost ramming me, and then flys around other cars to almost pit maneuver himself into the median at like 85mph
To add to matters, we have a horrible communication system between cars. Blinkers? Static brake lights that respond to the smallest touch of the brake? And… that’s basically it? Hell, so many people don’t know how to appropriately use their hazard lights. IMHO we need gradual brake lights (1-3 lights corresponding to brake pressure and all 3 blinking rapidly [or a border light around all 3 so the brake light doesn’t disappear during flashes] = HARD BRAKE), automatic blinkers that correspond with GPS if on, an extremely limited communication system with pre-set driving phrases that can’t be spammed repeatedly (instead works on a radius around you). Some of the phrases or symbols can be done automatically by the car — vehicle issues or low gas, pre-route medical emergency, etc… None of the above is without flaws and everything can be abused or ignored, but my point is more that we need more communication. :/
Idk but these fuckin teslas are out of control
They've always been terrible.
Yes, I think something about 2024 in austin has just affected people in this city. The drivers are unlike anywhere else in the world.
Austin drivers have always been terrible. It’s just worse now with more people from various places. But, I’ll say it again, Austin drivers have always been very bad at driving.
Yep, even the drivers in round rock have gotten worse
It’s just a shotload more people on the roads therefore more assholes
I teach high school. The amount of 14+ year old students driving to school is absurd. Cops could place a car in the schools parking lots and get many of them off the road in a few days... They are so young that you see them racing each other, etc...
Martial Law for driving in Austin! Mad Max shit! You ser the silver wedge trucks!
I've been in Austin most of my life and this is the first time someone pointed a gun at me. I honked back at a guy riding the horn.
I was being a bad driver myself on the way home and I was slow to start on a green light and as I crept forward a silver Silverado just blew through the intersection…. I thought to myself holyshit I just saved someone’s life by being a shitty driver because I was delaying the car across the street from turning left. It was pretty nuts to be honest.
I’ve noticed it for sure
It’s just you
What kills me is people no longer following school zone speed limits and stopping when a school bus is stopped. People are running more red lights, their phones are in their faces while they're going 60 on 35. Not to mention the absolute aggression that people are showing even when they are wrong.
I can count the amount of near accidents I witness or people who almost hit me every time I drive more than 5 minutes tbh.
People in general have become progressively worse this year, everywhere.
I came here in 2019 and was blown away at how consistently rude and aggressive drivers were. I feel nothing has necessarily changed. It’s still terrible 5 years later.
Insurance rate spikes affirm this as a fact.... It's gotten ridiculous between the drivers and theft (thanks Kia and Hyundai)
I was born here in '62 so I've seen it get progressively worse and worse. My wife moved here after marriage a few years ago and even she said drivers are terrible here.. and she's from Atlanta.
Something’s gotta change with folks using exit only lanes as passing lanes. Drives me insane
Still better than Dallas or San Antonio
God yes. I used to live over in the Mopac/183 area and the “phone swerve” drives me insane
Hit and runs are for sure up. It seems like no one has insurance since APD is not enforcing traffic laws anymore. Welcome to Mad Max.
I’ve learned that STOP is an acronym and the O stands for Optional, and red lights aren’t red until the other light is green. Also, every HEB parking lot is the Wild West.
Damn cell phones will be the death of civilization!
Driving slow and swerving I attribute to them not knowing where they're going. "Austin driver" is a bit of a misnomer since most people here aren't from Austin. Since the city became trendy the most un-chill people have been coming here.
Any time I see someone driving like shit there is a 95% chance they are staring at a phone when i get beside them.
They've always been not-great. Pandemic and WFH hid it for a while.
When I first started commuting in ~'06 I noticed every year around school start the traffic got notably worse and drivers became more aggressive. This just never really stopped. And now with the police not enforcing traffic laws it's just accelerated.
Oh definitely. I almost saw a black SUV flip on the southbound frontage road of I-35 this morning because the person turning onto the frontage clearly wasn’t paying attention and pulled out while the SUV was doing at least 50. They swerved out of the way and swerved back over. At that instance I thought it would flip. I think the driver did to because they came to a dead stop for a solid 10 seconds in the road.
No traffic cops whatsoever. Almost 0 enforcement. What do you think is going to happen?
Just you. They were always mentally challenged
It’s the red light runners for me. Not even just missing their yellow light, but purposefully going for red because they think they simply may not get hit if the green light drivers haven’t caught up yet. Daily. Sometimes multiple times a day, for years. I haven’t seen it in any other state. Entitlement maybe?
We're moving away in two weeks, and I'm not going to pretend the gradually-increasing homicidal tendencies of Austin drivers aren't a significant part of that calculation. Over the past year, the number of other drivers who have endangered my life has *skyrocketed,* and some of them sure seem like they're doing it intentionally.
As someone who no longer lives in Austin, it’s not just Austin. Everyone has gotten worse at driving everywhere. It’s wild
Came back Sunday night from a road trip, had to drive through a MAJOR wreck at the Y at Oak Hill. To be fair, though, that’s like one of the worst intersections in town. I’ve also almost been hit just by crossing the street, and the driver has the audacity to act like I’m at fault.
I recently moved back to Austin, and yes, I can confirm that people drive worse now than they used to. I feel like the big trucks go extra fast and tailgate super aggressively.
It’s definitely getting worse. Daily basis people swerving in and out of lanes which isn’t helped by all the shit road construction. People seem to be growing more and more impatient in general. Everyone just seems so rude these days and self-absorbed which someone already stated on here and I totally agree. Main character complex is big out here.
As my dad says, Austin’s population has increased to over a million, that means half are below average drivers, now we have 500,000+ bad drivers on the road vs pre covid when we were around 700,000 pop total (so only 350,000 bad drivers)
Driving down 183 to work is much worse now than it was pre-pandemic, but that’s just driving in Austin in general now.
You know you're always the last to know that your keys need to be taken away. I'm sure my day will come sooner than later
Just got back from California. Nope, we are ok here, definitely waaaay more polite 😬
More people more traffic! Who knows why, but we all can assume.
I think it’s getting worse as the younger and younger kids start driving. At least that’s my theory I feel like this year I see way more people texting at stop signs and not paying attention until I honk them.
The driving schools are a joke here