kittybellyfulloflies t1_j3whi38 wrote
Friend from Boston says she absolutely hates Vermont drivers because the friendliness can actually create dangerous situations. I see it all the time now
Edit: also, fuck anyone who stops in the middle of a roundabout to let folks in. Absolutely unhinges me every time... Perfect example of my above comment
numetalbeatsjazz t1_j3wp3vf wrote
I've been waived into traffic by someone "trying to be nice" so many times here. I've flat out refused and then it becomes a standoff of the "nice" person demanding I pull out when I can't see past their stupid SUV into oncoming traffic. I'd rather wait 15 minutes trying to turn left onto a road than have some fucking asshole stop traffic just so they can feel good about themselves.
Nicetoseeyaagain t1_j3wiyxr wrote
I am from MA and my husband is a Vermonter (we are now living in VT) and I get annoyed with him for this all the time. There is a point where you are being too nice and it causes confusion. The worst is being in a line of a cars sitting through a green light because the first car isn’t paying attention and everyone is “too nice” to honk. 🤯
ciaohow t1_j3wmmhv wrote
I TAPPED my horn so, so gently once when someone was stopped at a green light, and I swear to you every single person on the street turned to stare at who the rude person was (me, it was me).
BudsKind802 t1_j3xtclo wrote
I always appreciate that the quick honk reminder to them to get off their phone and driving at a stop light is so often met with a middle finger. "Too nice" indeed.
afuera0 t1_j3x6qw7 wrote
How long did you wait?
bigtimesauce t1_j3xfp3h wrote
Longer than 2 seconds and I’m on the horn. You’re driving, pay some fucking attention.
ciaohow t1_j3xy7mk wrote
Long enough to establish they were truly tuned out and not just fumbling. I'm a native midwesterner - we don't like naked aggression either!
MissJudgeGaming t1_j3wpq0y wrote
Waving people ahead gives them unnecessary initiative to move immediately and without checking. This is a known impact of being too nice, as sad as it is.
Yes, you're being polite by waving them in. No, you're creating additional traffic AND potentially putting everyone at risk. Drive predictably and assume others will not, then everyone can make it home.
smellyshellybelly t1_j41slj2 wrote
Happened to multiple people I know....driver stopped on a four-lane road waiting to turn left, oncoming traffic in the lane closest to them stops and waives them through, they get t-boned by a car in the far lane.
SRTie4k t1_j3wthyr wrote
The worst is stopping in the middle of an active lane of traffic to let someone in/out. I can't count the amount of times I've seen that.
KittenLOVER999 t1_j3zafly wrote
Totaled my car driving to Best Buy in Williston a few years back because someone in the lane next to me stopped to allow someone to turn into the police station without noticing that the right hand lane was still going 35 oblivious to their “kindness”
sound_of_apocalypto t1_j3wtbvm wrote
Ironic to think of a Bostonian worried about creating dangerous driving situations.
MontEcola t1_j3wx4v3 wrote
Nah. That is not true.
I spent 20 years driving in places like Seattle, Oregon, Nashville, Denver and California. This whole time, I had this impression of Mass-holes being crazy on the road.
Then I returned home. I started driving in Boston, Vermont, the Maine coast, and highways in New Hampshire.
Boston and Maine drivers were delightful. When I put on my turn signal in traffic, there was space for me to fit. When I was on the freeway, people would pass and then move right. I rarely saw a slow car camping in the fast lane. The flow of traffic is amazing. I always had room to go where I signaled, or , where it was my right of way. At an intersection, people took their turns, and got out of the way. Not one car tailgated me. Not one car has cut me off. Not one driver or passenger gave me 'stink eye' or a middle finger in traffic. Not one car pulled out of a driveway in reverse, across 2 or 3 lanes of traffic, to go the other way. Not one car tried to make a left turn across traffic when it was not safe. (They turned right, and made a safe U turn. ) These are regular hazards in those other places.
sound_of_apocalypto t1_j3x5oar wrote
Okay, I guess it's just me that feels like driving in Boston is taking my life into my hands.
GaleTheThird t1_j3xs203 wrote
Boston is statistically one of the country's safest major cities to drive in, if not the safest. Iirc Massachusetts rates pretty highly as well
Loudergood t1_j3yqyfl wrote
You just have to get used to the structured madness.
zdiggler t1_j3wrn7j wrote
I hate when people don't follow basic right-of-way rules.
Oeslian t1_j3wucdd wrote
I’m from the Bay Area originally, I honestly think Vermonters are worse drivers. They are very good about driving safely in winter conditions, even when it’s not winter. However, I have noticed many Vermont drivers are oblivious to any other cars on the road. I regularly get pushed out of my lane, or have people pull right out in front of me and go 15 under while I am cruising at the limit making me slam my brakes. I see this sort of behavior so often it seems endemic to the state. I have even seen it within my own social circle from people who claim to be safe drivers.
lavransson t1_j3x1iw1 wrote
I'm from the Washington DC area originally, and when I first lived in Vermont I thought the drivers were better. I do still prefer driving and living in Vermont by miles.
But like you, I'm noticing that Vermont drivers do pull out in front of you more. I was taught, "If you turn from a side road into a main road and cause the driver behind you to brake, then you should not have pulled out, you should have waited (or accelerated faster)." Many drivers in Vermont don't do this.
I also see a surprising number of red light runners, more than in DC (per capita). I am not sure why this is, but I figure it's two things: people thinking, (1) "There's hardly anyone out here on the roads, what difference does it make?" and (2) "There a less than 1% chance of a police officer being around, so I'm just going to run this light."
texmarie t1_j3xktv5 wrote
Still better than Maryland drivers though!
pondusedtobeupthere t1_j3zaumy wrote
No way in hell there are more red light runners in VT than the District. I’ve driven all over the country, and I’ll take a courteous, friendly VT driver over any other driver in any other state, hands down!
lavransson t1_j3zb44r wrote
I mean that per capita, not absolute. I stand by what I wrote. I’m really surprised at how often people glaringly and casually run red lights in Vermont.
pondusedtobeupthere t1_j3zbt0q wrote
I live in the DMV. I stand by my response.
lavransson t1_j3zhpxt wrote
I do like VT waaaay driving better. People in the DMV are so aggressive and intense. I literally drive with one hand over the horn. I’m 4 years in Vermont, I think I’ve honked the horn once.
readyreadyvt t1_j40tucg wrote
Red light running is relatively new here, at least at the levels it’s happening. I rarely saw this when I moved here 25 years ago. In the last 5-7 years, it’s really picked up. Honestly, I’ve assumed it’s a custom brought from elsewhere.
The longtime Vermont habit that blows my mind is passing on the shoulder (often through an intersection) when the car in front of them is turning left — without checking opposing traffic.
SrirachaCashews t1_j3z0z2t wrote
I think our aging population has a lot to do with this. The pull out in front of you/drive 15 under is a classic old person move
bigtimesauce t1_j3xfkxq wrote
The drivers here are terrible, honestly one of my least favorite things about VT.
sugarplummed t1_j433b2g wrote
I guess my opinion is way different. I'm from Seattle area and other then lots of speeding on your freeways I found Vt drivers to be much less aggressive then the Seattle area. I found with the east Coast in general ppl love driving really fast on the freeway. I mean we're all driving about 10 over out here, but on the east coast I'm like man they like driving 20-30 over, dang.
But here on the west coast, Ppl are just nuts out here. Like I commented elsewhere, so much disregard for red lights, stop signs out here. It's about getting in front of the next guy and the next guy.
I'll take driving in Vermont any day, lol.
bigtimesauce t1_j43c6k4 wrote
I’ll take aggressive but predictable drivers over overly courteous dickheads that don’t know how to use a turn signal any day of the week.
sugarplummed t1_j43g0dn wrote
I hope I didn't give the impression that drivers in the Seattle area are predictable. they are aggressive and unpredictable, which is why it's not uncommon when a light turns green here that folks don't go because you have to see how many assholes are going to continue on their merry way ignoring their red light.
I hate the over courteous thing as well. I t-boned a vehicle 3 years ago because I was driving in the far lane and the other two lanes were backed up so they courteously waved this dumb lady through and she turned right in front of me. Lady didn't even look. Injured my leg and hip and wrist trying my damnedest to stop, not to mention the whiplash. Still makes me so angry, my daughter and I were injured, our almost brand new car will forever have an accident on it's history. 18 months of pain, doctors visits, PT. All because a couple of idiots thought they'd be courteous. We're better now, but I still have random pain in my rt knee and hip.
raptor3x t1_j3ya8m2 wrote
> Friend from Boston says she absolutely hates Vermont drivers because the friendliness can actually create dangerous situations. I see it all the time now
It's not really a VT thing, it's a rural driver thing. The whole being super friendly while driving and making exceptions works fine when there's almost no traffic to deal with but it quickly becomes problematic as traffic density increases. It takes a little while for rural drivers to learn that ruthlessly enforcing traffic pattern rules is actually the most polite way to drive.
wholeWheatButterfly t1_j40yd3h wrote
I almost got in an accident this fall because someone stopped to let someone pull into the road from a store, and there were two lanes, so the person pulling in decides to go into the second lane, where of course they couldn't see oncoming traffic (me). And then I witnessed the same thing happen a month later.
To be fair, the person pulling in is being a lot dumber than the person letting them pull in but it frustrates me.
And this other time I was pulling out of my driveway, and sometimes I have to wait for a few cars to go by.. this person stops to let me come out, but there were like 4 cars behind them! Like, I can wait 15 seconds lol I don't need to hold up a bunch of people.
Anyway, rant over. Back to loving our great state 😅
sugarplummed t1_j431xn2 wrote
Wow, all these posts about this. Had no idea, hate it when ppl do that.
Things are getting worse and worse in the Seattle- Eastside area. Running red lights is getting so bad here. Not just one person, but I've watched 5 cars go through the red light after the other direction turns green. Ppl just driving straight through 4 wait stops. And then you get that rando who stops in the roundabout cause they don't understand how roundabouts work. Lots of speeding and aggressive driving. Are they really late for work or are they just angry? How can that many ppl always be late for work? I don't get that anyway, just leave early man, how hard can it be? I work in the medical field, we can't be late for work!
bonanzapineapple t1_j3wiv4j wrote
It's true!!
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