Road rage and self-absorbed douchery on the roadway on the rise?

[BehindBlueI's]

I'm just thankful I have unmarked cars keeping me safe and all.

What is a "van monkey"?

I'm not keeping you safe. That's why I said I'd radio the real police, I'm just administration now, don't even rate lights/siren in my car.

No idea what a van monkey is. "Monkey dance" is the physical posturing, sometimes leading to fighting, over social dominance in front of the group. AKA the reason most males who don't know each other get into an altercation. Some perceived slight, monkey brain lights up because of perceived threat to social standing, chest-bumping and verbalizations fly, etc.

 

[Alpo]

Exactly why I only get on the highway when absolutely necessary.

Yup. Indiana has a pretty good system for getting around without hitting any of the roads labeled "I"

 

[Bugzilla]

I cause a lot of road rage on the interstate. I keep my speed to less than 10 over the posted speed and drive in the right lane!

 

[Ziggidy]

The past year or so, I have noticed a lot more folks blazingly breaking the traffic laws. I've watched several people just flat out run red lights in the middle of the day.

As to highway driving, I really don't see much of a difference. They are all on the phone.

Moved to Indy just over 3 years ago......running red lights seem to be legal in this state.

 

[wtburnette]

Moved to Indy just over 3 years ago......running red lights seem to be legal in this state.

Not legal, but done anyway and it's getting worse.

 

[Bugzilla]

Every time I run into a state police (not figuratively) I bring up the speed on I65. Saw some at the Meiers in Valpo Saturday, shop with a cop, made a donation and chatted with one off the cops about I65. Find out he is from Wheatfield. Gosh, we are “neighbors”.

 

[frenchiectfd2203]

i attribute it to the recent influx of chicagoland expats

FISH

 

[ghuns]

While noticeably worse than in my youth, the "I" roads in Indiana and their drivers are still pretty tame compared to many places.

Take a ride around DC on any road starting with a "I" and ending in "95" if you wanna see some Mad Max s**t. I am typically driving through there late at night during the week or early on Sunday morning, times you'd think would be pretty calm. It's still absolute chaos. Makes Chicago driving seem downright civilized.

When my daughter and SIL moved to the area one of the things their USMC welcome packet said was make sure you have GREAT car insurance, you're gonna need it.

If you look at Allstate Insurance's, America's Best Drivers Report, most of the bottom 10 cities fall on the I95 corridor.

 

[Drewski]

FISH

It was FIBs back when I was a younger man.

We recently made our 3rd trip back to Chicagoland (in 2 years! I figured we be back every other weekend!) and the road rage, interstate idiocy and all-around automotive asininity increased measurably the closer we got to Chitown. Don’t get me wrong, Indy still has its fair share, but the numbers aren’t quite there yet. And even considering any recent increases in bad driving behaviors, I’ve noticed that Indy drivers on average are definitely more “polite.”

 

[BehindBlueI's]

While noticeably worse than in my youth, the "I" roads in Indiana and their drivers are still pretty tame compared to many places.

I don't see the road rage outside of the Indy area like I see in the Indy area, and it's not just due to exposure since I drive more miles outside of Indy than in.

 

[1gunaholic]

The trend has been going that way for a while, but has taken a real uptick since the lockdowns.

It's like a lot of drivers are somewhere between mentally off and don't give a . On top of the majority of them being totally self centered. Might be a lot of opioids involved also?

I have seen a fair amount of old ladies, driving terribly and mean as hell looking when they are passed.

Older men too!

 

[1gunaholic]

I really dislike tailgaters. We live in an area with a long state rd, 25+ miles, with few places to pass. It is 12 miles West of 65 so no easy access to the interstate. Seems like it is normal to be the only 2 vehicles on a mile of road and they are 2' from the bumper. Rain, ice, nighttime doesn't matter.
Especially irritating when I am on the bike. Just love to see a young person in the mirror at less than half the following distance on the phone.

I usually pull over and let them go.

Don

Good point! Probably a good practice to stay out of their way.

 

[1gunaholic]

It was FIBs back when I was a younger man.

We recently made our 3rd trip back to Chicagoland (in 2 years! I figured we be back every other weekend!) and the road rage, interstate idiocy and all-around automotive asininity increased measurably the closer we got to Chitown. Don’t get me wrong, Indy still has its fair share, but the numbers aren’t quite there yet. And even considering any recent increases in bad driving behaviors, I’ve noticed that Indy drivers on average are definitely more “polite.”

Our family misses the regular trips back to the homeland (Chicago - POLAKS AND SOX RULE!). I, too, see the uptick, but noticed the majority of a-holes are from out of state trying to use the Dan Ryan as a test track.

 

[eldirector]

I've always said that the population has a set percentage of ***holes. As Indy grows in population, the percentage is the same, but the raw number is higher. It used to be rare for ***holes to collide, but with more around... well... you get road rage murders.

In today's day and age, there may even be an increase in the percentage.

 

[JeepHammer]

It's always been bad what the change I've seen in the past two years: back in Q1 of 2020 when everyone stayed home except truck drivers the highways became a trucker's paradise. There was maybe one car for every 4-5 trucks in some places. Historically congested intersections suddenly flowed like butter without aggressive cars darting in at the last second and forcing everyone who'd been patiently waiting their turn to slam on their brakes. And mostly, NO SPEED TRAPS.

Now of course when people started venturing out again they found these conditions too tempting. Cars were doing well over 100mph and there were a number of news articles about the more egregious offenders, most of whom wiped out during pursuit. Anyways, fast forward 12-18 months and I'm still seeing this type of behavior because what I'm not seeing is the same type of roadside police presence that I've seen in years past. Police presence usually helps to deter that kind of reckless speeding and also the type of aggression noted in earlier posts. The underlying self-absorption that fuels such behavior isn't new but having been left unchecked the behavior is getting worse and hasn't abated and won't abate unless conspicuous aggressive enforcement of the highway laws are once again implemented.

Insurance companies used video to determine 85% of car/big truck accidents are entirely the car's fault...
But DOT is increasing enforcement on big trucks because the number of car/trucks is increasing...

Why aren't they cracking down on the cars that cause 85% of the accidents?

 

[tomcat13]

 

[Dante1983]

Our Bodyshop has seen a sharp spike in wreck repairs in the last 3 months and from what I hear it is nationwide.
In the 20 plus years we have been in business we have never been so busy.

It's hard to understand. There are none of the normal justifications for this many wrecks.

My daughter wrecked her Durango, which isn’t unusual if you know her. But I talked to a body shop here. Everyone was booked up for 3 months minimum. Ended up getting a donor car some old guy was selling and just swapping parts myself

 

[cbhausen]

-deleted-

Mods, PM me for an explanation if necessary.

 

[HoughMade]

Pure opinion and conjecture.

Perhaps people have gotten comfortable being horribly impolite and aggressive to each other in the relative anonymity of the internet and it has started to carry over to the somewhat less anonymity of the highway.

Also, maybe the focus on nothing but self to the exclusion of being cognizant of responsibilities to others has something to do with it.

 

[indyblue]

Also, maybe the focus on nothing but self to the exclusion of being cognizant of responsibilities to others has something to do with it.

IMO, this commercial is completely irresponsible and sends the wrong message. It PROMOTES not paying attention while in a 5000lbs battering ram playing games.

When did self driving cars even become legal? What happens when it finds some black ice? I will now have to get as far away from every one of these I see on the road.

How far as a society we have fallen? To F'n lazy to even properly drive anymore, just take the damn bus...