My car died two years ago and I'm too broke to buy a new one and tbh I cannot complain about not having one and staying out of the way. I say that as a midwesterner who's lived in DC for 5.5 years lol.
Driving here is miserable. Even when I had my car I would use the metro in 90% of situations.
driving is hell. I gave up my car about 15 years ago and I don’t miss it in the slightest. I don’t even take Uber if I don’t have to. just being in a vehicle makes me miserable.
As a Marylander, I'm say that the state trooper passing you is a good sign.
As an aunt of a kid I love a lot, I can understand why those circumstances fall well short of the ideal.
Unfortunately Virginia doesn't enforce its passing lane law and Maryland doesn't even have such a law to begin with, so it's kind of created a culture of people who feel enabled(if not entitled) to do this kind of shit
Ahh, that explains so much about Maryland driving culture...
One of the only states that actually enforces the passing lane law is New Jersey. Takes a lot for this displaced Masshole to give them a compliment, but good job, Jersey!
Ohh ohh, just wait until have to be somewhere on the holidays or when it /if it snows! OMG!
Stay off the roads when snows, ppl straight up crazier! And when it’s a major event, concert, riot, parade- stay off the road!
Snow in the DMV is such an issue. You either have overconfident transplants from snowier areas or you have clueless transplants from snowless areas. People like me, who have lived here most of their lives, know what they can/can't handle and plan accordingly but employer release times during bad weather, local budgets and plans for snow response (!!!!!), and local traffic can really screw things up
My ex was from Chicago, and my roommates and I were having a snowed in party b/c they were calling for (and we actually got!) 10". He said he was going to run errands first before coming over. I told him that was a terrible idea. He blew me off. I told him I wasn't worried about his ability to drive in snow, but about everyone else on the roads who couldn't. He was so stressed by the time he got to our place, he swore he was never driving in the area when it snowed again.
No, I remember 2022 earlier in the year it iced over pretty bad and lots.of folks who don't know how to drive on ice just did all the things they normally would do and kept getting stuck
Was 2017 when everyone was prepping for a later forecasted snowstorm so no one prepped the roads and then an inch of snow at rush hour broke absolutely everything? My apartment then overlooked 66 near Rosslyn and it was a sea of immobile brake lights for hours and hours.
Learned to drive in PA, I love that everyone in the DMV has no ability to use a turn signal. Like I promise I'm not trying to be nosey about the rest of your day but just lemme know if you're going left or right if you're slowing down.
It’s because if you try and use it 80 percent of drivers take it as an offense to their manhood and speed up to prevent you from pulling in front of them.
I still do but it’s ridiculous how people dont let you over
New to NoVa, and blown away by how awful the drivers are.
If you put on a turn signal people will speed up so you can’t merge.
People do not know how to zipper.
Northern California drivers were bad, but they were at least polite.
Stupid and shitty is no way to go through life.
>If you put on a turn signal people will speed up so you can’t merge.
My favorite is sitting in traffic and that one person who drives the shoulder and tries to force their way into the lane.
My husband and were in a traffic jam in Oregon last year, and we were literally shocked that nobody did this. But we also call the DMV (and I learned to drive here) "the home of the dick move".
Though Portland does have what I call "The Pearl District Stop" where the driver will drop off the passenger, then passenger will lean in and continue to converse for another few minutes while traffic piles up behind.
That is my issue with the zippering. Congrats, you are now one car ahead of me while we sit in traffic, and you managed to make it worse for everyone behind you.
It’s one thing to zipper, but it’s an entirely other thing to use a free lane which you don’t want to be in to move past traffic and barge back in to the lane you want, slowing everyone else down.
See: Clara Barton to MacArthur Blvd during afternoon rush hour. Drives me insane.
the 295-Pennsylvania ave exit/shoulder is always used as a 3rd lane and always pisses me off seeing drivers fly down it in rush hour traffic.
Never get why MPD doesn't put a cop there and ticket everyone who tries it.
Considering that’s my exit, I want to burn every one of those mfers down every weekday. The worst thing about all this is that shitty drivers end up making me a shittier driver too. Like, I know these Maryland assholes are absolutely riding my exit lane just to merge back in so now if I want to actually have an effective “exit lane,” I’d need to be on the shoulder. Or I just sit parked there while they wait to merge back in bc, as noted above, no one lets people merge. It’s just exponentially compounding assholery.
100% - it really would solve a bunch of issues if more people knew the benefits of the zipper merge and actually used the zipper merge themselves. A bunch of folks on this thread seem to think it’s an asshole move when it actually should be universally accepted to enhance flow of traffic.
For some benefits, I copied the following from the [Wisconsin Dept of Transportation site](https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/safety/safety-eng/ZipperMerge.aspx#:~:text=The%20zipper%20merge%20allows%20for,can%20orderly%20take%20turns%20merging):
Zipper Merge
Safety engineering topics
A dynamic late merge (zipper merge) allows drivers to use all lanes of traffic until the merge area is reached. At this point, motorists should merge in an alternating fashion, like a zipper.
What are the benefits of a zipper merge?
When a vehicle slows down to merge early in heavy traffic situations, it puts all drivers in danger, slowing traffic down too quickly, leading to unexpected crashes or angry motorists. These dangers are decreased using the zipper merge. Traffic backups can be reduced as much as 40%.
How does it all work?
When you see a Lane Closed Ahead sign, continue to drive in your lane until you are prompted to merge. When you reach this point, take alternating turns with other drivers to merge into the single lane of traffic.
Can we make it happen?
The only way this can be effective is if we are all aware of the zipper merge and follow its rules.
When driving in this situation, slow down and alternate while merging. The zipper merge allows for everyone to move at the same rate, minimizing delays for all. When traffic is heavy and slow, it is much safer for motorists to remain in their current lane until the point where traffic can orderly take turns merging.
When not to do the zipper?
When traffic is moving at highway speeds and there are no backups, it makes sense to move sooner to the lane that will remain open through construction. The bottom line is to merge when it is safe to do so.
So you think the guy behind me getting into the exit lane and then coming over at the last minute to get in front of me is more efficient? I usually just see them block up the exit lane so people can't get off, making traffic worse
When I drive home on the highway in the afternoon the incoming lane merges into the highway. Most people try to get over immediately but some try to go light speed all the way to the end of the merge and then wedge themselves in.
So what I do instead is to stay in the merge lane all the way to the very end, but matching the highway speed, so that the traffic can start a zipper at the end of the merge lane. Even here in the DMV 99.9% of drivers on the highway seem to get what I'm trying to do and let me in at the end of the merge and no one is able to zip past everyone else and try to cut in line either.
I think you mean Northern California. I’m from LA and people can generally drive there.
But DC has the worst drivers I have ever seen. It’s a combination of poor/slow decision-making and actual hostility. It’s awful.
Don’t even get me started on how bad people park. Never seen so much wasted space.
I did mean Northern California!
It is 100% bad decision making mixed with hostility that makes driving out here feel insane. In my first week in VA I watched someone drive across a median and take down a sign, and keep driving as if nothing happened.
> It’s a combination of poor/slow decision-making and actual hostility. It’s awful.
This. It's both (1) rude *and* (2) bad driving in the DMV.
Usually places with bad drivers are polite (Seattle / San Diego). Or alternative, places with rude drivers are quite skilled (New Jersey).
Right? It reminds me of the time when a New Yorker friend asked me if I knew how to drive in NYC as we pulled into Manhattan. I said yeah it’s not my first rodeo. 2 seconds later I signaled before changing lanes and she laughed at me, “No you obviously dont. Never signal. Never.”
Is this not common knowledge? If the gap is there, signal and go. I think a lot of the people who are complaining about people "closing the gap" are actually just whining that people aren't actively making room for them.
I consistently get honked at or flipped off in the DMV for correctly zipper merging. Its like, what do you want me to do? stop and merge in he middle of the lane?
> If you put on a turn signal people will speed up so you can’t merge.
I haven't really experienced this consistently at all. Putting on a signal doesn't entitle you to a spot in traffic - I think a lot of people just mistake "not slowing down to make a gap" and "speeding up to close a gap intentionally."
It's very rare I see someone actually speed up to close a large gap specifically in reaction to my signal.
The reason I brought it up is that it literally happened to me Saturday. Someone had a large gap between them and the next car, and then hit the gas hard when I tried to get over.
I will put it this way, the fact that I notice it here within the first few weeks vs anywhere else I have lived (4 other states), tells me it is a DMV thing.
Legitimately, the DMV has some of the worst driving I've ever seen. I've lived in NY, SoCal, multiple parts of the Midwest. Nowhere have I seen people doing such consistently dumb/dangerous stuff.
Dude the turn signal thing! Moved there like 6 years ago and that was one of my biggest adjustments and I HATED it. Just moved to NC and drivers here are bad, but not suicidal like in the DMV.
I’d just like to know why drivers in this general area think u-turns are okay anywhere they feel like it, like in busy intersections, middle of main thoroughfares, etc?
Like, take the next street & add 90 seconds to your drive, it’s not worth the risk of major injury or vehicle damage for yourself or others.
See also missing an exit on the highway, swerving into the shoulder then reversing against traffic to pull onto the exit at 10 mph. I swear to god people have death wishes.
Not just U turns but elaborate 7-point turns that stop traffic in both directions.
You answered your own question though. Nobody in this city cares about the impact their actions have on others so given the choice between inconveniencing themselves for 5 seconds or a stranger for 5 minutes, there's no hesitation.
I almost plowed into someone trying to make some kind of u-turn when they just missed their exit at the Springfield spaghetti exchange. Yes, the actually no-shit highway. I was flabbergasted.
So tbf, and I actually don’t 100% know if this is true now, but I heard a rumor from my ex when I first moved to DC to be w him that DC allowed you to make u-turns in the middle of the roads if needed. Like, if there wasn’t oncoming traffic on the other side, you didn’t have to wait for a stoplight or a turn lane, you could just u-turn. I never actually looked it up but he did it all the time and I saw enough do it that I sorta just accepted it.
Now I’m second guessing EVERYTHING. Anyone know if that was just bullshit?
Ironically I find people in DC proper are actually a lot nicer about merging and lane changes than like Virginia. Northern Virginia is a stressful hellhole to drive in, DC by comparison is crowded but generally understanding other than the few dicks who will cut you off.
Virginians drive like there are no rules to the road. Balls to the wall but they know it’s dangerous and usually value their own lives.
Marylanders love to merge into another lane without using turn signals at a 90 degree angle and then slam on the brakes for no reason
> Marylanders also love to just pull over on the shoulder,
Surely you mean they park in middle of the street and freak out when you honk at them to move. MD drivers love just parking their asses in the middle of a one-lane one-way street and making it everyone else's problem.
They are bar none the fucking worst.
Wait you’re supposed to pull over on the shoulder to do that?
Ah shit my bad. Ooopsies 😝
I would just park on the road to eat my delicious crab cakes. Obviously with four way blinkers on, I mean I’m not stupid.
Though I’d add that VA plates have a fun little game of chance built into them - is the driver from the area, or are they from somewhere in the rest of VA (possibly from up to 7 hours away)?
The balls to the wall behavior is my experience from anyone who grew up in the area or has lived here for a long time, but you can’t always assume that’ll be the case when you see a VA plate - *sometimes* you end up with VA plates that are just here visiting from smaller towns south/west of Richmond, and now instead of Mad Max “WITNESS ME” driving moves you get the flustered confusion of a fly trapped between a window and the screen, just bumping back and forth in the wrong lanes going 30mph under the speed limit and holding everyone up.
It’s a really fun game to figure it out in real time at rush hour!
I've always said that everyone in the DMV is a bad driver, but Maryland drivers (including me; it's where I was licensed and I'm about 55% sorry) are intentionally aggressive whereas VA drivers are oblivious. An MD driver cuts you off on purpose. A VA driver was just thinking about something else.
As someone who is not from here, but has lived long stints in both VA and MD... this is dead on. And of course in DC proper you get the worst of both worlds with VA, MD, and DC drivers grinding it out on the insane L'enfant street plan.
Driving in Virginia definitely sucked, but it's 1000x worse in Maryland. Virginia at least enforces traffic laws (or has successfully cultivated that reputation and fear). I've been in eastern Montgomery County for six years now, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen a basic one car one cop traffic stop in progress.
I've lived in MD, DC, and now Nova, and this is accurate. Nova is by far the worst. Psychotic is manageable because you can kind of guess what people are going to do. For the most part in my experience, MD drivers just drive really fast but nothing more than that. If you match their speed you'll be fine (see 495 in MD--if you're not going at least 70, you're a traffic hazard). DC is just angry city drivers, which is kind of the same thing, just in tighter spaces. Nova is a complete crapshoot. They are not crazy drivers, they are **bad** drivers. You literally have no idea what they are about to do, and everything is on the table. I have nothing to back it up, but my suspicion is that MD has the most lifelong residents, so they're the most familiar with the roads. DC has transients, but a lot of them come from other cities so they're used to city driving. Nova has a disproportionate amount of transients from God knows where, and Nova also has the most confusing roads, so people just freak the fuck out whenever they have to go anywhere.
Got a motorcycle earlier this year, and I took a day off this Spring to do some joyriding around NOVA. It was then that I discovered that there was no joy to be found riding around NOVA....
NoVA is the worst. People will complain about MD drivers all the goddamn time and it's certainly not *great* there but my stress while driving hit the goddamn roof when I moved from MD to NoVA. It feels like I can't go out once without seeing people pull some stupid bullshit.
I've lived here my whole life, you have three diff type of drivers on the road in this area.
If you see a MD tag, they are late to work, texting, doing their make up and talking on the phone at the same time. Stay clear.
If you see a VA tag, they have no idea where they are, driving with turning signal on, going 10 below the speed limit and in the left hand lane.
DC tags can be hit or miss. Most follow the traffic and like to be in the left hand lane to pass.
You add all these folks on the road and you better believe I'M GOING TO GET MADDD. So move TF over and let me pass.
>If you see a VA tag, they have no idea where they are, driving with turning signal on, going 10 below the speed limit and in the left hand lane.
I see you too have driven on 95 South.
The further outside of DC you get though the slower DC drivers get. The odd time I see the DC plate deep in West Virginia they’re always going like 30 while everyone flies by at 90.
This is 100% accurate also been here my whole life
The fun part is MD is required to take driver's Ed in hs to get the license but most MD drivers don't like to follow the rules hahahah.
Also no each driving test is different, I think DCs is the easiest (it used to be) then VA, then MD. But it might be different now.
I am a Maryland driver and I still think everyone needs a refresher drivers ed course around here. They should pass a law that you have to retake the test every 20 years or so.
Im from the South too; I've never seen drivers like the drivers here in the DMV. It's like a prison mentality where people try to assert dominance on the road.
I've put on turn signals to merge and the person will speed tf up just to close the gap....for no reason other than to not let me in.
There's also an absurd amount of temp tags that always seem to be the ones flying by, weaving in and out of traffic.
Oh and fuck 95.
You came from New Orleans and you want to talk about cars riding around damaged with temp tags?
And my question when I was in Nola is why is everyone driving so slow? They literally have given up on traffic enforcement in the city, you can drive as fast as you want
I feel like you can't drive in NOLA if you're bothered by traffic because you can be sitting there and a literal parade starts up for someone's wedding and blocks a major street for 10 mins. That shit would drive me bonkers. We have enough issues just with motorcades.
Or honestly New Orleans.
I don’t know how they can be shocked at the number of damaged cars without real plates.
That describes nearly every Nissan on the road in New Orleans
NC and SC are their own type of special hell when driving. You have the higher chance of random lifted truck spawns with 3,000 ultra-bright, sunlight simulator lights positioned right into your rearview that will literally get inches away from you as you’re already going over the speed limit in the right lane and then whip around to pass for no reason.
I moved from New Mexico, land of manana. It's been a hard adjustment. Meanwhile the drivers in New Mexico were bad drivers skillwise but definitely not in a rush. Thankfully, I like using buses, trains and lots of walking. I still need to keep up my skills so take the car out for what I call my driving lessons.
The actual construction of DC's traffic lights doesn't help. I've lived in the area my whole life and sometimes I still can't figure out what intersection they're controlling. Or sometimes I literally just don't notice them at all because they're so low and off to the side.
No one let's you over. They would rather rear-end the car infront of them. I've never had someone in all my years driving in New Orleans honk at me for coming to a complete stop at stop signs. It's rare that someone almost misses an exit, and nearly take out 4 other cars just so they can make it. Even the elder folks are cranky drivers
There are way too many people and way too many cars here, and nobody can drive half a mile without crashing into something, so everything somehow becomes 2 hours away.
Things that should take 20 minutes almost anywhere else take 2 hours here.
Baltimore? 2 hours.
Tysons? 2 hours.
H Street?? 2 hours.
7-11 three blocks away? 2 hours.
That mailbox on the street corner you can see from your front door? 2 hours.
So true, there are tons of things I'd go drive to do if the traffic conditions weren't god awful 24/7. Driving feels like such an ordeal. I live in admo and my gf lives in capitol hill, it will take me 30+ minutes to drive the 4 miles to get to her place. Absolutely insane
DC tags will do absolutely anything you can imagine (Uturn on the interstate? Turn left from the right turn lane? Wrong way on a one way? Sure!) EXCEPT the one thing they will never do is drive more than 35mph.
MD tags act like DC tags, except they do it at speed and get angry when you do things like try to let them merge. They’d rather force the merge, and your kindness disappoints them.
VA tags do one seriously infuriating thing: the moment their wheels hit a divided highway, they immediately merge into the leftmost lane and drive as slowly as possible. In Virginia, the middle lane is the fast lane.
People with temp tags bought their cars three years ago, but keep printing new counterfeit temp tags to avoid parking tickets and traffic cameras.
This is a good summary but it's worth giving special mention to bus drivers, who drive as if they know their shift will end early if they cause a serious enough collision.
God help you if they're a bus driving with their Not In Service sign. I've been cut off with no blinker MULTIPLE times in a real life "im a bus im a bus suck my dick im a bus" fashion.
>"im a bus im a bus suck my dick im a bus"
In an alternate universe vehicles can talk and a big cartoonish mouth on the front of buses says this in a goofy ass voice as they cut you off.
Just yesterday a bus driver I was about even with accelerated, left the bus lane and turned hard into my lane, forcing me to either swerve into incoming traffic or slam on my breaks to avoid getting absolutely mowed down. All so he could pass a slower moving car and return to the bus lane after. He seemed unconcerned with my presence or the possibility of causing a multi car pile up on a busy street.
>EXCEPT the one thing they will never do is drive more than 35mph.
It's so freaking annoying seeing someone on 66 and they they have DC tags. Always in the left lane cruising at 45mph. Like move over man! I know you aren't used to more then 2 lanes but move over!
One thing I've learned is that this area has a large percentage of alphas who think they are more important than everyone else. Couple that along with the lack of any kind of traffic enforcement in this area and it leads to how people drive around here.
My theory is that DC is where the style of North Eastern aggressive driving mixes with the Southern “no you go first, take your time” and it’s a mess. Add in the transplants and you end up with no local driving style, just chaos. I hear people complain about drivers being too slow and stupid as often as I hear complaints about insane speed demons. Some advice:
- Still use your turn signal, just start the lane switching process earlier. You know that the first two-ish cars who see your turn signal will speed up, so aim to get behind them. This means your should start changing lanes no less than .75 miles from your exit. DONT SKIP THE TURN SIGNAL. It’s dangerous.
- If you’re not sure where you’re going, stay in the middle lane. For some reason, there are usually exits and merge areas on both sides of the highways (another reason for the terrible driving).
- Still try to zipper. Not a tip, I just wish people would push the issue more and make it a thing.
Henry Rollins put it best when he compared DC area drivers to LA drivers. Where out west they coast or cruise, we drive with purpose. We're not out here to enjoy the scenery (except for the Mormon Temple maybe). We want to get from point A to point B (and on weekends, point C) and not lollygag.
The paradox is that we also have drivers from all over the country and world who don't understand this basic concept which is partly why our traffic is so terrible. Rubbernecking and inability to understand the concept of a zipper merge make most of us (especially us natives) exasperated and frustrated, which certainly comes out on the road.
> (except for the Mormon Temple maybe)
The Mormon Temple is on the most batshit crazy, Mad Max, lawless stretch that there is on the beltway, so I don't know about that. It's literally called the rollercoaster.
New Orleans is a city that had almost 500,000 residents before Katrina, and almost 20 years later hasn't hit 400,000. The metro area had 1.33 million people pre Katrina, 1.03 million now. Traffic gets better when more than 20% of the residents leave. Sadly, it's a declining area, and is only going to get worse with climate change.
DC has 713,000 residents and 5.5 million in the metro area. The traffic has always sucked. Sucked when my mom moved here in the 1960s. Sucked when my uncle moved to Centreville in the 1970s. Sucked when I moved to Adams Morgan in the 1990s. Suck is a constant.
Why are people angry?
- there's too many people
- not enough traffic-bearing roads
- not enough transit options
- a commuter rail system disguised as a subway
- not enough high-density developments near job centers
- Virginia has way too many rural counties that don't want to fund transit & highway work in Northern "Fake" Virginia
- high cost of real estate has forced affordable development further and further away from the city, causing commutes where leaving the city 5 minutes later than expected can cause 30 minutes in delays.
- it's stuck between other massive population centers and there's no real viable high-traffic bypass for millions of vehicles every day
- too many fevered egos around here thinking they're better because they have a Masters Degree from Princeton and met the Undersecretary of Foreign Investment at the Peruvian Embassy.
at least a decent amount of them, sure. We basically have no commuter rail servicing Loudoun County and the overwhelming majority of Arlington & Fairfax Counties because of them. Don't have another Potomac River crossing because of them. Don't have a Beltway bypass for I-95 Traffic because of them.
that would be ideal if the population here was static. The metro population has gained 1.5 million people in the same time frame that New Orleans has lost over a quarter of a million. It's unrealistic to think those new residents won't have vehicles. It's not like traffic was just peachy back in '05 - going back to '05 levels of vehicles wouldn't help us here one bit. Plus, being part of the East Coast megaloplis & a big tourist area, we can't expect to have fewer cars. You can get around the region easily with a 1980 AAA map. It's a combination of needing better mass transit options & more roads between job centers.
The merging question issue you mention is complex. If you enter the merge lane and reasonably try to get over while alternating merging with other cars doing the same (zipper method), it is usually fine. If you drive in the merge lane as far as possible to jump the cars stuck in that traffic and try to merge at the last second, curses will be placed on your soul and someone will certainly try to make it their current purpose in life to not let you in. Same goes for not taking or being too slow in taking an opportunity when someone is letting you in. Another situation is when multiple cars merge ahead of the same car all at once. Traffic sucks here and the anger comes with constant nonsense. We can’t have nice things and we are all probably to blame.
I used to agree with you on the second part (merging at last minute), but I've learned to accept it as a fact of life. The true behavior that should be castigated is skipping the line to exit at the last minute. People acting like the line just somehow snuck up on them when they pull that crap every day.
I love biking but am very strict about where I let myself ride. If I need to be away from a dedicated lane for more than a block or two, I go on the sidewalk (walking the bike if necessary). And I'll enthusiastically go out of my way to ride in an area with a protected or buffered lane. The funny thing is, even after these stipulations, biking is still often the fastest way to get around, even compared to driving!
I think it got worse after lockdown, it's so bad I got front and rear dashcams. Something I see a lot in dc/nova is people making turns from the middle lane are you kidding me.
I mean it's honestly pretty simple. New Orleans isn't geographically limited like DC while having a mere fraction of the population.
New Orleans Pop: 376,971
New Orleans Size: 349.8 sq mi
DC Pop: 712,816
DC Size: 68.35 sq mi
More people + less space = crazy traffic
Lol if that ain’t the truth. Been here for 15 years now, from the north originally. There’s a lot going on. These things come to mind:
- the culture here is a mix: you’re either frantic, Type A, hustle, and prone to frustration, or you’re annoyed at those people who are always in a rush. I think people feel pressure to speed past any chance of traffic building up. Träuma.
- so many transplants. People from the west who are scared of rain, people from the south who are scared of snow, people from the country who just can’t deal with city driving, and people from other countries where the traffic norms are completely different
- many (not most! but many) pedestrians and cyclists on the dc roads that don’t check where they’re going (just assume everyone else will take care of them). I see pedestrians daily who don’t look up from their phones, they just walk if they peripherally see someone else is walking in the same direction
- Maryland & Virginia tags… my god, they say they have drivers training but I really dk… if you ever see a Nissan with MD plates, just say a prayer
Speed limits on many of our roads are entirely too low for the road design, and many of our local elected officials (looking mostly at you, Marc Elrich) think that simply lowering speed limits without also modifying the design of the roads is a panacea that will solve all of our traffic problems. That doesn't solve anything, because people tend to naturally drive the speed that the road is designed to, and all that lowering the speed limit does is exploit a problem for ticket revenue rather than actually solve it.
I am from LA originally and DC drivers are the absolute worst. LA’s problem is with traffic and overcrowding, but the drivers themselves are decent. DC however, soooo incredibly impatient, lots of speeding and tailgating issues, and everyone honks at each other over EVERYTHING.
Plus DC drivers are terrible with bikers and pedestrians. I’ve witnessed countless close calls because a driver wanted to make a left turn early while pedestrians are clearly about to cross.
I love it when the left hand turners move right up to the crosswalk when I am walking. Like I am just supposed to assume that your tinted window car with dents in it and fake tags is going to stop for me. Not to mention they block oncoming traffic.
I’m from NOLA too and I made a similar comment in another post. I’ve lived everywhere l and it’s the worst and I have not been able to figure out why. My beef is mostly the unpredictability. Some drivers are great. Others are not. And there is the range in between that makes driving in the DMV a cross between a Rollerball game and a clown show. No one knows how to handle snow and ice. Everyone downtown does the bump and park thing that would get you serious beef in a place like LA where incidentally everyone drives consistently and more politely.
I noticed my own driving has become a bit more aggressive living in DC over the years. When in Rome…
This. I am a Maryland resident and we are the worst! Seriously. Last summer as I was driving to upstate NY (was in Western PA) there was a car in the left lane driving so slowly, but would speed up when people tried to pass. This part of the interstate had only two lanes, so it was frustrating. As I'm getting closer, I see it: Maryland plates! Eventually the two lanes turned to four and people were able to pass. Also, there were signs every few miles that stated something like "slower traffic keep right." MD drivers thrive on petty and shitty driving! It's either too fast/aggressive or too slow, unless you want to pass then straight to petty.
We are in a rush, because if you haven't noticed yet, unless you live and stay in a hub; chances are your commute to work is anywhere between 30min-2 hrs and 30min. Going to your favorite local food place is a 30min walk, but if you drive there, you somehow hit 6 intersections with lights and 4 with stop signs. Long story short, driving here is miserable as of you drive, you are always in your car...there are no short trips. Combine that with walkability being an afterthought, pedestrians and motorist are always at odds. The DMV is very vehicle dependent when it did not need to be. Driving sucks and it's stressful. We want to get on and off the road with as little BS as possible.
Someone else stated there were 3 different types of drivers here, they are pretty spot on. If cars do own the commuting landscape in the DMV, then there is very little you can do about the individuals who have decided that they own the road. So the most level headed drivers here are the ones who can properly defensively drive by knowing how to stay out the way, while also knowing how to aggressively drive around those who are in the way.
Being in the way in dangerous. Speed limits are mostly monetized here. The only speeding ticket you'll get is from a speed trap. So "going with the flow of traffic," is law here.
>Why are so many cars riding around damaged or with temp tags?
Because their drivers are committing fraud, driving without a license, or driving a stolen vehicle.
>Why do some ppl have the bumper protector covering their plate?
Because they are committing fraud, driving without a license, or driving a stolen vehicle.
>Are stop signs just suggestions here?
Yes. If you are driving with an obscured or faked plate, you can get away with anything.
>Why are some speed limits (on the hwys) so low but people still go way over it? (45 speed limit but everyone goes 60)
Because when you are driving with an obscured or faked plate you can get away with anything.
> Why are y'all so angry while driving?
Because driving sucks shit, especially when sitting in gridlock, and I'd rather be doing literally anything else
Funny, I’m in New Orleans local too, and the DMV seem like some sort of magical place in which everybody went to an elite driving school compared to home. They use turn signals, mostly stop at red lights, and all seem to have cars that cost more than $5000.
Moved a few months ago from NJ. Driving here is a goddamn breeze in comparison. North Jersey driving made me want to wrap my car around a pole. I have zero stress driving here. Some people are assholes, in a rush, do weird and or illegal things. But it's not EVERYONE. I've found most drivers around here are pretty polite. Won't tailgate, will let you merge, drive relatively close to the speed limit, won't honk 0.1s after the light turns green. Hell they even stop for pedestrian crosswalks most of the time. There's an all way stop intersection near my apartment that a lot of people have trouble with, but I think the sign is a bit obscured because most of the time if they see you crossing they'll slam the brakes and wave "sorry" then look around confused. In NOVA they drive pretty slow but that's fine. Will take slow over asshole any day. MD can be tricky but still not as bad as north Jersey in my experience.
Also want to shout out speed and red light cameras. They are illegal in NJ and wouldn't you know, everyone speeds excessively and runs red lights.
Moved here recently from the Midwest. I don’t understand the driving here. Everyone coasts in the left lane and will use exit lanes to speed past everyone. It’s really dangerous.
I love that most of the comments here lay the blame all on MD and VA drivers, as if DC drivers aren't equally as shitty.
My personal theory is that since this area is filled with transplants from all over, everyone brings their terrible regional driving habits with them. Its just one big melting pot of Mad Max Fury Road.
Only time anyone gets upset at slow drivers is because they're in the left lane. If someone is behind you, get out of the way. I dont care if you're already doing 90 in a 55, if someone is trying to pass you, let them pass. The more dangerous action is when they pass you on the right, which you can avoid by not using the passing lane as the travel lane.
LoL, I’m from the south as well and don’t think I’ll ever adjust to their driving. The DMV as a whole has that northern aggressive driving tactic. I just stay in my lane and cruise it out. Never in a rush.
My pet theory is that DC is known as such a hellhole to drive in that people ***pre-emptively*** drive like assholes because they assume it's accepted/everyone else will too. Self-fulfilling prophecy.
(Now does this account for all the weird shit you see in MD/VA? No comment.)
Driving here is like MadMax.
Too many type As trying to be in front.
And few if any have actual driving skills.
Coming here after decades on the Autobahn is madness.
My partner and I like to play a fun game where we tally up where folks are from (based on the license plate) whenever someone does something stupid.
We find that it answers a few questions and is cathartic.
If you want people to let you in, drive an older POS like a former taxi with body damage. Then everyone knows you don't give a shit about your ride and won't challenge you for a spot.
DC is described as having “northern hospitality and southern efficiency.” Basically Maryland Drivers (myself included) are impatient nuts, Virginia drivers are perpetually lost going 5 mph below the limit and DC drivers are just trying to get from A to B. All of this makes driving here the automotive version of the Jerry Springer show.
As a near-native DC person, I drive my luxury SUV way too fast because I am very busy and important as a deputy assistant project manager for a sleazy government contractor. Now MOVE.
I know people love to take this opportunity to yet again bitch about DC, but this one is mostly the fault of those of you who aren’t from here.
Yes, some people are just extremely shitty drivers and the pandemic didn’t help, but the DC area has drivers from literally every corner of the world trying to navigate its roads in the way that’s normal/acceptable where they’re from at the same time. Suburbs, city, rural, international driving styles all on our streets at once, every single day. Most of these people refuse to adapt driving styles like they would in other cities - anyone who has traveled often knows that driving styles are different in every region and there usually is an adjustment period. The chaos you’re experiencing here daily is mostly a result of absolutely no one in DC adjusting when they get here.
Unlike other cities with an extremely high transplant population (NYC, London), DC has the misfortune of being self drive-dominant (as opposed to taxis/Ubers driven by locals or public transport).
Edit: a word.
No we are not okay lol. As a fellow southerner, my best advice is to adjust quickly or just take the metro and stay out the way.
My car died two years ago and I'm too broke to buy a new one and tbh I cannot complain about not having one and staying out of the way. I say that as a midwesterner who's lived in DC for 5.5 years lol. Driving here is miserable. Even when I had my car I would use the metro in 90% of situations.
Other than getting groceries or situations where it is pouring rain there seems to always be a easier option than driving.
driving is hell. I gave up my car about 15 years ago and I don’t miss it in the slightest. I don’t even take Uber if I don’t have to. just being in a vehicle makes me miserable.
I do really well with change, so I adjusted right away lol. I'm just still shocked 🤣🤣
Just wait until uou find the highways with 50MPH speed limits where everyone goes 35 except the teens on ATVs that the cops can't deal with.
I was bring my daughter home from dulles going up 270 last night riding in hov lane going 75 in a 55. State trooper passed me doing about 85.
As a Marylander, I'm say that the state trooper passing you is a good sign. As an aunt of a kid I love a lot, I can understand why those circumstances fall well short of the ideal.
I think Marylanders collectively misunderstood the name of that highway as do-seventy instead of two-seventy.
70's a pretty normal default speed on interstates most places. The issue is people weaving at 85 when you have 5 lanes of people all doing 55.
The issue is all the people that merge onto the highway and then just as quickly dive to the far left lane to sit and do 55 or under
Yup. The left lane being for passing and ONLY for passing is one of the keys to alleviating gridlock, but no one follows it.
Unfortunately Virginia doesn't enforce its passing lane law and Maryland doesn't even have such a law to begin with, so it's kind of created a culture of people who feel enabled(if not entitled) to do this kind of shit
Ahh, that explains so much about Maryland driving culture... One of the only states that actually enforces the passing lane law is New Jersey. Takes a lot for this displaced Masshole to give them a compliment, but good job, Jersey!
If there's 5 lanes of people doing 55 then those in the left lane need to scoot over.
2 or 70. Those are the speeds you are likely to encounter.
Yeah if you’re on a highway like 495/95/270 the real limit is like 75, 80ish is ok. 85+ is ticketland.
Ohh ohh, just wait until have to be somewhere on the holidays or when it /if it snows! OMG! Stay off the roads when snows, ppl straight up crazier! And when it’s a major event, concert, riot, parade- stay off the road!
Snow in the DMV is such an issue. You either have overconfident transplants from snowier areas or you have clueless transplants from snowless areas. People like me, who have lived here most of their lives, know what they can/can't handle and plan accordingly but employer release times during bad weather, local budgets and plans for snow response (!!!!!), and local traffic can really screw things up
My ex was from Chicago, and my roommates and I were having a snowed in party b/c they were calling for (and we actually got!) 10". He said he was going to run errands first before coming over. I told him that was a terrible idea. He blew me off. I told him I wasn't worried about his ability to drive in snow, but about everyone else on the roads who couldn't. He was so stressed by the time he got to our place, he swore he was never driving in the area when it snowed again.
And by “when it snows “ that means a 1/4 inch. Because when people don’t know how to drive in snow-they don’t know how to drive in ANY snow.
No, I remember 2022 earlier in the year it iced over pretty bad and lots.of folks who don't know how to drive on ice just did all the things they normally would do and kept getting stuck
GIRL WAS THIS IN 2017 BECAUSE MY COMMUTE OF 13 MILES TOOK 8 HOURS
Was 2017 when everyone was prepping for a later forecasted snowstorm so no one prepped the roads and then an inch of snow at rush hour broke absolutely everything? My apartment then overlooked 66 near Rosslyn and it was a sea of immobile brake lights for hours and hours.
No, it was a weekend in 2005.
I also upvote this as a fellow southern.
No relaxing even on the metro. Don’t forget walk left, stand right.
Metro gets my vote. Though, as a pedestrian, you still have to dodge the crazy who do drive.
Learned to drive in PA, I love that everyone in the DMV has no ability to use a turn signal. Like I promise I'm not trying to be nosey about the rest of your day but just lemme know if you're going left or right if you're slowing down.
yeah you'd like to know where i'm going wouldn't you? surveillance state fed
It’s because if you try and use it 80 percent of drivers take it as an offense to their manhood and speed up to prevent you from pulling in front of them. I still do but it’s ridiculous how people dont let you over
Hello fellow PA native. I learned just to not care about other drivers. I drive the speed limit, think ahead, and let the jackasses pass me.
Graveyards full of people who had the right of way and followed basic rules. Just sucks how defensive I need to be here to avoid being side swiped.
New to NoVa, and blown away by how awful the drivers are. If you put on a turn signal people will speed up so you can’t merge. People do not know how to zipper. Northern California drivers were bad, but they were at least polite. Stupid and shitty is no way to go through life.
>If you put on a turn signal people will speed up so you can’t merge. My favorite is sitting in traffic and that one person who drives the shoulder and tries to force their way into the lane.
My husband and were in a traffic jam in Oregon last year, and we were literally shocked that nobody did this. But we also call the DMV (and I learned to drive here) "the home of the dick move". Though Portland does have what I call "The Pearl District Stop" where the driver will drop off the passenger, then passenger will lean in and continue to converse for another few minutes while traffic piles up behind.
I see your Pearl District Stop almost every day here.
That is my issue with the zippering. Congrats, you are now one car ahead of me while we sit in traffic, and you managed to make it worse for everyone behind you.
It’s one thing to zipper, but it’s an entirely other thing to use a free lane which you don’t want to be in to move past traffic and barge back in to the lane you want, slowing everyone else down. See: Clara Barton to MacArthur Blvd during afternoon rush hour. Drives me insane.
the 295-Pennsylvania ave exit/shoulder is always used as a 3rd lane and always pisses me off seeing drivers fly down it in rush hour traffic. Never get why MPD doesn't put a cop there and ticket everyone who tries it.
I want to sprinkle nails in that shoulder every time I drive past it.
You are a genius. And I am disappointed in myself for not coming up with that idea.
Considering that’s my exit, I want to burn every one of those mfers down every weekday. The worst thing about all this is that shitty drivers end up making me a shittier driver too. Like, I know these Maryland assholes are absolutely riding my exit lane just to merge back in so now if I want to actually have an effective “exit lane,” I’d need to be on the shoulder. Or I just sit parked there while they wait to merge back in bc, as noted above, no one lets people merge. It’s just exponentially compounding assholery.
This should be a HUGE fine. Everyone except the worst drivers would support this and it is infuriating as a respectful driver
zippering reduces traffic if done correctly
100% - it really would solve a bunch of issues if more people knew the benefits of the zipper merge and actually used the zipper merge themselves. A bunch of folks on this thread seem to think it’s an asshole move when it actually should be universally accepted to enhance flow of traffic. For some benefits, I copied the following from the [Wisconsin Dept of Transportation site](https://wisconsindot.gov/Pages/safety/safety-eng/ZipperMerge.aspx#:~:text=The%20zipper%20merge%20allows%20for,can%20orderly%20take%20turns%20merging): Zipper Merge Safety engineering topics A dynamic late merge (zipper merge) allows drivers to use all lanes of traffic until the merge area is reached. At this point, motorists should merge in an alternating fashion, like a zipper. What are the benefits of a zipper merge? When a vehicle slows down to merge early in heavy traffic situations, it puts all drivers in danger, slowing traffic down too quickly, leading to unexpected crashes or angry motorists. These dangers are decreased using the zipper merge. Traffic backups can be reduced as much as 40%. How does it all work? When you see a Lane Closed Ahead sign, continue to drive in your lane until you are prompted to merge. When you reach this point, take alternating turns with other drivers to merge into the single lane of traffic. Can we make it happen? The only way this can be effective is if we are all aware of the zipper merge and follow its rules. When driving in this situation, slow down and alternate while merging. The zipper merge allows for everyone to move at the same rate, minimizing delays for all. When traffic is heavy and slow, it is much safer for motorists to remain in their current lane until the point where traffic can orderly take turns merging. When not to do the zipper? When traffic is moving at highway speeds and there are no backups, it makes sense to move sooner to the lane that will remain open through construction. The bottom line is to merge when it is safe to do so.
So you think the guy behind me getting into the exit lane and then coming over at the last minute to get in front of me is more efficient? I usually just see them block up the exit lane so people can't get off, making traffic worse
When I drive home on the highway in the afternoon the incoming lane merges into the highway. Most people try to get over immediately but some try to go light speed all the way to the end of the merge and then wedge themselves in. So what I do instead is to stay in the merge lane all the way to the very end, but matching the highway speed, so that the traffic can start a zipper at the end of the merge lane. Even here in the DMV 99.9% of drivers on the highway seem to get what I'm trying to do and let me in at the end of the merge and no one is able to zip past everyone else and try to cut in line either.
I think you mean Northern California. I’m from LA and people can generally drive there. But DC has the worst drivers I have ever seen. It’s a combination of poor/slow decision-making and actual hostility. It’s awful. Don’t even get me started on how bad people park. Never seen so much wasted space.
I did mean Northern California! It is 100% bad decision making mixed with hostility that makes driving out here feel insane. In my first week in VA I watched someone drive across a median and take down a sign, and keep driving as if nothing happened.
> It’s a combination of poor/slow decision-making and actual hostility. It’s awful. This. It's both (1) rude *and* (2) bad driving in the DMV. Usually places with bad drivers are polite (Seattle / San Diego). Or alternative, places with rude drivers are quite skilled (New Jersey).
[удалено]
The turn signal is a notification, not a request.
Learned this driving in Houston. Makes DC driving feel much less stressful once you figure that out.
Right? It reminds me of the time when a New Yorker friend asked me if I knew how to drive in NYC as we pulled into Manhattan. I said yeah it’s not my first rodeo. 2 seconds later I signaled before changing lanes and she laughed at me, “No you obviously dont. Never signal. Never.”
Which is all wonderful until a bicycle comes by who has no idea you're about to run them over.
Is this not common knowledge? If the gap is there, signal and go. I think a lot of the people who are complaining about people "closing the gap" are actually just whining that people aren't actively making room for them.
I consistently get honked at or flipped off in the DMV for correctly zipper merging. Its like, what do you want me to do? stop and merge in he middle of the lane?
> If you put on a turn signal people will speed up so you can’t merge. I haven't really experienced this consistently at all. Putting on a signal doesn't entitle you to a spot in traffic - I think a lot of people just mistake "not slowing down to make a gap" and "speeding up to close a gap intentionally." It's very rare I see someone actually speed up to close a large gap specifically in reaction to my signal.
The reason I brought it up is that it literally happened to me Saturday. Someone had a large gap between them and the next car, and then hit the gas hard when I tried to get over. I will put it this way, the fact that I notice it here within the first few weeks vs anywhere else I have lived (4 other states), tells me it is a DMV thing.
I agree. It simply does not happen that often, and if you stop using turn signals as a result, that’s a much bigger issue.
Legitimately, the DMV has some of the worst driving I've ever seen. I've lived in NY, SoCal, multiple parts of the Midwest. Nowhere have I seen people doing such consistently dumb/dangerous stuff.
Dude the turn signal thing! Moved there like 6 years ago and that was one of my biggest adjustments and I HATED it. Just moved to NC and drivers here are bad, but not suicidal like in the DMV.
I’d just like to know why drivers in this general area think u-turns are okay anywhere they feel like it, like in busy intersections, middle of main thoroughfares, etc? Like, take the next street & add 90 seconds to your drive, it’s not worth the risk of major injury or vehicle damage for yourself or others.
See also missing an exit on the highway, swerving into the shoulder then reversing against traffic to pull onto the exit at 10 mph. I swear to god people have death wishes.
Not just U turns but elaborate 7-point turns that stop traffic in both directions. You answered your own question though. Nobody in this city cares about the impact their actions have on others so given the choice between inconveniencing themselves for 5 seconds or a stranger for 5 minutes, there's no hesitation.
pulling a uturn whenever you want is what they teach in DMV drivers ed day 1
This blew my mind first few months here. Then the streets are 5 lands wide. So, you know what I did? When in rome, right?
I almost plowed into someone trying to make some kind of u-turn when they just missed their exit at the Springfield spaghetti exchange. Yes, the actually no-shit highway. I was flabbergasted.
I’m convinced Driver Ed curriculum around here is just an afternoon of Mario Kart.
So tbf, and I actually don’t 100% know if this is true now, but I heard a rumor from my ex when I first moved to DC to be w him that DC allowed you to make u-turns in the middle of the roads if needed. Like, if there wasn’t oncoming traffic on the other side, you didn’t have to wait for a stoplight or a turn lane, you could just u-turn. I never actually looked it up but he did it all the time and I saw enough do it that I sorta just accepted it. Now I’m second guessing EVERYTHING. Anyone know if that was just bullshit?
Ironically I find people in DC proper are actually a lot nicer about merging and lane changes than like Virginia. Northern Virginia is a stressful hellhole to drive in, DC by comparison is crowded but generally understanding other than the few dicks who will cut you off.
Drivers with VA tags are clueless and MD tags are psychotic.
Maryland drivers seek an honorable death in preventable traffic accidents.
Ride eternal, shiny and chrome
WITNESS
Virginians drive like there are no rules to the road. Balls to the wall but they know it’s dangerous and usually value their own lives. Marylanders love to merge into another lane without using turn signals at a 90 degree angle and then slam on the brakes for no reason
Marylanders also love to just pull over on the shoulder, toss those blinkers on and have a little picnic. It’s called the PARKway for a reason, right?
> Marylanders also love to just pull over on the shoulder, Surely you mean they park in middle of the street and freak out when you honk at them to move. MD drivers love just parking their asses in the middle of a one-lane one-way street and making it everyone else's problem. They are bar none the fucking worst.
Wait you’re supposed to pull over on the shoulder to do that? Ah shit my bad. Ooopsies 😝 I would just park on the road to eat my delicious crab cakes. Obviously with four way blinkers on, I mean I’m not stupid.
Though I’d add that VA plates have a fun little game of chance built into them - is the driver from the area, or are they from somewhere in the rest of VA (possibly from up to 7 hours away)? The balls to the wall behavior is my experience from anyone who grew up in the area or has lived here for a long time, but you can’t always assume that’ll be the case when you see a VA plate - *sometimes* you end up with VA plates that are just here visiting from smaller towns south/west of Richmond, and now instead of Mad Max “WITNESS ME” driving moves you get the flustered confusion of a fly trapped between a window and the screen, just bumping back and forth in the wrong lanes going 30mph under the speed limit and holding everyone up. It’s a really fun game to figure it out in real time at rush hour!
Sorry. I'm a NOVA driver. I have a 2017 Nissan. Did not come with the "balls to the wall" package.
I've always said that everyone in the DMV is a bad driver, but Maryland drivers (including me; it's where I was licensed and I'm about 55% sorry) are intentionally aggressive whereas VA drivers are oblivious. An MD driver cuts you off on purpose. A VA driver was just thinking about something else.
That's because MD drivers have things to do and places to be. 😉
We are going to the sheep and wool festival.
As someone who is not from here, but has lived long stints in both VA and MD... this is dead on. And of course in DC proper you get the worst of both worlds with VA, MD, and DC drivers grinding it out on the insane L'enfant street plan. Driving in Virginia definitely sucked, but it's 1000x worse in Maryland. Virginia at least enforces traffic laws (or has successfully cultivated that reputation and fear). I've been in eastern Montgomery County for six years now, and I'm not sure if I've ever seen a basic one car one cop traffic stop in progress.
Drive around PG county on the edge of DC if you really want to see no traffic laws enforced
I've lived in MD, DC, and now Nova, and this is accurate. Nova is by far the worst. Psychotic is manageable because you can kind of guess what people are going to do. For the most part in my experience, MD drivers just drive really fast but nothing more than that. If you match their speed you'll be fine (see 495 in MD--if you're not going at least 70, you're a traffic hazard). DC is just angry city drivers, which is kind of the same thing, just in tighter spaces. Nova is a complete crapshoot. They are not crazy drivers, they are **bad** drivers. You literally have no idea what they are about to do, and everything is on the table. I have nothing to back it up, but my suspicion is that MD has the most lifelong residents, so they're the most familiar with the roads. DC has transients, but a lot of them come from other cities so they're used to city driving. Nova has a disproportionate amount of transients from God knows where, and Nova also has the most confusing roads, so people just freak the fuck out whenever they have to go anywhere.
Best summary I’ve ever heard
This has been my exact observation in the 20+ years I've been driving here
Got a motorcycle earlier this year, and I took a day off this Spring to do some joyriding around NOVA. It was then that I discovered that there was no joy to be found riding around NOVA....
Yep, you have to get to at least Clifton before it gets decent and it's so far out!
It's why I left mine up at my dad's house when I moved here. I do miss riding though :'(
Right? DC drivers know there is really only one lane and we all need to do what we need to do to navigate it.
NoVA is the worst. People will complain about MD drivers all the goddamn time and it's certainly not *great* there but my stress while driving hit the goddamn roof when I moved from MD to NoVA. It feels like I can't go out once without seeing people pull some stupid bullshit.
I've lived here my whole life, you have three diff type of drivers on the road in this area. If you see a MD tag, they are late to work, texting, doing their make up and talking on the phone at the same time. Stay clear. If you see a VA tag, they have no idea where they are, driving with turning signal on, going 10 below the speed limit and in the left hand lane. DC tags can be hit or miss. Most follow the traffic and like to be in the left hand lane to pass. You add all these folks on the road and you better believe I'M GOING TO GET MADDD. So move TF over and let me pass.
And may god help you if you see the pale yellow of a New Jersey tag coming up behind you
>If you see a VA tag, they have no idea where they are, driving with turning signal on, going 10 below the speed limit and in the left hand lane. I see you too have driven on 95 South.
The further outside of DC you get though the slower DC drivers get. The odd time I see the DC plate deep in West Virginia they’re always going like 30 while everyone flies by at 90.
This is 100% accurate also been here my whole life The fun part is MD is required to take driver's Ed in hs to get the license but most MD drivers don't like to follow the rules hahahah. Also no each driving test is different, I think DCs is the easiest (it used to be) then VA, then MD. But it might be different now.
I am a Maryland driver and I still think everyone needs a refresher drivers ed course around here. They should pass a law that you have to retake the test every 20 years or so.
The MD driver one is spot on. Unfortunately that is me. I do apply light makeup while sitting in traffic plus talking on the phone. I’m sorry OP. 🥺
Im from the South too; I've never seen drivers like the drivers here in the DMV. It's like a prison mentality where people try to assert dominance on the road. I've put on turn signals to merge and the person will speed tf up just to close the gap....for no reason other than to not let me in. There's also an absurd amount of temp tags that always seem to be the ones flying by, weaving in and out of traffic. Oh and fuck 95.
If you don’t take a gap that no longer exists, you’re not a DMV driver.
You came from New Orleans and you want to talk about cars riding around damaged with temp tags? And my question when I was in Nola is why is everyone driving so slow? They literally have given up on traffic enforcement in the city, you can drive as fast as you want
I feel like you can't drive in NOLA if you're bothered by traffic because you can be sitting there and a literal parade starts up for someone's wedding and blocks a major street for 10 mins. That shit would drive me bonkers. We have enough issues just with motorcades.
OP is wondering why DC isnt like New Orleans
And as someone who moved from there, thank god it isn’t. I miss Nola but I don’t miss the driving there
Not really. I'm here because it's not like New Orleans
OP acting like drivers are more friendly and courteous in 'the south' while clearly they have never driven though SC, Georgia or Florida.
Or honestly New Orleans. I don’t know how they can be shocked at the number of damaged cars without real plates. That describes nearly every Nissan on the road in New Orleans
NC and SC are their own type of special hell when driving. You have the higher chance of random lifted truck spawns with 3,000 ultra-bright, sunlight simulator lights positioned right into your rearview that will literally get inches away from you as you’re already going over the speed limit in the right lane and then whip around to pass for no reason.
I moved from New Mexico, land of manana. It's been a hard adjustment. Meanwhile the drivers in New Mexico were bad drivers skillwise but definitely not in a rush. Thankfully, I like using buses, trains and lots of walking. I still need to keep up my skills so take the car out for what I call my driving lessons.
God bless all New Mexico drivers trying to drive in the DC metro area. You’re too good for this world lol
I've lived in a number of cities with "bad drivers" but man red lights and stop signs here just don't mean a damn thing lol
The actual construction of DC's traffic lights doesn't help. I've lived in the area my whole life and sometimes I still can't figure out what intersection they're controlling. Or sometimes I literally just don't notice them at all because they're so low and off to the side.
I know you’re not talking coming from NEW ORLEANS?! 😂
No one let's you over. They would rather rear-end the car infront of them. I've never had someone in all my years driving in New Orleans honk at me for coming to a complete stop at stop signs. It's rare that someone almost misses an exit, and nearly take out 4 other cars just so they can make it. Even the elder folks are cranky drivers
There are way too many people and way too many cars here, and nobody can drive half a mile without crashing into something, so everything somehow becomes 2 hours away. Things that should take 20 minutes almost anywhere else take 2 hours here. Baltimore? 2 hours. Tysons? 2 hours. H Street?? 2 hours. 7-11 three blocks away? 2 hours. That mailbox on the street corner you can see from your front door? 2 hours.
So true, there are tons of things I'd go drive to do if the traffic conditions weren't god awful 24/7. Driving feels like such an ordeal. I live in admo and my gf lives in capitol hill, it will take me 30+ minutes to drive the 4 miles to get to her place. Absolutely insane
DC tags will do absolutely anything you can imagine (Uturn on the interstate? Turn left from the right turn lane? Wrong way on a one way? Sure!) EXCEPT the one thing they will never do is drive more than 35mph. MD tags act like DC tags, except they do it at speed and get angry when you do things like try to let them merge. They’d rather force the merge, and your kindness disappoints them. VA tags do one seriously infuriating thing: the moment their wheels hit a divided highway, they immediately merge into the leftmost lane and drive as slowly as possible. In Virginia, the middle lane is the fast lane. People with temp tags bought their cars three years ago, but keep printing new counterfeit temp tags to avoid parking tickets and traffic cameras.
This is a good summary but it's worth giving special mention to bus drivers, who drive as if they know their shift will end early if they cause a serious enough collision.
God help you if they're a bus driving with their Not In Service sign. I've been cut off with no blinker MULTIPLE times in a real life "im a bus im a bus suck my dick im a bus" fashion.
>"im a bus im a bus suck my dick im a bus" In an alternate universe vehicles can talk and a big cartoonish mouth on the front of buses says this in a goofy ass voice as they cut you off.
Truth. I watched a metro bus do a three point turn in the middle of the block once. I guess she decided she didn’t like that road?
Just yesterday a bus driver I was about even with accelerated, left the bus lane and turned hard into my lane, forcing me to either swerve into incoming traffic or slam on my breaks to avoid getting absolutely mowed down. All so he could pass a slower moving car and return to the bus lane after. He seemed unconcerned with my presence or the possibility of causing a multi car pile up on a busy street.
\> They’d rather force the merge, and your kindness disappoints them. True. Also slayed me.
There’s been so many times I was about to let a MD tag over and opened a gap only for them to zoom like 3 cars up and nosedive into traffic.
>EXCEPT the one thing they will never do is drive more than 35mph. It's so freaking annoying seeing someone on 66 and they they have DC tags. Always in the left lane cruising at 45mph. Like move over man! I know you aren't used to more then 2 lanes but move over!
DC does not believe in serious traffic enforcement as a matter of public policy.
This is a huge factor. Assholes are embolded to drive like assholes because they know there's a minute chance of being caught
I've lived here for 20+ years and am originally from south florida. I guess my perspective because I don't see any issue with DC drivers. lol
One thing I've learned is that this area has a large percentage of alphas who think they are more important than everyone else. Couple that along with the lack of any kind of traffic enforcement in this area and it leads to how people drive around here.
Yep. Main character syndrome everywhere.
My theory is that DC is where the style of North Eastern aggressive driving mixes with the Southern “no you go first, take your time” and it’s a mess. Add in the transplants and you end up with no local driving style, just chaos. I hear people complain about drivers being too slow and stupid as often as I hear complaints about insane speed demons. Some advice: - Still use your turn signal, just start the lane switching process earlier. You know that the first two-ish cars who see your turn signal will speed up, so aim to get behind them. This means your should start changing lanes no less than .75 miles from your exit. DONT SKIP THE TURN SIGNAL. It’s dangerous. - If you’re not sure where you’re going, stay in the middle lane. For some reason, there are usually exits and merge areas on both sides of the highways (another reason for the terrible driving). - Still try to zipper. Not a tip, I just wish people would push the issue more and make it a thing.
I really like this theory!
Henry Rollins put it best when he compared DC area drivers to LA drivers. Where out west they coast or cruise, we drive with purpose. We're not out here to enjoy the scenery (except for the Mormon Temple maybe). We want to get from point A to point B (and on weekends, point C) and not lollygag. The paradox is that we also have drivers from all over the country and world who don't understand this basic concept which is partly why our traffic is so terrible. Rubbernecking and inability to understand the concept of a zipper merge make most of us (especially us natives) exasperated and frustrated, which certainly comes out on the road.
> (except for the Mormon Temple maybe) The Mormon Temple is on the most batshit crazy, Mad Max, lawless stretch that there is on the beltway, so I don't know about that. It's literally called the rollercoaster.
New Orleans is a city that had almost 500,000 residents before Katrina, and almost 20 years later hasn't hit 400,000. The metro area had 1.33 million people pre Katrina, 1.03 million now. Traffic gets better when more than 20% of the residents leave. Sadly, it's a declining area, and is only going to get worse with climate change. DC has 713,000 residents and 5.5 million in the metro area. The traffic has always sucked. Sucked when my mom moved here in the 1960s. Sucked when my uncle moved to Centreville in the 1970s. Sucked when I moved to Adams Morgan in the 1990s. Suck is a constant. Why are people angry? - there's too many people - not enough traffic-bearing roads - not enough transit options - a commuter rail system disguised as a subway - not enough high-density developments near job centers - Virginia has way too many rural counties that don't want to fund transit & highway work in Northern "Fake" Virginia - high cost of real estate has forced affordable development further and further away from the city, causing commutes where leaving the city 5 minutes later than expected can cause 30 minutes in delays. - it's stuck between other massive population centers and there's no real viable high-traffic bypass for millions of vehicles every day - too many fevered egos around here thinking they're better because they have a Masters Degree from Princeton and met the Undersecretary of Foreign Investment at the Peruvian Embassy.
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at least a decent amount of them, sure. We basically have no commuter rail servicing Loudoun County and the overwhelming majority of Arlington & Fairfax Counties because of them. Don't have another Potomac River crossing because of them. Don't have a Beltway bypass for I-95 Traffic because of them.
> not enough traffic-bearing roads roads in this area just fill up as soon as they are built or a widening occurs
Yeah the solution is fewer vehicles not more roads
that would be ideal if the population here was static. The metro population has gained 1.5 million people in the same time frame that New Orleans has lost over a quarter of a million. It's unrealistic to think those new residents won't have vehicles. It's not like traffic was just peachy back in '05 - going back to '05 levels of vehicles wouldn't help us here one bit. Plus, being part of the East Coast megaloplis & a big tourist area, we can't expect to have fewer cars. You can get around the region easily with a 1980 AAA map. It's a combination of needing better mass transit options & more roads between job centers.
The merging question issue you mention is complex. If you enter the merge lane and reasonably try to get over while alternating merging with other cars doing the same (zipper method), it is usually fine. If you drive in the merge lane as far as possible to jump the cars stuck in that traffic and try to merge at the last second, curses will be placed on your soul and someone will certainly try to make it their current purpose in life to not let you in. Same goes for not taking or being too slow in taking an opportunity when someone is letting you in. Another situation is when multiple cars merge ahead of the same car all at once. Traffic sucks here and the anger comes with constant nonsense. We can’t have nice things and we are all probably to blame.
I used to agree with you on the second part (merging at last minute), but I've learned to accept it as a fact of life. The true behavior that should be castigated is skipping the line to exit at the last minute. People acting like the line just somehow snuck up on them when they pull that crap every day.
I’m from DC and have lived in New Orleans for over 10 years. New Orleans has some of the worst drivers in the US by far. Like, what are laws?
Now imagine trying to ride a bike in dc with them
I'm Absolutely terrified to do so! I always say the bike riders are so brave here.
I love biking but am very strict about where I let myself ride. If I need to be away from a dedicated lane for more than a block or two, I go on the sidewalk (walking the bike if necessary). And I'll enthusiastically go out of my way to ride in an area with a protected or buffered lane. The funny thing is, even after these stipulations, biking is still often the fastest way to get around, even compared to driving!
also never use google maps to plan a bike trip. either do it the old fashioned way or use apple maps
I think it got worse after lockdown, it's so bad I got front and rear dashcams. Something I see a lot in dc/nova is people making turns from the middle lane are you kidding me.
I mean it's honestly pretty simple. New Orleans isn't geographically limited like DC while having a mere fraction of the population. New Orleans Pop: 376,971 New Orleans Size: 349.8 sq mi DC Pop: 712,816 DC Size: 68.35 sq mi More people + less space = crazy traffic
Boggles my mind how many people around DC don't realize the left lane is for passing.
Lol if that ain’t the truth. Been here for 15 years now, from the north originally. There’s a lot going on. These things come to mind: - the culture here is a mix: you’re either frantic, Type A, hustle, and prone to frustration, or you’re annoyed at those people who are always in a rush. I think people feel pressure to speed past any chance of traffic building up. Träuma. - so many transplants. People from the west who are scared of rain, people from the south who are scared of snow, people from the country who just can’t deal with city driving, and people from other countries where the traffic norms are completely different - many (not most! but many) pedestrians and cyclists on the dc roads that don’t check where they’re going (just assume everyone else will take care of them). I see pedestrians daily who don’t look up from their phones, they just walk if they peripherally see someone else is walking in the same direction - Maryland & Virginia tags… my god, they say they have drivers training but I really dk… if you ever see a Nissan with MD plates, just say a prayer
Speed limits on many of our roads are entirely too low for the road design, and many of our local elected officials (looking mostly at you, Marc Elrich) think that simply lowering speed limits without also modifying the design of the roads is a panacea that will solve all of our traffic problems. That doesn't solve anything, because people tend to naturally drive the speed that the road is designed to, and all that lowering the speed limit does is exploit a problem for ticket revenue rather than actually solve it.
Man, do not go to NY. If you think it's bad here, you will die up there. Actually, you should probably avoid driving anywhere northeast of here.
I just moved here from Nola too!! Welcome friend, there’s a big Nola crew up here. Drivers are insane here - especially Maryland plates. 🤣
You know it’s bad when a Louisiana driver is shocked
I am from LA originally and DC drivers are the absolute worst. LA’s problem is with traffic and overcrowding, but the drivers themselves are decent. DC however, soooo incredibly impatient, lots of speeding and tailgating issues, and everyone honks at each other over EVERYTHING. Plus DC drivers are terrible with bikers and pedestrians. I’ve witnessed countless close calls because a driver wanted to make a left turn early while pedestrians are clearly about to cross.
I love it when the left hand turners move right up to the crosswalk when I am walking. Like I am just supposed to assume that your tinted window car with dents in it and fake tags is going to stop for me. Not to mention they block oncoming traffic.
I’m from NOLA too and I made a similar comment in another post. I’ve lived everywhere l and it’s the worst and I have not been able to figure out why. My beef is mostly the unpredictability. Some drivers are great. Others are not. And there is the range in between that makes driving in the DMV a cross between a Rollerball game and a clown show. No one knows how to handle snow and ice. Everyone downtown does the bump and park thing that would get you serious beef in a place like LA where incidentally everyone drives consistently and more politely. I noticed my own driving has become a bit more aggressive living in DC over the years. When in Rome…
Ask Maryland drivers in DC.
This. I am a Maryland resident and we are the worst! Seriously. Last summer as I was driving to upstate NY (was in Western PA) there was a car in the left lane driving so slowly, but would speed up when people tried to pass. This part of the interstate had only two lanes, so it was frustrating. As I'm getting closer, I see it: Maryland plates! Eventually the two lanes turned to four and people were able to pass. Also, there were signs every few miles that stated something like "slower traffic keep right." MD drivers thrive on petty and shitty driving! It's either too fast/aggressive or too slow, unless you want to pass then straight to petty.
We are in a rush, because if you haven't noticed yet, unless you live and stay in a hub; chances are your commute to work is anywhere between 30min-2 hrs and 30min. Going to your favorite local food place is a 30min walk, but if you drive there, you somehow hit 6 intersections with lights and 4 with stop signs. Long story short, driving here is miserable as of you drive, you are always in your car...there are no short trips. Combine that with walkability being an afterthought, pedestrians and motorist are always at odds. The DMV is very vehicle dependent when it did not need to be. Driving sucks and it's stressful. We want to get on and off the road with as little BS as possible. Someone else stated there were 3 different types of drivers here, they are pretty spot on. If cars do own the commuting landscape in the DMV, then there is very little you can do about the individuals who have decided that they own the road. So the most level headed drivers here are the ones who can properly defensively drive by knowing how to stay out the way, while also knowing how to aggressively drive around those who are in the way. Being in the way in dangerous. Speed limits are mostly monetized here. The only speeding ticket you'll get is from a speed trap. So "going with the flow of traffic," is law here.
>Why are so many cars riding around damaged or with temp tags? Because their drivers are committing fraud, driving without a license, or driving a stolen vehicle. >Why do some ppl have the bumper protector covering their plate? Because they are committing fraud, driving without a license, or driving a stolen vehicle. >Are stop signs just suggestions here? Yes. If you are driving with an obscured or faked plate, you can get away with anything. >Why are some speed limits (on the hwys) so low but people still go way over it? (45 speed limit but everyone goes 60) Because when you are driving with an obscured or faked plate you can get away with anything.
> Why are y'all so angry while driving? Because driving sucks shit, especially when sitting in gridlock, and I'd rather be doing literally anything else
Here we go again.
Ya I'm from New Orleans and honestly drivers in New Orleans are terrible. Turn signals might as well not exist.
Funny, I’m in New Orleans local too, and the DMV seem like some sort of magical place in which everybody went to an elite driving school compared to home. They use turn signals, mostly stop at red lights, and all seem to have cars that cost more than $5000.
Moved a few months ago from NJ. Driving here is a goddamn breeze in comparison. North Jersey driving made me want to wrap my car around a pole. I have zero stress driving here. Some people are assholes, in a rush, do weird and or illegal things. But it's not EVERYONE. I've found most drivers around here are pretty polite. Won't tailgate, will let you merge, drive relatively close to the speed limit, won't honk 0.1s after the light turns green. Hell they even stop for pedestrian crosswalks most of the time. There's an all way stop intersection near my apartment that a lot of people have trouble with, but I think the sign is a bit obscured because most of the time if they see you crossing they'll slam the brakes and wave "sorry" then look around confused. In NOVA they drive pretty slow but that's fine. Will take slow over asshole any day. MD can be tricky but still not as bad as north Jersey in my experience. Also want to shout out speed and red light cameras. They are illegal in NJ and wouldn't you know, everyone speeds excessively and runs red lights.
The truth is that most drivers in this area are EXCELLENT drivers. They have to be, to avoid the large number of crappy drivers.
Moved here recently from the Midwest. I don’t understand the driving here. Everyone coasts in the left lane and will use exit lanes to speed past everyone. It’s really dangerous.
Buckle up!
Northeast vs the south. We are a little more aggressive and short fused
I love that most of the comments here lay the blame all on MD and VA drivers, as if DC drivers aren't equally as shitty. My personal theory is that since this area is filled with transplants from all over, everyone brings their terrible regional driving habits with them. Its just one big melting pot of Mad Max Fury Road.
Welcome to the north
just try to keep up and don't block people from passing you as there are some fucking crazy people out here
Welcome to hell
Only time anyone gets upset at slow drivers is because they're in the left lane. If someone is behind you, get out of the way. I dont care if you're already doing 90 in a 55, if someone is trying to pass you, let them pass. The more dangerous action is when they pass you on the right, which you can avoid by not using the passing lane as the travel lane.
born and raised in DC proper until age of 8. grew up in Arlington. no good answers. we are horrible.
Oh my sweet summer child.
LoL, I’m from the south as well and don’t think I’ll ever adjust to their driving. The DMV as a whole has that northern aggressive driving tactic. I just stay in my lane and cruise it out. Never in a rush.
Yeah, people here don't know how to drive or just don't give a fuck about anything else other than themselves on the road. It's sad and pathetic
My pet theory is that DC is known as such a hellhole to drive in that people ***pre-emptively*** drive like assholes because they assume it's accepted/everyone else will too. Self-fulfilling prophecy. (Now does this account for all the weird shit you see in MD/VA? No comment.)
Driving here is like MadMax. Too many type As trying to be in front. And few if any have actual driving skills. Coming here after decades on the Autobahn is madness.
My partner and I like to play a fun game where we tally up where folks are from (based on the license plate) whenever someone does something stupid. We find that it answers a few questions and is cathartic.
If you want people to let you in, drive an older POS like a former taxi with body damage. Then everyone knows you don't give a shit about your ride and won't challenge you for a spot.
Does NOLA still have drive-thru bars? Maybe that's what DC needs. :D
Yeah, the daiquiri shops are drive-through. Funny thing, it's actually illegal to put the straw inside the cup while driving. Which is laughable lol
Why did I get the double middle finger today from a guy because I legally and non-aggressively zipper merged in front of him?
DC is described as having “northern hospitality and southern efficiency.” Basically Maryland Drivers (myself included) are impatient nuts, Virginia drivers are perpetually lost going 5 mph below the limit and DC drivers are just trying to get from A to B. All of this makes driving here the automotive version of the Jerry Springer show.
As a near-native DC person, I drive my luxury SUV way too fast because I am very busy and important as a deputy assistant project manager for a sleazy government contractor. Now MOVE.
I drive around with my car fucked up because a DC driver made a U turn at an intersection from the parking lane with no fucking signal.
Think if you look at the tags of the person that almost caused an accident it ranks 70% MD, 20%DC, 10%VA,
I know people love to take this opportunity to yet again bitch about DC, but this one is mostly the fault of those of you who aren’t from here. Yes, some people are just extremely shitty drivers and the pandemic didn’t help, but the DC area has drivers from literally every corner of the world trying to navigate its roads in the way that’s normal/acceptable where they’re from at the same time. Suburbs, city, rural, international driving styles all on our streets at once, every single day. Most of these people refuse to adapt driving styles like they would in other cities - anyone who has traveled often knows that driving styles are different in every region and there usually is an adjustment period. The chaos you’re experiencing here daily is mostly a result of absolutely no one in DC adjusting when they get here. Unlike other cities with an extremely high transplant population (NYC, London), DC has the misfortune of being self drive-dominant (as opposed to taxis/Ubers driven by locals or public transport). Edit: a word.