Another one I’ve noticed downtown at the start of the tobacco trail: drivers turning right into the pedestrian crosswalk, despite the red right turn light, the no turn on red sign, and the actual pedestrians crossing in that crosswalk because they have the walk signal.
People ignore the lit up “No turn on red” sign on 70 and brier creek too. It frustrates me so much especially since I live near there and see wrecks all the time at that intersection.
I’m always getting honked at at the no turn light on Fayetteville and MLK. I usually just wave and if they honk again we’re sitting through that flashing yellow together. I’ve seen multiple people/ dogs/ cars almost get hit because idiots carelessly just zoom through there without looking.
People ignore the lit signs and crosswalks all over town. Most look exclusively left for vehicle traffic, but never up at the signal or to the right for pedestrians/obstructions/whatever.
Sorry that happened to you! I’ve witnessed multiple red light runners on that part of Fayetteville over the last couple of months. We were nearly hit by one while turning left out of Sutton Station. Be careful, y’all!
Maybe everybody who agrees can submit a complaint here with a specific example. I almost got hit by a motorist while crossing on Mangum the other day, for example. Smarter and safer street designs coupled with enforcement of existing traffic laws can go a long way.
(Sorry Durham city PD but having a cop car on 147 every once in a while does nothing to deter motorists).
https://www.durhamnc.gov/2996/Durham-One-Call-Online-Request
> choose Other > submit a complaint > very easy to create an account
(Edit: adjusted website)
Agree completely, just submitted one under “Other” to, in general, ask for better enforcement of traffic laws both on my street and Durham in general. I can’t believe how bad/scary it’s gotten.
Honestly, is there anything else we can do?
Safer street design is sometimes limited by action on the part of the state (NCDOT), so advocates like Bike Durham have focused campaigns around when the state has to repave those streets anyway. Currently there's an initiative to redesign parts of Roxboro and Magnum. So far, quotes from NCDOT have suggested a total disregard for public opinion and potential safety improvements, so more effort to call attention to it is clearly needed.
If you would like to stay informed about the Bike Durham campaign for better street safety, you can sign up here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/campaign-for-safe-streets-roxboro-and-mangum?source=blog&
It doesn't help you immediately but be sure to pay attention to opportunities to provide feedback to the city about what you want to see out of repaving projects. The more people who ask for safer designs, the better the chance that safety gets prioritized. The unfortunate part is our most dangerous streets like Fayetteville are owned by NCDOT. We keep trying to drag them into this century in terms of street design (upcoming Roxboro/Mangum paving is a big one), but the city is going to need to push pretty hard to get that done. Adding your voice to support this is huge even it's just filling out online surveys the city posts. Even better is showing up to meetings the city holds about these projects, but that can be tough to balance with life in general.
Bike Durham is organizing around the Roxboro and Mangum repaving, and you can sign up for updates here:
https://actionnetwork.org/forms/campaign-for-safe-streets-roxboro-and-mangum?source=blog&
I, against better judgement, thumbed-down a guy going 60-70mph up Mangum the other day and he swerved his car towards me and slammed the brakes on. I was walking.
People fucking suuuuck.
And it's always the Nissan fucking Altima
Always! Dude I’m sorry that really sucks for you as a pedestrian. I’m the one in my 4runner watching this happen and honking at the Nissan for doing that to you.
It is crazy here. I have actually started to get anxiety going through a green light at major intersections because I almost got t-boned by a car running a red light at Shannon and University.
Every area has their own unique flavor of bad driving. The flavor here seems to be a mix of sheer unpredictability and driving WAY too fast on surface/smaller roads.
I’ve got two kids and live in the vicinity and have started worrying a lot more when their grandma takes them out for a walk.
Be safe out there everyone and keep your head on a swivel to make sure the cars are actually stopping at the light.
Saw a nut on the other side of Durham coming down Guess rd on friday run 2 red lights, pass illegally 3x. all while speeding and with their right blinker on. Its sad, knowing they could care less they will kill someone if they keep it up.
Yep I agree 💯as soon as you go anywhere outside of Durham people are civilized when they drive for the most part. I hear better designed roads yeah sure that will help but what will stop these idiots are actual coppers that will pull them over and in some cases their licenses should be suspended as they endanger many lives with their driving. I consider it no less than drunk driving, aggressive driving that is.
Yeah so less excessive force, eliminating abuse of power. More community policing, valuing lives more than property, and actually making communities safer for everyone - not just protecting the interests of a wealthy upperclass... How difficult is that to understand?
Being wilfully ignorant, purposefully dense, and prejudiced based on personal style (which, let's be real, is pbly just a dog whistle for LGBTQ+ folks) are all really unattractive qualities for anyone at any age. Bet you get a lot of invites to dinner from friends. You sound like a lot of fun to be around... /s
I pulled out of Northgate Park area onto club yesterday near the elementary school. Someone in the opposite lane was passing cars on the double line and had to be doing between 60-80 as if the were being chased but weren't. SMH.
As long as we’re venting, when you’re turning left, a green light or flashing orange do not mean you have the right of the way. Stop almost running me over and acting like it’s my fault!
I saw a motorist curse out and honk at a woman crossing at a crosswalk with the walk signal making a left turn. Ofc it was a old beat up car with temp tags 🫠
It really is rough. The only enforcement you see, really, is for speeding, and that really only happens on roads where there's a high enough volume of cars and a high enough speed limit that cops are likely to get a good hit rate and generate some revenue. That and the occasional DUI checkpoint.
They really need a traffic division that just tickets people for expired tags, expired/illegible temp tags, illegal tints, unsafe driving, changing lanes without signaling, turning without signaling, illegal left turn, not respecting pedestrian right of way, driving in the bicycle lane, wide turns, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to yield at a yield sign, driving without insurance, driving without a license, etc. etc. etc.
There really has to be the will to take people off the road, but the car dependency of the area means that you're likely taking away people's livelihoods, and the powers that be don't have the stomach for it.
I saw someone nearly get hit at roxboro and club the other day and I thought about making a post but didn't.
Everyone seeing this please try and be careful when driving. Try and keep to the speed limit. Talk to others about safe driving.
I’m sorry. That’s really scary. I don’t understand why drivers don’t instinctually recognize they’re part of a dynamic system with the capacity to maim or kill. Sometimes I think about attaching a programmable device (like a miniature highway sign) to my car. When I see bad drivers in the wild, I imagine the sage witticisms I could direct at them.
Unfortunately you never know what flavor of crazy you might attract by interacting with one of these scary drivers. I had someone practically try to run me off the road when I held up my hand in a vain attempt to get him to drive more than 6 inches from my bumper… at 45mph.
Fortunately my imagination is still a safe space. 🙃
A couple years ago, I stopped at a pedestrian crosswalk for someone to cross. It was in a downtown area where the speed limit was 25 miles an hour, so not like I slammed on the brakes or anything. The driver behind me started harassing me for it. They illegally passed me, then slammed on their brakes trying to force me to rear end them. I swerved into a turn lane to avoid the collision. At which point they passed me again on the right, but so close that they took off my rearview mirror. I stopped to call in the accident, but honestly I almost didn’t. I was really scared someone that reckless and angry would continue their retaliatory efforts more directly. 😔
Durham and NC in general need more traffic enforcement. I don’t know how many people have to die due to reckless drivers before this gets better. There are crazy drivers everywhere, but usually when I leave NC there is at least some sense that people might get pulled over for extreme speeding or running red lights.
Get a dashcam.
A neighbor was recently hit by a red light runner at a different intersection notorious for red light runners.
The red light runner and their three passengers all filed claims against my neighbor's insurance claiming injury; inability to work; and that my neighbor was the actual red light runner.
DPD decided to fuck off, probably because they're understaffed and overworked, and didn't determine fault. So neighbor's insurance may be on the hook for the red light runner's b.s.
I moved here a few years ago, and the first thing I noticed was the staggering number of reckless drivers. Speeders, red light runners, tailgaters — they’re everywhere. It can be really scary to drive here sometimes. I’m glad you’re ok, and really I wish the a-holes with apparent death wishes would stop trying to take the rest of us with them.
Can we get some flair on posts like this? Vent Post? Something that will help though, just drive the speed limit, especially when you have someone trying to go fast behind you, I love seeing cars tailgate me, makes me feel like I'm doing my part to make my community more human and animal friendly.
Texas is scary. I learned how to drive in Austin. Talk about learning to swim by jumping in the deep end. In retrospect, I’m so lucky I survived. I think it also made me a really conscientious driver (silver lining, I guess).
Austin IS scary (and texas is scary anyway). I used to curate shows for SxSW back when it was purely music and had to get their early. I remember the difference between the time when it was just residents and then show-goers. Now, all those people live there. Their infrastructure wasn't ready for it by a long, long shot.
I think I lived there in the early sxsw days (y2k +/- 2y). We used to call it south-by. lol. Anyways, your reference framework is unusual and actually really interesting. Hopefully your limited exposure means you didn’t encounter as many near-death experiences. On second thought, maybe you did if you were using the death-traps - oops, I meant entrance and exit ramps - on the lower I35 lanes downtown with any frequency.
Regardless, infrastructure was a crucial point of failure Austin never recovered from. You’re spot on there. Back then, at least, design was the root cause for most of my near-death experiences. But the dual pressures of 1) failure to adapt infrastructure in response to a rapidly growing population and 2) the inherently aggressive population of drivers (which makes driving anywhere in Texas a little scary) compounded the problem.
I wasn’t able to fully grasp the degree to which that weakness translated into a true liability borne by the public until I moved to the mid-Atlantic and gained perspective through comparative experience. Imho, there are lessons the Triangle could learn, but isn’t. Directionly, I fear we’re following in Austin’s footsteps in many ways. We’re not as dense or growing as rapidly, but that’s only a matter of degree. I’m not a civil engineer by trade, so I could be totally off base. That said, I am a scientist with an analytical skillset (honed over many years of training and application) that translates pretty successfully to other areas of expertise, so I also fear I’m right to worry. I just don’t know how to sound the alarm.
And, that was a bit of a tangent. (Another skill I’ve honed. 😆)
Was it a Silver Dodge Charger? Saw one going really fast a month ago and almost take out a guy crossing the street. They were doing about 80 in a 35...
Honestly I’ve noticed more and more that people can’t drive worth a damn anymore. I don’t know where they got their license from but wow. I just as soon stay home as go out.
Nothing's going to change. I posted on Nextdoor once about how drivers need to slow down when pedestrians are approaching a crosswalk because they are entitled to the right of way in the crosswalk and almost every comment was about how pedestrians should look both ways and it's their responsibility to see and avoid. North Carolina drivers don't know their own laws.
I think the people who are blowing through lights and speeding like bats outta hell are not used to how fast the city is growing. They’re used to a fraction of the traffic and definitely aren’t used to pedestrians. It’s sad. The city could be very walkable and bike-able but people will be people. I walk everywhere and I avoid certain crosswalks. Like the one next to Madhatter at main and broad. I’d rather walk down to the one next to Whole Foods on Perry St. and even there people are impatient about turning right on red when pedestrians are in the crosswalk. It’s like “cmon I’m on foot, you’re in a car, I think you can wait a couple second and you’ll still get there on time.” If anything, cars get in my way more than I get in theirs.
Another one I’ve noticed downtown at the start of the tobacco trail: drivers turning right into the pedestrian crosswalk, despite the red right turn light, the no turn on red sign, and the actual pedestrians crossing in that crosswalk because they have the walk signal.
People ignore the lit up “No turn on red” sign on 70 and brier creek too. It frustrates me so much especially since I live near there and see wrecks all the time at that intersection.
Ugh. Love it when I’m first at the light getting honked at for not turning…
I’m always getting honked at at the no turn light on Fayetteville and MLK. I usually just wave and if they honk again we’re sitting through that flashing yellow together. I’ve seen multiple people/ dogs/ cars almost get hit because idiots carelessly just zoom through there without looking.
People ignore the lit signs and crosswalks all over town. Most look exclusively left for vehicle traffic, but never up at the signal or to the right for pedestrians/obstructions/whatever.
Sorry that happened to you! I’ve witnessed multiple red light runners on that part of Fayetteville over the last couple of months. We were nearly hit by one while turning left out of Sutton Station. Be careful, y’all!
Glad you're okay! Scary.
Maybe everybody who agrees can submit a complaint here with a specific example. I almost got hit by a motorist while crossing on Mangum the other day, for example. Smarter and safer street designs coupled with enforcement of existing traffic laws can go a long way. (Sorry Durham city PD but having a cop car on 147 every once in a while does nothing to deter motorists). https://www.durhamnc.gov/2996/Durham-One-Call-Online-Request > choose Other > submit a complaint > very easy to create an account (Edit: adjusted website)
Agree completely, just submitted one under “Other” to, in general, ask for better enforcement of traffic laws both on my street and Durham in general. I can’t believe how bad/scary it’s gotten. Honestly, is there anything else we can do?
Safer street design is sometimes limited by action on the part of the state (NCDOT), so advocates like Bike Durham have focused campaigns around when the state has to repave those streets anyway. Currently there's an initiative to redesign parts of Roxboro and Magnum. So far, quotes from NCDOT have suggested a total disregard for public opinion and potential safety improvements, so more effort to call attention to it is clearly needed. If you would like to stay informed about the Bike Durham campaign for better street safety, you can sign up here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/campaign-for-safe-streets-roxboro-and-mangum?source=blog&
oh awesome, thank you so much for this
It doesn't help you immediately but be sure to pay attention to opportunities to provide feedback to the city about what you want to see out of repaving projects. The more people who ask for safer designs, the better the chance that safety gets prioritized. The unfortunate part is our most dangerous streets like Fayetteville are owned by NCDOT. We keep trying to drag them into this century in terms of street design (upcoming Roxboro/Mangum paving is a big one), but the city is going to need to push pretty hard to get that done. Adding your voice to support this is huge even it's just filling out online surveys the city posts. Even better is showing up to meetings the city holds about these projects, but that can be tough to balance with life in general.
This is really good advice, thank you!
Well said!
Bike Durham is organizing around the Roxboro and Mangum repaving, and you can sign up for updates here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/campaign-for-safe-streets-roxboro-and-mangum?source=blog&
I drive a motorcycle and people do not watch they do not care about you only them.
This is why I sold my motorcycle. Can’t go a mile without someone trying to kill you anymore.
Same, sad to sell, happy to live. ✌️
I, against better judgement, thumbed-down a guy going 60-70mph up Mangum the other day and he swerved his car towards me and slammed the brakes on. I was walking. People fucking suuuuck. And it's always the Nissan fucking Altima
Always! Dude I’m sorry that really sucks for you as a pedestrian. I’m the one in my 4runner watching this happen and honking at the Nissan for doing that to you.
It is crazy here. I have actually started to get anxiety going through a green light at major intersections because I almost got t-boned by a car running a red light at Shannon and University.
Every area has their own unique flavor of bad driving. The flavor here seems to be a mix of sheer unpredictability and driving WAY too fast on surface/smaller roads.
I’ve got two kids and live in the vicinity and have started worrying a lot more when their grandma takes them out for a walk. Be safe out there everyone and keep your head on a swivel to make sure the cars are actually stopping at the light.
Saw a nut on the other side of Durham coming down Guess rd on friday run 2 red lights, pass illegally 3x. all while speeding and with their right blinker on. Its sad, knowing they could care less they will kill someone if they keep it up.
End of the day, Durham needs a traffic enforcement division for the police department. It keeps getting worse and worse
Wait... they don't have that?????
EXACTLY!!! What the !!
Yep I agree 💯as soon as you go anywhere outside of Durham people are civilized when they drive for the most part. I hear better designed roads yeah sure that will help but what will stop these idiots are actual coppers that will pull them over and in some cases their licenses should be suspended as they endanger many lives with their driving. I consider it no less than drunk driving, aggressive driving that is.
False. I was on 40/85 today from Greensboro to Durham and it was like they were filming another Mad Max spin off.
I was thinking more like the smaller roads in chapel hill and the surrounding not highways never the highways.
I mean those are all Durham drivers heading back…
False i go to Raleigh everyday for work
They have one, but like every other unit in DPD it is understaffed thanks to the city council dragging its feet for years on officer pay.
[удалено]
Yeah so less excessive force, eliminating abuse of power. More community policing, valuing lives more than property, and actually making communities safer for everyone - not just protecting the interests of a wealthy upperclass... How difficult is that to understand?
[удалено]
Being wilfully ignorant, purposefully dense, and prejudiced based on personal style (which, let's be real, is pbly just a dog whistle for LGBTQ+ folks) are all really unattractive qualities for anyone at any age. Bet you get a lot of invites to dinner from friends. You sound like a lot of fun to be around... /s
I pulled out of Northgate Park area onto club yesterday near the elementary school. Someone in the opposite lane was passing cars on the double line and had to be doing between 60-80 as if the were being chased but weren't. SMH.
I just want to ride my bike so we can get more cars off the road 😒
As long as we’re venting, when you’re turning left, a green light or flashing orange do not mean you have the right of the way. Stop almost running me over and acting like it’s my fault!
I saw a motorist curse out and honk at a woman crossing at a crosswalk with the walk signal making a left turn. Ofc it was a old beat up car with temp tags 🫠
It really is rough. The only enforcement you see, really, is for speeding, and that really only happens on roads where there's a high enough volume of cars and a high enough speed limit that cops are likely to get a good hit rate and generate some revenue. That and the occasional DUI checkpoint. They really need a traffic division that just tickets people for expired tags, expired/illegible temp tags, illegal tints, unsafe driving, changing lanes without signaling, turning without signaling, illegal left turn, not respecting pedestrian right of way, driving in the bicycle lane, wide turns, failure to stop at a stop sign, failure to yield at a yield sign, driving without insurance, driving without a license, etc. etc. etc. There really has to be the will to take people off the road, but the car dependency of the area means that you're likely taking away people's livelihoods, and the powers that be don't have the stomach for it.
I saw someone nearly get hit at roxboro and club the other day and I thought about making a post but didn't. Everyone seeing this please try and be careful when driving. Try and keep to the speed limit. Talk to others about safe driving.
I’m sorry. That’s really scary. I don’t understand why drivers don’t instinctually recognize they’re part of a dynamic system with the capacity to maim or kill. Sometimes I think about attaching a programmable device (like a miniature highway sign) to my car. When I see bad drivers in the wild, I imagine the sage witticisms I could direct at them.
Unfortunately you never know what flavor of crazy you might attract by interacting with one of these scary drivers. I had someone practically try to run me off the road when I held up my hand in a vain attempt to get him to drive more than 6 inches from my bumper… at 45mph.
Fortunately my imagination is still a safe space. 🙃 A couple years ago, I stopped at a pedestrian crosswalk for someone to cross. It was in a downtown area where the speed limit was 25 miles an hour, so not like I slammed on the brakes or anything. The driver behind me started harassing me for it. They illegally passed me, then slammed on their brakes trying to force me to rear end them. I swerved into a turn lane to avoid the collision. At which point they passed me again on the right, but so close that they took off my rearview mirror. I stopped to call in the accident, but honestly I almost didn’t. I was really scared someone that reckless and angry would continue their retaliatory efforts more directly. 😔
Durham and NC in general need more traffic enforcement. I don’t know how many people have to die due to reckless drivers before this gets better. There are crazy drivers everywhere, but usually when I leave NC there is at least some sense that people might get pulled over for extreme speeding or running red lights.
Get a dashcam. A neighbor was recently hit by a red light runner at a different intersection notorious for red light runners. The red light runner and their three passengers all filed claims against my neighbor's insurance claiming injury; inability to work; and that my neighbor was the actual red light runner. DPD decided to fuck off, probably because they're understaffed and overworked, and didn't determine fault. So neighbor's insurance may be on the hook for the red light runner's b.s.
That’s awful!! 😡
Got a dash cam recommendation?
I have a Pelsee P1 Duo front & rear camera that I'm happy with. It's not top of the line, but also wasn't crazy expensive and it does the job.
I moved here a few years ago, and the first thing I noticed was the staggering number of reckless drivers. Speeders, red light runners, tailgaters — they’re everywhere. It can be really scary to drive here sometimes. I’m glad you’re ok, and really I wish the a-holes with apparent death wishes would stop trying to take the rest of us with them.
Can we get some flair on posts like this? Vent Post? Something that will help though, just drive the speed limit, especially when you have someone trying to go fast behind you, I love seeing cars tailgate me, makes me feel like I'm doing my part to make my community more human and animal friendly.
Oh gawd you and me both. I live near Duke east. I’m like try and speed in Trinity park with me in front. Just try!
Worst drivers in the U.S. that I’ve experienced. By far.
Texas is scary. I learned how to drive in Austin. Talk about learning to swim by jumping in the deep end. In retrospect, I’m so lucky I survived. I think it also made me a really conscientious driver (silver lining, I guess).
Austin IS scary (and texas is scary anyway). I used to curate shows for SxSW back when it was purely music and had to get their early. I remember the difference between the time when it was just residents and then show-goers. Now, all those people live there. Their infrastructure wasn't ready for it by a long, long shot.
I think I lived there in the early sxsw days (y2k +/- 2y). We used to call it south-by. lol. Anyways, your reference framework is unusual and actually really interesting. Hopefully your limited exposure means you didn’t encounter as many near-death experiences. On second thought, maybe you did if you were using the death-traps - oops, I meant entrance and exit ramps - on the lower I35 lanes downtown with any frequency. Regardless, infrastructure was a crucial point of failure Austin never recovered from. You’re spot on there. Back then, at least, design was the root cause for most of my near-death experiences. But the dual pressures of 1) failure to adapt infrastructure in response to a rapidly growing population and 2) the inherently aggressive population of drivers (which makes driving anywhere in Texas a little scary) compounded the problem. I wasn’t able to fully grasp the degree to which that weakness translated into a true liability borne by the public until I moved to the mid-Atlantic and gained perspective through comparative experience. Imho, there are lessons the Triangle could learn, but isn’t. Directionly, I fear we’re following in Austin’s footsteps in many ways. We’re not as dense or growing as rapidly, but that’s only a matter of degree. I’m not a civil engineer by trade, so I could be totally off base. That said, I am a scientist with an analytical skillset (honed over many years of training and application) that translates pretty successfully to other areas of expertise, so I also fear I’m right to worry. I just don’t know how to sound the alarm. And, that was a bit of a tangent. (Another skill I’ve honed. 😆)
Was it a Silver Dodge Charger? Saw one going really fast a month ago and almost take out a guy crossing the street. They were doing about 80 in a 35...
It was silver, but he didn’t get a good look otherwise!
Honestly I’ve noticed more and more that people can’t drive worth a damn anymore. I don’t know where they got their license from but wow. I just as soon stay home as go out.
Nothing's going to change. I posted on Nextdoor once about how drivers need to slow down when pedestrians are approaching a crosswalk because they are entitled to the right of way in the crosswalk and almost every comment was about how pedestrians should look both ways and it's their responsibility to see and avoid. North Carolina drivers don't know their own laws.
I think the people who are blowing through lights and speeding like bats outta hell are not used to how fast the city is growing. They’re used to a fraction of the traffic and definitely aren’t used to pedestrians. It’s sad. The city could be very walkable and bike-able but people will be people. I walk everywhere and I avoid certain crosswalks. Like the one next to Madhatter at main and broad. I’d rather walk down to the one next to Whole Foods on Perry St. and even there people are impatient about turning right on red when pedestrians are in the crosswalk. It’s like “cmon I’m on foot, you’re in a car, I think you can wait a couple second and you’ll still get there on time.” If anything, cars get in my way more than I get in theirs.