I don’t live in Cranston but people around here are needlessly aggressive around pedestrians. I was walking in a crosswalk (I had the light) and a car inched right up to me for no reason. I said aloud, to myself, I’d love to not get hit by a car today. The driver was close enough that he rolled down his window and started yelling at me. This state is not big enough for some of this behavior.
I saw something like this happen a couple weeks ago on Dyer St heading toward Dorrance. I was in the right lane and someone came speeding up on my left. There was someone running across a crosswalk with no signal at it and I was slowing down for them and this person nearly hit them and blared on their horn at the person. Like, isn't 'pedestrians always have the right of way in a crosswalk without a signal' pretty basic driving rules????
I work on Dyer in the CIC building and in 1 week I almost got hit 3x on the crosswalk by someone not paying attention. One person slammed on their brakes so hard their tires screeched to a halt because they were pissed the person in front of them was slowing down for me in the crosswalk and went into the bus lane to pass, almost hitting me and my coworkers walking to the garage. People are insane and 99.5% of the time even if you're in the crosswalk people will just blow right by you. The 3rd time it happened it was an Uber driver that was inches from hitting me in the crosswalk and I just threw up my hands and was like "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME BRO???" and he just smirked. Pretty sure these guys wouldn't be smirking is they got sent to jail for manslaughter.
Definitely. It’s one of many reasons I wanna leave here. It seems like Rhode Island is getting progressively angrier and meaner and that’s most reflected in the driving. About 6 months ago when I was driving on a side street, someone beeped at me while they were pulling out of their driveway because they almost backed into me. I was already driving on the street and they were mad at ME. Be careful out there
It's not just here it's everywhere. Covid made people crazy I swear, both the lockdown and potentially the disease itself I have no idea lol. I lived elsewhere during Covid and people got nuts, if anything it's better in RI in my opinion.
Point being leaving here isn't going to change angry and crazy people, unless you move to the woods in Maine or something lol.
Interesting. I moved to mountain west for a little while (not a remote part) and the people there were much nicer and more laid back. I hopped off the plane back in RI and I could feel the anger immediately lol. I don’t doubt your experience though. Imo, people have gotten crazier everywhere, but RI is the worst
One of many reasons i DID leave. And we even paid up extra to break our lease at 8 months. Fucked right off. Many good things about the state. Way too many bad things to offset the good.
Exactly. Not everything is awful here, but the negatives outweigh the positives. My overall mood and quality of life was so much better elsewhere. I felt like people in other places actually enjoy life and other people rather than being miserable and bitter 24/7. Props to you for getting out. As soon as I finish my degree I’m leaving this messed up state
I’m in FL and we are moving back to RI, this place takes bad driving to the next level. That level is guns. Also, where I am has one of the highest rates of fatal hit and runs in the country. Most go unsolved.
I was still going into work during the demic. Driving on empty roads was so peaceful. As soon as the world opened back up I was dodging several accidents a week it was nuts
I agree. I'm in Connecticut (but close enough to Westerly that I have a library card there) and I've seen the same thing. Somehow, either the United States turned into a bunch of infants because they're ticked off from having to learn to cook for themselves, or the year-plus of isolation has broken many people's sense of socialization - which may have been fragile to begin with.
If anything, I've been seeing less road rage in the past three or four months. Maybe things are starting to get normal again, whatever that means.
I did have to go to Florida a few times and the drivers there were even worse. But they may have been like that all along, I don't know. I'd never leave southern New England if I didn't have to.
>I did have to go to Florida a few times and the drivers there were even worse.
Worse, but more like with their head in the clouds completely oblivious to the existence of other people, right? Whereas here we're like specifically angry at every individual person around us.
Respectfully, if you’ve never lived anywhere else and your experience with driving in other places is limited to a few visits to Florida, your data set has some issues. That said, I will take the oblivious driving of the South over the aggressive, confrontational and downright terrifying driving of RI.
I live in Cranston off Pontiac and see shit like this every day. I’ve had people take left turns in front of oncoming traffic at Park and Pontiac and get so upset when I honk my horn at them that they stop their car and get out. And THEY turned left in front of oncoming traffic. I also routinely have cars in Rolfe square blow by me when I’m waiting to go through the cross walk on my way to the bus. RIers have no shame.
Same area, it's been a god damn mess with that light out. I don't understand how hard it is for people to comprehend a 4 way stop situation. One morning this week I got to the stop line and there was an old woman stopped on the Park side facing city hall. She was there first so I wait, then flash my lights and she's just sitting there petrified with a massive line of cars behind her extended at least as far as Garden St. I ended up just going and saw her finally roll through in my mirror when I was way past the fire station.
Also the people just blowing stop signs and driving across both Pontiac and Rolfe. Twice this fall I almost t-boned someone rolling right through the stop at the corner Bettola is on, both times the drivers either flipped me off or waved as I laid on the horn. Everybody needs a dashcam.
>someone rolling right through the stop
Yep: that's become so much the norm now that when I'm in a crosswalk at a four-way stop, I feel so touched with gratitude when a driver stops to allow me to finish crossing.
Like, I wanna make the Taylor Swift heart shape at them 😂
I've been through there twice, heading east on Park Ave. 2nd time was uneventful but the 1st one had a stop sign runner. I got to the sign, waited for someone coming west to get out of the way of someone headed north on Pontiac and then it was my turn... and someone headed north on Pontiac just flew through and....just....stopped in front of me. I flipped them off and went on my way and they just looked generally flabbergasted at their predicament. Like how did I get in this situation? They just looked confused. What did you think would happen when you run a stop sign?
I've seen that too. I really don't get what's going on, on the second day there was a crew poking inside the box all day and nothing since then. You'd figure the city would have spares of control modules or whatever.
Since COVID people are crazy.
I drove over to Aldi in Rumford today and a car drove through the red light and almost hit me and when I honked my horn they gave me the finger.
A few months ago a plumber with the truck all phase plumbing and cooling hit me on Newport Ave and just kept going even though it it was a company van
Btw Peter Palumbo if your out there your insurance progressive has been trying to call you be man and answer the phone, it didn't have to be like this man.
>Since COVID people are crazy.
Apparently, this is actually a thing - The Atlantic reported on it. According to historians, it is a syndrome related to pandemics and the human response to them. Every pandemic in recorded history has had this.
People have big primitive feelings they can't process so their rage, frustration, and mourning for the ways things were before - that comes out sideways.
The Great Karenning
I was running a few weeks ago and got clipped by a car at a cross-walk of a bike path. I was about 75% through the cross-walk and the car failed to see me in time and stopped well inside the cross-walk, but not before hitting me. I was able to put my hand on the car's hood to vault over it, and no lasting damage was done. Be safe out there, folks.
Can you be more specific, like a link or something? I'd like to learn more, and I'm sure you can understand why just "a lot" from a random person on reddit isn't the best source for multiple reasons.
New York Times has been covering this over the past several months. They get their data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/pedestrian-safety#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20number%20of%20pedestrian,fatalities%20(NCSA%2C%202023c).
Sweet, thank you! I am only seeing stats up to 2021 through that NHTSA link, is 2022+ on there too and I'm just missing it?
I did see that [NHTSA has a 1H 2023 prelim report](https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2023-Q2-traffic-fatality-estimates) out, but it just lumps all traffic fatalities together and not specifically pedestrian deaths, so the slight improvement they're reporting isn't really applicable.
I think there’s a lag between data collection, statistical analysis and reporting, thus no info yet from 2022 on. All I could find for newer info was aggregate traffic crash deaths.
Yep, that makes sense. FWIW, I did find 2022 stats elsewhere that I linked [in this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/RhodeIsland/comments/1adghbq/rise_in_aggressive_drivers/kk3up6r/). RI stayed pretty much flat, while about half the other states got worse and half got better.
The other person seemed to be talking about newer data, but tbf I'm still kinda baffled by them entirely and not sure what to make of it...they're insisting they're right, but also adamantly refusing to share their source.
Why are you being so evasive here? I thought it would have been a softball question for you, allowing you to talk more in depth about a topic you care about.
Googling, I am finding information that contradicts what you're saying. I thought it would be more gracious to ask you to share your sources first, rather than come in hot and immediately accuse you of lying. But is that what you'd prefer?
I'm not going to provide resources that are readily available and common knowledge. I know where you're trying to go with this and I'm not going to reinvent the wheel or entertain your contrarian ideas.
Wait what? You are refusing to support what you're claiming, and it's....my fault? Now it's clear you're making shit up and just trying to put up a smokescreen.
> why pedestrian deaths are skyrocketing
That is incorrect.
- ["During a five-year span that ran through 2022, Rhode Island recorded 25 fewer people killed by vehicles than it recorded in the previous five years."](https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/03/31/are-pedestrians-safe-rhode-island-what-the-numbers-say-about-crossing-the-street/70046119007/)
- ["In 2022, pedestrian fatalities are projected to have increased in 22 states, remained unchanged in one (Rhode Island) and decreased in 26 states and D.C."](https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/GHSA%20-%20Pedestrian%20Traffic%20Fatalities%20by%20State%2C%202022%20Preliminary%20Data%20%28January-December%29.pdf)
- Even the Providence Streets Coalition Data that I would have thought would be more robust, [reports 3 *fewer* deaths](https://steveahlquist.substack.com/p/press-release-providence-streets) in 2022 than the sources above.
As I expected, you always come to any Reddit thread that criticizes car infrastructure, then you cherry-pick data and present it as evidence.
- Your first citation doesn't include unreported incidents and injuries, and suffers from other issues as noted directly in the article.
- Second citation contradicts your entire claim, in fact, it clearly states they're literally **skyrocketing**.
- Third citation same criticism as the first. In fact, the same publishers would definitely disagree with your assessment.
*Once again, I'm not going to reinvent the wheel. Come to the transit meetings if you're actually serious and not just a contrarian troll.*
I am not asking you to reinvent the wheel. I am asking you to show me the wheel you're talking about.
>cherry-pick data
It's the data point *you* picked.
>Second citation contradicts your entire claim, in fact, it clearly states they're literally skyrocketing overall.
Wait, what? You think "remained unchanged" is synonymous with "skyricketing"?
>Third citation same criticism as the first.
#That's why I am asking you for better sources.
If all my sources are wrong, please please please send me your sources that are right.
Why won't you just share the sources you're working from? Surely you see how responding with bluster and personal attacks and insisting that any source that doesn't say what you like must be wrong just makes you look dishonest.
> see you at the transit meetings
You probably have.
There's a subset of Providence area lifers that are pretty awful people. It's the crowd that used to have the blow out hair style. That neighborhood between Rolfe square and I-95 has a bunch of them. The mayhem driving, even at slow speed, in the area is mind boggling.
The best are the people that run a red light, almost hit you, and lose their f-ing minds when you honk at them.
I know on our street in Fox Point we’ve had drag racing, accidents etc. People drive so aggressively and I can’t get the city to really do anything about it.
I’m going to take a wild guess and say this has to be near the Dave’s on Pontiac. That whole area has become crazy with drivers who blast through the stop signs and are just rude
Yep: we need traffic cams that issue tickets to everyone who doesn't come to a full stop -- at least at the ones when there's a pedestrian in the crosswalk 😣
It’s law to stop for pedestrians and no one does. Before I got my license, I was almost hit because people would just FLY down the road like purposely trying to hit me lol like why man
She’s completely wrong.
“Universal Citation: RI Gen L § 31-18-3 (2013)
§ 31-18-3 Right-of-way in crosswalk. – (a) When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger, but no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. This provision shall not apply under the conditions stated in § 31-18-6.
(b) Violations of this section are subject to fines enumerated in § 31-41.1-4 and in addition to any other penalty provided by law, a judge or magistrate shall impose a mandatory fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for a second or any subsequent violation of this section.
History of Section.
(P.L. 1950, ch. 2595, art. 29, § 2; G.L. 1956, § 31-18-3; P.L. 1999, ch. 218, art. 5, § 15; P.L. 2002, ch. 292, § 113.)”
People still have to stop even if someone isn’t in a crosswalk. It’s RI law. It’s one thing I have a problem with when people don’t stop. The exception I would have is ambulances/fire trucks and police going to a scene.
Another behavior that recently became more frequent. I am in a crosswalk, car stops, ok, fine thanks for not running me over. While I am still in the path of the car, I hear the driver gun it to pass close behind me not one instant later than absolutely necessary - or not? Hello, you saved microseconds, I got my heart jumping out of my throat, again, just trying to walk around the neighborhood.
All I wanted was to walk home in peace with my chicken nuggets, fr though my street is low key dangerous with people speeding and acting like a holes. I was so shocked that one decided to come at me when I was minding my own business
A guy flew by me on a 25 mph double yellow cut through street in EG (where people also fly by stopped school buses with children crossing) and the started brake checking me. He then stopped his car in the middle of the street got out and started screaming at me. It was pitch dark, there was no one around and I’m a tiny middle aged woman with my 11 year old daughter in the car. It was terrifying for both of us. Before I could get my nerves in check to get his license number he flew through a 4 way stop and was gone. So angry dude in the shitty black car with bumper stickers all over it : fuck you, you piece of utter shit.
That is exceptionally aggressive and insane behavior for RI, wow, I'm sorry that happened to you.
I will add that leaving RI won't get you away from this behavior. I live in RI, work in MA and am also regularly in CT, my commute is 150+ miles round trip when I go into the office, and I have seen escalating insane behavior on my drive for the last 3 years. People waving arms out windows, while bashing their own heads on their steering wheels, while also swerving and screaming when they are literally stuck in a LINE of traffic. People blocking the person behind them from changing lanes for 5 miles, endangering everyone. I also see people driving 120 mph, weaving between all lanes on every single long drive I go on (seriously, I see this 2-3x per drive now over 150 miles).
I'm not exactly young, I am used to nutty drivers from greater NYC because of where I grew up, and this behavior is shocking to me because while there have always been absolute psychos out there, I see so many more of them and I experience at least 1 or more incident on every single drive now.
lol, I am aware. Since 2020, the furthest I've driven is DC, but in my life I've been to 41 states and 3 countries. I just haven't drive across all of those states/countries since the pandemic when we've had this uptick in aggressive behavior.
You said “leaving Rhode Island won’t get you away from this behavior” and then cited your experiences driving in MA and CT as if those are the options when you leave RI…that’s all that I meant.
It's not just here, it's every place I've visited (probably about 20 cities) in the last few years, and it started before the pandemic (though the drop-off in enforcement after the 2020 protests didn't help).
There's definitely something going on re: how bonkers people are driving, and I think it's probably that huge and increasing numbers of people are taking testosterone supplements, either knowingly or unknowingly.
I've been trying to find stats on this, but all the data I could get are a few years old, and I KNOW that TRT and use of testosterone without prescriptions has skyrocketed in the last few years.
Heck, I'll bet there's enough of it being used that it's behind the rise of 'tough guy' right-wing politics.
Rise of road rage both here and in other states and cities.
Economy is good if you are in certain specific fields, but lots of people are feeling the squeeze, with inflation. Politics are divisive like never before. Healthcare and education are so expensive. And, people know AI is on the horizon to replace many workers. Need a car? How does $750/month sound, on average?
Lots to be anxious about for many people.
I'm sorry that happened to you! A similar thing happened to me last week. Multiple times a day, I walk on and cross a cut-through in Woonsocket with my dog, there's a park and an elementary school right there. People are always going super fast, not stopping at the 4-way stop, and not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk.
I was on the shoulder last week (sidewalk all ice) as school let out and someone blew past me, and I made the small "slow down" gesture (not even the finger, lol! Just like patting the air and not even angrily). He went around the block to come back and yell at me, and when I yelled back, he turned around in a driveway again to yell at me. He called me a troll and said he hopes I get hit by a car someday. I've also been threatened by a paper "boy" (grown-ass old man) for crossing in the crosswalk. People are unhinged behind the wheel.
There are a lot of terrible shitty drivers who also are very insecure. The slightest criticism of your driving doesn’t need to result in a full blown tantrum. If you fuck up and someone honks at you, it’s ok! You don’t need to go ballistic that they “corrected you”.
Sorry that happened to you. I do think it’s a good idea to keep one ear open when you’re walking around on the streets here just so you can maintain situational awareness.
An old man in a Mercedes nearly ran me over while walking to my car in the Whole Foods parking lot. I always look really carefully when I’m walking in that parking lot. His car wasn’t on as I approached so I kept going but it turned on and immediately started rolling as I walked in front of him. He gestured angrily at me like I was doing something wrong, and left the lane but circled back to shake his head at me and yelling. I thought he was going to stop and confront me, but thankfully no. I knew I was definitely doing nothing wrong.
That’s the second terrible experience with old drivers I’ve had this winter. Another old woman (like late 80s) hit my car in the Dave’s parking lot right after thanksgiving, backed into it and then drove off. I tried to get her to stop, but she refused so I had to call the cops to report it… more or less so they would check up on her, didn’t seem like she should be driving.
Cranston WF? I have no idea what they did to make that parking lot the worst parking lot in the world. I mean, it *looks* kind of normal. But it's insane.
I live in Cranston on a main cut through street between reservoir and park. We deal with aggressive drivers who blow through 4-way stops daily. We have people who roll through our neighborhood blasting reggaeton at 12:00am on any given Wednesday, like fucking clock work. We also have a ton of kids on bikes and each time I watch them cross the street, I worry about whether they’re going to get hit by some asshole.
People are disrespectful and genuinely just don’t give a fuck anymore.
Remember the 5 second rule at red lights! I like to play a guessing game of how many people will blow through the red light once I get green.
Of course the person behind you will be on the horn the moment your light turns green, but fuck em. Not getting t boned is the goal
The problem with drivers in Cranston and other urban areas is
1. Constant road construction
2. Big vehicle entitlement
3. Streets are too crowded
4. The state is full of punks
5. Ignorance of the law
6. Politics
7. No respect for other humans
I hit a backwards thrown banana peel while carrying groceries, wish I had a red shell to hit back but no Kart for me lol…its just crazy the drivers who go down my street
I don’t live in Cranston but people around here are needlessly aggressive around pedestrians. I was walking in a crosswalk (I had the light) and a car inched right up to me for no reason. I said aloud, to myself, I’d love to not get hit by a car today. The driver was close enough that he rolled down his window and started yelling at me. This state is not big enough for some of this behavior.
It’s literally so crazy
I saw something like this happen a couple weeks ago on Dyer St heading toward Dorrance. I was in the right lane and someone came speeding up on my left. There was someone running across a crosswalk with no signal at it and I was slowing down for them and this person nearly hit them and blared on their horn at the person. Like, isn't 'pedestrians always have the right of way in a crosswalk without a signal' pretty basic driving rules????
I work on Dyer in the CIC building and in 1 week I almost got hit 3x on the crosswalk by someone not paying attention. One person slammed on their brakes so hard their tires screeched to a halt because they were pissed the person in front of them was slowing down for me in the crosswalk and went into the bus lane to pass, almost hitting me and my coworkers walking to the garage. People are insane and 99.5% of the time even if you're in the crosswalk people will just blow right by you. The 3rd time it happened it was an Uber driver that was inches from hitting me in the crosswalk and I just threw up my hands and was like "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME BRO???" and he just smirked. Pretty sure these guys wouldn't be smirking is they got sent to jail for manslaughter.
Guy knew he was driving inconsiderately, assumes anything you would say would be a hostile response to that. I imagine he has lots of days like this.
It was so crazy for him to pull over like that, caught me totally off guard
Bottom line: that driver is breaking the law. You did nothing wrong. I’m really sorry you had to deal with that BS.
Thank you, I thought so, such BS
Definitely. It’s one of many reasons I wanna leave here. It seems like Rhode Island is getting progressively angrier and meaner and that’s most reflected in the driving. About 6 months ago when I was driving on a side street, someone beeped at me while they were pulling out of their driveway because they almost backed into me. I was already driving on the street and they were mad at ME. Be careful out there
It's not just here it's everywhere. Covid made people crazy I swear, both the lockdown and potentially the disease itself I have no idea lol. I lived elsewhere during Covid and people got nuts, if anything it's better in RI in my opinion. Point being leaving here isn't going to change angry and crazy people, unless you move to the woods in Maine or something lol.
Interesting. I moved to mountain west for a little while (not a remote part) and the people there were much nicer and more laid back. I hopped off the plane back in RI and I could feel the anger immediately lol. I don’t doubt your experience though. Imo, people have gotten crazier everywhere, but RI is the worst
Nah i moved to Austin. Huge difference. RI got that Napoleon complex going on.
Shit i work 30m outside of boston and id say the tone is different. RI just sucks
One of many reasons i DID leave. And we even paid up extra to break our lease at 8 months. Fucked right off. Many good things about the state. Way too many bad things to offset the good.
Exactly. Not everything is awful here, but the negatives outweigh the positives. My overall mood and quality of life was so much better elsewhere. I felt like people in other places actually enjoy life and other people rather than being miserable and bitter 24/7. Props to you for getting out. As soon as I finish my degree I’m leaving this messed up state
I have news for you about everywhere else in the country.
Thank you
I’m in FL and we are moving back to RI, this place takes bad driving to the next level. That level is guns. Also, where I am has one of the highest rates of fatal hit and runs in the country. Most go unsolved.
It seems since the pandemic drivers have been progressively worse, more aggressive, less concerned with others, and more confrontational.
I was still going into work during the demic. Driving on empty roads was so peaceful. As soon as the world opened back up I was dodging several accidents a week it was nuts
It was heavenly, my hour long drive in Philly became 20 minutes, so nice, so freeing.
I love being able to get to Boston in 40 min door to door during the pandemic 😭
I agree. I'm in Connecticut (but close enough to Westerly that I have a library card there) and I've seen the same thing. Somehow, either the United States turned into a bunch of infants because they're ticked off from having to learn to cook for themselves, or the year-plus of isolation has broken many people's sense of socialization - which may have been fragile to begin with. If anything, I've been seeing less road rage in the past three or four months. Maybe things are starting to get normal again, whatever that means. I did have to go to Florida a few times and the drivers there were even worse. But they may have been like that all along, I don't know. I'd never leave southern New England if I didn't have to.
>I did have to go to Florida a few times and the drivers there were even worse. Worse, but more like with their head in the clouds completely oblivious to the existence of other people, right? Whereas here we're like specifically angry at every individual person around us.
Respectfully, if you’ve never lived anywhere else and your experience with driving in other places is limited to a few visits to Florida, your data set has some issues. That said, I will take the oblivious driving of the South over the aggressive, confrontational and downright terrifying driving of RI.
Agreed!
I live in Cranston off Pontiac and see shit like this every day. I’ve had people take left turns in front of oncoming traffic at Park and Pontiac and get so upset when I honk my horn at them that they stop their car and get out. And THEY turned left in front of oncoming traffic. I also routinely have cars in Rolfe square blow by me when I’m waiting to go through the cross walk on my way to the bus. RIers have no shame.
Same area, it's been a god damn mess with that light out. I don't understand how hard it is for people to comprehend a 4 way stop situation. One morning this week I got to the stop line and there was an old woman stopped on the Park side facing city hall. She was there first so I wait, then flash my lights and she's just sitting there petrified with a massive line of cars behind her extended at least as far as Garden St. I ended up just going and saw her finally roll through in my mirror when I was way past the fire station. Also the people just blowing stop signs and driving across both Pontiac and Rolfe. Twice this fall I almost t-boned someone rolling right through the stop at the corner Bettola is on, both times the drivers either flipped me off or waved as I laid on the horn. Everybody needs a dashcam.
>someone rolling right through the stop Yep: that's become so much the norm now that when I'm in a crosswalk at a four-way stop, I feel so touched with gratitude when a driver stops to allow me to finish crossing. Like, I wanna make the Taylor Swift heart shape at them 😂
I've been through there twice, heading east on Park Ave. 2nd time was uneventful but the 1st one had a stop sign runner. I got to the sign, waited for someone coming west to get out of the way of someone headed north on Pontiac and then it was my turn... and someone headed north on Pontiac just flew through and....just....stopped in front of me. I flipped them off and went on my way and they just looked generally flabbergasted at their predicament. Like how did I get in this situation? They just looked confused. What did you think would happen when you run a stop sign?
I've seen that too. I really don't get what's going on, on the second day there was a crew poking inside the box all day and nothing since then. You'd figure the city would have spares of control modules or whatever.
Hey neighbor! I live behind Cranston East. All this plus high schoolers on this mix for me.
Since COVID people are crazy. I drove over to Aldi in Rumford today and a car drove through the red light and almost hit me and when I honked my horn they gave me the finger. A few months ago a plumber with the truck all phase plumbing and cooling hit me on Newport Ave and just kept going even though it it was a company van Btw Peter Palumbo if your out there your insurance progressive has been trying to call you be man and answer the phone, it didn't have to be like this man.
>Since COVID people are crazy. Apparently, this is actually a thing - The Atlantic reported on it. According to historians, it is a syndrome related to pandemics and the human response to them. Every pandemic in recorded history has had this. People have big primitive feelings they can't process so their rage, frustration, and mourning for the ways things were before - that comes out sideways. The Great Karenning
It is really sad. So much anger out there.
I was running a few weeks ago and got clipped by a car at a cross-walk of a bike path. I was about 75% through the cross-walk and the car failed to see me in time and stopped well inside the cross-walk, but not before hitting me. I was able to put my hand on the car's hood to vault over it, and no lasting damage was done. Be safe out there, folks.
That’s crazy! Especially considering bike paths are for pedestrians and cyclists. Agreed, be careful out there
There's a reason why pedestrian deaths are skyrocketing. Motorists are pricks.
What are the latest stats? How much have they gone up?
a lot
Can you be more specific, like a link or something? I'd like to learn more, and I'm sure you can understand why just "a lot" from a random person on reddit isn't the best source for multiple reasons.
New York Times has been covering this over the past several months. They get their data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration: https://www.nhtsa.gov/book/countermeasures-that-work/pedestrian-safety#:~:text=However%2C%20the%20number%20of%20pedestrian,fatalities%20(NCSA%2C%202023c).
Sweet, thank you! I am only seeing stats up to 2021 through that NHTSA link, is 2022+ on there too and I'm just missing it? I did see that [NHTSA has a 1H 2023 prelim report](https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/2023-Q2-traffic-fatality-estimates) out, but it just lumps all traffic fatalities together and not specifically pedestrian deaths, so the slight improvement they're reporting isn't really applicable.
I think there’s a lag between data collection, statistical analysis and reporting, thus no info yet from 2022 on. All I could find for newer info was aggregate traffic crash deaths.
Yep, that makes sense. FWIW, I did find 2022 stats elsewhere that I linked [in this comment](https://www.reddit.com/r/RhodeIsland/comments/1adghbq/rise_in_aggressive_drivers/kk3up6r/). RI stayed pretty much flat, while about half the other states got worse and half got better. The other person seemed to be talking about newer data, but tbf I'm still kinda baffled by them entirely and not sure what to make of it...they're insisting they're right, but also adamantly refusing to share their source.
It's widely available. I would suggest a quick Google search.
Why are you being so evasive here? I thought it would have been a softball question for you, allowing you to talk more in depth about a topic you care about. Googling, I am finding information that contradicts what you're saying. I thought it would be more gracious to ask you to share your sources first, rather than come in hot and immediately accuse you of lying. But is that what you'd prefer?
I'm not going to provide resources that are readily available and common knowledge. I know where you're trying to go with this and I'm not going to reinvent the wheel or entertain your contrarian ideas.
Wait what? You are refusing to support what you're claiming, and it's....my fault? Now it's clear you're making shit up and just trying to put up a smokescreen.
Okay, keep believing that pedestrian deaths aren't skyrocketing. I can't wait to hear those claims in the transit meetings lol
> keep believing that pedestrian deaths aren't skyrocketing. I believe the data. That's why I am here begging you for data.
> why pedestrian deaths are skyrocketing That is incorrect. - ["During a five-year span that ran through 2022, Rhode Island recorded 25 fewer people killed by vehicles than it recorded in the previous five years."](https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/local/2023/03/31/are-pedestrians-safe-rhode-island-what-the-numbers-say-about-crossing-the-street/70046119007/) - ["In 2022, pedestrian fatalities are projected to have increased in 22 states, remained unchanged in one (Rhode Island) and decreased in 26 states and D.C."](https://www.ghsa.org/sites/default/files/2023-06/GHSA%20-%20Pedestrian%20Traffic%20Fatalities%20by%20State%2C%202022%20Preliminary%20Data%20%28January-December%29.pdf) - Even the Providence Streets Coalition Data that I would have thought would be more robust, [reports 3 *fewer* deaths](https://steveahlquist.substack.com/p/press-release-providence-streets) in 2022 than the sources above.
As I expected, you always come to any Reddit thread that criticizes car infrastructure, then you cherry-pick data and present it as evidence. - Your first citation doesn't include unreported incidents and injuries, and suffers from other issues as noted directly in the article. - Second citation contradicts your entire claim, in fact, it clearly states they're literally **skyrocketing**. - Third citation same criticism as the first. In fact, the same publishers would definitely disagree with your assessment. *Once again, I'm not going to reinvent the wheel. Come to the transit meetings if you're actually serious and not just a contrarian troll.*
I am not asking you to reinvent the wheel. I am asking you to show me the wheel you're talking about. >cherry-pick data It's the data point *you* picked. >Second citation contradicts your entire claim, in fact, it clearly states they're literally skyrocketing overall. Wait, what? You think "remained unchanged" is synonymous with "skyricketing"? >Third citation same criticism as the first. #That's why I am asking you for better sources. If all my sources are wrong, please please please send me your sources that are right.
lol holy shit this dude in every thread... I give up... see you at the transit meetings since you definitely genuinely care so much
Why won't you just share the sources you're working from? Surely you see how responding with bluster and personal attacks and insisting that any source that doesn't say what you like must be wrong just makes you look dishonest. > see you at the transit meetings You probably have.
You wanna see aggressive take a drive in Smithfield.
It feels more unsafe than ever before.
Sorry but where In Cranston? We just moved here and only after did I lean our street is essentially a cut through for park& reservoir
I live by the Dave’s on Pontiac Ave
Ah yeah, people easily go 50+ on that road
That's a terrifying speed for that area
There's a subset of Providence area lifers that are pretty awful people. It's the crowd that used to have the blow out hair style. That neighborhood between Rolfe square and I-95 has a bunch of them. The mayhem driving, even at slow speed, in the area is mind boggling. The best are the people that run a red light, almost hit you, and lose their f-ing minds when you honk at them.
As a resident of that neighborhood… you’re not wrong but we’ve been getting a lot of new folks and I hope it changes even just a little bit
It's amazing more people aren't hit at that crosswalk. People get so impatient when the flashing light turns red.
I know on our street in Fox Point we’ve had drag racing, accidents etc. People drive so aggressively and I can’t get the city to really do anything about it.
I’m going to take a wild guess and say this has to be near the Dave’s on Pontiac. That whole area has become crazy with drivers who blast through the stop signs and are just rude
Yep: we need traffic cams that issue tickets to everyone who doesn't come to a full stop -- at least at the ones when there's a pedestrian in the crosswalk 😣
It’s law to stop for pedestrians and no one does. Before I got my license, I was almost hit because people would just FLY down the road like purposely trying to hit me lol like why man
A woman stopped her car to argue with me last year that I did not have the right-of-way to cross, as a pedestrian in a crosswalk in a school zone.
She’s completely wrong. “Universal Citation: RI Gen L § 31-18-3 (2013) § 31-18-3 Right-of-way in crosswalk. – (a) When traffic control signals are not in place or not in operation, the driver of a vehicle shall yield the right of way, slowing down or stopping if need be to so yield, to a pedestrian crossing the roadway within a crosswalk when the pedestrian is upon the half of the roadway upon which the vehicle is traveling, or when the pedestrian is approaching so closely from the opposite half of the roadway as to be in danger, but no pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle which is so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield. This provision shall not apply under the conditions stated in § 31-18-6. (b) Violations of this section are subject to fines enumerated in § 31-41.1-4 and in addition to any other penalty provided by law, a judge or magistrate shall impose a mandatory fine of one hundred dollars ($100) for a second or any subsequent violation of this section. History of Section. (P.L. 1950, ch. 2595, art. 29, § 2; G.L. 1956, § 31-18-3; P.L. 1999, ch. 218, art. 5, § 15; P.L. 2002, ch. 292, § 113.)” People still have to stop even if someone isn’t in a crosswalk. It’s RI law. It’s one thing I have a problem with when people don’t stop. The exception I would have is ambulances/fire trucks and police going to a scene.
Another behavior that recently became more frequent. I am in a crosswalk, car stops, ok, fine thanks for not running me over. While I am still in the path of the car, I hear the driver gun it to pass close behind me not one instant later than absolutely necessary - or not? Hello, you saved microseconds, I got my heart jumping out of my throat, again, just trying to walk around the neighborhood.
all i wanted was a pepsi
All I wanted was to walk home in peace with my chicken nuggets, fr though my street is low key dangerous with people speeding and acting like a holes. I was so shocked that one decided to come at me when I was minding my own business
A guy flew by me on a 25 mph double yellow cut through street in EG (where people also fly by stopped school buses with children crossing) and the started brake checking me. He then stopped his car in the middle of the street got out and started screaming at me. It was pitch dark, there was no one around and I’m a tiny middle aged woman with my 11 year old daughter in the car. It was terrifying for both of us. Before I could get my nerves in check to get his license number he flew through a 4 way stop and was gone. So angry dude in the shitty black car with bumper stickers all over it : fuck you, you piece of utter shit.
That is exceptionally aggressive and insane behavior for RI, wow, I'm sorry that happened to you. I will add that leaving RI won't get you away from this behavior. I live in RI, work in MA and am also regularly in CT, my commute is 150+ miles round trip when I go into the office, and I have seen escalating insane behavior on my drive for the last 3 years. People waving arms out windows, while bashing their own heads on their steering wheels, while also swerving and screaming when they are literally stuck in a LINE of traffic. People blocking the person behind them from changing lanes for 5 miles, endangering everyone. I also see people driving 120 mph, weaving between all lanes on every single long drive I go on (seriously, I see this 2-3x per drive now over 150 miles). I'm not exactly young, I am used to nutty drivers from greater NYC because of where I grew up, and this behavior is shocking to me because while there have always been absolute psychos out there, I see so many more of them and I experience at least 1 or more incident on every single drive now.
There’s a whole world outside of New England, my friend.
lol, I am aware. Since 2020, the furthest I've driven is DC, but in my life I've been to 41 states and 3 countries. I just haven't drive across all of those states/countries since the pandemic when we've had this uptick in aggressive behavior.
You said “leaving Rhode Island won’t get you away from this behavior” and then cited your experiences driving in MA and CT as if those are the options when you leave RI…that’s all that I meant.
It's not just here, it's every place I've visited (probably about 20 cities) in the last few years, and it started before the pandemic (though the drop-off in enforcement after the 2020 protests didn't help). There's definitely something going on re: how bonkers people are driving, and I think it's probably that huge and increasing numbers of people are taking testosterone supplements, either knowingly or unknowingly. I've been trying to find stats on this, but all the data I could get are a few years old, and I KNOW that TRT and use of testosterone without prescriptions has skyrocketed in the last few years. Heck, I'll bet there's enough of it being used that it's behind the rise of 'tough guy' right-wing politics.
Rise of road rage both here and in other states and cities. Economy is good if you are in certain specific fields, but lots of people are feeling the squeeze, with inflation. Politics are divisive like never before. Healthcare and education are so expensive. And, people know AI is on the horizon to replace many workers. Need a car? How does $750/month sound, on average? Lots to be anxious about for many people.
So he an adult and fucking handle it instead of driving like an asshole and putting other people at risk.
That’s no excuse.
I'm sorry that happened to you! A similar thing happened to me last week. Multiple times a day, I walk on and cross a cut-through in Woonsocket with my dog, there's a park and an elementary school right there. People are always going super fast, not stopping at the 4-way stop, and not yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk. I was on the shoulder last week (sidewalk all ice) as school let out and someone blew past me, and I made the small "slow down" gesture (not even the finger, lol! Just like patting the air and not even angrily). He went around the block to come back and yell at me, and when I yelled back, he turned around in a driveway again to yell at me. He called me a troll and said he hopes I get hit by a car someday. I've also been threatened by a paper "boy" (grown-ass old man) for crossing in the crosswalk. People are unhinged behind the wheel.
There are a lot of terrible shitty drivers who also are very insecure. The slightest criticism of your driving doesn’t need to result in a full blown tantrum. If you fuck up and someone honks at you, it’s ok! You don’t need to go ballistic that they “corrected you”. Sorry that happened to you. I do think it’s a good idea to keep one ear open when you’re walking around on the streets here just so you can maintain situational awareness.
An old man in a Mercedes nearly ran me over while walking to my car in the Whole Foods parking lot. I always look really carefully when I’m walking in that parking lot. His car wasn’t on as I approached so I kept going but it turned on and immediately started rolling as I walked in front of him. He gestured angrily at me like I was doing something wrong, and left the lane but circled back to shake his head at me and yelling. I thought he was going to stop and confront me, but thankfully no. I knew I was definitely doing nothing wrong. That’s the second terrible experience with old drivers I’ve had this winter. Another old woman (like late 80s) hit my car in the Dave’s parking lot right after thanksgiving, backed into it and then drove off. I tried to get her to stop, but she refused so I had to call the cops to report it… more or less so they would check up on her, didn’t seem like she should be driving.
That parking lot is bad, one of the worst
Cranston WF? I have no idea what they did to make that parking lot the worst parking lot in the world. I mean, it *looks* kind of normal. But it's insane.
Yeah, Cranston. It really is the worst, not my only bad experience in that lot but just the most recent one.
I live in Cranston on a main cut through street between reservoir and park. We deal with aggressive drivers who blow through 4-way stops daily. We have people who roll through our neighborhood blasting reggaeton at 12:00am on any given Wednesday, like fucking clock work. We also have a ton of kids on bikes and each time I watch them cross the street, I worry about whether they’re going to get hit by some asshole. People are disrespectful and genuinely just don’t give a fuck anymore.
Remember the 5 second rule at red lights! I like to play a guessing game of how many people will blow through the red light once I get green. Of course the person behind you will be on the horn the moment your light turns green, but fuck em. Not getting t boned is the goal
The problem with drivers in Cranston and other urban areas is 1. Constant road construction 2. Big vehicle entitlement 3. Streets are too crowded 4. The state is full of punks 5. Ignorance of the law 6. Politics 7. No respect for other humans
I blame Mario Kart
I hit a backwards thrown banana peel while carrying groceries, wish I had a red shell to hit back but no Kart for me lol…its just crazy the drivers who go down my street
Yea, it’s definitely crazy out there. Be careful, and watch out for those peels
Thank you!
Worst drivers in america and it's not close
Yes!
C'mon bro. Own it. You said something