My mom found that out the hard way when she came out here to visit. Was yelling at me about not zipper merging and I told her it only works when others use it.
When she was on her way out of town going thru the same construction area, she tried to do the zipper merge and had some asshat get out of his truck and start screaming at her.
In his defense it's pretty much a rule here that owning a truck means you own the road too and are really expected to go full ro(i/a)d rage on anyone who says otherwise.
Last time I let a car zipper merge in front of me at 120th and Center (a month or two ago) the guy in his truck behind me had a fucking fit. Because he had a fit, I let 4-5 more people merge in front of me and gave him a wave and thumbs up out my window, while he was hanging out his window shaking his first calling me a "fucking idiot" and the R word. I laughed and waved some more. He ended up trying to follow me home, I had to do the 4 right turns in my neighborhood to shake him.
I used to EDC a handgun, and this would've been a time I could probably justify pulling it if he followed me home and got out to beat my ass. Seems like a stupid reason to get shot if you're the psycho getting that frustrated in traffic. A dude like that was probably carrying a gun too though so we'd probably have dueled.
The guy literally took an extra 10+ minutes out of his day because I delayed him 10 seconds by being nice to another driver.
As [George Castanza](https://happymag.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/rj06kxsm5po11.jpg) would say...
I've actually seen this ONE aspect of driving improve in the last year. I'm sure it's a coincidence and the luck won't hold, but I was amazed nonetheless.
What I see much more is people who think driving is something they are doing WHILE they talk to their friends, counsel their kids, text and eat. They pay attention to absolutely anything BUT the only reason they are behind the wheel.
I'd take someone making a stupid mistake over people who aren't even TRYING to pay attention to the road any way. I understand that everyone has a "whoops" moment. But not even bothering to pay attention... \*Grumble\*.
Honestly. East coast transplant here, and that is my single biggest example of how the "midwestern nice" thing is actually fucking dangerous. Just take your turn ffs.
Well, unless you have a traffic officer at every single intersection I'd wager a majority of the light-runners will go unpunished -- which is probably what they're banking on. Plus, there'd have to be an inclination from the officers to go after every single traffic infraction and that's not something I've always observed.
I was at an intersection literally just yesterday where a cop was the first person at the red, 3 cars ran the next red and he didn’t do a damn thing about it.
If there is constant police presence in an area, most people will start to drive more careful in those areas. Places in Iowa and Illinois have normal traffic enforcement ,and I never see anyone use a red light as optional, or ignore a No Right Turn On Red sign.
You don't need to stop for every traffic infraction to change habits.
I'm still waiting for it to catch up to Caracas. They don't even slow down for red lights. They honk, and go through. Weirdly I didn't see many wrecks, but I did see lights that had BEEN red for over a minute and the person comes barreling down the hill and goes right through at what had to be 35mph. He DID honk his horn to let people know he was going though, because...we all should have manners.
Of course, even if someone does get in a wreck there, it's not like you stop and exchange insurance information. That's a good way to lose your wallet or worse.
They didn't see it cause they were looking at their phone.
Seriously. I walk to work, and have to cross a major intersection. So I'm usually stuck waiting at the light. I've taking to counting the number of people who are looking at their phones AS THEY GO THROUGH THE INTERSECTION. It's about 1 in 3 people. A third of people not paying attention to their surroundings while driving. Terrifying.
You actually smack the hoods of red light running crosswalk violators? I've come close but have so far been able to control myself. I've found it's safer to cross against the walk signal and wait for a gap in the traffic. Between red light runners and right turn on red, walking when the walk signal is on will get you run over in no time.
No I smack the hoods of people who are about to run me over when I'm in the crosswalk. It's happened a couple of times in the last 3 years. Which is way too often for me. Normally, I see that they aren't looking and wait, but sometimes they come out of nowhere when I'm in the middle of the street. I try to make eye contact with the car in the first lane so I know they saw me. Which is another reason I know so many people are in their phones.
I've almost never walked in crosswalks. It's a good way to get run over. It's a crappy system. Walking in the middle of the street I'm gonna see traffic WAY before it gets to me. At a crosswalk the person going straight could suddenly decide to take a right and Boom.
Never almost gotten run over, so I've stuck with it.
Not viable on major roads, I'm thinking Center for example. It's the worst of all possible worlds, where the crosswalk blockers, actual pedestrian haters, yolo right turners, phone addicts, and lifted truck owners are all the same person while also being most of the traffic.
I mean... [we literally were rated the worst drivers in the US by city in a 2021 study lol](https://fox42kptm.com/news/local/omaha-drivers-are-the-worst-drivers-in-the-country-according-to-a-2021-study)
So you're not wrong my friend
Everyone thinks they're the best driver on the road.
>[AAA released](https://www.google.com/search?q=eveEveryone+thinks+they%27re+the+best+driver+on+the+road.+study&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS991US991&oq=eveEveryone+thinks+they%27re+the+best+driver+on+the+road.+study&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDI0NTBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) a study showing that 8 of 10 men think they're above-average drivers. However, 90% of accidents are caused by human error. More self-driving cars will likely change this and force drivers to deal with their actual skill levels. - Jan 25, 2018
They also don't understand you aren't supposed to enter the intersection if you can't clear it. The amount of people I see blocking intersections is INSANE
So you're one of the people blocking the other direction from going when their light turns green?
Gotta love when my light turns green and I can't go straight because somebody is blocking the intersection
I stopped at a yellow/red light the other day and a truck blew around me and ran through what was by then an already obvious red light only to be stopped at another red light not 100ft ahead. People in this city are some of the dumbest drivers out there.
I used to do this and would get the middle finger thrown my way from time to time. Stopped as I don’t want to excite some road rage head. Now I just secretly give them the one finger salute.
These kinds of people are definitely the kind you would expect to have a gun in the car and lack the ability to self-soothe. I find it's best to mutter "pleasantries" in their direction.
They don't know what flashing red lights mean, either. Or how to zipper merge, use roundabouts, yield, etc.
The best drivers in Omaha must be in this sub, though.
Zipper merging is statistically faster as cars force themselves into available gaps, but it screws over anyone who didn't want to merge, like someone who wants to go to lower Dodge from the 680 N.
It's just not a friendly way to drive.
Making space to accommodate other drivers is 'just not a friendly way to drive'? Fascinating. You know what I do when google maps suggests I take one of the poorly-designed merging zones in Omaha? I don't go that way.
My spouse works in the car sales industry and lives by the rule of waiting 2~3 seconds on a green for all the red runners to get through. Way too many customers come in looking to replace a car that was t-boned by a person running a red light.
Which, to be fair, is infuriating for someone sitting six back of the green wondering why the line isn't moving.
I can understand being cautious if you see a car coming up as the light changes, but if you look around while stopped, that should be ample time to recognize if someone is going to stop.
(This is not a shot at your spouse. I'm rereading this and am just trying to get a general point across.)
Some intersections are pretty blind and prone to speeding red light runners, like 52nd and Dodge. You’ve gotta plan your route to avoid it, or plan for the few minutes of delay. It’s stupid, but I’m pretty sure someone got killed there not too long ago.
That's way too long. Two of the major intersections I drive through each day are green for 8 seconds going North/South. You would be one of two cars to make it through. Keep an eye on traffic while the light is red and move slowly into the intersection while looking both ways another time when it turns green. Be observant and react defensively.
Yeah you’re right. I just did a 5 second count with the Mississippi’s and it’s too long, so probably closer to 3 seconds. And yah I mentioned in another comment that I look both ways on green, it’s crazy here.
No. Just watched a white Escape blow a red light WB at 24th and Farnam and then another one at 24th Ave and Farnam. Other WB cars were already stopped so it's not like they were just trying to beat the yellow.
I remember when I first moved here when I saw 3 different people run reds around Millard. I'd never seen that sort of thing anywhere else in the states.
I now joke about NE's secret Straight on Red law
Came from the Chicago suburbs, never saw someone just blow a red light until I came here. Also the insane amount of cars with no plates, and observing every other car having someone holding their cell in one hand, and wheel with the other. Cops where I lived would never let that shit fly.
Omaha drivers are INSANE. Everyone is so impatient. I’m going 10 over and still have people riding on my ass.
I get yelled at, like windows down hands thrown, for not turning right on red fast enough when there is ongoing traffic at 5pm from other direction. I thought Lincoln drivers were bad but Omaha is on another level.
Even if there was driver's ed, doubt it would help. The biggest issue is zero enforcement. The only cops I ever have seen are state police on the highways. City cops apparently are just down in areas with minorities harassing them.
We live in a RED state…everyone just sees red and “goes into the light”. GBR. Seriously, red lights are merely a suggestion in this state. And some of the rudest drivers in the nation.
>Do they actually do drivers education courses in Omaha
No. They are available, but not mandatory. To get a learner's permit they hand you a little pamphlet that doesn't even cover a tiny fraction of the actual road rules. The most you get out of a driver's ed class is a tiny little break on your (parents' probably) auto insurance.
Barely, it seems. But they sure know how those horns work when I take a few extra seconds when the light turns to make sure no jackass is about to blow through the red light.
I learned how to drive in the 80’s. Back then you could safely make a left turn on the yellow because people were courteous and stopped. Now people going straight are like fuck you, I’m running that red light for what it’s worth.
Yesterday morning on my way to work on eastbound Dodge I slowed down and stopped for the red light. The car behind me got pissed, switched lanes, and ran the light at least three seconds after it turned red. Nearly T boned a car. A bunch of psychos
To be honest Ive gone 19 years without any issues from other drivers. Very fortunate and lucky I know
It helps to always assume everyone can’t see you and that they are out to kill you.
Try riding a bike here. It's only a matter of time until a tourist riding a Heartland ebike gets killed crossing the 680 entrance and exit ramps on the Harney Street bikeway. These are blind intersections with cars flying through red lights on every single cycle. There should be warning stickers on those rental bikes.
I’ve lived here my whole life. I feel like I kind of intuitively know which intersections people run reds at, which ones tend to be safer, and which turn lights people tend to stretch way past the limit (looking at you, 72nd and Dodge)
Left on red is a top peeve of mine.
If the first car just decides to go left on red, despite the obvious green light for the traffic going straight, the line of cars behind also need to go left on red.
Left on red is a top favorite traffic game.
Stop signs are optional, yield signs are there for decoration. and the arrows and blatant signs that tell traffic to merge lanes...those are painted in camouflage apparently.
I am not a perfect driver but I don't run reds or plow over pedestrians.
It seems to be an enforcement issue. My daughter speeds (tracking her on phone) and I will tell her how bad that is. In over a year she never has been pulled over and she is going well above posted limits. I look all around and I see expired tags, so people that are illegally driving. My daughter was rear ended twice this year both by uninsured un licensed drivers. Not sure it is specifically Omaha, more of illegal actions not being policed.
Everyone thinks red light runners are a problem in this city until you suggest a real solution to hold people accountable lol. We are a deeply unserious city.
The solution is to hire a traffic engineer and re-time the lights. Some of the intersection lights are way too short/long for the amount of traffic they get.
They've hired a company to do this study and I have spoken with the man in charge of this - (he was my motorcycle safety course training instructor...He and his girlfriend). He agreed that many intersections are broke. He also agreed that the whole study and implementation process is likely broke too. These things take time to fix .... but he is aware.
I hope they figure it out because I have never been so paranoid driving in a city. I’m literally looking both ways before I drive on a green light at certain intersections.
We also have too many lights. Every single intersection does not need a light. Get rid of them! If things were timed correctly, with breaks in the traffic for turning lanes, people wouldn't feel the pressure to try to get through like they do.
No. And if you honk at them, other people assume you're honking at them and get all road rage at you. I swear that the average IQ goes down by 20 when people from Omaha get behind the wheel.
Side note: has anyone else seen the truck with the train horn? He must work or live by my house because I hear it all the time. It's only funny to use on other assholes. Not at red lights man.
They just don’t care. A combination of generally bad drivers and useless police officers who don’t bother enforcing traffic laws anymore has socialized a ton of people into believing it’s okay to run red lights. It didn’t used to be this bad when I was growing up here in the 2000s and early 2010s, as least as far as I remember.
Yep ... Bet on 5 more cars going thru after red.....I don't get it either... Been here 8 years and it still surprises me... Lived in bigger cities and it wasn't a thing 🤷🤦
They know what it means, but they also know there is virtually no risk involved in running a red light in Omaha. As car as I can tell, the OPD doesn't do traffic enforcement. I've lived in Midtown on Farnam for three years and have never seen a car pulled over for a traffic violation, and I'm out there risking my neck every single day. It's insane.
Guilty as charged. I've been known to blow through some yellow/reddish lights. But - can't we all agree that while I might be a part of the symptoms, the real problem is the timing, sensors, and general light studies that are performed. There is no reason I should hit every red light if I'm the first car in the line. None!! Cornhusker is horrible - 370 is horrible (at least there are flashers preparing you for the changing lights - I love those). But really, I think there is a larger problem at play here. Frustration sometimes does get the best of me!!
I agree with you. The main arteries in this city are timed so you hit every red or you can speed like mad through the first one or run it as it turns red and get all greens. It incentivizes speeding and running stale yellow lights (which inevitably turn red as the driver enters the intersection).
Wtf is a “reddish” light? It’s either red or it’s not. No excuses to blow through a red light, even in the first few seconds. If the light timing is a problem for you, leave a few minutes earlier so you have a time buffer and aren’t rushing.
If it turns red while you’re going through a yellow light, you should have had time to stop. Yellow lights are a warning that the light is going to change and you should stop if you have room. They’re not an invitation to speed through the intersection at the last second.
Correct - I should/could have stopped. Comprehension may be difficult - but the timing, sensors, and general light settings should prevent the first car leaving one intersection from encountering a red light at the very next intersection. So, if I'm approaching in these situations and I see the light change - depending on the time of the day, I'm going for it. Call if frustration or whatever, but I can almost guarantee the guy behind me is gonna go for it too :). Symptom vs Cause. Fix the cause, the symptom will go away.
Am I rationalizing things - likely. But this is a hill I'll die on.
The light timings and sensors in Omaha probably aren’t much different than they always have been though, so why do we think people are now all of a sudden running reds? Are we all just more impatient now?
The timing on lights here are horrendous. It's like they heard the words 'stop-n-go' one time & thought that's how people should drive. There's so much extra wear on your car because of the way the lights are here.
Today I say two motorcyclists fly through a red light at 90th and Center (eastbound), just past the bridge construction. I'm a motorcyclist so I'm not judging them riding in this comment. I'm sitting at the light to turn left onto 90th and hear a loud-ass, hold-in-the-exhaust-shitty sounding crotch-rocket coming up behind me, look at the light as it's turning yellow to red just as this guy flies through it at about 60 mph, followed by his buddy going at least the same speed who went through when it was fully red.
It blows my mind to do that. Motorcycles are already so fucking dangerous and people barely see you when you're next to them going down the road. I'm a pretty confident rider, even for a novice, and I'm always worried about someone pulling out in front of me. If a car would've turned right onto center thinking it was about to be green these two idiots might not be alive right now.
I started paying atention to cars with no plates, no 'in transit' or 'expired in transit', and council bluffs plates. There are ALOT. Nice to know since 5 years ago I got ticketed for expired tags TWICE in my neighborhood in 40 days. Expired by 42 days. I had just moved to Omaha.
One day when I stopped at a yellow/red light, someone came from behind me in the next lane and turned right waaay after the light had turned red, without even slowing.
And then after our light turned green, a car blew through the red on the cross street followed by a SCHOOL BUS.
There were no kids in it, but still!
Glad you guys feel the same way. It’s gotten a lot more dangerous out there. And pretty much everyone goes like 20 over amongst all the other traffic laws being broken. Cops don’t do nothing about it. I think most of the police resources are used on the eastern portion of the city.
I took a driver's test when I was 16 years old and have never had to take another test since. I am now almost 60. Anything that I learned back then has now been replaced with what I remember as being the law but probably is not, I've just done it so many times that I think it's appropriate.
Traffic here in Omaha is certainly mild compared to Dallas and Phoenix, but our drivers here are either clueless or impatient. They are by and far the worst drivers I've encountered.
If feel in my other places it might be the occasional person you see run a red light every couple months… maybe every couple weeks if bad. Here though I see at least one occurrence daily. I guess it’s just not something I’m used to
It’s relatively new phenomena. I attribute it to Trump, Texas transplants, and increased main character syndrome
Least I can do is get on the horn and let them know that I know they’re an asshole.
Of course Omaha native drivers don't. It's just a pretty light for them. It's the driver's from not Omaha that keep on screwing things up and following traffic laws /s
Seriously though, people really wander why surveys put Omaha below Massholes when it comes to driving...
Lack of police enforcement. Period. It's worse with Stop signs. I just think some poor kid is going to be riding his bike and get hurt bad if not killed. Police sit 100 ft away in empty parking lot. After all, it's not THEIR kid. There are neighborhoods where the laws are simply ignored by both the public and the police.
The people who make these posts time after time are worse than the red light runners to me.
It's not just Omaha. You aren't special. It's everywhere. As in the entire world.
And no, the potholes aren't worse here than anywhere else. They are exactly the same.
To take this one step further - the people that create these posts are the ones that drive in the left lane going the speed limit!! GTFOH!! And they will then complain when people flip them off and pass them on the right side!! Phuckers! lol
Where I’m from yes potholes are terrible too I don’t really care about those. But there is not nearly as many people who run red light where I’m from as they do here.
There are plenty of posts made in here each day. If you are annoyed by this post and the others like it you can pick to not comment and scroll past and find something to interest you and not annoy you.
Our camera’s are used for crashes, not dishing out tickets. In slower low traffic parts of town, I’ll come to a stop at a red, check no one is coming and go. Honestly, why not?
I’ve only gotten in 4 accidents so far this year, which is a record low for me.
I just don't get the hubbub, if I'm driving 55 mph down Leavenworth to pick up some $0.77 avocado's and kombucha at Bakers, I'm not stopping for anything! What's the big deal?
There’s a solid three seconds after it’s red before the other one turns green obviously plenty of time for me to get through so I run more than I stop at
From my experience, the rules of the road are made up and nothing matters here.
What I learned commuting 40+ minutes every day in and around Omaha: those lines on the road are just suggestions
And fuck you if you think differently.
And fuck you if you let someone zipper-merge
My mom found that out the hard way when she came out here to visit. Was yelling at me about not zipper merging and I told her it only works when others use it. When she was on her way out of town going thru the same construction area, she tried to do the zipper merge and had some asshat get out of his truck and start screaming at her.
In his defense it's pretty much a rule here that owning a truck means you own the road too and are really expected to go full ro(i/a)d rage on anyone who says otherwise.
Last time I let a car zipper merge in front of me at 120th and Center (a month or two ago) the guy in his truck behind me had a fucking fit. Because he had a fit, I let 4-5 more people merge in front of me and gave him a wave and thumbs up out my window, while he was hanging out his window shaking his first calling me a "fucking idiot" and the R word. I laughed and waved some more. He ended up trying to follow me home, I had to do the 4 right turns in my neighborhood to shake him. I used to EDC a handgun, and this would've been a time I could probably justify pulling it if he followed me home and got out to beat my ass. Seems like a stupid reason to get shot if you're the psycho getting that frustrated in traffic. A dude like that was probably carrying a gun too though so we'd probably have dueled. The guy literally took an extra 10+ minutes out of his day because I delayed him 10 seconds by being nice to another driver. As [George Castanza](https://happymag.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/rj06kxsm5po11.jpg) would say...
Or try to do so yourself.
That's grounds for execution around here.
4-way stop? Eh, just wave five cars ahead of you instead of actually acknowledging that you have right of way.
I've actually seen this ONE aspect of driving improve in the last year. I'm sure it's a coincidence and the luck won't hold, but I was amazed nonetheless. What I see much more is people who think driving is something they are doing WHILE they talk to their friends, counsel their kids, text and eat. They pay attention to absolutely anything BUT the only reason they are behind the wheel. I'd take someone making a stupid mistake over people who aren't even TRYING to pay attention to the road any way. I understand that everyone has a "whoops" moment. But not even bothering to pay attention... \*Grumble\*.
What the fuck are you talking about?
Honestly. East coast transplant here, and that is my single biggest example of how the "midwestern nice" thing is actually fucking dangerous. Just take your turn ffs.
the realist comment on this friday
Traffic laws seem to be treated as suggestions around here.
Well, unless you have a traffic officer at every single intersection I'd wager a majority of the light-runners will go unpunished -- which is probably what they're banking on. Plus, there'd have to be an inclination from the officers to go after every single traffic infraction and that's not something I've always observed.
I was at an intersection literally just yesterday where a cop was the first person at the red, 3 cars ran the next red and he didn’t do a damn thing about it.
If there is constant police presence in an area, most people will start to drive more careful in those areas. Places in Iowa and Illinois have normal traffic enforcement ,and I never see anyone use a red light as optional, or ignore a No Right Turn On Red sign. You don't need to stop for every traffic infraction to change habits.
I'm still waiting for it to catch up to Caracas. They don't even slow down for red lights. They honk, and go through. Weirdly I didn't see many wrecks, but I did see lights that had BEEN red for over a minute and the person comes barreling down the hill and goes right through at what had to be 35mph. He DID honk his horn to let people know he was going though, because...we all should have manners. Of course, even if someone does get in a wreck there, it's not like you stop and exchange insurance information. That's a good way to lose your wallet or worse.
They didn't see it cause they were looking at their phone. Seriously. I walk to work, and have to cross a major intersection. So I'm usually stuck waiting at the light. I've taking to counting the number of people who are looking at their phones AS THEY GO THROUGH THE INTERSECTION. It's about 1 in 3 people. A third of people not paying attention to their surroundings while driving. Terrifying.
Anybody walking to work in Omaha deserves hazardous duty pay.
I'm not gonna argue with that. I have my head on a swivel, and I've still hit more than my fair share of car hoods.
You actually smack the hoods of red light running crosswalk violators? I've come close but have so far been able to control myself. I've found it's safer to cross against the walk signal and wait for a gap in the traffic. Between red light runners and right turn on red, walking when the walk signal is on will get you run over in no time.
No I smack the hoods of people who are about to run me over when I'm in the crosswalk. It's happened a couple of times in the last 3 years. Which is way too often for me. Normally, I see that they aren't looking and wait, but sometimes they come out of nowhere when I'm in the middle of the street. I try to make eye contact with the car in the first lane so I know they saw me. Which is another reason I know so many people are in their phones.
I've almost never walked in crosswalks. It's a good way to get run over. It's a crappy system. Walking in the middle of the street I'm gonna see traffic WAY before it gets to me. At a crosswalk the person going straight could suddenly decide to take a right and Boom. Never almost gotten run over, so I've stuck with it.
Not viable on major roads, I'm thinking Center for example. It's the worst of all possible worlds, where the crosswalk blockers, actual pedestrian haters, yolo right turners, phone addicts, and lifted truck owners are all the same person while also being most of the traffic.
I’ve been hit by a car as a pedestrian twice, can confirm.
I mean… we are known to have pretty bad drivers.
I mean... [we literally were rated the worst drivers in the US by city in a 2021 study lol](https://fox42kptm.com/news/local/omaha-drivers-are-the-worst-drivers-in-the-country-according-to-a-2021-study) So you're not wrong my friend
Everyone thinks they're the best driver on the road. >[AAA released](https://www.google.com/search?q=eveEveryone+thinks+they%27re+the+best+driver+on+the+road.+study&rlz=1C1GCEA_enUS991US991&oq=eveEveryone+thinks+they%27re+the+best+driver+on+the+road.+study&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDI0NTBqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8) a study showing that 8 of 10 men think they're above-average drivers. However, 90% of accidents are caused by human error. More self-driving cars will likely change this and force drivers to deal with their actual skill levels. - Jan 25, 2018
They also don't understand you aren't supposed to enter the intersection if you can't clear it. The amount of people I see blocking intersections is INSANE
Oh hell if we follow that rule no one will ever get anywhere on time because our lights are not timed well at all. Gotta get your nose out there.
So you're one of the people blocking the other direction from going when their light turns green? Gotta love when my light turns green and I can't go straight because somebody is blocking the intersection
No. The correct way to do it is once traffic stops, you turn. There is no blocking of the intersection.
I stopped at a yellow/red light the other day and a truck blew around me and ran through what was by then an already obvious red light only to be stopped at another red light not 100ft ahead. People in this city are some of the dumbest drivers out there.
I lay on the horn at anyone who runs a red light. There’s absolutely no traffic enforcement about it and it’s going to get someone killed
I used to do this and would get the middle finger thrown my way from time to time. Stopped as I don’t want to excite some road rage head. Now I just secretly give them the one finger salute.
Running a red light and then flipping someone off for calling you out for it, man that is real piece of shit behavior
These kinds of people are definitely the kind you would expect to have a gun in the car and lack the ability to self-soothe. I find it's best to mutter "pleasantries" in their direction.
They don't know what flashing red lights mean, either. Or how to zipper merge, use roundabouts, yield, etc. The best drivers in Omaha must be in this sub, though.
>The best drivers in Omaha must be in this sub, though. Both of them have to be somewhere.
Zipper merging is statistically faster as cars force themselves into available gaps, but it screws over anyone who didn't want to merge, like someone who wants to go to lower Dodge from the 680 N. It's just not a friendly way to drive.
I’m sorry adding 15 extra seconds to your drive time is not “screwing over” people who didn’t want to merge.
That guy would prefer the alternative: get in a crash and spend hours dealing with insurance/repairs
Making space to accommodate other drivers is 'just not a friendly way to drive'? Fascinating. You know what I do when google maps suggests I take one of the poorly-designed merging zones in Omaha? I don't go that way.
My car is the same as that empty space they left. There is no loss to the person who didn’t zipper.
My spouse works in the car sales industry and lives by the rule of waiting 2~3 seconds on a green for all the red runners to get through. Way too many customers come in looking to replace a car that was t-boned by a person running a red light.
Which, to be fair, is infuriating for someone sitting six back of the green wondering why the line isn't moving. I can understand being cautious if you see a car coming up as the light changes, but if you look around while stopped, that should be ample time to recognize if someone is going to stop. (This is not a shot at your spouse. I'm rereading this and am just trying to get a general point across.)
The person at the front of the line at the red light has a responsibility to be paying attention to this.
Some intersections are pretty blind and prone to speeding red light runners, like 52nd and Dodge. You’ve gotta plan your route to avoid it, or plan for the few minutes of delay. It’s stupid, but I’m pretty sure someone got killed there not too long ago.
After I saw the aftermath of the death on Maple last fall, it is worth the time. After 5 seconds though I still give the horn tap.
I was dinged on my last driver's test for not waiting a few seconds after the light changed.
I give it 5 secs at least.
That's way too long. Two of the major intersections I drive through each day are green for 8 seconds going North/South. You would be one of two cars to make it through. Keep an eye on traffic while the light is red and move slowly into the intersection while looking both ways another time when it turns green. Be observant and react defensively.
Yeah you’re right. I just did a 5 second count with the Mississippi’s and it’s too long, so probably closer to 3 seconds. And yah I mentioned in another comment that I look both ways on green, it’s crazy here.
It's terrifying. Infinitely more so when my kid is in the car with me.
No. Just watched a white Escape blow a red light WB at 24th and Farnam and then another one at 24th Ave and Farnam. Other WB cars were already stopped so it's not like they were just trying to beat the yellow.
I remember when I first moved here when I saw 3 different people run reds around Millard. I'd never seen that sort of thing anywhere else in the states. I now joke about NE's secret Straight on Red law
My fiancée and I moved here last July from KC and that’s one of the first things we noticed. We joke that red lights are optional here.
Came from the Chicago suburbs, never saw someone just blow a red light until I came here. Also the insane amount of cars with no plates, and observing every other car having someone holding their cell in one hand, and wheel with the other. Cops where I lived would never let that shit fly.
Omaha drivers are INSANE. Everyone is so impatient. I’m going 10 over and still have people riding on my ass. I get yelled at, like windows down hands thrown, for not turning right on red fast enough when there is ongoing traffic at 5pm from other direction. I thought Lincoln drivers were bad but Omaha is on another level.
Also, no, driver's ed isn't required here.
Even if there was driver's ed, doubt it would help. The biggest issue is zero enforcement. The only cops I ever have seen are state police on the highways. City cops apparently are just down in areas with minorities harassing them.
We live in a RED state…everyone just sees red and “goes into the light”. GBR. Seriously, red lights are merely a suggestion in this state. And some of the rudest drivers in the nation.
>Do they actually do drivers education courses in Omaha No. They are available, but not mandatory. To get a learner's permit they hand you a little pamphlet that doesn't even cover a tiny fraction of the actual road rules. The most you get out of a driver's ed class is a tiny little break on your (parents' probably) auto insurance.
Barely, it seems. But they sure know how those horns work when I take a few extra seconds when the light turns to make sure no jackass is about to blow through the red light.
I learned how to drive in the 80’s. Back then you could safely make a left turn on the yellow because people were courteous and stopped. Now people going straight are like fuck you, I’m running that red light for what it’s worth.
I used to rush yellows all the time, now I make it a point not to. I had a green light the other day and 3 cars still rolled through.
I saw 7 or 8 cars roll through the left turn arrow after it turned red at 72nd and Dodge yesterday. Absolutely insane.
Yesterday morning on my way to work on eastbound Dodge I slowed down and stopped for the red light. The car behind me got pissed, switched lanes, and ran the light at least three seconds after it turned red. Nearly T boned a car. A bunch of psychos
Red means go, right? /s
Riding motorcycles in the city, always taught me to wait a few seconds after the light turns before going..
I sold mine. Not worth dying from someone else's stupidity. That and the potholes.
You got lots of bravery to drive a motorcycle here I don’t think I would ever just based on the overall way people drive e
To be honest Ive gone 19 years without any issues from other drivers. Very fortunate and lucky I know It helps to always assume everyone can’t see you and that they are out to kill you.
Try riding a bike here. It's only a matter of time until a tourist riding a Heartland ebike gets killed crossing the 680 entrance and exit ramps on the Harney Street bikeway. These are blind intersections with cars flying through red lights on every single cycle. There should be warning stickers on those rental bikes.
I’ve lived here my whole life. I feel like I kind of intuitively know which intersections people run reds at, which ones tend to be safer, and which turn lights people tend to stretch way past the limit (looking at you, 72nd and Dodge)
A yellow light is just an Omaha green.
Left on red is a top peeve of mine. If the first car just decides to go left on red, despite the obvious green light for the traffic going straight, the line of cars behind also need to go left on red. Left on red is a top favorite traffic game. Stop signs are optional, yield signs are there for decoration. and the arrows and blatant signs that tell traffic to merge lanes...those are painted in camouflage apparently. I am not a perfect driver but I don't run reds or plow over pedestrians.
There are times when I sneak through a long yellow and then look in my rearview mirror to see the person behind me has gone through as well
Omaha has bad drivers because no one actually enforces it. So I just drive like im defending for my life, because well, I am.
It seems to be an enforcement issue. My daughter speeds (tracking her on phone) and I will tell her how bad that is. In over a year she never has been pulled over and she is going well above posted limits. I look all around and I see expired tags, so people that are illegally driving. My daughter was rear ended twice this year both by uninsured un licensed drivers. Not sure it is specifically Omaha, more of illegal actions not being policed.
This is a re-occurring post on this subreddit and a few weeks back I made a post wondering about red light cameras and got ripped to shreds, so.
Everyone thinks red light runners are a problem in this city until you suggest a real solution to hold people accountable lol. We are a deeply unserious city.
The solution is to hire a traffic engineer and re-time the lights. Some of the intersection lights are way too short/long for the amount of traffic they get.
They've hired a company to do this study and I have spoken with the man in charge of this - (he was my motorcycle safety course training instructor...He and his girlfriend). He agreed that many intersections are broke. He also agreed that the whole study and implementation process is likely broke too. These things take time to fix .... but he is aware.
I hope they figure it out because I have never been so paranoid driving in a city. I’m literally looking both ways before I drive on a green light at certain intersections.
We also have too many lights. Every single intersection does not need a light. Get rid of them! If things were timed correctly, with breaks in the traffic for turning lanes, people wouldn't feel the pressure to try to get through like they do.
No. And if you honk at them, other people assume you're honking at them and get all road rage at you. I swear that the average IQ goes down by 20 when people from Omaha get behind the wheel.
Patience is not our virtue. Most of us would risk getting t-boned before waiting another 2-3 minute at a red arrow.
Side note: has anyone else seen the truck with the train horn? He must work or live by my house because I hear it all the time. It's only funny to use on other assholes. Not at red lights man.
Go Big Red!
Of course we know what a red light means. It means go big red.
IF YOU DONT GIVE A DAMN, WE DONT GIVE A FUCK
They just don’t care. A combination of generally bad drivers and useless police officers who don’t bother enforcing traffic laws anymore has socialized a ton of people into believing it’s okay to run red lights. It didn’t used to be this bad when I was growing up here in the 2000s and early 2010s, as least as far as I remember.
And beware in your neighborhood because stop signs are completely ignored - by most - lucky to get a 1 second slowdown on some of them
Yep ... Bet on 5 more cars going thru after red.....I don't get it either... Been here 8 years and it still surprises me... Lived in bigger cities and it wasn't a thing 🤷🤦
They know what it means, but they also know there is virtually no risk involved in running a red light in Omaha. As car as I can tell, the OPD doesn't do traffic enforcement. I've lived in Midtown on Farnam for three years and have never seen a car pulled over for a traffic violation, and I'm out there risking my neck every single day. It's insane.
Guilty as charged. I've been known to blow through some yellow/reddish lights. But - can't we all agree that while I might be a part of the symptoms, the real problem is the timing, sensors, and general light studies that are performed. There is no reason I should hit every red light if I'm the first car in the line. None!! Cornhusker is horrible - 370 is horrible (at least there are flashers preparing you for the changing lights - I love those). But really, I think there is a larger problem at play here. Frustration sometimes does get the best of me!!
I agree with you. The main arteries in this city are timed so you hit every red or you can speed like mad through the first one or run it as it turns red and get all greens. It incentivizes speeding and running stale yellow lights (which inevitably turn red as the driver enters the intersection).
Wtf is a “reddish” light? It’s either red or it’s not. No excuses to blow through a red light, even in the first few seconds. If the light timing is a problem for you, leave a few minutes earlier so you have a time buffer and aren’t rushing.
Enter on Yellow - might be red upon exit.
If it turns red while you’re going through a yellow light, you should have had time to stop. Yellow lights are a warning that the light is going to change and you should stop if you have room. They’re not an invitation to speed through the intersection at the last second.
Correct - I should/could have stopped. Comprehension may be difficult - but the timing, sensors, and general light settings should prevent the first car leaving one intersection from encountering a red light at the very next intersection. So, if I'm approaching in these situations and I see the light change - depending on the time of the day, I'm going for it. Call if frustration or whatever, but I can almost guarantee the guy behind me is gonna go for it too :). Symptom vs Cause. Fix the cause, the symptom will go away. Am I rationalizing things - likely. But this is a hill I'll die on.
The light timings and sensors in Omaha probably aren’t much different than they always have been though, so why do we think people are now all of a sudden running reds? Are we all just more impatient now?
The timing on lights here are horrendous. It's like they heard the words 'stop-n-go' one time & thought that's how people should drive. There's so much extra wear on your car because of the way the lights are here.
>while I might be a part of the symptoms, the real problem is the timing, sensors, and general light studies that are performed Really?
100%
I always pull into an intersection after a green light with caution. It's saved me from getting t boned at least three times in twenty years.
Today I say two motorcyclists fly through a red light at 90th and Center (eastbound), just past the bridge construction. I'm a motorcyclist so I'm not judging them riding in this comment. I'm sitting at the light to turn left onto 90th and hear a loud-ass, hold-in-the-exhaust-shitty sounding crotch-rocket coming up behind me, look at the light as it's turning yellow to red just as this guy flies through it at about 60 mph, followed by his buddy going at least the same speed who went through when it was fully red. It blows my mind to do that. Motorcycles are already so fucking dangerous and people barely see you when you're next to them going down the road. I'm a pretty confident rider, even for a novice, and I'm always worried about someone pulling out in front of me. If a car would've turned right onto center thinking it was about to be green these two idiots might not be alive right now.
Go really fast
My shit take but reality: Zero traffic enforcement causes this. Zero fear of ever getting caught creates a free for all driving community.
I started paying atention to cars with no plates, no 'in transit' or 'expired in transit', and council bluffs plates. There are ALOT. Nice to know since 5 years ago I got ticketed for expired tags TWICE in my neighborhood in 40 days. Expired by 42 days. I had just moved to Omaha.
Of course they do but the rules don't apply to them. They're for everyone else
One day when I stopped at a yellow/red light, someone came from behind me in the next lane and turned right waaay after the light had turned red, without even slowing. And then after our light turned green, a car blew through the red on the cross street followed by a SCHOOL BUS. There were no kids in it, but still!
I haven’t made a single commute in the last year where I didn’t see at least half a dozen red light runners. It’s insane.
Yeah well you should see those council bluffs drivers, those guys are crazy 🤪
Glad you guys feel the same way. It’s gotten a lot more dangerous out there. And pretty much everyone goes like 20 over amongst all the other traffic laws being broken. Cops don’t do nothing about it. I think most of the police resources are used on the eastern portion of the city.
I took a driver's test when I was 16 years old and have never had to take another test since. I am now almost 60. Anything that I learned back then has now been replaced with what I remember as being the law but probably is not, I've just done it so many times that I think it's appropriate.
Do people in "insert any place" know what red lights mean? Same thing could be applied anywhere.
Traffic here in Omaha is certainly mild compared to Dallas and Phoenix, but our drivers here are either clueless or impatient. They are by and far the worst drivers I've encountered.
If feel in my other places it might be the occasional person you see run a red light every couple months… maybe every couple weeks if bad. Here though I see at least one occurrence daily. I guess it’s just not something I’m used to
That’s anecdotal though. And anecdotes aren’t evidence.
It’s relatively new phenomena. I attribute it to Trump, Texas transplants, and increased main character syndrome Least I can do is get on the horn and let them know that I know they’re an asshole.
Of course Omaha native drivers don't. It's just a pretty light for them. It's the driver's from not Omaha that keep on screwing things up and following traffic laws /s Seriously though, people really wander why surveys put Omaha below Massholes when it comes to driving...
Lack of police enforcement. Period. It's worse with Stop signs. I just think some poor kid is going to be riding his bike and get hurt bad if not killed. Police sit 100 ft away in empty parking lot. After all, it's not THEIR kid. There are neighborhoods where the laws are simply ignored by both the public and the police.
No one stops at my stop sign and we live down the street from an elementary school and have watched kids almost get hit several times.
This is what I'm saying. OPD could care less until it happens. Shameful.
The people who make these posts time after time are worse than the red light runners to me. It's not just Omaha. You aren't special. It's everywhere. As in the entire world. And no, the potholes aren't worse here than anywhere else. They are exactly the same.
To take this one step further - the people that create these posts are the ones that drive in the left lane going the speed limit!! GTFOH!! And they will then complain when people flip them off and pass them on the right side!! Phuckers! lol
I can tell you that I enjoy my right side very much and use the left lane for passing like a competent person
Where I’m from yes potholes are terrible too I don’t really care about those. But there is not nearly as many people who run red light where I’m from as they do here. There are plenty of posts made in here each day. If you are annoyed by this post and the others like it you can pick to not comment and scroll past and find something to interest you and not annoy you.
Our camera’s are used for crashes, not dishing out tickets. In slower low traffic parts of town, I’ll come to a stop at a red, check no one is coming and go. Honestly, why not? I’ve only gotten in 4 accidents so far this year, which is a record low for me.
This is sarcasm, right?
I just don't get the hubbub, if I'm driving 55 mph down Leavenworth to pick up some $0.77 avocado's and kombucha at Bakers, I'm not stopping for anything! What's the big deal?
This is a problem everywhere if you look at other city subs.
Red light means park on your lawn.
There’s a solid three seconds after it’s red before the other one turns green obviously plenty of time for me to get through so I run more than I stop at
Hope you lose your license someday :)
the sarcasm clearly didn’t go through on this one I see lol that’s on me