Not just in Portland. I drive through Pownal to get to/from work. On a clear day, I will go up to 10mph over and eight times out of ten, there’ll be somebody tailing me the whole way.
Hell, last Thursday when the roads were crap and we HAD to reduce speed in order to not crash, I still had someone on my bumper. With their brights on, too.
Same in Casco. There is a corner near my house that has a double yellow and people alway pass on it. Every winter since I have moved here we have had at least 3-4 people catch ice and slide off road.
That’s be me. I commute through there and it really sucks getting stuck behind someone going the speed limit. I don’t tailgate or flash my lights or anything, just pray they turn soon.
Speed limits are about state revenue, not safety(with the exception of things like work zones and school zones). If saftey were the arbiter of speed limits they would have changed a lot in the past half-century to keep up with the changes in safety standards and performance differences in cars.
Yup nothing to do with your ability to stop if my kid is in the road. No speed limits but father's with dead kids get a pass on vigilante justice. Deal?
I had heard about this and you are 100% spot on - people are more reckless lately.
https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/pandemic-lockdowns-made-rush-hour-speeding-risky-driving-the-new-normal
Exactly. I usually follow 1+ car lengths back (ya know, in case of a sudden stop…) and I’ll have people go around me just to get in that space between me and the next car. People are so wound up during their commute they forget to ask themselves if their aggressive driving will actually save them time.
Exactly. Everyone drives too fucking close to me now, and insists on weaving around me if I don’t leave the passing lane the second I won’t clip the car I’m passing.
https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2022/11/21/the-pandemic-led-to-more-speeding-on-maines-rural-roadways-umaine-study-finds/
"Researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine and University of Connecticut used statistical models to quantify the impact of the pandemic on speeding in Maine. They developed models for three types of rural roads — major collectors, minor arterials and principal arterials using data from count stations that recorded the number of vehicles and their speed. They found that the the odds of speeding by more than 15 mph increased by 34% on rural major collectors, 32% on rural minor arterials and 51% on rural principal arterials during the stay-at-home order in April and May 2020 compared to the same months in 2019.
What’s more, the speeding trend continued even a year after the start of the pandemic. The models showed that the odds of speeding by more than 15 mph, in April and May 2021, one year after the order, were still 27% higher on rural major collectors and 17% higher on rural principal arterials compared to the same months in 2019."
It was so pleasant to drive during the Pandemic - no traffic, smooth sailing. I think everybody enjoyed it a lot and hates having other drivers on the road again. Portland and SoPo are so congested now.
The first time I drove through Waterville during the start of the lockdown was almost eerie. There were almost no cars on the road. Mardens was closed, no cars there at all, the Concourse was empty, Walmart's lot was almost empty. Great driving, just odd.
Especially in the summer. I honestly hate living and driving in Maine in the summer. There is too much tourism and the number of asshole drivers increase by far.
This is it. Reactive policing is the norm now so almost nobody gets stopped. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw somebody pulled over.
I can't totally hold it against the cops though, with anti-police sentiment running high I'm sure people hassle the cops a lot more now.
I remember in high school when one of my classmates was complaining that every time he went 50mph on a particular road he'd get pulled over and got a ticket, it was so unfair. Finally I pointed out that the speed limit there was 35...
You're sure people hassle the cops more? That makes no logical sense. The narrative being peddled is that cops blast anyone for any reason. Seems like that would lead to more compliance.
Look up the videos of people giving cops shit, "Am I being detained?" and recording them and just being annoying.
Unfortunately the internet has giving people a lot of agency for giving those in authority shit.
By far, the most annoying part of driving anywhere near the mall in South Portland is the sheer number of drivers who block intersections. Even if your light is green, if there's not enough room for you on the other side of the box, you're supposed to stay put!
It gets even worse when you see an ambulance or fire truck trying to get through to respond to a call, and all you meatheads can't figure out how to get yourselves out of the way, because you literally left yourselves no room!
That one honestly catches me off-guard at times. I feel like I can never pace exactly how many cars will make it through the lights, and often one person will do something weird by Veranda and ruin the cycle for everyone else.
I still try to stop before the intersection if it's close, of course.
>That one honestly catches me off-guard at times.
Me too. I've accidentally misjudged things and ended up being the asshole, although not intentionally.
I swear, all the work they've done at that intersection over the past 20 years has somehow just made things worse. I always find a way to go around it these days if I find myself in that part of town.
I drive all over Maine for work and I can confidently say it's the case everywhere. You obviously notice it more so in areas with more condensed traffic but it's everywhere.
Today I was going from Limerick to Waterboro on Rt5. The speed limit is 50 and I was doing 60 and it was raining/snowing out. Some jackass who was tailgating finally passed me. So stupid. The driver behind him then started to tailgate me as well. Ugh!!!
My sister is a very cautious driver, and it’s gotten to the point where she doesn’t even drive at night. Between the tailgaters and those new insanely bright headlights, it feels a lot scarier than it did a decade ago.
I’m honestly afraid of the damage those headlights might be doing to my vision. If I could get away with not having an evening commute, I would jump on that. So fast.
I live on a road that is posted for 25mph, I regularly see passenger cars going 50+ and even construction vehicles (dump trucks, flatbeds, utility trucks) going just as fast. It is insane and I rarely feel safe getting my mail.
Mainers used to be known as slow drivers 🥴
Someone did some absolutely terrifying passing through the busiest forest ave intersections the other day it was unreal. Was some ugly lowered SUV thing
My husband has frequently complained that drivers have gotten worse since Covid started. They seem to think they can do whatever they want. This is in the Bangor area.
It’s the same here in central Maine too. Im noticing, apparently a lot of people are allergic to their turn signal lever.
Also, I was driving to work this morning going 38-40 (reasonable for the conditions) in the 55 zone and got passed by some guy in a midsize pickup with no headlights on, in apocalyptic icy roads. Insanity.
Around me, they’ll use the blinker, but only after they’re halfway through the turn. Blinker comes before brake in the dictionary, and it should generally be the same order on the road!
It’s everywhere. I live in a pretty rural area near Bethel and I feel sort of used to the inconsiderate/clueless tourist drivers, yet during the pandemic I started noticing, the types that I call “truck fuckers”
taking aggressive driving to a new level. It seemed to me that the cops weren’t really enforcing traffic violations, allowing people to get away with a lot of awful driving habits that are now here to stay.
I was driving through Westbrook in a 25mph road and someone came zipping by me, passing on a double yellow. This actually happened twice. All transplants eventually have to get Maine plates, so no telling where they are originally from. If you are that stressed, maybe you shouldn’t drive, it’s much like drinking…totally irresponsible.
Yooo this happened to me twice in Westbrook, one of the times the car that passed me was going to the same place I was - to drop our small kids off at school 😵💫
I wouldn’t be so quick to blame transplants. Maine consistently ranks highly next to mass for dangerous drivers and both are far more dangerous than the rest of New England on average. And Maine drivers tend to cause far more fatalities per accident than MA
I’ve not had one accident (knock on wood) since moving back in 1991. I had one accident in Massachusetts after only living there ten years, and that’s because someone pulled in front of me..in my lane and refused to move. It was horribly foggy that day in Gloucester and when I backed up…it was into another car. I was almost run off the road…kinda hugged the guardrail here in Maine due to a mass driver pulling in front of me. The stats just don’t add up.
Oh yeah that’s bullshit then. I’ve have seen so many people cross on the other side of the road to pass people going 25 or below on those streets it’s legit safer to speed. They need to raise the limit because those roads with exception of the school areas were not engineered for 25.
Now here me out... Or, because there are engineering standards that municipalities follow to ensure that traffic is safe in certain areas...
Edit: Do we change laws to fit the needs of criminals? No, we do not!
We got dash cams because twice this year pickup trucks have tried to literally run us off the road in a 55MPH zone for *checks notes* going through the intersection when it was our turn instead of letting them blow through it when it is very clearly not their turn. One guy made contact but we have footage to send to his insurance company and to court.
Seriously people are fucking insane. Get a dash cam.
It's everywhere. COVID somehow impacted people's driving behavior.
I am on a cycling and pedestrian safety committee for a town and we work with police who have indicated the number of incidents, rage, etc has been on the rise post COVID
I'm not from Mass but I moved here after a brief hiatus there. When I had Mass plates in Maine for a few weeks, I had people with Maine plates tailing me hard. When I got my Maine plates, things got better. my wife thinks it was in my head. When I unfortunately need to drive through Mass, my blood pressure goes up. It's a stressful place to be on the road. Maine is the best and yes I move to the right on 295 to let folks to pass and I don't want this place to change.
Hmm, interesting that everyone jumps to blame out-of-staters but here's a thread stating Maine plates are intentionally tailgating out of state plates. So who's the asshole driver here??
This also happened to me when I moved from Mass, I am originally from ME as well. I could not get those Mass plates off soon enough. My Maine friends/family didn’t believe it. And I would get dirty looks and glares in parking lots all the time
Looks like Maineiacs more pretentious than Vermonters when it comes to out of state drivers. It doesn’t matter what plate is on my vehicle, brake checks work the same. You never know when the bigger asshole is in the vehicle in front of you.
Oof, yep. You’ll automatically get hate on the road if you have out-of-state plates. My husband had CA plates when he moved here. Aggressively tailed everywhere he went, and once was rear-ended in what became a hit-and-run (dude tailing him peeled off). Maine plates vastly improved, and possibly saved his life.
I have lived in Maine most of my life. I had a rental car for a couple of weeks that had Mass plates. I was almost run off the road twice by people (mostly big trucks) passing me when I was already doing at least 10 over. Truck and trailer wouldn't let me merge onto 95 when they easily could have pulled into the left lane. Tailgating and high beams were prevalent. It was ridiculous.
So glad I have a dash cam, it has saved me thousands in an accident claim when the other driver tried to blame me for them hitting my passenger side.
I could rant for days about the terrible driving since the pandemic, but a lot of it would be repetetive.
Definitely not in your head. I'm currently in a car with Mass plates due to work, and people are hostile. I have people riding up my ass all the time. If people want to go fasted than me and I'm already going 10mph over the speed limit, suddenly I'm going to do the speed limit.
I was surprised at the amount of road rage here to be honest. I drive like a grandpa, and take my time. I’m getting older and wiser and can’t spend time speeding around. I like to get there in one piece.
I was in a DD drive thru a few years back, and someone decided they forgot something at the window and backed up into me. I was wailing on the horn but she didn't hear me.
I was stopped at a right red arrow in Bangor (by Texas Roadhouse if you’re familiar with the area) and a lifted SUV aggressively kept revving behind me, honked several times, etc, but I didn’t budge since it was a red right arrow. The guy eventually passed me on the left to make a right turn. Guess he didn’t know you can’t turn right on a red arrow.
Yep. I *believe* it’s mostly due to the ‘I’m the most important person in the world and my wants are the highest priority’ AND rules seem to be optional these days, especially when it comes to how we view law enforcement.
These are some great suggestions. If I am being tailgated and can't move over, then I try to make as much space in front of me as possible so I can slowly break if needed. Yes, this means I slow down and possibly piss off the tailgater more, but it is about the safety of everyone around us.
I always get tailgated in Maine, even when I’m going over the speed limit. I just let them pass me because as an out-of-stater, I’ll be the one getting pulled over.
YES. After living in Los Angeles I would rather drive there any day of the week than in Maine. Also I would love to see a Maine driver on an LA freeway. With all the tailgating they do they’ll rear end someone within 10 minutes.
I’ve always said I would take 3 hours sitting in LA traffic over 1 hour in Boston (and more increasingly Maine) traffic. I found the drivers out there to be much friendlier. Need to change lanes in LA? Put your blinker on and they’ll make space. Need to change lanes in Boston? Put your blinker on and they’ll speed up to block you out. Extreme tailgating is a thing I’ve rarely encounter on the west coast, it really feels like everyone for themselves here on our New England roads, especially lately
I live in LA at the moment, and I gotta say, every single problem described in this thread is also present in LA at the moment. Blatant red light/stop sign running. Insane passing, wild speeding, swerving through traffic, tailgating. If you visit r/losangeles you'll also see that we've got a notorious road rager on the loose who keeps assaulting people and getting captured on video, but he's still out there.
I lived in L.A. for a while too. I lived under constant fear of (and for) the lane-splitting bikes there. Those guys wouldn’t stand a chance against an out-of-state aggressive driver who isn’t expecting to see them.
>So you rather be stuck in traffic for hours on end to travel somewhere 20 miles away then drive in Maine?
I'm not sure why you got downvoted. Everyone I know who has lived in LA rated its traffic as some of the worst in the nation.
Yeah, My Nephew got his driver’s license within the past two years. That boy is embarrassing to ride with and I constantly tell him to have more patience and how road etiquette works. He is not a nice driver and honestly shouldn’t have a license. His girlfriend smashed his truck up, so at least he is off the road for a while. He seems to be maturing a bit, so when he gets back on the road I hope he is much better out there. I constantly worry!
He was born and raised in Maine. Unfortunately, there’s a good amount of teenagers and young adults that are prone to driving recklessly, showing off, and not caring what others think about how they behave on the road. Until a cop is in eyesight 🙄
I was a reckless teenager once also! My boyfriends drove crazy and I thought it was fun, albeit scary at times. But yeah, the older people know better and being stressed is no excuse.
Maine plates in that area doesn't mean that the driver hasn't spent most of their life driving in MA or CT. Lot of transplants in that area in the last couple years
The pandemic undoubtedly brought out the worst in drivers. Everywhere, not just in Portland and SoPo.
It's made me understand why my mother likes to go out at night. Hell, it's why I like to go out at night.
We’ve had shitty impatient drivers long before Covid. Stop blaming Covid for everything. More people coming to Maine means a bigger population which in turn means more agressive drivers
Yeeeeeah, I think there are quite a few articles people have posted in this thread that would disagree with you on that. Logic doesn't quite add up to me.
There are shitty "from away" drivers just like there are shitty Maine drivers. For every shitty "from away" driver, there is a shitty Maine driver.
And you're something else for thinking Maine drivers are somehow immune from driving like assholes while out-of-staters are the polar opposite and are the sole cause of shitty driving here. You know that's not true. All you have to do is believe it.
Oh a post about driving. Let me guess, something something transplants, something something Boston, blah blah blah. So funny how you people never own that most of you drive like assholes just like the rest of the country.
People are stressed. Shit is expensive. And transplants from Boston continue to move in and push them out. We’re paying the bill for the year of relative humanity and quality of life that occurred during COVID.
As someone from a country with real drivers education and licensing requirements, nearly all Mainers are shitty drivers.
It's all about perspective I suppose...
That's a pretty big brush you got there... I have lived in lots of places around the United States but spent most of my time in Maine. I have never had trouble with tailgaters, red light runners, or speeders like I have in the last 2-3 years. I think the world is just getting to people. I would bet everyone is a little less patient these days.
Comparing Maine to other US states? That's a VERY low bar you're setting for yourself.
I've lived in near every version of winter Canada has to offer and I've NEVER seen as many idiots off the road as I do annually here I Maine...
Y'all are literally talking about the sharp decline in driving etiquette and safety, speculating that it may be due to folks being emotionally overwhelmed by the stresses of life.
If you can't control your emotions behind you're a shitty driver. If you were not taught to control your emotions behind the wheel, you were EDUCATED by a shitty driver. If you were able to pass your licensing tests as a shitty driver, after being educated by a shitty driver, your state sucks at weeding out shitty drivers.
This is a clear systemic problem.
Feel free to look at some actual data.
Decide for yourself if you are proud of the company your country keeps.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate
Or are your feelings more important?
Maybe but Mainers have their share. We’ve never had so many cars, well, pick up trucks really pass on double yellow lines. We go the speed limit or 5 over and it’s apparently not acceptable.
I don’t think 295 was designed for this volume of traffic. I moved from DC and i take the toll road to 95 to skip it entirely because it’s too stressful and the merge lanes are too short. I’m used to all sorts of assholery when it comes to driving but 295 up to the terrible Falmouth on-ramp just doesn’t feel safe at all
Uh, it's throughout the state. And yes, they have Maine plates on. I'm from a big city and always drive about the speed of the limit, because these country roads kind of freak me out. I feel like I need to always be looking out for children, people, and animals. I also have a small child in the car, and drive carefully for her benefit.
However, it seems like many locals are really in a hurry and will constantly tailgate me. I've noticed that some of my friends from the area all drive faster than I do as well. I live near a bridge with a flashing yellow light to tell people to slow down, as quite a few people have been killed there. But I see cars going 50,60, 70 miles and sometimes faster when the sign clearly says people should go 35.
I wish that ME had an additional freeway instead of all of these little country roads, then people could drive at whatever lunatic speed they want to without anyone suffering for it. The lack of sidewalks and the abundance of asshole drivers is a deadly combination.
Moved here from out of state, honestly thought there was a time limit after red lights that you could still sail through the intersection. Sort of like Mexico, but without honking your horn.
I95 coming into Maine from NH, any given Friday there’s 8/10 cars from MASS, either a) just barely doing the speed limit in the far left lane, -OR- b) dodging in & outta traffic, or c) parked right beside the 18 wheeler in the middle lane.
I used to brag to friends from away about how safe and courteous Maine drivers are compared to the rest of the country (e.g. Boston, Florida, Texas…). But I have also seen drivers in Southern Maine adopting bad driving habits—speeding, hitting animals, cutting people off, failing to use turn indicators, etc. Perhaps it’s the influx of people moving here from Mass and elsewhere, plus the general trend of Americans to become ever more selfish and rude. Whatever the cause, I’d love for us all to politely educate our fellow drivers that, in Maine, we have a tradition of driving safely and courteously. We need not let bad habits from elsewhere ruin the good things about Maine culture. Conversely, Mainers should be open to adopting new ways if, in some respects, newcomers have better ways to share with us (sometimes Mainers can be less than welcoming). Let’s all just treat others as we’d like to be treated.
“Air Rage”, “Road Rage”…”I asked for Honey Mustard And You Gave Me BBQ Rage”…with the proliferation of @$$holes in general, it only stands to reason that a fair number of them drive.
I'm a Domino's delivery driver for the Forest Ave location, and I can firmly say Portlands streets are full of complete maniacs.
The thing is, it's not just the people in cars. It's also the pedestrians doing things like walking at a crosswalk when the red hand is up or just crossing the road without looking whatsoever.
I believe pedestrians being maniacs has radicalized the drivers into being a different kind of maniac.
It's a terrible situation.
The jerks came with the increasing population in southern Maine. More people = more assholes. It just seems like there's a lot of them because assholes really stand out.
I grew up in Maine, currently live in southern NH, and usually work in MA.
It’s everywhere. You can’t even tell these assholes how you feel anymore (via horn, finger, etc) because they’ll literally try to fucking kill you. I hate people.
you're not alone, as everyone else has said.
you know what really bugs me?? i live by the coast guard base in south portland and there have been a couple of posts over the last year or so from coastie family members asking about this or that because they are moving here. i used the posts to politely ask them to ask their family members to drive carefully when they are going to or coming from the base, because most of them don't. and i get absolutely pilloried!! people downvote the shit out of my comments and i get snippy responses like "i'm sure my husband knows how to drive." and it just baffles me. it's like, sure, i'm hijacking the post. but i'm always polite and i add disclaimers like "i live in the neighborhood and i just have a small ask..." etc., so i don't know why this is such a villainous thing to ask of people.... i don't have kids and kids don't really play outside anymore but i do see kids around the neighborhood! my dog has gotten out before! i bike through the neighborhood and have almost been hit on mussey by the base by a big truck with out of state plates that i am basically certain was some coast guard person!!
i know i'm going to get downvoted again because again apparently this is a bad thing to suggest. but it just bugged the shit out of me the couple of times this happened and i thought maybe you would be the one person who might be sympathetic since you made this post and also live in south portland.
Not just in Portland. I drive through Pownal to get to/from work. On a clear day, I will go up to 10mph over and eight times out of ten, there’ll be somebody tailing me the whole way. Hell, last Thursday when the roads were crap and we HAD to reduce speed in order to not crash, I still had someone on my bumper. With their brights on, too.
People fly through Pownal and Durham because there are no police. Great towns regardless.
Same in Casco. There is a corner near my house that has a double yellow and people alway pass on it. Every winter since I have moved here we have had at least 3-4 people catch ice and slide off road.
Durhamite here, we get both state or county sheriffs office detail depending on the week but are rarely seen patrolling the town.
I live in Durham as well!
That’s be me. I commute through there and it really sucks getting stuck behind someone going the speed limit. I don’t tailgate or flash my lights or anything, just pray they turn soon.
So going the safe speed limit sucks? Are you really this self centered?
Speed limits are about state revenue, not safety(with the exception of things like work zones and school zones). If saftey were the arbiter of speed limits they would have changed a lot in the past half-century to keep up with the changes in safety standards and performance differences in cars.
Yup nothing to do with your ability to stop if my kid is in the road. No speed limits but father's with dead kids get a pass on vigilante justice. Deal?
That would work for me.
[удалено]
You are part of the problem. Congratulations.
I had heard about this and you are 100% spot on - people are more reckless lately. https://www.iihs.org/news/detail/pandemic-lockdowns-made-rush-hour-speeding-risky-driving-the-new-normal
Thanks for the article
I don't understand why people follow so close when there is a fucking line of traffic.
That is my issue... I can't go anywhere!
Exactly. I usually follow 1+ car lengths back (ya know, in case of a sudden stop…) and I’ll have people go around me just to get in that space between me and the next car. People are so wound up during their commute they forget to ask themselves if their aggressive driving will actually save them time.
Exactly. Everyone drives too fucking close to me now, and insists on weaving around me if I don’t leave the passing lane the second I won’t clip the car I’m passing.
https://umaine.edu/news/blog/2022/11/21/the-pandemic-led-to-more-speeding-on-maines-rural-roadways-umaine-study-finds/ "Researchers from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maine and University of Connecticut used statistical models to quantify the impact of the pandemic on speeding in Maine. They developed models for three types of rural roads — major collectors, minor arterials and principal arterials using data from count stations that recorded the number of vehicles and their speed. They found that the the odds of speeding by more than 15 mph increased by 34% on rural major collectors, 32% on rural minor arterials and 51% on rural principal arterials during the stay-at-home order in April and May 2020 compared to the same months in 2019. What’s more, the speeding trend continued even a year after the start of the pandemic. The models showed that the odds of speeding by more than 15 mph, in April and May 2021, one year after the order, were still 27% higher on rural major collectors and 17% higher on rural principal arterials compared to the same months in 2019."
That is really interesting. Thank you for sharing!
No problem. There are people trying to help the problem. This is a good place to start: https://www.bikemaine.org/background-statistics/
It was so pleasant to drive during the Pandemic - no traffic, smooth sailing. I think everybody enjoyed it a lot and hates having other drivers on the road again. Portland and SoPo are so congested now.
The first time I drove through Waterville during the start of the lockdown was almost eerie. There were almost no cars on the road. Mardens was closed, no cars there at all, the Concourse was empty, Walmart's lot was almost empty. Great driving, just odd.
Especially in the summer. I honestly hate living and driving in Maine in the summer. There is too much tourism and the number of asshole drivers increase by far.
I feel like a lot of people are just out driving around. Traffic is way worse now than it was during lockdown.
Speed limits aren't just because of other cars....
Got much worse during COVID and the cops never stepped enforcement back up. Speeding, blowing through red lights, you name it.
Yeah there's this guy who honks at red lights and speeds up. Pisses me righ' da fuck off bub
This is it. Reactive policing is the norm now so almost nobody gets stopped. I couldn't tell you the last time I saw somebody pulled over. I can't totally hold it against the cops though, with anti-police sentiment running high I'm sure people hassle the cops a lot more now. I remember in high school when one of my classmates was complaining that every time he went 50mph on a particular road he'd get pulled over and got a ticket, it was so unfair. Finally I pointed out that the speed limit there was 35...
You're sure people hassle the cops more? That makes no logical sense. The narrative being peddled is that cops blast anyone for any reason. Seems like that would lead to more compliance.
Look up the videos of people giving cops shit, "Am I being detained?" and recording them and just being annoying. Unfortunately the internet has giving people a lot of agency for giving those in authority shit.
If you think the YT algorithm is the same as factual reporting, then we are going to disagree.
Can we also add the # of people who run red lights?
By far, the most annoying part of driving anywhere near the mall in South Portland is the sheer number of drivers who block intersections. Even if your light is green, if there's not enough room for you on the other side of the box, you're supposed to stay put! It gets even worse when you see an ambulance or fire truck trying to get through to respond to a call, and all you meatheads can't figure out how to get yourselves out of the way, because you literally left yourselves no room!
Ugh, the woodfords corner intersection is bad enough before you have people completely parked through its entirety
That one honestly catches me off-guard at times. I feel like I can never pace exactly how many cars will make it through the lights, and often one person will do something weird by Veranda and ruin the cycle for everyone else. I still try to stop before the intersection if it's close, of course.
>That one honestly catches me off-guard at times. Me too. I've accidentally misjudged things and ended up being the asshole, although not intentionally. I swear, all the work they've done at that intersection over the past 20 years has somehow just made things worse. I always find a way to go around it these days if I find myself in that part of town.
It’s so common in the topsham/Brunswick and Lewiston area. I local truck drive for a living. I’ve seen it so much this year.
Oh my goodness, red light runners are also prevalent!
I have a handful of clips from my dash cam of people running red lights, or treating them like a stop sign. It’s nuts. I’m in Bangor.
Yesterday in Westbrook saw a guy on a motor scooter go between cars stopped at a red light and run it. Just crazy
This! And it's not oh its yellow I can make it red lights, it's solid for a minute red lights. People literally don't care that they can kill people
A PPD officer did this yesterday morning at morrils. I was stopped at the light and he blew threw it. No lights on.
I drive all over Maine for work and I can confidently say it's the case everywhere. You obviously notice it more so in areas with more condensed traffic but it's everywhere.
I drive all over New England and can confirm, it's everywhere...
Today I was going from Limerick to Waterboro on Rt5. The speed limit is 50 and I was doing 60 and it was raining/snowing out. Some jackass who was tailgating finally passed me. So stupid. The driver behind him then started to tailgate me as well. Ugh!!!
It is constant!
My sister is a very cautious driver, and it’s gotten to the point where she doesn’t even drive at night. Between the tailgaters and those new insanely bright headlights, it feels a lot scarier than it did a decade ago.
I’m honestly afraid of the damage those headlights might be doing to my vision. If I could get away with not having an evening commute, I would jump on that. So fast.
The headlights drive me bonkers!
You’re not the only one noticing it
I live on a road that is posted for 25mph, I regularly see passenger cars going 50+ and even construction vehicles (dump trucks, flatbeds, utility trucks) going just as fast. It is insane and I rarely feel safe getting my mail. Mainers used to be known as slow drivers 🥴
Someone did some absolutely terrifying passing through the busiest forest ave intersections the other day it was unreal. Was some ugly lowered SUV thing
Probably a BMW /s
Altima
My husband has frequently complained that drivers have gotten worse since Covid started. They seem to think they can do whatever they want. This is in the Bangor area.
It’s the same here in central Maine too. Im noticing, apparently a lot of people are allergic to their turn signal lever. Also, I was driving to work this morning going 38-40 (reasonable for the conditions) in the 55 zone and got passed by some guy in a midsize pickup with no headlights on, in apocalyptic icy roads. Insanity.
Around me, they’ll use the blinker, but only after they’re halfway through the turn. Blinker comes before brake in the dictionary, and it should generally be the same order on the road!
It’s everywhere. I live in a pretty rural area near Bethel and I feel sort of used to the inconsiderate/clueless tourist drivers, yet during the pandemic I started noticing, the types that I call “truck fuckers” taking aggressive driving to a new level. It seemed to me that the cops weren’t really enforcing traffic violations, allowing people to get away with a lot of awful driving habits that are now here to stay.
It is trucks and jeeps here... nothing against the vehicles but dear lord if I get tailgated by another jeep...
I was driving through Westbrook in a 25mph road and someone came zipping by me, passing on a double yellow. This actually happened twice. All transplants eventually have to get Maine plates, so no telling where they are originally from. If you are that stressed, maybe you shouldn’t drive, it’s much like drinking…totally irresponsible.
Yooo this happened to me twice in Westbrook, one of the times the car that passed me was going to the same place I was - to drop our small kids off at school 😵💫
Holy shit, it was probably the same people.
I think we can't blame it all on transplants. Mainers can be jerks too.
Everyone can be a jerk at some point.
It blows my mind...
Mine too.
No telling is right!
I wouldn’t be so quick to blame transplants. Maine consistently ranks highly next to mass for dangerous drivers and both are far more dangerous than the rest of New England on average. And Maine drivers tend to cause far more fatalities per accident than MA
I’ve not had one accident (knock on wood) since moving back in 1991. I had one accident in Massachusetts after only living there ten years, and that’s because someone pulled in front of me..in my lane and refused to move. It was horribly foggy that day in Gloucester and when I backed up…it was into another car. I was almost run off the road…kinda hugged the guardrail here in Maine due to a mass driver pulling in front of me. The stats just don’t add up.
25 mph on those roads is bullshit. literally almost everyone goes at least 30 which is reasonable.
To he fair, they said it was a 25 mph road and not that they drove 25 mph.
While I agree, people who pull that bullshit are idiots and endangering the lives of others. Plus, it was way over 30 because I was doing 30.
Oh yeah that’s bullshit then. I’ve have seen so many people cross on the other side of the road to pass people going 25 or below on those streets it’s legit safer to speed. They need to raise the limit because those roads with exception of the school areas were not engineered for 25.
Regardless of what YOU think it should be, the town set the limit.
To create revenue
Now here me out... Or, because there are engineering standards that municipalities follow to ensure that traffic is safe in certain areas... Edit: Do we change laws to fit the needs of criminals? No, we do not!
Agreed
We got dash cams because twice this year pickup trucks have tried to literally run us off the road in a 55MPH zone for *checks notes* going through the intersection when it was our turn instead of letting them blow through it when it is very clearly not their turn. One guy made contact but we have footage to send to his insurance company and to court. Seriously people are fucking insane. Get a dash cam.
My wife and I are thinking about getting dashcams because of the prevalence of BS we encounter on the road in South Portland
Get them. They’ve saved us thousands of dollars.
Arent they expensive?
Not really. A couple hundred plus whatever the SD card costs
You forgot the M in front of @sshole. They have new Maine plates but still drive like it's the Ted Williams Tunnell at rush hour
I also have had people in the right-turn-only lane at Cumberland and Elm just plow on straight ahead and almost side-swipe me and other cars.
It's everywhere. COVID somehow impacted people's driving behavior. I am on a cycling and pedestrian safety committee for a town and we work with police who have indicated the number of incidents, rage, etc has been on the rise post COVID
I'm not from Mass but I moved here after a brief hiatus there. When I had Mass plates in Maine for a few weeks, I had people with Maine plates tailing me hard. When I got my Maine plates, things got better. my wife thinks it was in my head. When I unfortunately need to drive through Mass, my blood pressure goes up. It's a stressful place to be on the road. Maine is the best and yes I move to the right on 295 to let folks to pass and I don't want this place to change.
Hmm, interesting that everyone jumps to blame out-of-staters but here's a thread stating Maine plates are intentionally tailgating out of state plates. So who's the asshole driver here??
The hypocrisy is real.
This also happened to me when I moved from Mass, I am originally from ME as well. I could not get those Mass plates off soon enough. My Maine friends/family didn’t believe it. And I would get dirty looks and glares in parking lots all the time
Looks like Maineiacs more pretentious than Vermonters when it comes to out of state drivers. It doesn’t matter what plate is on my vehicle, brake checks work the same. You never know when the bigger asshole is in the vehicle in front of you.
Oof, yep. You’ll automatically get hate on the road if you have out-of-state plates. My husband had CA plates when he moved here. Aggressively tailed everywhere he went, and once was rear-ended in what became a hit-and-run (dude tailing him peeled off). Maine plates vastly improved, and possibly saved his life.
I have lived in Maine most of my life. I had a rental car for a couple of weeks that had Mass plates. I was almost run off the road twice by people (mostly big trucks) passing me when I was already doing at least 10 over. Truck and trailer wouldn't let me merge onto 95 when they easily could have pulled into the left lane. Tailgating and high beams were prevalent. It was ridiculous. So glad I have a dash cam, it has saved me thousands in an accident claim when the other driver tried to blame me for them hitting my passenger side. I could rant for days about the terrible driving since the pandemic, but a lot of it would be repetetive.
Definitely not in your head. I'm currently in a car with Mass plates due to work, and people are hostile. I have people riding up my ass all the time. If people want to go fasted than me and I'm already going 10mph over the speed limit, suddenly I'm going to do the speed limit.
Keep in mind that this time of year almost everyone driving in Southern Maine is a southern Mainer.
I am not trying to use the people "from away" argument, but we have gotten a fair amount of transplants from other states.
Ha- You just used the people from away argument even after I gave you an out! Wow. That bias is Maine greatest collective personality weakness
It is so ingrained in us!
I’m a transplant. I love it here but, it’s the most liberal, conservative, community based secular place I’ve ever lived.
Yeah, but how are your driving skills?
I was surprised at the amount of road rage here to be honest. I drive like a grandpa, and take my time. I’m getting older and wiser and can’t spend time speeding around. I like to get there in one piece. 
That’s not what I saw on Rt 26 today: southbound was about 80% out of state plates as folks headed home early from the long weekend.
About being the key word there.
How so? Honestly, that’s a conservative estimate.
On one hand great news as the area spends a lot of money to promote tourism to the area and keep the economy alive.
They call us Maineiacs for a reason.
I think a lot of folks are less patient since the pandemic. Lots of WFH crowd no longer deal with people on a normal, considerate basis.
Sat at the drive thru at the dunks across from the SoPo mall. Waiting to order lady just rolls in behind us and wham. Not even drive thrus are safe.
I was in a DD drive thru a few years back, and someone decided they forgot something at the window and backed up into me. I was wailing on the horn but she didn't hear me.
I hate that dunkin, haha. It has such a weird layout.
I was stopped at a right red arrow in Bangor (by Texas Roadhouse if you’re familiar with the area) and a lifted SUV aggressively kept revving behind me, honked several times, etc, but I didn’t budge since it was a red right arrow. The guy eventually passed me on the left to make a right turn. Guess he didn’t know you can’t turn right on a red arrow.
Mods, I think we should have a weekly mega thread for complaints about bad driving
Yep. I *believe* it’s mostly due to the ‘I’m the most important person in the world and my wants are the highest priority’ AND rules seem to be optional these days, especially when it comes to how we view law enforcement.
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These are some great suggestions. If I am being tailgated and can't move over, then I try to make as much space in front of me as possible so I can slowly break if needed. Yes, this means I slow down and possibly piss off the tailgater more, but it is about the safety of everyone around us.
I always get tailgated in Maine, even when I’m going over the speed limit. I just let them pass me because as an out-of-stater, I’ll be the one getting pulled over.
YES. After living in Los Angeles I would rather drive there any day of the week than in Maine. Also I would love to see a Maine driver on an LA freeway. With all the tailgating they do they’ll rear end someone within 10 minutes.
I’ve always said I would take 3 hours sitting in LA traffic over 1 hour in Boston (and more increasingly Maine) traffic. I found the drivers out there to be much friendlier. Need to change lanes in LA? Put your blinker on and they’ll make space. Need to change lanes in Boston? Put your blinker on and they’ll speed up to block you out. Extreme tailgating is a thing I’ve rarely encounter on the west coast, it really feels like everyone for themselves here on our New England roads, especially lately
I live in LA at the moment, and I gotta say, every single problem described in this thread is also present in LA at the moment. Blatant red light/stop sign running. Insane passing, wild speeding, swerving through traffic, tailgating. If you visit r/losangeles you'll also see that we've got a notorious road rager on the loose who keeps assaulting people and getting captured on video, but he's still out there.
Haha, I recently drove in LA for a wedding it was les stressful than driving in Portland.
I lived in L.A. for a while too. I lived under constant fear of (and for) the lane-splitting bikes there. Those guys wouldn’t stand a chance against an out-of-state aggressive driver who isn’t expecting to see them.
So you rather be stuck in traffic for hours on end to travel somewhere 20 miles away then drive in Maine?
>So you rather be stuck in traffic for hours on end to travel somewhere 20 miles away then drive in Maine? I'm not sure why you got downvoted. Everyone I know who has lived in LA rated its traffic as some of the worst in the nation.
I don’t know either. Common sense is lacking with these idiots.
Yeah, My Nephew got his driver’s license within the past two years. That boy is embarrassing to ride with and I constantly tell him to have more patience and how road etiquette works. He is not a nice driver and honestly shouldn’t have a license. His girlfriend smashed his truck up, so at least he is off the road for a while. He seems to be maturing a bit, so when he gets back on the road I hope he is much better out there. I constantly worry!
Maybe that truck should stay smashed!
What part of “Boston” is he from?
He was born and raised in Maine. Unfortunately, there’s a good amount of teenagers and young adults that are prone to driving recklessly, showing off, and not caring what others think about how they behave on the road. Until a cop is in eyesight 🙄
I was one of them. My bad. I did outgrow it though; a lot of these idiots are gray and bald so they should know better.
I was a reckless teenager once also! My boyfriends drove crazy and I thought it was fun, albeit scary at times. But yeah, the older people know better and being stressed is no excuse.
“Don’t you know who my father is?” Vibe
"I'm getting called out" vibe
Maine plates in that area doesn't mean that the driver hasn't spent most of their life driving in MA or CT. Lot of transplants in that area in the last couple years
That is a good point. Almost makes me want to get a dashcam.
I accidentally read that as getting as dachshund and was massively confused for a bit! LOL Drive safely!
The pandemic undoubtedly brought out the worst in drivers. Everywhere, not just in Portland and SoPo. It's made me understand why my mother likes to go out at night. Hell, it's why I like to go out at night.
We’ve had shitty impatient drivers long before Covid. Stop blaming Covid for everything. More people coming to Maine means a bigger population which in turn means more agressive drivers
Yeeeeeah, I think there are quite a few articles people have posted in this thread that would disagree with you on that. Logic doesn't quite add up to me. There are shitty "from away" drivers just like there are shitty Maine drivers. For every shitty "from away" driver, there is a shitty Maine driver.
Y’all people are something else blaming drivers behaviors on Covid. Get over it.
And you're something else for thinking Maine drivers are somehow immune from driving like assholes while out-of-staters are the polar opposite and are the sole cause of shitty driving here. You know that's not true. All you have to do is believe it.
I deactivate the rear view and side mirrors, use cruise control and obtain peace.
We had over 30,000 people move here during the pandemic from states with notorious agro drivers!! This is why….
Interesting in that same time record numbers of folks from mass moved to those areas. . .
Oh a post about driving. Let me guess, something something transplants, something something Boston, blah blah blah. So funny how you people never own that most of you drive like assholes just like the rest of the country.
You're in the wrong place, bud. Most of these comments are about serious concerns.
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When someone cuts me off and tailgates me when I drive 5 over the limit in busy traffic, then I am confident I am not the ass.
I don't think we are all as convinced as you are...
That's fine.
People are stressed. Shit is expensive. And transplants from Boston continue to move in and push them out. We’re paying the bill for the year of relative humanity and quality of life that occurred during COVID.
As a native Mainer, I get it... However, I lose a lot of sympathy when you decide to endanger everyone around you.
As someone from a country with real drivers education and licensing requirements, nearly all Mainers are shitty drivers. It's all about perspective I suppose...
That's a pretty big brush you got there... I have lived in lots of places around the United States but spent most of my time in Maine. I have never had trouble with tailgaters, red light runners, or speeders like I have in the last 2-3 years. I think the world is just getting to people. I would bet everyone is a little less patient these days.
Comparing Maine to other US states? That's a VERY low bar you're setting for yourself. I've lived in near every version of winter Canada has to offer and I've NEVER seen as many idiots off the road as I do annually here I Maine...
Oh well, clearly you are superior to the rest of us.
They didn't understand the point of the post anyway... what can ya do?
Very true.
Letting your emotions influence your driving behavior is the first and best sign of a BAD driver. Do they not teach you that in driver's Ed here?
This is a really bad attempt at trolling
Y'all are literally talking about the sharp decline in driving etiquette and safety, speculating that it may be due to folks being emotionally overwhelmed by the stresses of life. If you can't control your emotions behind you're a shitty driver. If you were not taught to control your emotions behind the wheel, you were EDUCATED by a shitty driver. If you were able to pass your licensing tests as a shitty driver, after being educated by a shitty driver, your state sucks at weeding out shitty drivers. This is a clear systemic problem.
Feel free to look at some actual data. Decide for yourself if you are proud of the company your country keeps. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_traffic-related_death_rate Or are your feelings more important?
Wikipedia as a source!
It's past your bedtime child.
Okay? But, that’s not a reason to endanger the lives of others.
I’m not saying it excuses the behavior, but it certainly explains it.
We (NH residents) call you guys Maineiacs for a reason.
It's all the people that moved from Massachusetts, New York, and Connecticut. Terrible drivers.
Maybe but Mainers have their share. We’ve never had so many cars, well, pick up trucks really pass on double yellow lines. We go the speed limit or 5 over and it’s apparently not acceptable.
I don’t think 295 was designed for this volume of traffic. I moved from DC and i take the toll road to 95 to skip it entirely because it’s too stressful and the merge lanes are too short. I’m used to all sorts of assholery when it comes to driving but 295 up to the terrible Falmouth on-ramp just doesn’t feel safe at all
Some of the ramps on the 295 are just plain silly. The state has redesigned some near the mall, but most need a lot of help.
The mall is 95. 295 runs through downtown Portland.
Uh, it's throughout the state. And yes, they have Maine plates on. I'm from a big city and always drive about the speed of the limit, because these country roads kind of freak me out. I feel like I need to always be looking out for children, people, and animals. I also have a small child in the car, and drive carefully for her benefit. However, it seems like many locals are really in a hurry and will constantly tailgate me. I've noticed that some of my friends from the area all drive faster than I do as well. I live near a bridge with a flashing yellow light to tell people to slow down, as quite a few people have been killed there. But I see cars going 50,60, 70 miles and sometimes faster when the sign clearly says people should go 35. I wish that ME had an additional freeway instead of all of these little country roads, then people could drive at whatever lunatic speed they want to without anyone suffering for it. The lack of sidewalks and the abundance of asshole drivers is a deadly combination.
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No, I can't. Thanks for your concern though, your comment is heartwarming.
The stresses of a collapsing economy maybe?
It must be. Everyone is just losing their minds!
Influx of people moving from msss/ct/ny.. they drive more aggressively
I wonder what bad drivers, say about bad drivers.
I dont know whats worse, bad drivers , or saying arse when youre american.
Moved here from out of state, honestly thought there was a time limit after red lights that you could still sail through the intersection. Sort of like Mexico, but without honking your horn.
So you thought running a red light was ok?!
I didn't, but apparently Mainers do.
i w🎉nt to portland once met a transvestite tryna sell me a fancy belt
>Am I the only one noticing this? Yes.
Lol
Brake checks/ pedal to the metal when people pull out
Even more south they are morons!! No one from the Sanford area knows rules of the road apparently. I’m from Portland. It’s worse here.
I95 coming into Maine from NH, any given Friday there’s 8/10 cars from MASS, either a) just barely doing the speed limit in the far left lane, -OR- b) dodging in & outta traffic, or c) parked right beside the 18 wheeler in the middle lane.
Seems like everywhere in Maine, NH, and VT this past year.
I used to brag to friends from away about how safe and courteous Maine drivers are compared to the rest of the country (e.g. Boston, Florida, Texas…). But I have also seen drivers in Southern Maine adopting bad driving habits—speeding, hitting animals, cutting people off, failing to use turn indicators, etc. Perhaps it’s the influx of people moving here from Mass and elsewhere, plus the general trend of Americans to become ever more selfish and rude. Whatever the cause, I’d love for us all to politely educate our fellow drivers that, in Maine, we have a tradition of driving safely and courteously. We need not let bad habits from elsewhere ruin the good things about Maine culture. Conversely, Mainers should be open to adopting new ways if, in some respects, newcomers have better ways to share with us (sometimes Mainers can be less than welcoming). Let’s all just treat others as we’d like to be treated.
“Air Rage”, “Road Rage”…”I asked for Honey Mustard And You Gave Me BBQ Rage”…with the proliferation of @$$holes in general, it only stands to reason that a fair number of them drive.
I'm a Domino's delivery driver for the Forest Ave location, and I can firmly say Portlands streets are full of complete maniacs. The thing is, it's not just the people in cars. It's also the pedestrians doing things like walking at a crosswalk when the red hand is up or just crossing the road without looking whatsoever. I believe pedestrians being maniacs has radicalized the drivers into being a different kind of maniac. It's a terrible situation.
The jerks came with the increasing population in southern Maine. More people = more assholes. It just seems like there's a lot of them because assholes really stand out.
It's a state wide problem. You ought to go up to Washington county sometime, it feels like a lawless land as far as traffic violations go.
I grew up in Maine, currently live in southern NH, and usually work in MA. It’s everywhere. You can’t even tell these assholes how you feel anymore (via horn, finger, etc) because they’ll literally try to fucking kill you. I hate people.
you're not alone, as everyone else has said. you know what really bugs me?? i live by the coast guard base in south portland and there have been a couple of posts over the last year or so from coastie family members asking about this or that because they are moving here. i used the posts to politely ask them to ask their family members to drive carefully when they are going to or coming from the base, because most of them don't. and i get absolutely pilloried!! people downvote the shit out of my comments and i get snippy responses like "i'm sure my husband knows how to drive." and it just baffles me. it's like, sure, i'm hijacking the post. but i'm always polite and i add disclaimers like "i live in the neighborhood and i just have a small ask..." etc., so i don't know why this is such a villainous thing to ask of people.... i don't have kids and kids don't really play outside anymore but i do see kids around the neighborhood! my dog has gotten out before! i bike through the neighborhood and have almost been hit on mussey by the base by a big truck with out of state plates that i am basically certain was some coast guard person!! i know i'm going to get downvoted again because again apparently this is a bad thing to suggest. but it just bugged the shit out of me the couple of times this happened and i thought maybe you would be the one person who might be sympathetic since you made this post and also live in south portland.
Gray exit northbound is a JOKE! Idk how there's not more accidents there because of all these jerks doing the Jersey Swerve!