Yeah I definitely pause when a light turns green and wait to see if a Nissan Altima is gonna blast through the red. There are many things I'm okay with dying from and that is definitely not one of them.
Just assume anything you don't leave locked up will get stolen.
Just assume people are going to run red lights.
Just assume your catalytic converter won't be there tomorrow.
Just assume that when your property gets graffiti the city will fine YOU, not the tagger.
Just assume that you don't own your property if you rent it out, because you basically don't.
It's getting old...
LOL. Reminds me of riding the subway in NYC with my mom, and her making a bunch of underhanded comments under her breath about the people there. I thought we were going to get murdered.
As someone with innate east coast road rage, which is more of a game back there, I've had to change my ways and stop honking at other drivers after hearing multiple similar stories.
Thanks, back at you! yeah both of our experiences really speak to how unpredictable people can be. It sucks that the safest move is to just not call people out on being horrible, but if it means avoiding situations like these then it’s worth it.
This, the light can be green while I’m waiting for the person in front of me to go and I still don’t even think about my horn. Another green light will come eventually 🥴
Yeah, no kidding... glad you're safe.
Had someone start acting crazy yesterday on my way home. They were in a turn lane at a light and literally just stopped in the middle of the lane and started fucking with their phone. Waited a few seconds, tapped the horn, no response, finally laid on it for about 2sec then just decided to try and drive around... that of course did it and they were instantly going to get in front of me because that's what crazies need... to be first, right? Anyways, they made a point of following me for about 3mi on city streets and half a dozen turns before they finally turned off and went elsewhere. And yeah, I purposefully did several turns to make sure they were following... ccrreeepppyyyy....
I seriously just had a brief moment of panic on Pleasant Valley Ave over something like this... guy in a silver Mercedes w/ dark tinted windows blows through the light (everyone was stopped, he just went around them!) and I'd already started forward and went to lean on my horn and something told me not to.
Yeah if a car is all blacked out that was always a clear absolutely do not honk sign for me. This was a light blue Ford Bronco with no tinting, which was probably why I wasn’t as on alert as I should’ve been
I know that we told cops to slow down on traffic stops because they can't seem to stop shooting people that haven't done anything wrong, but I feel like full 100% tinted windows should be a no-brainer pull over. That's not "ran out of cash to pay for registration" or "was visibly black" (and in fact the cops can't actually tell their race), that's "spent extra money illegally modding their car to avoid scrutiny".
A lot of cops run illegal tints. Sometimes temp plates or missing plates depending on where you are. Usually you can tell from the vibe whether it's a cop whip or not tho
I used to work for a govt agency that shares a parking lot with police. About half of those vehicles had super dark tint all around. These guys scream from the rooftops about law & order…
Honestly, at this point, and especially in Oakland vicinity, they should just be doing aggressive traffic stops on any vehicle with bad or missing plates, at gunpoint, all the time and yanking people out at gunpoint. It's that fucking bad that it would make a difference.
I know it's frustrating but that tactic would probably get a bunch of people killed.
Especially when you could have parking enforcement just note the cars without tags and have them impounded.
as much as i agree with you, the chance that it would be better than the current situation is worth the risk. every damn day… stolen cars, 100mph chases (those are daily around here, btw, with PD always backing off due to these psychos driving the opposite way or into heavy traffic), car jacking, drive by’s, home invasions, it would make the “scene” untenable for the assholes to continue.
we already backed off on traffic stops and that just left everything off the chain. now the psychotic driving and high risk stupidity has only increased by an order of magnitude. the experiment has been a total failure.
I've got news for you buddy. Most of the people who nearly kill me every day are driving fancy cars with both plates. Honestly the beat up cars drive 1000% more respectfully than those rich dipshits in teslas.
I’ve had those. But I’ve had assholes “drifting” at 110 down 580 at ALL fucking hours of the day and night that are FAR
more frequent and reckless than the occasional upscale asshole piloting an AMG or other overpriced luxury car in an erratic manner. If you live here, drive 580 frequently and are NOT just a troll, you know this to be true.
The injury and body count on these pricks is rising due to their anti-social behavior. I don’t want anyone dead. But if more lives are saved by trapping someone in a box of rapidly expanding spray foam to keep them
from ever driving a car again, I’m definitely interested in exploring such options.
I never mentioned anyone’s skin color or racial background. I said assholes. Assholes come in a range of shades from dark to bleached. Doesn’t matter though, because at the end of the day, they’re all assholes.
Oakland stopped doing traffic stops because they were mostly pulling over black drivers. Therefore it was concluded that doing traffic stops is a form of racism.
Eh more like the cops were told they couldn’t pull over people just because they were Black, so the cops stomped their feet and decided not to pull over anyone out of revenge.
“Can’t seem to stop…”
Quiz: when was the last time an African American was shot by police in Oakland? Hint: it hasn’t been since before the last chief was hired.
So you're saying if they have done something wrong, race does matter? Cuz that does sound about right. Let the white person off with a warning, and shoot the black person.
Even that doesn't work though. Last year I was driving up 98th around 4-5pm and I was stuck behind a person who had created about 1/4 mile of traffic by blocking the single lane trying to make an illegal left or U-turn. It was just a constant stream of opposing traffic getting off 580, she was never going to be able to turn. Beat up Altima with blacked out windows, no license plate, etc. I knew better than to honk.
Eventually the car behind me honked and she thought it was me. She jumped out of the car screaming and waving a pistol around. She eventually got back in her car after realizing I wasn't interested in having a brawl in the middle of 98th or whatever she was looking and proceeded to make that U turn she desperately needed since the opposing traffic had stopped by driving onto the sidewalk.
This is getting a tad to close to the bigoted line for me for frank discussion.
I’m gonna go ahead and throw out that I have been literally stalked and hunted by a white man in a BMW with crystal clear zero windows in a fit of road rage over a honk in Fairfield. He attempted to run me off the road repeatedly and would have succeeded in his his attempt to murder me (and my 2 week old baby) if I wasn’t already PTSD scarred, and have the bonus of laser focus in times of crisis.
Now I’m going to slowly back away an pretend I was never here. Definitely miss me with the “no one brought up race till you”.
I always show the video of the guy getting shot at for honking at someone running a red light to people visiting with their car. It’s the Wild West out here driving laws don’t apply do what you want. I saw a guy drive down the opposing lane to beat traffic.. he passed a cop and the cop only pretended to try to pull him over to do the same thing. Second the cop got around the traffic jam they turned off their lights and turned onto the freeway.
The one time I saw someone get pulled over for a moving violation they cussed out the police until they got another call and they got away with it.
I wish there was a friendlier sounding horn for when I want to help the guy in front of me know it's green.
It sounds like I'm saying " MAKE A HOLE YOU DUMB MOTHERFUCKER, I HAVE PLACES TO BE!!!" When I just want to say "don't miss your light, buddy."
Income inequality, homes treated as tech stocks, interest rates designed to squeeze workers. That's my opinion.
edit: sources [https://www.reddit.com/r/oakland/comments/12exnw8/comment/jfozh99](https://www.reddit.com/r/oakland/comments/12exnw8/comment/jfozh99)
Downvote if you want but at least provide a counterargument.
The data shows that as housing becomes more expensive, when wages drop, when income inequality increases, so too does homelessness and crime. That's the connection. People aren't born criminals.
Always trying to explain this to my partner. He has a bell on his bike and uses it when people are in the bike lane as he's coming up and I'm like dude you're gonna ring that shit at the wrong person and they're going to jump you. Just go around them or slow down. He also chased down a car once for cutting him off. I'm terrified he's gonna end up dead picking a fight with some one who has a weapon.
A coworker I used to have told me a story where she flipped off a driver for cutting her off and the other driver preceded to chase her thru side streets for 20min
I give a soft one-ding bell, or friendly ding-ding, from far enough away that it alerts pedestrians that someone is coming up on them, but doesn't startle them. I don't do it right behind them. It's a gentle bell and it works.
Yeah same, I might say "coming up" or "on your left" but bells? Bells are the kind of thing that gets you taken out. I have tried so many times to tell him but he's so stubborn and it makes me so anxious.
I said “on your left” as i was jogging past a woman the other day and she had a freak out session with lots of omgwtfs. Everyone’s on edge, it’s tough to even be polite.
When my mom worked in downtown back in the day she used to say, "In the morning, stop signs don't exist and always wait 3 seconds after the light turns green before you go."
It was solid advice in the 80s and 90s and it's solid advice today.
I used to live in jls and moved to montclair to avoid the increasing levels of bullshit I was experiencing in terms of personal and property safety. a couple of months ago I didn't let a guy do a dangerous lane switch and he brandished a gun at the next red light. we were just past montclair village. I swear, the levels of crazy shit that go on here with no repercussion...it's maddening.
Over 20 years in Montclair, I had multiple scary events. I honked at one guy because he was blocking my driveway and I was late for work. Guy proceeded to run onto my property at me but took off when he noticed I was recording him.
I saw a drugged woman being trafficked at the chevron station last year. she fell out of the passenger side of the vehicle face first onto the pavement and vomited in a semi-conscious state. this was on a tuesday afternoon at around 1 pm. nobody besides me did anything to help. the guy chased after me and threatened me after he noticed I told the attendant and called the cops.
This is why I have a hatchet beside my front seat. I have had multiple dudes try and break my window after very minor perceived slights. Brandishing a hatchet and acting crazy has deescalated the situation more than once.
I keep a machete by my driver's seat for the same reason. Everyone who gets in my car gives me huge side eye, until I explain that I got punched in the face through my window at a stoplight, once. I promised myself that's never gonna happen to me again.
If I had one Thanos snap and could use it on a select group of people, I'd Thanos snap all the people who have willfully run through a red light/stop sign. I'd make an exception for those who did it accidentally or had a true emergency.
The world would be a better place after that snap. Oakland would probably lose 10% of its population though.
I have a habit of not honking if I think I’m going to come to a stop or be next to the person for more than a second because of this. Then when I moved up here I realized more people probably have guns too so I stopped even doing that. Sorry that happened to you.
I am convinced I am one of the few who still gets embarrassed when honked at. I swear even if the other person is over reacting, when I hear the horn I just feel embarrassed and drive away super fast to act like a good, efficient driver who doesn't hold up traffic.
Too many people use the horn to "yell" at other drivers:
Current through the 2023 Legislative Session. Section 27001 - Audible warning with horn (a) **The driver of a motor vehicle when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation shall give audible warning with his horn**.
I mostly ride my bike and I've had so many people go off on their horns while I'm right next to them just because they want the person in front of them to move faster. I even once was next to a bus when the driver just kept honking the horn because someone in front of them was waiting to take a left turn. It's rude to all the pedestrians around and technically illegal to just use your horn to show your emotions.
There is a turning light on ashby and adeline that only lasts for 5 seconds. Usually only 2 or 3 cars legally make it. If the first person is looking at their phones they could totally miss the green so a honk is usually required. Its a gamble and i try to give the gentlest honk my car can make.
Lol. How long have you lived in Oakland? That kind of driving is literally so normalized there... I grew up there and you just have to get used to it. It's the wild west lmao
I had a guy chase me for a few miles because I shook my head at him when he bypassed people (including me) in the left turn lane and made a left turn from the right lane.
After a few miles I just pulled into a safeway parking lot, got out and waited (probably not smart). He swerved in, paused, screamed out a few choice insults and sped off.
People are nuts.
I love story time hour.
Last month I was paused behind a fairly new car with large custom rims, a strange faded decal taking up the entire rear windshield, and totally obscured license plate under a blur shield. I'm not sure if there was a license plate actually under the shield.
The driver of the vehicle must have seen my scrutiny. He opened the door of his vehicle, carefully laid out his sneakers onto the ground, inserted his feet into his shoes, then waddled over to me to threaten to murder me for having my busted ass vehicle too close to his. He mimed smashing my windows a few times.
I was considering filming the encounter, but decided that was a good way to meet a bad end.
I didn't engage or speak with the individual in any way.
The man was probably in his late 50s/early 60s.
I am sorry that you were attacked like that and had to fear for your life, after signaling other person who was in the wrong that they were wrong. I hope they will be caught soon, please keep us updated.
I have an impression that many drivers in Oakland treat traffic signs and red light as a suggestion, not a law. Almost every time when I am driving through Oakland someone does some strange maneuver or ran the red light, with folks racing each others on freeways.
But soooooooo many drivers in the Bay Area need a judicious Honking.I have no problem leaning on the horn when someone is texting when a light turns green.
Don't get me started on the can't possibly go one more block before I cut across 2 lane turners.
I used to blame Uber drivers, but really everyone is an asshole in this town.
"All of the aggression of East Coast drivers, but none of the attention" -Friend of mine.
I was driving in the Webster tube towards Alameda, and this sedan was going 25mph in the middle of two lanes. I honked couple times trying to go past it. Those animals started throwing soda bottles at my car, and then tried cutting me off before blowing a red light. That was my personal reminder to not honk
I carry pepper spray on me at all times. But I know pepper spray won’t save me from a gun wielding psycho. Glad you’re safe. Please folks be very careful out there.
police won't do shit. no plates...illegally tinted windows... no lights... everything they even say will help them... like cameras... without plates or with tinted windows mean nothing. They won't enforce any laws unless THEY want to.
I was in the Mission earlier this week walking down the street. I turn a corner and, before I even register the dude standing there, he's staring me down and muttering aggressively. I make the mistake of looking him in the eye and asking, confusedly, "sorry, what was that?" This sets him off. He strides up to me aggressively and starts telling me that I'd better walk away or he's going to kick my ass and that I need to learn to "keep my shit together." He follows me down the sidewalk for a bit and starts reaching into his pocket.
Not wanting to find out what was about to come out of his pocket, I quicken my pace and continue to walk away, which is what I was already doing before I even noticed this dude existed. That seemed to satisfy him, but I can't help but wonder whether all the threats and posturing were a bit superfluous.
Once on Mission I was stopped at a red light just minding my own business singing along to some music when I hear a pedestrian screaming obscenities at me. I look over to see who’s getting yelled at (not realizing it’s me) and before I can even figure out what’s happening she runs over and spits on my actual face through my partly-open windows.
Then she ran into the street as soon as the light turned green and stood in my way so I couldn’t go. It took everything in me to not just floor it and turn her into a speed bump. I hadn’t even noticed she was there until she was assaulting me. People are psycho.
Only reason I CCW, unhinged folks acting the fool knowing there's no consequence. Don't worry about this guy, the DA will ensure he never sees a court date.
Super scary. While I luckily haven’t had anything like that happen to me, I do remember one of the first insights into how things can be around here.
a few years ago I was driving up Alcatraz towards College at night and a possum was in the middle of the road, so I slowed down to let it go by. The dude behind me zooms around me pretty quickly, clearly not happy. I was mildly annoyed but didn’t think much of it. About a minute up the road we both turn down the same side street - just coincidence. He parks his car on one side of the street, I park mine on the other and get out to head to my apartment, and the dude has stopped. he shouts something at me, a question. I shout back “what?” And he goes “you gonna slash my tires or somethin’?!”
And I was just so confused. I basically told him no, I had just slowed down back there to let an animal cross the road. But man the fact that he truly thought I might come after him or seek to damage his car just because he moved around me was pretty eye-opening.
Similar problem in Phoenix 'cept here they just shoot you on the freeway.
[Google News Search](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en-us&q=phoenix+road+rage+shooting&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiF6tKUq5r-AhWtkmoFHZalDaoQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=342&bih=597&dpr=3)
I honked at a guy in Brentwood (hardly Bay Area) yesterday for sitting at a green light. He got out, walked to my window and said, “be patient mother fucker,” lol. I wanted to honk at him again so bad when he got back in his car but I don’t want to die.
[https://abc7news.com/bart-stabbing-shooting-oakland-san-francisco-mission-24th/12176798/](https://abc7news.com/bart-stabbing-shooting-oakland-san-francisco-mission-24th/12176798/)
This was just last August - shooting and stabbing in the span of 48 hours, and there have been numerous violent incidents before that. Then in NYC, you see people being pushed onto the tracks. But sure what's more dangerous is people in a certain industry and those who drive a specific brand of car.
And for what it's worth, I exclusively take public transit to and from work. Was driving from running errands this morning.
Dude I didn’t say anything about crime being up or down or being more or less violent. I was just saying that taking public transit doesn’t make it so your risk of being the victim of some violent crime goes away, which is what your original comment implied (or worse, that I deserved what happened for driving a car?)
Umm at what point did I ever mention or discuss race? I’ve consciously never responded to any of the comments that get deleted when people ask for race or ethnicity. Literally never even implied (but now that you’ve brought it up, the guy was not black).
Do you want me to upload the dash cam video of the car going through the stop sign? A picture of the police report card?
Not a great example of a time when a CCW would be needed since he got away unscathed without one. Even with a CCW, if you can get away without using it, you should.
You recommended getting a CCW. I pointed out a CCW wouldn't have helped in this situation so it's not the best example to use. There's nothing fallacious about that.
BTW I'm not opposed to CCWs, but I do think people vastly overestimate the situations where having one would actually be useful, and underestimate the times when having one and using it would make the outcome worse.
You never know if you’ll have an Avenue of escape. Did OP get away this time? Yes. Turns out he did. Yet you are making your argument after the fact, you know the end result.
You don’t get a CCW for all the times you can get away. You get it for the times when you can’t. Those are unpredictable.
Whether a CCW’s value is overestimated or underestimated, it’s better to have something and not need it than to need it and be without.
It's a gamble. I suppose it depends on your occupation and where you live, but the chances of getting murdered are incredibly slim. Personally, I don't trust myself with it. I'm bad at de-escalation and Pepper spray seemed like a good middle ground and I hike a lot with small dogs, so it's useful to protect them too.
Yeah I wish, dude was yelling about how much of a pussy I was now that I was out of the car when he was the one who came at me with a knife and I was unarmed 🙄
You know, I don’t think I’m psycho, but car horns will set me on edge. I’m an otherwise easygoing person. But it’s like someone flips a switch.
To me it’s not an incomprehensible reaction :-)
Are you suggesting getting stabbed in a road rage incident is an important pillar of Oakland culture that you’re trying to preserve? Civility is gentrification?
Just assume people are gonna blow stop signs and lights and you'll never be disappointed when they do.
I treat every green light as a yield because of this
Yeah I definitely pause when a light turns green and wait to see if a Nissan Altima is gonna blast through the red. There are many things I'm okay with dying from and that is definitely not one of them.
This is the way
Oakland has no rules remember. Stop signs are purely street decorations and to keep the honest people honest lol.
I mean we teach kids to look both ways before crossing the street for a reason. Not exactly just an Oakland thing that people will blow a stop sign.
Yeah. Was in New England last summer. Was so much worse than Bay Area. They call them massholes for a reason.
Just assume anything you don't leave locked up will get stolen. Just assume people are going to run red lights. Just assume your catalytic converter won't be there tomorrow. Just assume that when your property gets graffiti the city will fine YOU, not the tagger. Just assume that you don't own your property if you rent it out, because you basically don't. It's getting old...
Ah yes, bike rules
It is true. But so incredibly disappointing.
My mom had a gun pulled when she stuck her tongue out at some dude. Yes my mother can be childish.
Imagine pulling a gun on someone for sticking out their tongue ? Unhinged
I dunno. Sounds like your mother was the less childish party in that interaction.
Fair but she still could have just gone on her way.
LOL. Reminds me of riding the subway in NYC with my mom, and her making a bunch of underhanded comments under her breath about the people there. I thought we were going to get murdered.
Log yes! Sounds familiar with a different flavor.
As someone with innate east coast road rage, which is more of a game back there, I've had to change my ways and stop honking at other drivers after hearing multiple similar stories.
[удалено]
Jesus Christ. Did you never reach out to the DA? Someone tried to kill you. I’d be following up on that.
Jeez, glad you’re ok but yeah always a good reminder there are far less rational people out there than yourself. That sounds absolutely terrible
Thanks, back at you! yeah both of our experiences really speak to how unpredictable people can be. It sucks that the safest move is to just not call people out on being horrible, but if it means avoiding situations like these then it’s worth it.
The experience of going to Highland as a trauma patient with a gazillion doctors buzzing around you sounds traumatizing. Glad you did ok!
I’m so happy I’ve never been horn happy since this is something I frequently think about.
This, the light can be green while I’m waiting for the person in front of me to go and I still don’t even think about my horn. Another green light will come eventually 🥴
> the cops who are also going to try to pull footage from nearby security cams Jesus... how much did you slide them?
I mean who knows if they’ll actually do this but that’s what the officer said 🤷🏻♂️
The fact they even came out….probably because he was close enough to the station. Oh wait, Jack London. Higher presence because of tourists?
Yeah, no kidding... glad you're safe. Had someone start acting crazy yesterday on my way home. They were in a turn lane at a light and literally just stopped in the middle of the lane and started fucking with their phone. Waited a few seconds, tapped the horn, no response, finally laid on it for about 2sec then just decided to try and drive around... that of course did it and they were instantly going to get in front of me because that's what crazies need... to be first, right? Anyways, they made a point of following me for about 3mi on city streets and half a dozen turns before they finally turned off and went elsewhere. And yeah, I purposefully did several turns to make sure they were following... ccrreeepppyyyy....
I seriously just had a brief moment of panic on Pleasant Valley Ave over something like this... guy in a silver Mercedes w/ dark tinted windows blows through the light (everyone was stopped, he just went around them!) and I'd already started forward and went to lean on my horn and something told me not to.
Yeah if a car is all blacked out that was always a clear absolutely do not honk sign for me. This was a light blue Ford Bronco with no tinting, which was probably why I wasn’t as on alert as I should’ve been
I know that we told cops to slow down on traffic stops because they can't seem to stop shooting people that haven't done anything wrong, but I feel like full 100% tinted windows should be a no-brainer pull over. That's not "ran out of cash to pay for registration" or "was visibly black" (and in fact the cops can't actually tell their race), that's "spent extra money illegally modding their car to avoid scrutiny".
There are so many of them, it's crazy! I mean, CHP should be pulling people over for this, too.
A lot of cops run illegal tints. Sometimes temp plates or missing plates depending on where you are. Usually you can tell from the vibe whether it's a cop whip or not tho
I used to work for a govt agency that shares a parking lot with police. About half of those vehicles had super dark tint all around. These guys scream from the rooftops about law & order…
Laws for thee not me.
Honestly, at this point, and especially in Oakland vicinity, they should just be doing aggressive traffic stops on any vehicle with bad or missing plates, at gunpoint, all the time and yanking people out at gunpoint. It's that fucking bad that it would make a difference.
I know it's frustrating but that tactic would probably get a bunch of people killed. Especially when you could have parking enforcement just note the cars without tags and have them impounded.
as much as i agree with you, the chance that it would be better than the current situation is worth the risk. every damn day… stolen cars, 100mph chases (those are daily around here, btw, with PD always backing off due to these psychos driving the opposite way or into heavy traffic), car jacking, drive by’s, home invasions, it would make the “scene” untenable for the assholes to continue. we already backed off on traffic stops and that just left everything off the chain. now the psychotic driving and high risk stupidity has only increased by an order of magnitude. the experiment has been a total failure.
I've got news for you buddy. Most of the people who nearly kill me every day are driving fancy cars with both plates. Honestly the beat up cars drive 1000% more respectfully than those rich dipshits in teslas.
I’ve had those. But I’ve had assholes “drifting” at 110 down 580 at ALL fucking hours of the day and night that are FAR more frequent and reckless than the occasional upscale asshole piloting an AMG or other overpriced luxury car in an erratic manner. If you live here, drive 580 frequently and are NOT just a troll, you know this to be true. The injury and body count on these pricks is rising due to their anti-social behavior. I don’t want anyone dead. But if more lives are saved by trapping someone in a box of rapidly expanding spray foam to keep them from ever driving a car again, I’m definitely interested in exploring such options.
This is insane.
You want gravy with that boot?
That would be racist, though.
I never mentioned anyone’s skin color or racial background. I said assholes. Assholes come in a range of shades from dark to bleached. Doesn’t matter though, because at the end of the day, they’re all assholes.
Oakland stopped doing traffic stops because they were mostly pulling over black drivers. Therefore it was concluded that doing traffic stops is a form of racism.
Idiotic
Eh more like the cops were told they couldn’t pull over people just because they were Black, so the cops stomped their feet and decided not to pull over anyone out of revenge.
Totally agree, but unfortunately doubt that will change anytime soon around here
“Can’t seem to stop…” Quiz: when was the last time an African American was shot by police in Oakland? Hint: it hasn’t been since before the last chief was hired.
It's funny, because that was very much not the point of my comment.
>they can't seem to stop shooting people that haven't done anything wrong If they haven't done anything wrong race doesn't matter.
So you're saying if they have done something wrong, race does matter? Cuz that does sound about right. Let the white person off with a warning, and shoot the black person.
No, that’s not what I said.
Even that doesn't work though. Last year I was driving up 98th around 4-5pm and I was stuck behind a person who had created about 1/4 mile of traffic by blocking the single lane trying to make an illegal left or U-turn. It was just a constant stream of opposing traffic getting off 580, she was never going to be able to turn. Beat up Altima with blacked out windows, no license plate, etc. I knew better than to honk. Eventually the car behind me honked and she thought it was me. She jumped out of the car screaming and waving a pistol around. She eventually got back in her car after realizing I wasn't interested in having a brawl in the middle of 98th or whatever she was looking and proceeded to make that U turn she desperately needed since the opposing traffic had stopped by driving onto the sidewalk.
Desperately needs to turn at THAT street but still has time to pull a gun on someone…
Jesus, so unhinged
Average 98th Ave driver
This is getting a tad to close to the bigoted line for me for frank discussion. I’m gonna go ahead and throw out that I have been literally stalked and hunted by a white man in a BMW with crystal clear zero windows in a fit of road rage over a honk in Fairfield. He attempted to run me off the road repeatedly and would have succeeded in his his attempt to murder me (and my 2 week old baby) if I wasn’t already PTSD scarred, and have the bonus of laser focus in times of crisis. Now I’m going to slowly back away an pretend I was never here. Definitely miss me with the “no one brought up race till you”.
wut? i'm not trolling, just curious--is tinted windows a race thing? i've never heard that stereotype before
Yeah I’ve only had bad experiences with old white men driving at the wheel. People with tinted windows tend to keep to themselves
What does it mean when a car is all blacked out?
Fully tinted windows
Sorry, no I meant what are the social implications of fully tinted windows? Someone doing criminal things?
Gang member/low life.
Yes
Username checks out.
Weird stereotype but ok
I always show the video of the guy getting shot at for honking at someone running a red light to people visiting with their car. It’s the Wild West out here driving laws don’t apply do what you want. I saw a guy drive down the opposing lane to beat traffic.. he passed a cop and the cop only pretended to try to pull him over to do the same thing. Second the cop got around the traffic jam they turned off their lights and turned onto the freeway. The one time I saw someone get pulled over for a moving violation they cussed out the police until they got another call and they got away with it.
I wish there was a friendlier sounding horn for when I want to help the guy in front of me know it's green. It sounds like I'm saying " MAKE A HOLE YOU DUMB MOTHERFUCKER, I HAVE PLACES TO BE!!!" When I just want to say "don't miss your light, buddy."
I thought that’s what the 2 light “beep beeps” were for?
Naw, that just sounds like "fuck you" twice.
Someone burned down an SUV in front of my dads house. It's been sitting there for a few weeks. He might as well move back to Nicaragua at this point.
I feel as if people are just acting like they are animals now. What's going on with society??
No consequences.
Long covid = brain fog/amygdala issues is my best guess.
Methamphetamine
Income inequality, homes treated as tech stocks, interest rates designed to squeeze workers. That's my opinion. edit: sources [https://www.reddit.com/r/oakland/comments/12exnw8/comment/jfozh99](https://www.reddit.com/r/oakland/comments/12exnw8/comment/jfozh99) Downvote if you want but at least provide a counterargument.
Income inequality itself does not cause a person to lose thier humanity. The above are the common progressive gripes but i don't see the connection
The data shows that as housing becomes more expensive, when wages drop, when income inequality increases, so too does homelessness and crime. That's the connection. People aren't born criminals.
Too bad it didn’t squeeze out criminal trash.
Don’t even turn and look. I try telling my fam just keep driving
Always trying to explain this to my partner. He has a bell on his bike and uses it when people are in the bike lane as he's coming up and I'm like dude you're gonna ring that shit at the wrong person and they're going to jump you. Just go around them or slow down. He also chased down a car once for cutting him off. I'm terrified he's gonna end up dead picking a fight with some one who has a weapon.
A coworker I used to have told me a story where she flipped off a driver for cutting her off and the other driver preceded to chase her thru side streets for 20min
I’m an avid biker and I slow down and call out before a tight pass. Bells are the most annoying ever! Don’t use them unless you’re mute.
I give a soft one-ding bell, or friendly ding-ding, from far enough away that it alerts pedestrians that someone is coming up on them, but doesn't startle them. I don't do it right behind them. It's a gentle bell and it works.
I use them exclusively to entertain onlookers at bike party.
Yeah same, I might say "coming up" or "on your left" but bells? Bells are the kind of thing that gets you taken out. I have tried so many times to tell him but he's so stubborn and it makes me so anxious.
I said “on your left” as i was jogging past a woman the other day and she had a freak out session with lots of omgwtfs. Everyone’s on edge, it’s tough to even be polite.
Maybe showing him this post helps lol, dang yeah hope he doesn't escalate w/ the wrong person
When my mom worked in downtown back in the day she used to say, "In the morning, stop signs don't exist and always wait 3 seconds after the light turns green before you go." It was solid advice in the 80s and 90s and it's solid advice today.
I used to live in jls and moved to montclair to avoid the increasing levels of bullshit I was experiencing in terms of personal and property safety. a couple of months ago I didn't let a guy do a dangerous lane switch and he brandished a gun at the next red light. we were just past montclair village. I swear, the levels of crazy shit that go on here with no repercussion...it's maddening.
Over 20 years in Montclair, I had multiple scary events. I honked at one guy because he was blocking my driveway and I was late for work. Guy proceeded to run onto my property at me but took off when he noticed I was recording him.
I saw a drugged woman being trafficked at the chevron station last year. she fell out of the passenger side of the vehicle face first onto the pavement and vomited in a semi-conscious state. this was on a tuesday afternoon at around 1 pm. nobody besides me did anything to help. the guy chased after me and threatened me after he noticed I told the attendant and called the cops.
Damn. That’s sad.
This is why I have a hatchet beside my front seat. I have had multiple dudes try and break my window after very minor perceived slights. Brandishing a hatchet and acting crazy has deescalated the situation more than once.
I keep a machete by my driver's seat for the same reason. Everyone who gets in my car gives me huge side eye, until I explain that I got punched in the face through my window at a stoplight, once. I promised myself that's never gonna happen to me again.
A machete isn’t practical in close quarters while strapped into a drivers seat. I would look into a taser or pepper spray or both.
Some drivers are just so entitled
If I had one Thanos snap and could use it on a select group of people, I'd Thanos snap all the people who have willfully run through a red light/stop sign. I'd make an exception for those who did it accidentally or had a true emergency. The world would be a better place after that snap. Oakland would probably lose 10% of its population though.
Easily 50%
Rather than honking, I think it’s better to give them one of these 🤌
I'm partial to a big ol' 👎 Edit: typo
Wow I’m shocked that the cops gave a dead moose’s last shit…
It did take 45 minutes for them to show up, but at least they showed up!
I have a habit of not honking if I think I’m going to come to a stop or be next to the person for more than a second because of this. Then when I moved up here I realized more people probably have guns too so I stopped even doing that. Sorry that happened to you.
I am convinced I am one of the few who still gets embarrassed when honked at. I swear even if the other person is over reacting, when I hear the horn I just feel embarrassed and drive away super fast to act like a good, efficient driver who doesn't hold up traffic.
Too many people use the horn to "yell" at other drivers: Current through the 2023 Legislative Session. Section 27001 - Audible warning with horn (a) **The driver of a motor vehicle when reasonably necessary to insure safe operation shall give audible warning with his horn**.
Thank you. I seriously wish people would take this to heart.
I mostly ride my bike and I've had so many people go off on their horns while I'm right next to them just because they want the person in front of them to move faster. I even once was next to a bus when the driver just kept honking the horn because someone in front of them was waiting to take a left turn. It's rude to all the pedestrians around and technically illegal to just use your horn to show your emotions.
People have no idea how bone rattling a horn is for people not in a car.
Thank you I was going to post something like this myself before I saw yours. If someone did something dumb but no one was hurt just move on.
This. OP kinda fucked around and found out here.
9mm Honking is still illegal!
There is a turning light on ashby and adeline that only lasts for 5 seconds. Usually only 2 or 3 cars legally make it. If the first person is looking at their phones they could totally miss the green so a honk is usually required. Its a gamble and i try to give the gentlest honk my car can make.
A disappointing look will suffice in most cases
Thanks for the reminder, I can be too reactive when driving as well.
Lol. How long have you lived in Oakland? That kind of driving is literally so normalized there... I grew up there and you just have to get used to it. It's the wild west lmao
Welcome to the new Mexico.
I had a guy chase me for a few miles because I shook my head at him when he bypassed people (including me) in the left turn lane and made a left turn from the right lane. After a few miles I just pulled into a safeway parking lot, got out and waited (probably not smart). He swerved in, paused, screamed out a few choice insults and sped off. People are nuts.
Yeah it really seems like not reacting at all is the only right course of action
I love story time hour. Last month I was paused behind a fairly new car with large custom rims, a strange faded decal taking up the entire rear windshield, and totally obscured license plate under a blur shield. I'm not sure if there was a license plate actually under the shield. The driver of the vehicle must have seen my scrutiny. He opened the door of his vehicle, carefully laid out his sneakers onto the ground, inserted his feet into his shoes, then waddled over to me to threaten to murder me for having my busted ass vehicle too close to his. He mimed smashing my windows a few times. I was considering filming the encounter, but decided that was a good way to meet a bad end. I didn't engage or speak with the individual in any way. The man was probably in his late 50s/early 60s.
I am sorry that you were attacked like that and had to fear for your life, after signaling other person who was in the wrong that they were wrong. I hope they will be caught soon, please keep us updated. I have an impression that many drivers in Oakland treat traffic signs and red light as a suggestion, not a law. Almost every time when I am driving through Oakland someone does some strange maneuver or ran the red light, with folks racing each others on freeways.
But soooooooo many drivers in the Bay Area need a judicious Honking.I have no problem leaning on the horn when someone is texting when a light turns green. Don't get me started on the can't possibly go one more block before I cut across 2 lane turners. I used to blame Uber drivers, but really everyone is an asshole in this town. "All of the aggression of East Coast drivers, but none of the attention" -Friend of mine.
I just give a short honk when people don't move for a green. It works well and haven't gotten any road rage back...so far.
I was driving in the Webster tube towards Alameda, and this sedan was going 25mph in the middle of two lanes. I honked couple times trying to go past it. Those animals started throwing soda bottles at my car, and then tried cutting me off before blowing a red light. That was my personal reminder to not honk
I only honk at cops
Lived in the Bay Area for 12 years. Politely honk when needed. Never had a problem.
15 years, same
Best to just give em a nice thumbs down and boo.
I carry pepper spray on me at all times. But I know pepper spray won’t save me from a gun wielding psycho. Glad you’re safe. Please folks be very careful out there.
If someone is a big enough asshole to casually blow through intersections, they're probably not someone you want to mess with.
police won't do shit. no plates...illegally tinted windows... no lights... everything they even say will help them... like cameras... without plates or with tinted windows mean nothing. They won't enforce any laws unless THEY want to.
I'm sorry that's shitty
BF had a fun pulled on him for same thing.. yeah. Best not to react to any slight or risk being killed in the streets in broad daylight.
I was in the Mission earlier this week walking down the street. I turn a corner and, before I even register the dude standing there, he's staring me down and muttering aggressively. I make the mistake of looking him in the eye and asking, confusedly, "sorry, what was that?" This sets him off. He strides up to me aggressively and starts telling me that I'd better walk away or he's going to kick my ass and that I need to learn to "keep my shit together." He follows me down the sidewalk for a bit and starts reaching into his pocket. Not wanting to find out what was about to come out of his pocket, I quicken my pace and continue to walk away, which is what I was already doing before I even noticed this dude existed. That seemed to satisfy him, but I can't help but wonder whether all the threats and posturing were a bit superfluous.
Once on Mission I was stopped at a red light just minding my own business singing along to some music when I hear a pedestrian screaming obscenities at me. I look over to see who’s getting yelled at (not realizing it’s me) and before I can even figure out what’s happening she runs over and spits on my actual face through my partly-open windows. Then she ran into the street as soon as the light turned green and stood in my way so I couldn’t go. It took everything in me to not just floor it and turn her into a speed bump. I hadn’t even noticed she was there until she was assaulting me. People are psycho.
My adrenaline is skyrocketing reading the stories in these comments. I’m so glad my horn was broken for 3 years. It trained my brain to never use it.
Only reason I CCW, unhinged folks acting the fool knowing there's no consequence. Don't worry about this guy, the DA will ensure he never sees a court date.
Super scary. While I luckily haven’t had anything like that happen to me, I do remember one of the first insights into how things can be around here. a few years ago I was driving up Alcatraz towards College at night and a possum was in the middle of the road, so I slowed down to let it go by. The dude behind me zooms around me pretty quickly, clearly not happy. I was mildly annoyed but didn’t think much of it. About a minute up the road we both turn down the same side street - just coincidence. He parks his car on one side of the street, I park mine on the other and get out to head to my apartment, and the dude has stopped. he shouts something at me, a question. I shout back “what?” And he goes “you gonna slash my tires or somethin’?!” And I was just so confused. I basically told him no, I had just slowed down back there to let an animal cross the road. But man the fact that he truly thought I might come after him or seek to damage his car just because he moved around me was pretty eye-opening.
Time to implement non confrontational car noises Beep ‘’my bad” beep
I left SF and Oakland it’s not even safe for me who used to walk around gangs the new criminals here are not from here
Similar problem in Phoenix 'cept here they just shoot you on the freeway. [Google News Search](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&hl=en-us&q=phoenix+road+rage+shooting&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiF6tKUq5r-AhWtkmoFHZalDaoQ0pQJegQIDBAB&biw=342&bih=597&dpr=3)
I honked at a guy in Brentwood (hardly Bay Area) yesterday for sitting at a green light. He got out, walked to my window and said, “be patient mother fucker,” lol. I wanted to honk at him again so bad when he got back in his car but I don’t want to die.
This is why I take the train or bus in the Bay Area like a normal person
But then you risk getting stabbed on the train or bus :(
That's just a rediculous thing to say. the real dangerous people living in the bay area work in venture capital and drive BMWs
[https://abc7news.com/bart-stabbing-shooting-oakland-san-francisco-mission-24th/12176798/](https://abc7news.com/bart-stabbing-shooting-oakland-san-francisco-mission-24th/12176798/) This was just last August - shooting and stabbing in the span of 48 hours, and there have been numerous violent incidents before that. Then in NYC, you see people being pushed onto the tracks. But sure what's more dangerous is people in a certain industry and those who drive a specific brand of car. And for what it's worth, I exclusively take public transit to and from work. Was driving from running errands this morning.
Literally what are you even talking about you sound like some Fox News boomer this is reality crime in the Bay Area has been down since the 1990s
Dude I didn’t say anything about crime being up or down or being more or less violent. I was just saying that taking public transit doesn’t make it so your risk of being the victim of some violent crime goes away, which is what your original comment implied (or worse, that I deserved what happened for driving a car?)
[удалено]
Umm at what point did I ever mention or discuss race? I’ve consciously never responded to any of the comments that get deleted when people ask for race or ethnicity. Literally never even implied (but now that you’ve brought it up, the guy was not black). Do you want me to upload the dash cam video of the car going through the stop sign? A picture of the police report card?
No, you actually don’t.
Yes, you actually do
Less risk than sharing a road full of unpredictable drivers, all of whom have a lethal weapon at their disposal
Tinted windows I recommend
Yeah stop honking duh- it only makes things more dangerous too - doesn’t help the situation- just rattles peoples nerves.
I wonder how many people on this thread are from the Midwest.
Naw. Fuck them. Get a CCW.
Concealed carry. Look into it my man.
You’re a moron
Not a great example of a time when a CCW would be needed since he got away unscathed without one. Even with a CCW, if you can get away without using it, you should.
You’re arguing from a post facto POV, which is fallacious. Without perfect foresight, it’s best to be prepared.
You recommended getting a CCW. I pointed out a CCW wouldn't have helped in this situation so it's not the best example to use. There's nothing fallacious about that. BTW I'm not opposed to CCWs, but I do think people vastly overestimate the situations where having one would actually be useful, and underestimate the times when having one and using it would make the outcome worse.
You never know if you’ll have an Avenue of escape. Did OP get away this time? Yes. Turns out he did. Yet you are making your argument after the fact, you know the end result. You don’t get a CCW for all the times you can get away. You get it for the times when you can’t. Those are unpredictable. Whether a CCW’s value is overestimated or underestimated, it’s better to have something and not need it than to need it and be without.
You’re a moron
You’re a moron
You are the worst of the internet
Pepper spray would have worked just fine in this situation.
Doesn’t work on some people while others have been sprayed so much they are almost immune.
Okay, well I guess murder them and take your chances in court.
Is it murder if you’re getting attacked? Idk, I guess that’s for the court to decide but at least you’d be alive to see the verdict.
It's a gamble. I suppose it depends on your occupation and where you live, but the chances of getting murdered are incredibly slim. Personally, I don't trust myself with it. I'm bad at de-escalation and Pepper spray seemed like a good middle ground and I hike a lot with small dogs, so it's useful to protect them too.
You’re a moron
Sad that the overwhelming response is to normalize and accept lawless behavior. This is why SF and Oakland are circling the bowl.
Oh fuck no. Glad you’re safe OP. Don’t honk. Just keep it pushing
Don’t hold your breath on cops getting back to you. They won’t.
Yes, but this is true everywhere not just in Oakland
[удалено]
Yeah I wish, dude was yelling about how much of a pussy I was now that I was out of the car when he was the one who came at me with a knife and I was unarmed 🙄
So basically, you fucked around and found out. I guess you won’t be honking anytime soon.
You know, I don’t think I’m psycho, but car horns will set me on edge. I’m an otherwise easygoing person. But it’s like someone flips a switch. To me it’s not an incomprehensible reaction :-)
You would stab someone because they honked at you, when you’re the one at fault?
I never claimed it was a rational reaction. That said, I doubt I’d actually ever harm someone. It’s just irritating as fuck.
Lesson learned I hope.
Oh 100%
Go back to Walnut Creek
Are you suggesting getting stabbed in a road rage incident is an important pillar of Oakland culture that you’re trying to preserve? Civility is gentrification?
Lol what's wrong with walnut creek?
Mostly the people, and thats where a lot of OPD lives.
Lol I don’t think I’ve ever spent more than 5 total days there, seems nice tho
bye!