Question: What are OKC drivers like compared to other cities?

[Plutonic Panda]

Oklahoma drivers get bad rap for being rude drivers - Norman Transcript: News

[Plutonic Panda]

Also, is it just me or are people running red lights a lot more here lately?

[Roger S]

Also, is it just me or are people running red lights a lot more here lately?

No. I would say it happens at about 95% of the lights I'm at. It used to just be people pushing the limits of the yellow but now I see more and more people going through 3-5 seconds after the light turns red.

Saw a car not only run a red making a right turn but cut off the car in front of them running the red making a right turn this morning.

[bchris02]

Oklahoma drivers get bad rap for being rude drivers - Norman Transcript: News

I don't know for sure if I agree with this. OKC drivers aren't rude at least in my experience. In fact sometimes they are too courteous and end up causing traffic problems. What I don't understand is why people here drive so slow on the freeways. There is no reason to drive 55 when the speed limit is 65 or 70. I am not an excessive speeder as I generally like to cruise at 5-10 over the limit, but most of the time here I can go the speed limit and will be weaving in and out of traffic because people drive so slow. I have experienced this in numerous small towns but OKC is the only large city I've experienced this type of driving culture in. I am not sure if its because of the slow-paced culture here, people's fear of the police, or some other reason.

[Plutonic Panda]

Bchris, I agree with you. Drivers in Oklahoma are some of the most courteous I've seen anywhere. I am seeing a bit more people cutting others off and road rage in the last year, but I've only been driving for about 4 years, so I don't know.

[windowphobe]

What I don't understand is why people here drive so slow on the freeways. There is no reason to drive 55 when the speed limit is 65 or 70.

There are several reasons why it happens, though:

(1) Nimrod is carrying one ton in a half-ton truck;

(2) That's the speed they were at when they crawled up the onramp, and they're sticking to it;

(3) Fear of missing something exciting happening in the median.

And maybe a third of the population fears being stopped by the cops, because they don't have insurance, they're technically not supposed to be here in the first place, or both A and B.

[jompster]

Do have to say I was impressed by a driver on the interstate last night.

They turned on their signal to move into the middle lane. Instead of speeding up like most Okies do when they see a signal come on. I maintaned my speed and allowed him space to make the lane change and after he made the change he flashed his tail lights a couple of times to let me know he appreciated it. Usually only see that from truckers.

LOL that may have been me. I do that all the time, and when someone is in the car with me, they usually ask why I do it. My mom practically made me do it when I had my learner's permit.

Regarding where you've seen people pass in the acceleration lane, I almost knew before I read it where you were going to say. It happens a lot on 35 SB between I-40 and I-240.

[Mel]

I'm not talking about while the light is green and traffic is flowing, I agree it's dangerous. I am talking about when the light has been red for a while, and traffic is beginning to significantly queue past the turn lane. If there is room, I will continue the queue in the center turn lane, leaving more queue space for people going straight.

I wish more folks did that.

[ChrisHayes]

Being new to the state (moved here in September '13) I have to say my only gripe with Oklahoma drivers is driving slow in the passing lane. That stuff is annoying!

[bluedogok]

Denver seems to have some very slow drivers balanced out with the ultraspeed drivers, much slower than what I was used to in Austin, DFW or Houston.

[Urbanized]

It's the weed.

[bluedogok]

It's the weed.

They were that way well before weed was legal, it's mostly the Subaru drivers then the Camry drivers. Coming back from Steamboat/Estes Park today it was like Subaru slalom on I-25 with the 75 mph speed limit and they consistently are driving 10-15 mph slower in any lane.

[Urbanized]

Subaru drivers were smoking weed before it was legal.

[TheTravellers]

Also, is it just me or are people running red lights a lot more here lately?

In the past few months, I've noticed it at pretty much *every* intersection I'm stopped at, used to only be about half of them, but it's getting ridiculous, cops should really start cracking down on that. Saw one the other day where some a**hole was in the middle straight lane and the guy in the left turn lane stopped on the red, but the middle lane dude turned left *GOING AROUND HIM WHILE IT HAD BEEN RED FOR 3 SECONDS*. I was going straight, facing him, floored it, tried to get him to hit me so he'd be at fault, but he made it across, dammit. I don't follow all the traffic laws, but I don't run red lights, that's just stoooooooooooooopid.

[Plutonic Panda]

In the past few months, I've noticed it at pretty much *every* intersection I'm stopped at, used to only be about half of them, but it's getting ridiculous, cops should really start cracking down on that. Saw one the other day where some a**hole was in the middle straight lane and the guy in the left turn lane stopped on the red, but the middle lane dude turned left *GOING AROUND HIM WHILE IT HAD BEEN RED FOR 3 SECONDS*. I was going straight, facing him, floored it, tried to get him to hit me so he'd be at fault, but he made it across, dammit. I don't follow all the traffic laws, but I don't run red lights, that's just stoooooooooooooopid.

I can't say I haven't done that a time or two.

[Roger S]

.....I was going straight, facing him, floored it, tried to get him to hit me so he'd be at fault, but he made it across, dammit..

I don't floor it but I do begin moving into the intersection when the light changes and if some idiot is trying to make a turn while running a red I come at them with my horn blaring.

[TheTravellers]

I don't floor it but I do begin moving into the intersection when the light changes and if some idiot is trying to make a turn while running a red I come at them with my horn blaring.

That's what I usually do, but this time was soooooo egregious, I had to give it a shot (my car's a crappy 2007 Honda Civic that I wouldn't care about being totaled). I've actually stuck someone in the middle of the intersection once by getting there before they could turn on a red, doesn't happen as often as I'd like. :-P Glad there are some more out there like me that don't just sit there and take it like most Okies, thanks!

[OkiePoke]

People don't know how a zipper merge works... Leave space in front of you when in traffic, everyone will get to where they are going quicker.

[Roger S]

People don't know how a zipper merge works... Leave space in front of you when in traffic, everyone will get to where they are going quicker.

Zipper merge? Heck people don't know how to perform any kind of merge and they only care about how quickly they can get to where they are going. Don't give a crap about how quick anyone else gets where they are going.

[Snowman]

People don't know how a zipper merge works... Leave space in front of you when in traffic, everyone will get to where they are going quicker.

Zipper merging is only a thing when everyone is traveling at similar speeds and the system is not already clogged, most of the time either the road is free enough it does not matter or the people in the lane ending are just passing as many people as possible before they have to merge and the lane they are merging into has already been clogged for a mile or two. Do not expect people to be happy when you cut them off.

[OkiePoke]

Zipper merge? Heck people don't know how to perform any kind of merge and they only care about how quickly they can get to where they are going. Don't give a crap about how quick anyone else gets where they are going.

They really only care how fast they can get to the bumper of the car in front of them during 'heavy' traffic.

[OUman]

OK this has been happening to me in Norman as of late. Some people are getting highly impatient here, so if you're in the left turn lane and you are yielding to oncoming traffic (which only you are the best judge of as to how fast they are going), they actually start honking at you and if you don't go, some of them have been flailing their arms at me and making rude gestures. I'm no idiot when it comes to judging when I can/cannot go, I'm not going to risk my life (and my passenger's lives) for you just because you're on your high-horse. Of course it would be stupid to wait when there's a big gap and it's safe to go, but on streets like 12th, especially on the east side, it often happens that people routinely go above the posted 40mph limit and if there's a reasonably big gap in traffic, it's gone because some guy speeding down the road comes up out of nowhere (seemingly). This irritates me bigtime. I'm not purposely trying to delay you, but don't start honking at me and being rude because I'm trying to play it safe.

And yeah, another thing I've noticed - at the intersections of Main/Porter and Boyd/Classen, some motorists will calmly go straight ahead from the right-only lane at the former intersection and from the left-only lane the latter intersection respectively. It's like they don't give a hoot about traffic laws, it's "their" road and they can do anything they so well please. What's up with some people these days?

[Plutonic Panda]

Listen man, when turning left, you just have to close your eyes, introduce your pedal to your floor mat, and make a break for it. Jk

I don't know though, people are loosing their wagons lately.

[Roger S]

Saw one I had not seen before coming home from work last week.

I was southbound on Shields and caught the light red at I-240. While I was sitting there waiting for the light to rotate back around to me I noticed a truck make a left onto the service road from the middle lane of northbound Shields...... I guess we can just make our own turn lanes now.

[Snowman]

Saw one I had not seen before coming home from work last week.

I was southbound on Shields and caught the light red at I-240. While I was sitting there waiting for the light to rotate back around to me I noticed a truck make a left onto the service road from the middle lane of northbound Shields...... I guess we can just make our own turn lanes now.

I have seen that happen a many times (except it is usually a left turn from the right lane of a 4 lane intersection), realistically if you are either unable or unwilling to make the turn from a proper lane then either take a different route, take the load on a different vehicle or make proper accommodations for oversized loads.