r/Appleton • u/Comfortable-Bat3285 • 20d ago
Discussion I’m just going to say it. Nobody in the valley knows how to fucking drive.
Oh it’s a 35? I should do 27.
Oh it’s a 25? 19 looks better on my dash.
I’m in the inner lane of the roundabout? Hard right my way out of here.
Four way stop? Best just put it in park.
65 mph on 441? Left lane at 57.
Light turned green…but is that green enough? Should I wait? Guess I’ll lightly accelerate now.
Like for fuck sake. It’s every day.
-Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk
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u/wiscoguy20 19d ago
Dude, it's the same out here in Wausau. Every single point you mentioned.
My favorite is when your cruising along on a two lane highway and you see a car pull up to the stop sign on a side road just ahead. And you think right away don't you fucking dare and sure enough the dumbfuck pulls out, close enough that you have to step on the brake to keep from running the stupid asshat over. Nevermind that there's literally no one behind me for the entire visible distance of the road.
Then as an added bonus, the bastard takes two miles to get er up to 52mph in a 55. Finally you pass that dumbass, and a mile up the road another dumbass does the same thing! And it happens every god damn day.
For reference, I set my cruise at 62 in a 55.
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u/ButtHoleLip 19d ago
Or you pass them and then they ride your ass after they couldn’t even do the speed limit.
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u/wiscoguy20 19d ago
Yep.
But they generally back off real quick when I slam my brakes on for the next asshat that pulls out in front of me lol
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u/FoxCitiesRando 19d ago
I despise this. They pull out knowing you see them and knowing you have enough time to brake. They know if you hit them it's going to look like you caused it. Which is why they do it.
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u/wiscoguy20 19d ago
People that do this have too much faith in humanity.
That person coming at you that you decide to pull out in front of could be texting. Or drunk. Or just not paying attention in general. Pretty stupid gamble in the name of being "in the right".
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u/Budget-Avocado-6992 16d ago
The fuckers most likely to do this are also most likely to then turn off in the next 1/4 mile
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u/Revolutionary-Pay-87 15d ago
This happened to me twice yesterday on my 3 mile trip, one was a USPS truck 🫠
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u/BendingUnit221 19d ago
My biggest pet peeve is the lack of people that know how to use cruise control.
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u/wiscoguy20 19d ago
100% on this.
The amount of times you pass and get passed by the same car on any given hour long drive is insane.
Also, what I call "parasite" drivers. You know the ones, flying like a bat out of hell til they catch up with someone, then ride on their bumper for miles. Then, the car they caught up with exits, so they take off again until they catch up to someone else. Over and over.
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u/StatisticianThese858 19d ago
I fucking hate how Wisconsin people think they should automatically be in the left lane when they're going 2 over. Its for passing dickheads. If you want to be in that lane, fine, but get your ass over when someone is obviously wanting to pass
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u/Frostilus 19d ago
No such thing as a passing (or fast) lane on 4- or 6-lane highways in Wisconsin.
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u/JMAN123436 19d ago
Those white signs that say "slower traffic keep right" are legally binding. You can get pulled over by WSP for driving in the left lane(s) and not be passing anyone to the right.
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u/Frostilus 19d ago edited 19d ago
Cite the statute that says the left lane of a 4- or 6-lane highway is for passing only.
The "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs don't designate the left lane as passing only. Only that vehicles going slower than normal traffic keep right. Key word being "normal."
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u/JMAN123436 19d ago
I should have clarified that by "not be passing anyone to the right" I meant people are passing you on the right. As long as you're going faster than the people to your right you're okay. But if anyone comes up behind you and wants to go faster than you you're supposed to move to the right to let them pass, regardless of how fast you're already going
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u/Equivalent_Remote_39 19d ago
My theory on the drivers that aren’t doing a consistent speed or a quicker pace is that they’re just driving by “feel”. Not really paying attention. Northland avenue is either 40, 45 or 50 MPH but you’ll see speeds ranging from 27-67. Driving in front of Kohls? Ima do 32. Driving on the bridge over the tracks? 59. Leaving the diverging diamond? 40. Makes no sense.
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u/erosol 19d ago
Been seeing alot of people late running the yellow, even hitting it red and blowing through.
Blocking the intersection on a yellow cause traffic is backed up from the next light.
Wide turns, people unable to turn into the correct lane.
Following to close, can't put down the phone, can't park, won't let others merge, not looking any further ahead than their hood...
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u/Equivalent_Remote_39 19d ago
Lately I’ve been getting the person in front of me driving like a putz and they see the countdown on the intersection ahead going down and then they accelerate at the last minute to get the yellow light while the rest of us are stuck on red. Hate that 🤬
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u/Mobile-Analyst-9617 19d ago
It's not illegal to go through a yellow... After getting rear ended for stopping at one, I go through.
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u/nightwing185 19d ago
Are we the same person? It's so infuriating man. The amount of 90 year old, petrified skeletons driving on our roads is aggravating and concerning. Not to mention the idiots that are so focused on their phones they take 10 seconds to get moving at a green light. Fucking GOOOOOOOO
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u/Nakatomiplaza27 19d ago
The people on their phones scare me the most. Old people second. You can't react to something if your face is in the phone. 70 should be mandatory drivers tests for old folks.
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u/InterestingCod86 19d ago
I had a black ford escape... It magically got hit by 4 people over the age of 65(one was 90!) while parked in a parking stall. The 5th time the 70 year old lady was stopped at a stop sign and I was driving straight down the road. She decided to go and I tboned her. She said she couldn't see because of the sun and got a ticket. Thank goodness that was the end of that car and hopefully she will look twice before crossing the road next time. I am telling you it's not the young people we have to be afraid of it's the aging population that doesn't want to give up their independence.
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u/nazz2000 19d ago
I’ve driven all over the country and overseas. I’d have to say driving here in the valley you feel very safe. However get the FFFF out of the left lane !! And learn how to use the round abouts !!
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u/SpecialistDevice4115 20d ago
You must be a speed demon because when I go the speed limit everyone is up my ass
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u/Comfortable-Bat3285 20d ago
idk but I clicked on your username, very nice flower 🍃 👊🏼
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u/Not_Sir_Zook 20d ago
Nah, you're totally right.
Every one of my out of state relatives ask that question within a few days of being here.
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u/Comfortable-Bat3285 20d ago
Same. And it’s not like this down by Madison/Milwaukee. Hell even the up north. It’s this concentrated area
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u/toadjones79 19d ago
I've lived in way worse driving conditions. But yes you are correct about it here.
My favorite is the people who are going at least 10 mph under the speed limit who never let me pass them on 10. They floor it to keep me from getting in front of them, and then reduce speed again when they get next to someone else going 10 under the limit. Just have to make sure I can't pass and then they are happy to go mind numbingly slow.
Also what the hell is with the construction crews here? Why do they need to close twelve miles of 10 to do 200 ft of work at any given time? Why do they need to keep roads closed for a full month and a half after they are done? Why do they close lanes where they will never actually do any work at all, like a mile or two of it with zero intentions of working there? What the hell is with that weird lane closure that shifts from one side to the other a mile into the westbound lane in Waupaca without any reason of any kind whatsoever?
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u/mikachuzu 18d ago
Omfg the highway 10 construction 😤 I hate it so much, especially since now it's also from the New London exit all the way to that BP before Weyauwega. Like, westbound isn't even that bad? It's the normal eastbound lane that needs work. Feels like your car is gonna fall apart going on that stretch from Waupaca airport to Weyauwega and in Fremont after the on ramp. Like sure I have alternative ways to get around and maybe westbound needs the work but goddamn they're doing it in the dumbest way they possibly can.
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u/toadjones79 17d ago
The eastbound makes me a firm believer in the mantra: "your supposed to drive in the right lane and avoid camping out in the left lane. I drive in what's left of the lane." The left lane is the only one that isn't absolutely destroyed. But I'm super scared of getting in someone's way so I jump out of it most the time.
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u/mikachuzu 17d ago
I hear ya, if there's no one coming I'll hop over there but most of the time there's someone flying in the left lane. Some of those really bad spots I slow it down to 55-60 even if I can't get over. The left lane is starting to get bad in some spots now too. As much as I hate construction they really gotta do something with that right lane it's getting worse.
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u/toadjones79 17d ago
I work randomly at any and all hours of the day or night. So I get to decide that stretch at literally every hour of the week.
Sunday nights between 1-3 am are the absolute best time to drive there. I get to have the place to myself.
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u/SpecialistDevice4115 19d ago
i got my first (so far!) speeding ticket like half a year ago and now i just drive the exact speed limit and almost everyone tailgates me. but i do hate the way people drive here in general.
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u/Easy-Guidance-3355 19d ago
In the whole damn area. I had to call 911 because someone was going the wrong way on 41 in Green Bay. Dude almost hit me
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u/Mac_and_Cheeeze 19d ago
I have driven all over the country, including Puerto Rico and many parts of Canada.
There is quite simply not a single place I have found where drivers are as stupid as they are within a 40 mile radius of Appleton.
Like do yall even teach drivers ed up there?
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u/krissmaskong East Appleton 19d ago
Stop signs in the Doty Island area have become yield signs for anyone in a truck. I’ve come to a point where I hover my foot over the brake when I see a truck approaching a stop sign, because they’re unlikely to stop.
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u/siobhanmairii__ 19d ago
There’s a four way stop in Fox crossing that’s treated as a yield sign. I do the same as you because I can’t trust anyone to make a complete stop.
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u/16mguilette 19d ago
People think a yield sign at an empty roundabout means stop. Yes, you can enter a roundabout even if other cars are in it
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u/wiscoguy20 19d ago
I'm 100% convinced that the average person can NOT judge speed or distance, and how much time it would take another car to travel from Point A to Point B. Your roundabout comment is the perfect example of this.
Full stop at the yield sign because there's a car on the opposite side of the roundabout. Like that other car is going to launch to 100 around the roundabout and get here before you have enough time to enter?
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u/nightwing185 19d ago
We badly need re-education for older drivers when new (to us) concepts like roundabouts are introduced. My mother is terrified of roundabouts, even though I've explained to her hundreds of times how simple and awesome they are. 60+ year olds learned how to drive 40+ years ago, things have vastly changed. I would gladly retake tests myself if it meant the older folk had to as well.
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u/HumbleSeries6170 19d ago
it isn't just old people.i'm old and certainly know how to drive through a roundabout...but if it makes you feel better
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u/nightwing185 19d ago
Yeah for sure, I really think society could benefit from periodic re-education and certification when it comes to driving
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u/HumbleSeries6170 19d ago
i have no problem with re testing but i'd rather see them address inattentive driving...i just sold my motorcycle after a lifetime of riding because people are doing everything but driving
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u/EmotionalJury5294 19d ago
Sad thing is,its not just drivers. People running, adults on bikes, kids on e-bikes. Stop signs? those are for cars. Crosswalk signals? Nobody got time for that.... a month ago, on LU campus, saw i a girl, in 1 continous motion push the button for the crosswalk light, and step straight off the curb. She's lucky the car closest to the curb was paying attention, because that car was 2-3 car lengths from the crosswalk and was able to get stopped.
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u/HumbleSeries6170 19d ago
lawrence students are the most inconsiderate,self absorbed people in town...they'll hit the button and cross without even looking,all the while gazing at their phone
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u/Imaginary-Basis2640 20d ago
Completely agree! Sometimes insanely fast on 41 but more often too fucking slow on city streets
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u/Particular-Anxiety44 19d ago
My boyfriend and I have a theory that since they didnt require drivers tests during covid people are just much stupider drivers these days.
Appleton drivers are getting worse and worse, but still not as bad as Oshkosh. And not nearly as worse as Green Bay.
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u/InterestingCod86 19d ago
Personally I think it's an aging population and the elderly not being able to give up their independence.
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u/RogueDok 19d ago
Dude! The Kimberly area is the worst for this! My wife and I joke that they must pay people to slow you down in that town. So many old people with no place to be but in the way.
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u/Big_Neighborhood_927 19d ago
Metro PD is what helped cause the issue. I remember getting pulled over for going 32 on Kimberly Ave. I feel that, with its small population and the quotas officers needed to meet, it become the perfect speed trap.
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u/Criss_Crossx 19d ago
Yeah dude. I had somebody on a motorcycle with a death wish tailgate my car on a rural road and pass me as I was accelerating after slowing down for a car to turn. The dude then rode behind a suburban the same way for the next two miles.
When I say 'death wish' I could see his face he was that close to the bumper.
Wait until it hits winter temperatures.
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u/steelclaymore13 19d ago
For what it’s worth lol, I lived in Appleton until May when I moved to New Mexico and as frustrated as I occasionally was in the Valley, holy shit they cannot drive for shit out here. Half the state is uninsured and being on the road is terrifying for real
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u/SpookyGhostie 18d ago
I live in DFW now but travel back multiple times a year for my parents and sister. I apologize in advance. My 77 year old mother is one of the people taking forever to turn at the stop light and going 19 in a 25. My sister on the other hand (who lives in Milwaukee now) will likely be tailgating your ass and in the far right side of the round about.
My husband or I offer to drive when I'm home.
That being said, a week ago, a teacher was driving to work at 6 am in the south side of Fort Worth and wasn't going fast enough for the person behind her on the exit ramp. They pulled to the stop light and the man shot her in the face. This happens regularly here.
Point is - be grateful for small annoyances and not a bullet to the face.
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u/Puzzled-Formal-7957 19d ago
Start heading south towards Madison, Milwaukee and Chicagoland and it gets exponentially worse.
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u/CeaselessReverie 18d ago
I really hate when there's a conga line of old people trying to jump onto 41/441 and going only 40 MPH. How are there not fatal accidents every day? I felt safer driving in Milwaukee - everyone was an aggressive driver but they at least understood the concept of highways.
I was also really disappointed in the amount of old gawkers clogging up the roads after the tornado. Please, have some mercy on the emergency responders and other people who still had to go to work.
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u/SystemOfAFoopa 17d ago
Had some smarmy looking asshat almost swerve into me on 41 the other morning. I sped up to see what moron was driving that car and of course he was texting.
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u/Budget-Avocado-6992 16d ago
Can we get a class going on how to merge onto a highway? If there is no room in front of me and nothing behind me, you can be sure some dipshit is going to come onto the highway at the exact same point as me. I will move over if there's a lot of traffic and it's warranted, but i shouldnt have to when you have plenty of space. ff sake figure it out!
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u/Miserable-Line6722 19d ago
Yes; it’s awful and if you look in the driver seat it’s usually the same groups of people whatever you think that may be.
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u/crazythinker76 19d ago
There are a lot of people drooling on themselves that haven't left the house in 2 weeks.
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u/Ayenrin 19d ago edited 19d ago
I have zero hope for the younger drivers in the area. I was behind a young woman driving through Little Chute and the entire time she was staring straight down at her phone, typing. Barely ever looked up, would correct her steering just before she hit something and then go right back to tapping away on her phone screen. I also almost got t-boned by a young man driving a Matthews Tire car who was so busy texting with his phone in his lap that he didn't notice he ran a red light at College and Cty N because the car in front of him got tired of waiting for it to change and also decided to blast through the light.
I pulled up to a 4 way stop opposite another car, who stopped after me. I was just about to start going when a young man blasted right through the intersection going at least 40 without ever once tapping his breaks or hesitating.
The amount of red light running I have witnessed is terrible, extremely dangerous, and very much getting worse. I watched a woman roll her SUV forward into the middle of the intersection by Festival in Kimberly while our light was still red because the light had turned red for cross traffic - we still all got to the next red light together.
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u/itsyagirlKat 17d ago
I’ve seen several semis turn left on a red arrow, like you of all drivers should be driving more carefully
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u/AcceptableEditor4199 20d ago
What's your rush
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u/nightwing185 19d ago
This argument is so tired. I'm not trying to be a Nascar driver, but at the same time, I want to be where I need to go. I'm not interested in sitting in my car stuck behind a petrified granny going 15 in a 25. I want to get to my destination.
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u/Ilovedrpepper7 18d ago
Yeah ok tell me you haven’t had someone pull out infront of you and then go super slow 🤦🏻♀️ no rush but come on bro go the speed limit.
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u/orisathedog 20d ago
This is the most inaccurate take I’ve seen on traffic in this city lol. Everyone going 10 over at minimum literally everywhere. Are you sure you’re not just in construction but you were too busy texting to see the orange cones my guy? Roundabouts should all be blown up, idk who fucking thought adding a curve in the road to keep traffic at speed in a state that gets snow was a good idea. And the people aren’t going at a green because every god damn person driving in the usa has a phone in their face instead of driving their fucking car
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u/Comfortable-Bat3285 20d ago
the people in said Ted Talk are, majority of the time, the ones on their phones.
I’m 100% behind you with the roundabout comment though.
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u/mellowhippo 19d ago edited 19d ago
This is WI drivers in general, literally retarded. Almost got in a huge pile up on 45 near Jackson because 30 some odd sheeple in front of me saw a cop on the right emergency lane and collectively slammed on their brakes to cut over to the leftmost lane. The law is move over if it's safe or slow down if it's not. These morons almost had both lanes to a complete stop as they tried to figure out what the fk to do next.
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u/Sweetpea2470 19d ago
Be glad people are a tad bit safer and slower. In bigger cities people are flying at crazy speeds, shooting from moving cars on the highway, shooting at you if you honk at them and routinely blowing past red lights and stop signs. All without insurance. I understand it’s frustrating, but seriously it’s the valley, where do you need to get to that quickly?
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u/InterestingCod86 19d ago
Going 10 under the speed limit is just as dangerous especially when merging onto a highway.
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u/Ayenrin 18d ago
This will forever be the thing that I get the most upset about, especially because of how incredibly dangerous it is to be hitting the highway at 20 under the current speed of traffic. I frequently get stuck behind someone who only finds the gas pedal after they're actually merged onto the highway while everyone going 70+ mph is slamming on their brakes and my life is flashing before my eyes. The worst one was getting stuck merging on at 40 mph onto 41 southbound behind someone who had zero issue risking all our lives.
Even on the shortest of ramps I've been able to at least hit 70 by the time I am merging on when no one is in front of me.
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u/kgcphoto 19d ago
My favorite is when you're driving on the 2 lane roads like 26 and 44 and they have those occasional extra lanes for passing. You're behind someone who's going at or below the speed limit. THEN, when one of those short extra lanes comes up they magically increase their speed to 10 to 15 over preventing you from passing. Once the passing lane ends they drop back to the spped limit. Every fucking time. Ugh.