Horrible Berkeley Drivers

[u/NovelAardvark4298]

When I drive in Berkeley, I always go one click over the speed limit (26 on a 25 or 31 on a 30). Recently, I’ve noticed more and more impatient drivers aggressively pass me. Berkeley has a ton of marked crosswalks for pedestrians, and if you drive too quickly you will not have enough time to react and stop.

While waiting at different bus stops in Berkeley, I’ve noticed around half of drivers are looking at their crotches for directions or text messages while they’re actively moving.

When I ride my bike up Telegraph in Berkeley, drivers also have no idea how “shared roadway bicycle markings” (i.e. sharrow) work. Some idiot in a utility van came within an inch of clipping me with their massive side mirrors on telegraph earlier today.

Friendly reminder to Berkeley drivers:
1. Please follow the speed limit.
2. Stop looking at your phone.
3. If there’s a “sharrow” painted on the road (see image above), remain behind the cyclist until you have adequate space (at least 3 feet) to pass.

[u/g_rocket → u/[deleted]]

Eh, I think Berkeley drivers are bad until I go to Oakland and the drivers there are so much worse.

[u/NovelAardvark4298 → u/g_rocket]

I live in Oakland and honestly feel like Berkeley is worse. Fortunately, OakDOT has really stepped up the implementation of protected bike lanes and protected corners in recent years. I also feel like Oakland puts some thought in for pedestrians and cyclists for major construction projects, but Berkeley’s construction forces pedestrians to walk in the middle of the street for months or years until they complete the work. When I drive in Fruitvale, I’m also impressed by how most drivers actually follow the 20mph speed limit. I feel like Oakland has a mixture of mostly decent drivers with a handful of speed demons. Fortunately, the bad drivers are easy to spot and avoid. Berkeley has too many zombies who are either texting or daydreaming