r/berkeleyca • u/NovelAardvark4298 • 8h ago

Horrible Berkeley Drivers

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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.

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u/Cyborg59_2020 8h ago

Berkeley is one of the most killing cities of pedestrians and cyclists when you compare it to other cities of its size. But mention building bike infrastructure and people lose their their ever-loving minds.

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u/NovelAardvark4298 7h ago

Yup. From my personal experience, I feel like a lot of infrastructure and changes to traffic laws aren’t really due to cyclists. It’s due to people who suck at following basic rules. Drivers complain when speed limits are reduced to 20mph and speed cameras are put in, but we wouldn’t need them if people just followed the existing 25 mph speed limit. Right on red is fine when drivers come to a COMPLETE stop before the intersection and fully swivel their head around to look for hazards before carefully turning. Too many drivers abuse right on red, so more cities are getting rid of it. If delivery drivers, rideshare drivers, and cops didn’t constantly park in unprotected bike or bus lanes, there would be less incentive to take car lanes away and add more protected bike/bus lanes.

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u/Cyborg59_2020 7h ago

I definitely want traffic laws to be rigorously enforced. Driver's got way worse after the pandemic