You’re Driving Me Mad!

By Kelly Balamuth on August 9, 2017

Do a quick Google search of “Bay Area drivers” and you’ll discover very quickly that the Bay Area is considered by many people to be one of the worst areas in America to drive.

And it’s hard to make an argument otherwise, right? Try taking a drive through downtown on a weekday afternoon and the words “miserable,” “excruciating,” and “nightmare” are likely to come to mind.

But it’s difficult to nail down the numbers on exactly how much of a “nightmare” it has become for people driving in the Bay Area. A report in US News ranked the 10 cities with the worst traffic in the U.S.; San Francisco ranked as the third most unbearable. Bay Area drivers spend a whopping average of 75 hours each year in traffic, behind only Washington, D.C., and our neighbor to the south, Los Angeles.

Along with this rise in commuter frustration comes the inevitable rise in vehicular accidents. Vision Zero, San Francisco’s promise to end traffic fatalities by 2024, shows that poor driving habits account for most of the fatal accidents in the city. According to SF Weekly, of the 31 deaths reported in San Francisco last year, nine were caused by failing to yield to a pedestrian, eight were due to speeding, four happened by running a red light, and two were attributed to “unsafe driving.”

Here’s a list of the top complaints about Bay Area drivers:

1. Infrequent use of turn signals: It’s such a simple thing to do to communicate one’s intent to turn or change lanes, yet so many Bay Area drivers neglect implementing their turn signals.
2. Impromptu lane changing: Many drivers will change lanes with no warning (see above) and seemingly without reason and often at high speeds.
3. Lane drifting: Cars frequently and casually drift over to the next lane, as though the drivers are paying no attention at all to what their cars are doing.
4. Tailgating: Everyone hates this when it’s done to them, and it happens regularly on Bay Area streets and highways.
5. Lack of “seeing down the road”: Many drivers don’t think about the future of their route, often resulting in a last-second multi-lane-changing maneuver, which can be very dangerous.

While the Bay Area roads are some of the most scenic in the country, negligent drivers can put the rest of us in danger. If you or someone you love has been injured in an accident, you should seek legal assistance immediately. Call Balamuth Law at (925) 254-1234 today for a free consultation.