I just got rear ended (Cincinnati, Green: rental, insurance, lawyers)

[5thgencincy]

... and I'm sick of it. Sick of the obsessive tailgaters. Sick of the attitude. Sick of the selfishness.

I live on a major street so I get to witness all of it. I've witnessed 10+ rear end collisions right outside my house in the 3 years I've lived here. The offenders are usually annoyed they have to deal w/the cleanup.

Next is the blatant exploitation of any selfish opportunity, to wit the left-turn lane. These hell-bent-to-go-nowhere narcissists just can't stand to comply with anything, so they swing it out over the double yellows 200+ feet before they're allowed, and then gun it just so they can sit there at the inevitable red light.

Then there's the truly dangerous red light runners when they think nobody's looking, typically before rush hour. I'm not kidding, it's the norm, I see it every day. Some of them touch the brakes, some don't, but they flat out run the solid red light with full intention. "Darn red light, how dare you get in my way, in my way."

Finally, just the aggressive tailgating in general, for no purpose whatsoever, no goal in mind, no need, simply passive aggressive. Like a drone mentality, "I exist therefore I tailgate.", including a surprising number of "mature" women (esp. minivans) and struggling middle aged men.

Again, they're not rushing to get somewhere. I've proven that time and again, because when they get in front of you then they just slow down. They just can't stand being behind you.

Sandbox mentality.

[WILWRadio]

^^^Sorry to hear this. I've been through it countless times myself. If it is of any solace, I had two cars totaled at the hands of the moronic drivers in the Kansas City area two years ago. Neither accident was my fault either.

I did some research on why people tailgate. Turns out they are from a psychological stand point, Bullies. Yep. Bullies. They like to push people around either verbally or physically. Some people that can't relish in pushing people around at home or work instead take it out on the other drivers on the road.

Tailgating in areas like KC and Indianapolis is so bad that I can't stand to drive in either region anymore. I hope that does not occur once I get settled into the Cincinnati area otherwise I will actively research areas of the country that have a smaller percentage of tailgaters on the road. Must be at least one study out there indicating areas where it is less prevalent than others.

[kjbrill]

I just can't see what the aspect of if you run into the rear end of a vehicle in front you are at fault! More than important, were you rear-ended? Did they change this fundmental fact of law? I am not sure of the full wording of the law, but I believe it was along the line of insuffient following clearance. In my understanding, if you rear-ended someone you were are fault. But if someone rear-ended you, they were at fault. I can understand why your are frustrated, but you should not be liable for more than one incident.

[5thgencincy]

^^^ Yes Bullies. Brilliant, thanks for that.

Bullies is also the psychology of the bad neighbors I've had. I mean really bad neighbors, though both surprisingly skilled at camouflauge. Neighbor_1 just went berserk though, and the authorities got rid of them. Neighbor_2 is a slower burn, but over time showing cards and building enemies.

Took me years to identify the neighbor pathology as "bully". Lot of head games they play.

Thanks again for your helpful insight.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by 5thgencincy

^^^ Yes Bullies. Brilliant, thanks for that.

Bullies is also the psychology of the bad neighbors I've had. I mean really bad neighbors, though both surprisingly skilled at camouflauge. Neighbor_1 just went berserk though, and the authorities got rid of them. Neighbor_2 is a slower burn, but over time showing cards and building enemies.

Took me years to identify the neighbor pathology as "bully". Lot of head games they play.

Thanks again for your helpful insight.

You're welcome. Some bullies you can reason with but others you cannot. Those kind need to get their ass kicked if they are going to straighten up and fly right. Had to deal with that when I was a kid. Won more fights than I lost and eventually the bullying stopped once they found out I could beat them up or had friends that would do it for me. LOL

I dealt with the same thing you just mentioned with the home I owned in rural Missouri. 40 miles outside of KC and the place was anything but quiet. Every neighbor in the house to my south caused trouble for me and the neighborhood. I can't even recall how many times I saw police cars outside that house over the three years that I owned the place.

Any way you can move to a better neighborhood? I've already had one problem crop up with a neighbor at my home in Covington and I am going to look for a second home. Will probably keep the existing home as a rental but I may move in for a short while until I can find a second home where I won't have people causing the same kinds of issues that I had in Missouri.

[WILWRadio]

Originally Posted by kjbrill

I just can't see what the aspect of if you run into the rear end of a vehicle in front you are at fault! More than important, were you rear-ended? Did they change this fundmental fact of law? I am not sure of the full wording of the law, but I believe it was along the line of insuffient following clearance. In my understanding, if you rear-ended someone you were are fault. But if someone rear-ended you, they were at fault. I can understand why your are frustrated, but you should not be liable for more than one incident.

Not sure if you are addressing my response or the OP. To the worst of my knowledge in virtually every instance that I have heard about someone getting rear ended, the person that hits the car in front of them is at fault. I have been rear ended a dozen times over years, literally a dozen. One time I was at fault because it was alleged that I pulled out onto a 4 lane state highway in Connecticut and someone rear ended me. Claimed I did not yield right of way. Speed limit was 55 but my guess is he had to be doing 70 to 75 in that zone. Witnesses blamed me for pulling out in front of him. If he had been doing the speed limit or close to it he never would have hit me.

[goyguy]

I've never heard of a single instance where the "rear-ender" was absolved. This has brought on aggravation for me as well as countless others.
In my case, while following two cars down a hill on a rainy afternoon at a safe distance I had to slam on the brakes when the lead vehicle suddenly halted for no reason. You guessed it. The slick road caused the brakes to not engage in time and I ran into the second car. Meanwhile the person(s) who caused the accident managed to not be hit. They cruised on ahead - only to stop at the bottom of the hill so the driver could glance back to probably laugh at what had transpired.
One night I was walking near home by a signaled intersection where the street broadens for a left-turn lane with a separate traffic light. The left-turn signal is off by itself on a free-standing pole, while the lights for through traffic are suspended from a boom over the street. Any fool can tell the difference. Well, most fools can. One who couldn't glided to a stop because the left-turn signal was red. The next motorist in the line of cars - who had been following at a safe distance and within the speed limit - wasn't ready for an idiot ahead and was unable to come to a complete halt. CRASH! She flew out the door with arms waving: "WHAT did you stop at a GREEN LIGHT for??!!!" I thought better than to jump into the developing fray (though it sure was tempting), reported it to the police and kept walking.
One of my recurring themes is, anybody who thinks Cincinnati drivers are terrible or fancies themselves to be a bad-ass road warrior need only spend not even an hour behind the wheel in Boston. The "Mass. holes" will take you to school. Not to mention the kamikaze bicyclists. Deciding to go car-less after my old vehicle lived out its life was a decision I'll never regret.
And it will only get worse, everywhere, as the legion of smartphone zombies grows. (I've taken to calling the distaff portion of this group "Gadget Gidgets." )

[Chemistry_Guy]

Idiot drivers can be an annoyance to someone in a car, but they are much more serious to motorcyclists. I was instructed, years ago, to always ride my motorcycle as if every car is trying to hit me, and I have mostly followed that advice. That is why I never ride my bike on crowded interstates, and I tend to use common sense more than a strict interpretation of traffic laws. Cops have been understanding every time it has mattered for me.

Several of my best friends are personal injury lawyers, and from what they tell me, there are some parts of town where a very high percentage of the drivers do not have insurance. Even if your coverage includes uninsured motorists and you are not at fault in the accident, your rates will still go up. I tend to avoid those parts of town whenever possible, and when I do have to go there I follow my motorcycle guidelines of driving like every car is trying to hit me. I would love to see a topo map of insurance premiums based on location in the Cincinnati area. My fiancee got a $200/year break when she moved from her old place our current house.

[kjbrill]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

Not sure if you are addressing my response or the OP. To the worst of my knowledge in virtually every instance that I have heard about someone getting rear ended, the person that hits the car in front of them is at fault. I have been rear ended a dozen times over years, literally a dozen. One time I was at fault because it was alleged that I pulled out onto a 4 lane state highway in Connecticut and someone rear ended me. Claimed I did not yield right of way. Speed limit was 55 but my guess is he had to be doing 70 to 75 in that zone. Witnesses blamed me for pulling out in front of him. If he had been doing the speed limit or close to it he never would have hit me.

That incident you cite in Connecticut is a real bummer but the main reason I am so cautious when merging onto a highway. I may not get anywhere quickly, but I usually get there with my vehicle, and me, in one piece.

I like Chemistry_Guy's statement that when on his motorcycle he acts like every other driver on the road is out to hit him. I consider that sound advice, in my vernacular it is called defensive driving. As part of that, I don't try to anticipate what the other driver is going to do, as too often they do the opposite.

We can all complain about the idiots out there in the road we have to contend with, but we should consider the other driver's view as to their biggest idiot - YOU!

Have a Nice Day!

[5thgencincy]

Thanks everyone for your contributions.

I'd love to know how drivers are in the Chicago suburbs are these days, as that's the benchmark by which I'm judging Cincy.

Granted I moved away from Chicago 10 years ago, but I lived there a long time (15 years), lived downtown and drove out the the burbs quite often.

The big difference between Chicago vs. Cincy was that Chicago didn't have the "personal battle" aspect that Cincy seems to have. Of course everyone drove faster, because they have more ground to cover. It's just a larger and faster system in general. But less personal drama, less passing then slowing down, less cutting you off, and no getting beeped at then flipped off by a 60 yearold lady cuz the paper shred line was longer than she preferred at 8am on a Saturday (Blue Ash). Quite the opposite in Chicago- people actually cooperated to keep things moving as efficiently as possible. Just no room nor desire for the disruptive rogue behavior. Actually more conflict avoidant. Of course it's a larger city, so things are less personal in general.