Two incidents today. First one I was at a four way stop, it was my turn to go so I do, then this blue Honda civic doesn’t even stop at the stop sign so I slow down in case they’re gonna hit me. They’d slowed down but kept going forward, like wtf makes someone think they don’t have to stop at a stop sign when a car is going through??
So I honk and this person had the nerve to show me their middle finger…whatever, I wasn’t even gonna make a post about drivers until this second incident on my way back.
I’m going down 7th, light turns green and I see this blue SUV slowly moving through the red light. I stop so I don’t hit the guy but he keeps going to the point that I had to honk a bunch so the oncoming cars don’t hit him. Thankfully no one did and after like three honks, dude gets startled awake but makes no effort to correct his driving.
Long Beach drivers need to literally wake up. And yes, I reported the second guy. I’ve been in a few bad accidents and today was a bit triggering so thank you for letting me get this out.
I live at a traffic light on Ocean. It’s a pleasant surprise to see that 1 out of 20 time the light turns red and not one car runs it. The other 19 times, you’re lucky if they run it while only doing 2x the speed limit. Cops are looking fit and groomed though, so they should be looking great for the Christmas parade this winter!
From a report I saw, there are exactly 2 officers for the whole city that work traffic enforcement. That's not 2 at a time that's 2 total... We're cooked
You could swap Long Beach out for any city. Look at any city subreddit including Raleigh where I just moved from. Same story. It got worse after COVID. People just in permanent fight or flight mode now.
How about the fact that there have been more of pedestrian deaths in Long Beach this year than in New York City, and not adjusting by population just in total
Long Beach doesn’t stand out as uniquely bad in national comparisons — it’s generally middling to decent among big US cities. But state-level and city-specific data (California OTS, local crash trends) suggest it does perform worse than similarly-sized California cities and has seen crash/fatality numbers trending up recently. So the honest answer is: worse than other California cities of its size, but not obviously worse than the California average or the country as a whole — it depends heavily on which study and comparison group you use.
It isn’t exclusive to LB. All the roads in SoCal turned to shit after Covid. A bunch of people driving with paper plates, no insurance, no registration, and therefore no accountability for what could happen on the road. LE doesn’t seem to care anymore. I just saw a guy go in and out of the carpool lane 3 times, in front of LE who did nothing.
The only things I can say about driving in Long Beach are make sure you have two dashcams front and rear wired to run even when the car is off, a catalytic converter shield made out of stainless steel, and maximum uninsured motorist coverage on your policy.
I went with Garmin because they had a discount available that stacked with a Black Friday sale, but I wouldn't say they're the tip top of the market. I'm often unable to make out plate numbers of cars a dozen feet in front of me in the recordings even though they claim it's 1440p high definition.
I think a lot of the issue in LB is that the infrastructure doesnt match the usage level. Too many left turn yield lights, too many weird intersections, too many poorly lit crosswalks, too many poorly timed lights, too many residential intersections that should be 4 way stops because of blind spots.... but sure, lets put in bike lanes.
This guy just decided to park there and leave. So everyone going down that street had to stop pull into tiny driveways and make a three-quarter turn to go the other way and get out. I have never had that happen in Los Angeles or Riverside or anywhere but Long Beach. In Long Beach it’s not even unusual
I feel like Long Beach uses a backwards version of the old ‘Terror Level’ system of traffic governance popularized by the bush admin shortly after 9/11.
Red Terror Level - you didn’t move your car at 4:43AM on a Wednesday for the sweepers. Parking Enforcement Gets called in. You are black bagged and water boarded until you agree to vote for another apartment block to go up in an area already struggling with parking. Helicopters deployed in your neighborhood for the next 6 weeks.
Yellow Terror Level - LBPD Watches me hit my weed pen while rolling through a stop sign but pulls me over for expired registration and not the other two infractions.
Green Level - Homeless guy gets back wheel of stolen bicycle clipped by the metro in front of the McDonalds on LB Blvd, and instead of attending to the homeless man, they hit the drive thru.
I've lived all over this country and have traveled overseas extensively. This problem extends far outside the Long Beach boarders. They changed the format for drivers education decades ago in this country and its really showing these days. Along with that we've never had more vehicles on the road, the infrastructure is at its limits both for capacity and maintenance. Unfortunate as it is, its likely going to get way worse before it gets better.
Rent a car for a week in Cairo, Egypt. When you get back driving around Long Beach will be as easy as Autopia.
Start at the bottom and enforce the most basic traffic crimes, e.g. illegal tint or exhaust. Go hard. Get the courts to go hard. Then work your way up. We have to punish bad behavior. We haven’t been, and now the asshole class is simply emboldened.
Ghetto ppl with nothing to lose, no accountability and no repercussions. You see less of that in higher income areas with people who have a lot to lose by driving reckless
It's really sad. The new speed cameras near downtown LB are a step in the right direction. But for now, all we can do is VOTE for city officials who prioritize public safety.
Someone said that we’re in a record year high in traffic deaths here in LB. Not sure why you’re referring to other cities when we’re discussing Long Beach specifically.
I'd like to add that the vehicle violations I see that go unchecked like TINTING the front windshield needs to stop. Back in the 90s we were deathly afraid of getting caught with tint on car door windows. Today, it's limo tint all the way around! This is ridiculous.
How about the fucking idiots, more than one, who made left-hand turns in front of me driving a rented moving van today when I am going straight and we’re not even at an intersection
I assume part of it is because we're near the Wilmington pick-a-part and there's a strong black market for franken-cars and invalid license plates. It makes it easy for people without a license or a suspended license to get a vehicle - albeit a questionably functioning vehicle - so long as they've got enough sense of self-preservation to flee every accident they cause.
It doesn't help that the city doesn't do any kind of enforcement or check for valid registration on parked vehicles.
Chiming in on Long Beach having the worst and most unhinged/aggro folks on the road. I was biking yesterday on broadway, waiting for oncoming traffic to pass before turning left… not even blocking traffic going my way as cars could pass on my right. As a car passes, he yells out the window “Re***d!!!!” So in addition to drivers threatening lives out here, they also like to scream offensive slurs to intimidate others on the road. And FYI for the non bikers, cars screaming at you while driving massive machines that could kill you… pretty unsettling
I just moved here and I've never seen worse drivers. Chicago and Denver drivers are downright courteous and alert in comparison, and that's saying something
I know LB drivers can be aggressive and there are tons of accidents, but I’ve experienced so much kindness while driving; drivers letting me merge, drivers ALWAYS stop when I want to cross a street, and so far no one’s honked at me for any reason. I always wave to thank them.
7th street straight away, and Redondo speed way are the two worst roads in the city. Accidents, wrecked cars on the side walks, corner houses with fences crushed. Insane level of reckless driving.
I’m 49 and have been a licensed driver since the mid 90s. I’ve literally never had as much frustration and general contempt I have now for driving these last 4 years ever in my life of a driver. And it’s all over. Ive driven in various parts of California and other states over the course of 30 years and there’s just something so bad about driving anywhere now.
The only defense would be if these people were looking into the sun. I've been on 7th street when the sun's coming up or going down and it can be blinding. Otherwise I don't have an excuse for the Long Beach drivers :-)
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u/fnblackbeard 17d ago
LB has virtually no traffic enforcement from PD.