Are car drivers getting noticably worse these days?

People have complained about Massachusetts drivers in years past, but in my experience they tended to be pretty normal until recently.

But within the past, maybe 2-3 months I've seen a spate of folks making increasingly risky and reckless maneuvers at traffic lights, impatiently honking, and riding my rear bumper, etc.

Not sure if it's my imagination that this is more frequent than previously, or what the cause could be.
#CarTraffic

Since 2022 people from #Freiburg are regularly demonstrating against #cartraffic in the Rempartstraße and request that the street becomes #carfree. The street lies in the middle of the central #university campus connecting several institutes, libraries and the central canteen.

Large #crowds of people move through the street by foot or by #bicycle, especially during lunch time. Unfortunately the Rempartstraße also provides access to two parking garages so there is a lot of car traffic and a high #safety risk for #pedestrians.

During a #traffic experiment in 2022 the situation improved, despite the fact that car access was only limited in one direction and many cars disregarded the rules. However due to increasing #congestion at the #parking garages the experiment was cancelled early and ever since car traffic is back to normal.

Making the Rempartstraße completely car free is an important step for Freiburg in becoming a more #sustainable, safer and more livable #city. Rather than seeing the parking garages as a prohibiting factor for the pedestrian friendly #development the protestors suggest a conversion into #bikeparking, #apartments or #publicameneties. Poeple, not cars should have priority here!

#urbanism #trafficengineering @vcdsuedbaden @VCDeV @ADFC

NASA Maps Reveal #Toxic #Emissions Over Major #US Cities

by Adam Kovac, August 24, 2023

"NASA’s new space-based air pollution monitoring system has sent back its first maps, showing #CarTraffic brings down air quality in several #MajorCities.

"The six maps were made from data from the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (#TEMPO), which launched in April. In scans taken over a six-hour period on August 2, high concentrations of #NitrogenDioxide, a toxic #pollutant tied to car and #smokestack emissions, can be seen hovering over #NewYork, #LosAngeles, #LasVegas and #WashingtonDC.

"While the location of #AirPollution shown in the maps isn’t surprising, the data is only the tip of the iceberg for TEMPO, the first space-based instrument designed to continuously monitor air quality over #NorthAmerica. TEMPO principal investigator Kelly Chance said there are currently 50 scientific studies under way that will make use of data generated by the program. The program will truly get underway in October when the instrument will begin transmitting hourly daytime scans."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/nasa-maps-reveal-toxic-emissions-over-major-us-cities/ar-AA1fJw0N?rc=1&ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=f894eb50594546ae9f00a7401608cf2c&ei=5

#Pollution #ToxicEmissions

"..now, the country’s climate-friendliest mode of transportation besides walking is at risk, as national lawmakers slash the budget for bike lanes – and Filipino #cyclists are organizing to ensure that the silver lining in the #pandemic leads to lasting improvements in #BicycleInfrastructure." #Philippines

Can #MetroManila’s #CyclingBoom survive a return to #CarTraffic?
https://www.rappler.com/environment/can-metro-manila-cycling-boom-survive-return-car-traffic/