Dealing with aggressive drivers as traffic congestion returns to pre-pandemic levels
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Have you noticed traffic on the roadways starting to return near pre-pandemic levels? While drivers may be returning to the roads, manners for drivers seem to be lagging behind.
Everybody is in a hurry and you absolutely have a lot more company on the roadways.
According to PennDOT, the Parkway East at Rodi Road is seeing 92% of the level of traffic it saw pre-pandemic, and the Parkway North at Camp Horne Road is at 96%.
While there was lot of downside from pandemic-related lockdowns, dealing with traffic was a rare bright spot.
Greensburg Police Chief Shawn Denning says more drivers are back on the road and slowing traffic down.
"There's more cars on the road. There's more people on the road, it appears that people are slowly adjusting," Chief Denning said.
Jim Clair, the operator of Ultimate Defensive Driving says he sees it on the road everyday.
"When the pandemic was going on. It was not as many drivers on the road. So people were speeding more and and carried over to now," Clair said.
Chief Denning says many people became accustomed to having more of an open road to themselves, but now they need to share the road with everyone else as things have gotten back to normal.
The increased level of traffic is leading to a new wave of aggressive driving and crashes.
"We're seeing the in and out of traffic we're seeing the speeds are way up," Clair said.
Clair says it's important to remember you're driving a vehicle that can weigh anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 pounds that can hurt you or someone else very quickly.
"People need to be just a little bit more cautious. And a little bit more patience. Now that there's everything's back open, and there's more people on the road and everybody has somewhere to go, not just you," Chief Denning said.
There is no way to stereotype the aggressive drivers, except that there are more of them on the road.
They come in every age, gender, and every type of vehicle. The best thing one can do is to learn to recognize them and then stay clear of them.
While speeding can be worse on interstates and parkways, the aggressive changing of lanes and weaving through traffic tends to be worse on state routes like Rt. 19, Rt. 51, Rt. 65, Rt. 22, Rt. 30, and Rt. 28.
Those roadways are places you can exercise more caution and awareness.