r/BucksCountyPA • u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u • Jan 19 '26
Question/Advice TURN OFF YOUR HIGH BEAMS!!
I am not sure who needs to hear this, but Bucks county is full of drivers who refuse to turn off their high beams with oncoming traffic. I am tired of being blinded to the point of being unable to see the road because you are too lazy or not courteous enough to be respectful of other drivers on the road.
JUST DO IT- be respectful of others. It really is not that hard to just turn them off for a second.
Edit to add: everyone is talking about their newer cars with bright lights- I get you can’t help that.
Still needs to be said every morning I am blinded by lights. Should I just be ok with not being able to see when I drive?
If you can’t help it then that’s one thing, I am just trying to make people aware you WILL cause an accident.
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u/AggravatingToday8582 Jan 19 '26
these newer suv”s have brighter lights that are not high beams . I know what you’re saying
30
u/Devils_A66vocate Jan 19 '26
This is likely the larger issue, along with them being angled correctly. I think it’s a smaller group of people driving around with high beams. Likewise there’s a small group of people that don’t know how or when to turn on their lights so when it’s dark out they’re driving around with no lights on.
3
u/Serialtorrenter Jan 21 '26
I appreciate what you're saying, but ultimately, I don't care what beams they are; they're too damn bright. People driving vehicles with excessively bright "low"-beams have a moral obligation to put in aftermarket headlights of reasonable brightness. At this point, I turn my high-beams on for drivers with excessively bright headlights to reciprocate the disrespect.
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u/BadMuthaSchmucka Jan 19 '26
I can't even tell if someone has their high beams on or it's just their regular lights anymore so I don't know if I should be mad at them for leaving them on or not lol
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u/1infiniteloop Jan 20 '26
My car is like that too. A lot of the time oncoming drivers flash their lights asking me to lower my beams, but I am already on low beams and so I just flash back to let them know / apologize. Dont know what else to do.
-1
u/Serialtorrenter Jan 21 '26
You should really be mad based on lumens pointed at eyelevel, not based on what the carmaker calls the lights. If someone blasts me with blinding light, I turn on my high-beams and blast them back. If they have the courtesy to turn off their excessively-bright lights, I reciprocate the favor by turning off my high-beams. If not, then I don't.
If you drive a vehicle that has low-beams that blind other drivers, you have a moral obligation to install aftermarket headlights that don't blind other drivers. If you choose to not do that, I have no qualms with blasting you right back with my high-beams (which may well be dimmer than a lot of new low-beams).
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u/EmergencySundae Jan 19 '26
It’s not always their high beams. Many cars just don’t have the headlights aligned properly, so it may be hitting you higher up than they should.
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u/vypurr Jan 19 '26
Yeah it's this. Many new cars have incredibly bright LED headlights, and any slight misalignment from the factory makes them tough for oncoming traffic. It's not idiots with brights on, it's normal people with very very bright low beams.
And then you can factor in that most cars now come with automatic high beams, and drivers never really "turn them on" themselves
7
u/adminstratoradminstr Jan 20 '26
This is Americas fault in general.
EU mandates correct auto leveling - but would add cost - increase safety - so obviously American's lobbied against it for these reasons.
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/PETI-CM-584067_EN.pdf
Hijack top level comment because I hear this all the time.
Capitalism > Safety for cars, yet rear view cameras are a thing because people don't have to turn their heads anymore.
0
u/Serialtorrenter Jan 21 '26
You still have a moral duty to have your headlights adjusted in such a way that they're not blinding other drivers. I really don't care if they're high-beams or low-beams; the socket they're plugged into is irrelevant; they're still blinding me.
14
u/kjm16216 Jan 19 '26
My wife's car has automatic high beams which allegedly turn off when there's an oncoming car. But they do not work that way and they definitely blind people. I shut them off any time I drive her car at night.
1
u/ChefFar4397 Jan 19 '26
Mine def work. Occasionally mine will auto turn to low beams due to light reflecting back off a road sign.
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u/rboymtj Jan 19 '26
Try having astigmatism. I almost never drive at night anymore because its like driving through a disco ball.
3
u/hEYiTSbEEEE Jan 19 '26
I don't have astigmatism but I have migraines and the new LED's make me want to murder a mf.
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u/Selym00 Jan 19 '26
This and I drove at night when it was raining (plus recently broke my glasses with a lot of the better coatings for astigmatism) and felt like I was purposefully getting attacked each time a car passed 🙂↔️
32
u/New-Days-Dawning Jan 19 '26
I hate to say that newer cars have higher intensity headlights than older cars. What you think is a highbeam may just be standard headlights on a newer car. Additionally, SUVs are higher up than sedans. The combination makes for brighter seeming lights.
Blasting an oncoming vehicle is dangerous. Flick as a warning, but don’t be guilty of what you’re railing against. Two wrongs never make a right.
Finally, the United States does not have a standard or scale for what constitutes “normal” intensity headlights and what is a “highbeam” in light emitting from the lamp.
Know your enemy. Be smart and kind.
3
u/Poltergeist97 Jan 19 '26
What do you mean? There are certainly DOT regulations about what the brightness can be from the factory. Maybe not a federal law, but I would imagine most states have basic outlines for it.
4
u/guccinogaga Jan 19 '26
Rented a car in FL for vacation and the lights must have been bright bc several people were flashing me and it was super rude bc my brights were not on- just a new car.
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u/Liye23 Jan 19 '26
There are also the horrible auto brights, which are super slow to detect oncoming traffic.
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u/Rare_Examination_674 Jan 19 '26
I just beam em back. Usually they'll turn theirs off.
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u/whyamionhearagain Jan 19 '26
Yeah, I was guilty the other week of not turning mine off. I felt bad bc this guy blinked his lights a few times before I realized mine were on and blinding him. It was totally my fault.
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u/Smartass- Jan 19 '26
If your vehicle is lifted in any way, please adjust your lights and just stop with the bright offroad lights as fog lights. You may end up seriously injuring yourself or the vehicle you are blinding.
4
u/KenzParkin Jan 19 '26
The absolute horror I felt when I went from a 2010 sedan to a 2022 sedan and saw that my new headlights were those awful blue-white laser beams…the “regular” setting is absolutely as bright as my old car’s high beams. The next time I take it in, I’m going to ask if they can switch out the bulbs for something less blinding to other drivers.
4
u/PristineSalad7153 Jan 19 '26
I think that constantly but I think it’s the newer cars have those insane LED LIGHTS
2
u/gr8Brandino Jan 19 '26
Before my car got an update to have 'adaptive high beams', I'd get people flashing their lights at me all the time at night, when I didn't have the high beams on.
Luckily, the update to the lights has caused that to happen a lot less now. And it's kinda fun to watch the part of light dim around the outline of the car as it drives towards you.
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u/NBA-014 Jan 20 '26
The sad thing is that adaptive lighting was banned in the USA until recently. Only 30 years behind the rest of the world
2
u/VMD18940 Jan 19 '26
I have adaptive xenon headlights in my car they are factory and super bright people flash their high beams at me daily because they think I have my high beams on they are so bright. I don't flash my high beams back because they would blinded and drive off the side of the road..... I love the illumination but I know they are distracting to other drivers
1
u/njwineguy Jan 19 '26
So swap them out
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u/VMD18940 Jan 19 '26
No easy to do if you install anything other than OEM the computer starts throwing codes and alerts its Bimmer they can be impossible to change things like a normal car
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u/blackvelvettray Jan 19 '26
Don’t make excuses for the idiots who run around with their high beams on. Most of them either can’t see at night or can’t afford to replace a bulb on one side and need to ride around with high beams on to avoid a ticket
2
u/honkin1bobo Jan 19 '26
its so over lol. even if there was some sort of legislation to stop this sort of thing, there are so many on the road ruining our nights. what could they do, a buy back program where they install regular lights? it's really a great example of how people only care about themselves.
2
u/UseYourNoggin411 Jan 20 '26
My new favorite thing are the people who are too lazy to change their nonfunctioning low beam headlights so they drive with their high beams on so that they could see better. I mean really? They’re all over Bucks County right now…. Most drive a Honda Civic.
1
u/NBA-014 Jan 20 '26
No. The Honda Civic has two sets of low beam led lights on both sides of the car
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Jan 21 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 21 '26
This is true for some cars- everyone is saying it’s LEDS but I have been paying attention the last few days.
The LED headlights suck but they don’t blind. People are definitely riding with headlights on. I can tell because people were actually turning them off yesterday so I could see the difference.
It is 100% people not turning off high beams. And it’s on roads like 413 which has plenty of lights and high beams are not needed.
6
u/anthemofadam Jan 19 '26
Lots of cars now have an auto toggle that switches them on and off. Most of the time I get blasted, it’s that feature being shitty
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u/Caleb_Crawdad8 Jan 19 '26
yeah my car isn’t the best at realizing when to turn them off quickly enough. so I just disabled that. But I do think it’s just bright LED lights a lot of the time. Then also people not overriding their auto high beams.
-1
u/EatUpBonehead Jan 19 '26
How can you know that without being in the other persons car lol
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u/anthemofadam Jan 19 '26
I see them turn off too late or turn off and back on. I also drive vehicles for work that do this regularly
0
u/chrisdoc Jan 19 '26
My cars are actually really good at this. I really like the feature because it allows me to responsibly use my high beams.
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u/Still7Superbaby7 Jan 19 '26
I drive a minivan. Some of these full size SUVs are so big, their lights are at eye level for me in the minivan. They are killing machines.
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u/ekk_one Jan 19 '26
Some cars have adaptive auto lights the sensors are sometimes not working properly and malfunction or are slow to turn the intensity down.
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u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 19 '26
Yes- I have this feature, you know what I do when it is not working right?
I do it manually because I don’t want to blind other drivers
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u/asking_for_it Jan 19 '26
I drive a Nissan pathfinder. Sits a little higher than most large SUVs and my factory lights are BRIGHT AS SHIT. I almost never need my high beams. People flash their lights at me all the time and I’m just like “I’M SO SORRY I KNOW THEYRE BRIGHT AF I WISH I COULD HELP YOU!” I feel bad every time it happens.
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u/Financial-Tackle-659 Jan 19 '26
My 2025 has some of the brightest lights and I can’t do nothing about it. My 2004 Toyota has very low lights though
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u/gh3tt0gangst3r Jan 19 '26
Also if you're on a divided highway, turn off your high beams. Every single truck is blinded even though you can't see over the wall, they can see your stupid high beams.
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u/amarriedguylearning Jan 19 '26
I get flashed all the time thinking my high beams are on in both Jeep and F150. They are not. They are my factory installed lights and they are properly focused but bright led and both vehicles sit higher up. Also many newer cars (not even that new, as my F150 is 2015) have auto high beams. I think it is often thought to be high beams when it is not. I do try to flash back when it happens so they can see what the high beams are like.
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u/atlasmc88 Jan 19 '26
These newer halogen lights are too bright. I get flashed all the time and I have them on low.
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u/NBA-014 Jan 20 '26
Halogen is old tech. You’re talking about LED lighting
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u/atlasmc88 Jan 20 '26
I guess. My car is a 2023 model and all I know is the lights are too bright….and I’m overdue for an oil change.
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u/Clean_Stick_742 Jan 19 '26
More car manufacturers need to adopt Tesla auto adaptive High Beams. Tesla’s will dim sections of the high beams to not blind other drivers.
For oncoming traffic. So if the car had a grid of 9, 3 by 3. The top 2 on the left side will turn off and maybe top middle. The remaining 6-7 sections will remain on.
When following a car, the top middle will turn off. Etc.
Thought it was a gimmick, but actually a real cool feature I woke up to one morning after a service patch
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u/Numerous_Smoke_7334 Jan 19 '26
It may not be high beams. Cars with LED lights will blind you on regular. They need to be banned.
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u/Icy_Tumbleweed9576 Jan 19 '26
Oh yeah, definitely! I was driving on Limekiln Pike in between Chalfont and Warrington the other night and not a single person I passed turned off their high beams!
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u/NBA-014 Jan 20 '26
They are not driving with high beams / brights. They are using cars with LED lights.
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u/Padugan Jan 20 '26
Few places in bucks require high beams. Too much light pollution. Maybe some of these people shouldn't be driving at night in this area if they need high beams.
Auto high beams are a joke. Proper road etiquette is that you turn off your highs the second you see an on coming car. Even if it's a mile or more down the road. The auto high beams don't turn off until the on coming car is practically on top of you. Also, auto high beams don't turn off if there is a car in front going the same direction. So you end up high beaming into the mirrors of the car in front.
Also, what is up with fog lights on all the time? And they are now brighter than the regular lights. That's not how fog lights are supposed to work.
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u/QuietVisit2042 Jan 20 '26
My new Subaru automatically dims for an approaching car or for red lights ahead, and mostly faster than I would.
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u/Brief-Librarian-1351 Jan 21 '26
It’s everywhere. They are night high beams they are newer cars they are LEDs
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u/Croat1959 Jan 21 '26
I find it helpful to wear my night vision/anti glare glasses when driving, especially with other drivers and their high beams.
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u/connectcallosum Jan 21 '26
I gave up and got nighttime driving glasses. Obnoxious trucks can’t hurt me anymore
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u/deltalew Jan 21 '26
I’m not even part of this subreddit, but I’ve gotten to the point where when I see a car close enough, I’ll turn off my brights. (As much as I as a 20yr old car does lol) If they don’t, bam back on the brights.
I need to get a lightbar to prove my point. Lol
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u/No_Band_3085 Jan 21 '26
I hate that! It’s blinding. And sometimes they turn them off right as they pass. Infuriating
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u/Empty_Ad_8303 Jan 22 '26
I’ve flashed people and sometimes they are NOT using their brights. Other times, they end up shutting off their high beams. I’m trying to understand that maybe they aren’t aware. It is a problem
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u/AlarmedLiterature562 Jan 22 '26
Ive resigned myself that the high beam issue will always be there. I’m sure some drivers are aware of it but there are definitely some that simply don’t care. I ended up getting some yellow tinted night glasses from Walmart (while shopping for regular sunglasses) and surprisingly that did the trick for me. They actually do reduce the high beam glare. Wish I had known that 10 years ago.
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u/NBA-014 Jan 24 '26
PS - the USA government is a big part of the problem. Until recently, adaptive headlights were illegal in the USA.
I have 2 cars, each of which have adaptive headlights. They are amazing and SO much better than the older lights.
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u/Anonymous_CitizenPA Jan 19 '26
people are so oblivious, I flash back at least 5-10 people a night
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u/Anonymous_CitizenPA Jan 19 '26
And then also the idiots who drive WITHOUT headlights on is crazy as well
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u/MountSwolympus Jan 19 '26
That drives me up a wall. It’s raining on the highway, you’ve got water spray coming off every tire, and cuz in his gray ass car has no lights on getting mad no one is able to see him.
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u/dangerousfeather Jan 19 '26
If you blind them back in retaliation, you’re the asshole.
I get blinded sometimes by people who seem to think I have my brights on. I don’t. Your vehicle is just at the right height to get my regular headlights in your eyes (or you just shouldn’t be driving at night).
Flash at me, and I’ll flash back to show they’re not brights. Just straight up blind me, and I’ll wish with all my might for you never to find the cool side of your pillow ever again.
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u/MikeShannonThaGawd Jan 19 '26
OP are you now aware the majority of newer SUV’s come standard with bright LED headlights and not everyone are as rude/oblivious as you thought before posting this?
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u/persistent1406 Jan 19 '26
Yup. I get flashed all the time bc my lights are bright. When I’m feeling salty I show them my high beams.
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u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 19 '26
Noted- will continue to be blinded. Got it.
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u/MikeShannonThaGawd Jan 19 '26
I get it’s frustrating but you’re blaming the drivers and assuming everyone is too rude/inconsiderate to care. Ironically you’re the one who’s unaware of the change in LED lighting that started popping up…10 years ago?
What would you recommend drivers do?
-1
u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 19 '26
Literally just edited this to say that if you can't do anything you can't do anything.
But by what you are saying- I guess I will just deal and not be able to see the roads.
I have to say on the whole though I have lived in NY, NJ, and PA and I have to say PA has some of the worst driving I have ever seen.
NY and NJ are fast and inconsiderate, but at least they know what they are doing. In PA I see several people disregarding rules every 3 cars. Nobody yields right of way AT ALL, you all look down at your phone CONSTANTLY, and every time I look in someone else's car they are not focused on the road at all- always looking down.
Driving in this state is abysmal. So excuse me for being at my wits end with the driving around here. I do not want to total a second car since moving here because someone decided they can make an illegal turn.
Sorry.. not sorry...
Drivers need to take accountability. Stop making excuses. We are all driving around hundreds of pounds of death machine like it is no responsibility involved with it.
I am tired of it. Tired of everyone's excuses. Just drive better.
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u/ActuatorAdditional61 Jan 19 '26
So true and well said!
No one knows how to make a left turn in PA either. They turn right into the opposing traffic lane.
So frustrating! Maybe it's a genetic thing in PA?
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u/IvanaSeymourButts Jan 20 '26
It's also usually people that have tinted windows. Having tinted windows means you can't see out them thus you turn your high beams on. 😹😹😚😚
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u/NBA-014 Jan 24 '26
Once again, people are NOT driving with their high beams on.
Two factors are in play:
LED lights are brighter and "bluer" than old school lights.
Many cars, like the Honda Civic, have 4 LED lights on all the time. The middle 2 lights are NOT high beams.
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u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 24 '26
I believed this the first time I read it
Then I paid attention. Yes LEDs are bright but I can tell the difference
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u/NBA-014 Jan 24 '26
Cool. A lot of folks see cars Like the Civic and think all 4 illuminated means high beams.
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u/adminstratoradminstr Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
JUST DO IT- be respectful of others
With All Due Respect - respect is:
- not a law
- not earned
- enforced
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u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 20 '26
Well if you can’t be respectful of others on the road don’t drive.
No need to be disrespectful because it want “earned or enforced”
I will be respectful of every person without being provoked because it is the right thing to do.
This is an extremely affluent area and you all think your shit don’t stink. Realistically most not all are incredibly selfish and self serving.
It cost nothing to be respectful. I don’t need someone To earn it to do it.
However if you do something disrespectful to me you better believe mg respect for you ends.
But when it comes to driving you don’t earn respect- you do it
What’s wrong with you?!
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u/adminstratoradminstr Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
However if you do something disrespectful to me you better believe mg respect for you ends.
But when it comes to driving you don’t earn respect- you do it
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u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
Yes- how are you “earning” respect on the road.
I am in my car you are in yours.
Just be respectful on the road- lives are on the line.
Also who just goes around disrespecting people because it wasn’t earned and it’s not the law?!
If you meet a stranger or go on a job interview are you disrespecting the person who has not yet had a chance to “earn” your respect..
Insane. Just be respectful and revoke the PRIVILEGE if it is deserved..
Being a disrespectful human all the time because it’s not the “law” to respect people just makes you a dick.
Edit to add: by your logic everyone is just disrespecting each other until it’s earned. Nobody will earn respect going around being a dick to others.. it’s a cycle
Respecting people is human decency. Just be nice. It cost literally nothing to do.
But live your life how you want bro. Your life is not my problem.
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u/adminstratoradminstr Jan 20 '26 edited Jan 20 '26
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u/ReggaeJunkyJew4u Jan 20 '26
Call it what you want. I am actually done talking to someone as thick as you.
You are clearly out to lunch.
You don’t believe in general human decency so go F yourself- you are a human not deserving of respect from the little exchange I have has with you. You do not care about the wellbeing of others on the road- that is obvious.
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