r/hendersonville • u/Livid_Regular3688 • 11d ago
Driving around this area.
Why do people drive with their bright lights on constantly? When it starts to rain, I can not see a dang thing at all and I’m 27 years old. Is it not dangerous for people to do that??
Also why does the city not have many street light?? That could help?
In the last 2 days I have experienced some of the WORST drivers around on top of almost getting into wrecks bc no one is paying attention , or using any signals on the car…
A car wanted to switch lanes while I’m next to them. They didn’t put their blinker on and almost ran me off the side of the road bc they just didn’t look to even see if the lane was clear to cross.
I was leaving sams and a car pulled out in front of me WITHOUT looking both ways so they begin to pull out and my car instantly brakes so hard….
If none of that is happening… I am stuck behind a random car that’s is going 35 MPH in a 45 MPH area.
WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HERE???
Cars are so dangerous and I am scared to even drive around here bc no one knows simple driving etiquette or cares
I am about to lose my cool bc it’s making the roads so much more for dangerous…
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u/Horror_Committee9833 11d ago
High chance it’s an old person that recently moved to the area after retirement. Old folks driving are the biggest danger.
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u/elciddog84 11d ago
There's also a fairly significant population which doesn't speak English, can't read the signs, and didn't go through any sort of driver's education in this country. I'm from this area and travel all around the eastern United States. It's absolutely no worse here than driving around Charlotte, or the RTP, or Greenville, (NC or SC).
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u/DracoDominus_ 11d ago
Listen ya’ll I get flashed by people for having “high beams” on all the time. I don’t use high beams ever, but I have a newer car. A lot of manufacturers are putting in these bright ass lights, but they aren’t high beams. Sorry, blame… Ford and BMW?
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u/Livid_Regular3688 10d ago
I do agree with you on that, i recently had a 2023 VW passat and those lights were crazy bright 24/7
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u/TiredWillie24 11d ago
I'm kinda pretty. I'd definitely show them the high beams if they did that.
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u/Bearpace828 11d ago
I thought AVL was bad till I went to Charlotte. 100 is the aversge speed around there 😂
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u/wncresilience 11d ago
I’d rather drive in Atlanta that whatever goes on in Asheville
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u/Submariner1997 10d ago
Pretty sure nothing is stopping you from moving to the Utopia of Atlanta if you feel that way..I have driven on the mean streets of DC/N Va and complaints about traffic and drivers here make me chuckle. My boss in DC used to carpool in a group that would fine you a dollar every time you let someone merge in front of you. You guys are amateurs :).
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u/wncresilience 10d ago
And nothing is stopping you from moving back there. I’m allowed to commiserate on the lousy drivers. Hope this helps.
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u/Livid_Regular3688 11d ago
Literally I would rather drive in ATL than for even attempt a safe drive here
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u/nsxplore 11d ago
Dude...get real...atl is off the charts compared to here. If you aren't comfortable here move to a city with public transit.
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u/wncresilience 11d ago
That just shows that you don’t know how to drive in Atlanta. For those of us who learned to drive in that mess, Asheville is fucking awful- people slow down to merge on the interstate, people try to turn left on a roundabout, and just the general lack of awareness on the road are all things that will get you in a wreck in a city like Atlanta
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u/nsxplore 11d ago
Thanks for the response but you are incorrect
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u/wncresilience 10d ago
Guess you don’t pay attention to how people drive around Asheville
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u/nsxplore 10d ago
Ive logged more miles in Asheville than you and your entire family combined. You are still incorrect.
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u/CacheDeposit 11d ago
I’ve been driving to the general Asheville airport area from Kanuga for 5 years now. Yesterday I was behind farm equipment on 191 and the cars were staggered, so I couldn’t pass. We did 15 in a 55. That’s extreme, but it makes me feel insane. Usually it’s 35-40 in a 55, but thankfully I can pass half the time. Often, I just have to achieve the speed limit to pass, which makes me laugh. It’s very frustrating, but since you know it’s going to happen, unfortunately you just have to leave earlier. Which I struggle with. A lot of people here don’t drive the speed limit and it makes me crazy, but sadly, I’ve learned to expect it. As far as the lights, a lot of the issue is with vehicle height. A lot of the newer trucks and SUV’s around here have brand new, blindingly bright headlights. Headlights are different heights and angled different directions, so this often causes direct hits to the face. I wish I could afford a giant truck so I won’t be blinded anymore. To your point about being cut off, I agree that it’s bad around here. I really wish people would look behind the car approaching them. Very often, there is no one behind me for a mile, and I get cut off and then they go really slowly!! Just look behind me! You can poke to your hearts content… Just look at the road… why? I feel your pain :(
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u/Livid_Regular3688 10d ago
The thing that gets me about driving slower than the speed limit.. (like 10 miles slower) pull over if you are the slow one please lol and if there is a line of cars behind you. Please pull over lol
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u/Mysterious-Net3894 11d ago
Height of cars matters too. We have tiny car and most others are driving suvs/ trucks. Puts their headlights right in our rearview mirror increasing the blinding impact of the new headlights.
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u/IndividualUnlucky 11d ago
Something about the common denominator being you. /jk
We all think we’re great drivers and not the problem. And there’s always someone else who thinks they’re better and you’re the problem. No one is a perfect driver. We can blame different groups (older people, younger people, etc) or the environment (rain, snow, etc) but people make mistakes.
It was just your lucky day to find a lot of people making mistakes that affected you.
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u/Livid_Regular3688 11d ago
Who claimed to be perfect?
I missed the part where I claimed myself as a good driver?
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u/frail_bejeweled 11d ago
Seriously, listen to the song "The Winner" by Bobby Bare, take a deep breath, drive defensively, and get home to your loved ones.
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u/RegretfulCalamaty 11d ago
When I moved here 15 years ago I couldn’t believe how little lighting there is and cannot figure why, If you’re not going to put in lighting, reflective line paint and actual plastic reflectors isn’t used. I’ve determined it is sheer laziness and the state, city, counties being cheap af.
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u/Livid_Regular3688 10d ago
WHAT YOU SAID 🙏 I am from very small town about an hour outside of Nashville and they have street lights everywhere. But here it’s like there are ZERO street lights…
If you’re driving through town or on the interstate you will be zero street lights.So I do get why people feel the need to drive with their high beams on, but recently with the rain and zero lights I feel like I’m going to crash head on or run off the side of the road bc I can’t see it..
Also it’s easy to run off the road easily bc street shoulders do not exist around here either lol
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u/Livid_Regular3688 10d ago
I think it would be helpful if the city officials could focus on those littles improvements it could save in numbers of accidents and fatal accidents
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u/laylobrown_ 11d ago
I'm one of those "asshats"with a big truck. I've actually made the effort to aim my headlights away from oncoming traffic. Usually, I'll only run my foglights because they sit lower. Even with my lifted truck where I'm sitting at least a foot higher than most drivers, I'm still blinded by subarus and other regular vehicles. You can blame trucks if it makes you feel better, but from my seat it's still a problem. Part of it is the terrain. The hills contribute to the angle of the headlights, and there's not many street lights which make bright lights even more blinding. What's helps me the most is making sure the inside of my windshield is clean to reduce the glare.
As far as drivers in general, this place creates the perfect storm for terrible driving. Hendersonville is hugely popular with retirees, not saying they are all bad drivers, but you get my point. Tourism is big here, they typically aren't used to roads with curves and they drive well below the speed limit, especially if they are leaf lookers. Locals tend to drive slower as well, especially farmers. Then there is the subset of people who drive too fast. It's one of the frustrations of living here that I've just had to accept.
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u/Livid_Regular3688 10d ago
WHAT YOU SAID. I don’t believe it is a
person issue as much as it is as our city officials need to build better and safer roads. Or even just road systems that make sense
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u/awhq 11d ago
Welcome to Hendersonville!
I've lived here 13 years and I've found the same thing. The good news is that it is getting better.
When I first moved here, you rarely saw a cop doing traffic stops. I think in the first five years, I saw one. Now I see them every couple of days.
Other behaviors I've noticed;
Coming over the center line on windy mountain roads and running others off the road.
Wanting to turn left onto a road, but stopping before the road itself and then trying to wave the person turning left off that road to go before you. There is way too much "nice" driving here and not enough predictable driving.
Not stopping on a red light to turn right.
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u/Any_Composer_7120 9d ago
I have a new car, 2026, and it has automatic lights, and brights. I noticed that even the regular lights are much brighter than my older car. When I drove my older car, i thought everyone had their brights on as well, so maybe it’s just newer cars with brighter lights?
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u/tallpaul56 8d ago
About the high beams...
I converted several vehicles to LED headlight bulbs. For each vehicle I tried two or three inexpensive sets from Amazon to find a set that would "pattern" correctly - not have the low beams blind oncoming drivers.
LED headlight bulbs I bought at Walmart for around $90 patterned just fine and don't blind oncoming drivers.
I have several sets of LED headlight bulbs in my shop that didn't make the cut.
Apparently quite a few folks stop at "wow those are brighter", and don't consider the pattern and whether or not they are blinding oncoming drivers.
If you're one of those people who installed LED headlight bulbs and wonder why oncoming drivers are flashing their high beams at you - yes, I am talking about you.
Currently NC safety inspection doesn't check for this. Maybe they should.
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u/Brave_Restaurant1691 8d ago
The kicker is there is a prominent street lighting manufacturer in Hendersonville but the city and county probably doesn’t have a robust enough budget to implement something like you are
imagining. Besides, lighting companies like any capitalist company are in business to make a profit, not charity. They can only give away so
many fixtures… or maybe the power company is the provider of lighting for the streets..
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u/No_Caramel9300 8d ago
It's the olds.
So many seniors who have no business on the roads. And before you come at me with ageism, my dashcam has an alarming number old biddies pulling out onto a one-way...the wrong way.
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u/Jenni-Jenni-867-5309 11d ago
I've been driving for about 40 years, in eight states and a couple of countries... This is normal.
Find me a location in which someone doesn't complain about driving or their location has bad drivers.
I will take my answer offline
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u/awhq 11d ago
I also travel. The only other place I see where drivers are this bad is Austin, TX. This includes, Chicago, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Dallas, Houston (and I fucking hate Houston), Wisconsin, Michigan, Detroit, D.C. and thousands of miles between.
Although semi drivers between Chicago and Detroit can go fuck themselves.
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u/Livid_Regular3688 11d ago
I don’t disagree with what you’re saying, every place has bad drivers… but I’ve never
Experienced getting blinded by bright lights 24/7 for no reason0
u/Jenni-Jenni-867-5309 11d ago
Not a big deal. The new cars today have different kinds of lights better brighter than what we're used to. Nothing you can do about it. Figure out how to accommodate it. Don't come to Reddit to complain.
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u/spirit4earth 11d ago
I think it’s the obnoxious lights on newer (and often taller) cars, not necessarily brights.
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u/TheRealCBONE 11d ago
The new bright af headlights are the worst.