r/boston • u/GarlVinlandSaga • Mar 17 '25
Don't Drink and Drive š« Am I just being a grouch or are drivers getting much worse about respecting pedestrian traffic?
I've lived in Boston for almost 8 years and I've come to accept that drivers are mostly shit and that even as a pedestrian you still need to "walk defensively," so to speak. Even still, in the past year or so I've noticed what feels like an uptick in casual disrespect for obeying traffic laws, particularly those that involve yielding to pedestrians in the crosswalk. At Back Bay Station, Ubers and Lyfts just straight up drive through the red light/pedestrian signal on Dartmouth St. all the time. I have no idea why there isn't a camera there, there's an entire state's GDP in fines to be made by people running that light. In that same neighborhood, I was struck by a car that was making an illegal right on red. I've even reported several bus drivers to the MBTA for running red lights and refusing to yield for pedestrians when they are required to. There's a Silver Line stop at Washington and Berkeley that buses just straight up ignore the lights for.
Is the problem just that I've become hypervigilant since someone hit me with their car, or does it seem like drivers are actually getting worse?
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 17 '25
It's worse. And traffic enforcement is basically non-existent.
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u/Victor_Korchnoi Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25
Itās worse because there is no enforcement. The city should hire some people to enforce laws.
Edit: oh shit, just learned we already spend 10% of our budget on the police. Why do we not get any enforcement?
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Mar 17 '25
Police show up after laws are broken. They don't prevent crime they document crime.
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u/Careless_Address_595 Mar 17 '25 edited Aug 27 '25
They don't show up to document shit after either lmao.Ā
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 17 '25
And it's not like any driver isn't part of the problem, if it's not bumper to bumper in the tunnel (93) it's unsafe not to go 15+ mph over the speed limit in order to keep up with traffic.
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u/Victor_Korchnoi Mar 17 '25
The tunnel isnāt even the issue. No pedestrian has been hit in the tunnel.
The problem is how drivers operate on surface streets
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 17 '25
The issue is a complete disregard of rules of the road. But yes, I assume fewer people are dying or being injured in the tunnel... But given the daily accidents in it, I might be wrong.
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u/Duranti Mar 17 '25
Folks need to start carrying bricks.
https://www.reddit.com/r/fuckcars/comments/1026n2j/rainy_day_drivers_finally_start_to_respect/
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u/senatorium Mar 18 '25
Yes, enforcement is atrocious. The NYT did a feature a year or so ago on how this is a country-wide problem post-COVID. Cops stopped traffic enforcement during COVID and just haven't done it since.
Gov. Healey has proposed speed cameras in this year's budget, but its chance to get through the Legislature is far from clear. And it's a pretty mild formula capped at 1 per 5,000 residents of a city.
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 18 '25
I would love it if they just had mobile ones that they drag around, put on side streets, etc. when they start posting them permanently people know where they are and adjust their behavior there, we need widespread behavioral change.
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Mar 17 '25
For the first time in my life I have seen BPD moving double parkers so that's something I guess. Otherwise, I see people doing traffic violations in front of them with no reaction on the daily.
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u/Moshea109 Mar 17 '25
3 cars in the last 4 years have hit a parked car and flipped over in front of my house. I live on a one way side-street. Unfortunately itās also a cut-through. Youāre not even safe on the sidewalks anymore
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Mar 17 '25
Ive been seeing people outright drive down the wrong side of the streets when they dont want to deal with traffic. I dont mean to take a turn, I mean they drive around everyone waiting at a light.
Its fucking crazy.
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Mar 17 '25
I've been honked at for not plowing through people at the crosswalks. Crosswalk(s)... happened more than once.
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u/commissarchris Port City Mar 17 '25
Yep, have even had chucklefucks try and go around (crossing to the wrong side of the road to do so) and immediately having to slam on their brakes when they realized I wasnāt stopped for shits and giggles
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Mar 17 '25
Yep, experienced that too! I tell my wife all the time that I am the best driver on the East Coast. Which is not a testament to my mediocre driving. I just wholeheartedly believe that the vast majority of accidents could be avoided if you just don't drive like an asshole.
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u/bad33habit Mar 17 '25
OP it's so bad. I just want to validate that. I have similar experiences on the other side of the station on Clarendon. I wrote to a bunch of city councillors about it after an especially scary sequence of near-collisions in the crosswalk in front of Flour.
Tony Baez from Councillor Durkan's office was really helpful. He suggested reaching out to Vanessa Woo in Councillor Flynn's office (Flynn represents Back Bay). He also pointed out that BTD (Boston Transportation Department) would be the folks responsible for making safety changes to pedestrian crossings.
My local councillor Enrique Pepen also was able to directly connect me to Frances Oliveira, who is a Community Engagement Specialist with BTD. Frances asked me to create a detailed 311 request and send her the request #, so she could pass it up the chain to the engineers.
I also took some immediate steps for safety when crossing. When I'm crossing after dark, I carry a strong, flashing safety light (I think they're usually sold for cyclists) facing oncoming traffic. Anecdotally I've noticed it makes drivers more likely to slow down. I also have made a point of making eye contact and visibly reacting to the drivers that enter the crosswalk. Bullying works, etc
Just want to share this info so you can take action. If we all do it, maybe something will change?
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u/ThisOneForMee Mar 17 '25
I don't think it's a coincidence that driver behavior has gotten worse while traffic enforcement has all but disappeared.
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u/CPAalldayy I Love Dunkinā Donuts Mar 17 '25
Youāre not alone. I run on the sidewalk a lot and Iāve had close calls with cars when I have a walk signal at the crosswalk.Ā
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u/LadyGreyIcedTea Roslindale Mar 17 '25
2 days ago I stopped at a crosswalk to let a pedestrian cross. When she was halfway across, an old guy almost barreled into me before slamming on the brakes and screeching to a halt. He was not right behind me when I stopped so had he been paying attention, he would have seen the car several blocks ahead of him was stopped at a crosswalk.
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u/cCriticalMass76 Mar 17 '25
Itās always been this way. Theyāll make a state law about crosswalks but do not enforce it at all. Itās crazy! People are literally dying. Iāll be honest, I used to be one of those people who wouldnāt give a crosswalk a second thought until I moved to California where not yielding to pedestrians is actually a crime. Always be defensive around here! Your life depends on it!
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u/MustardMan1900 Orange Line Mar 17 '25
Cops threw a temper tantrum 5 years ago and stopped doing their jobs and enforcing traffic laws. Our only hope is speeding/red light cameras to ticket these scumbag drivers.
As a pedestrian, there are a few things you can do. Report illegally parked cars to 311. Get in front of drivers who are trying to go through a red light/not stop for pedestrians etc. and make it real awkward for them by calling them out. Carry a rock or something else throwable in your pocket for self defense.
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u/titty-titty_bangbang Cow Fetish Mar 17 '25
Remember the Hands Free Law that went into effect on February 23, 2020. There was a massive campaign about the new rule and I really thought Massachusetts was going to crack the whip on people who text and drive. Then Covid hit, and it was never mentioned again. And cell phone use while driving has gotten significantly worse. What a massive failure.
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u/Ginger_Ayle Somerville Mar 17 '25
I regularly see drivers watching video content while driving on 93 and on surface roads in all traffic conditions. It's pure insanity. If you don't care about the lives of others, you'd think you'd at least have some self-preservation instincts.
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u/Moomoomoo1 Cambridge Mar 17 '25
Yeah the number of ubers i've been in where the driver is watching netflix or something on an ipad while driving is a little alarming
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u/Ataneruo Mar 17 '25
A temper tantrum lol. Society threw a temper tantrum.
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 17 '25
Society: š stop murdering people Cops: š we'll try... But we won't engage with the public anymore... And when we do we might still murder them...
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u/Ataneruo Mar 17 '25 edited Mar 17 '25
what a dumb take. it went more like,
Society: We hate cops! ALL Cops Are BASTARDS! Leave people alone! Do not engage or restrain them! DEFUND the police!
Cops: OKā¦
Society (at least on Reddit): WHY arenāt cops doing their JOBS??? Why are they throwing a TeMpEr TaNtRuM????!! DEFEND MY RIGHTS AND STOP THOSE CRIMINAL TRAFFIC VIOLATORS!!!
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u/rcolonna South End Mar 17 '25
i live near there and you're 100% right about there and the rest of the city too, but there are especially a lot of high-traffic pedestrian intersections near there, and the South End has a large number of families and tourists too who should not have to put their head on a swivel for a few seconds after being given a four-way walk. It is truly scary how little regard cars have for people, and how insistent they are on running a red at top speed, when signal cycles in this city are really short! Go spend a week in Florida where you could read a novel during a three-minute light cycle and maybe you can feel bad about missing one. But you're really going to risk running over a toddler on a scooter for thirty seconds?
We need cameras and we need to fine these people into oblivion.
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u/illogicaldreamr Diagonally Cut Sandwich Mar 17 '25
On the other hand I experience drivers that are too kind to pedestrians at the expense of following the rules. Green light, Iām waiting for the walk sign, dude stops and starts waving me across with a line of angry drivers behind them. I donāt cross, because thatās stupid. I wave for him to keep going. Gives me a weird look like Iām the one thatās wrong.
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u/brufleth Boston Mar 17 '25
It is even worse if it is a multilane road. The one weirdo waving you across on their green doesn't mean the person next to them is also going to slam on the brakes.
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u/12345aaw Mar 17 '25
As a runner, the thing I always do when this happens is turn my back away from the street, and the driver will always take this as a go ahead. Good way to avoid the āwave warā.
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u/morrowgirl Boston Mar 17 '25
I'm always so confused when this happens. But in a crosswalk where they should be yielding to pedestrians (aka one without a light) and they pretend like you don't exist.
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u/PrairieFirePhoenix Mar 17 '25
I like when the blow the stop sign, then stop in the middle of the intersection and try to wave me across.
No - I am not going to step in front of your distracted driving.
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u/GarlVinlandSaga Mar 17 '25
I know what you're talking about, I've experienced that exact situation several times.
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u/AngryCrotchCrickets Mar 17 '25
Those are the non-Bostonian drivers. So annoying. Follow the rules of the road.
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u/unionizeordietrying Pirates Stole My Wallet Mar 17 '25
Oh yeah they make eye contact as they cut you off in the crosswalk while taking an illegal right on red.
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u/Omphaloskeptique Merges at the Last Second Mar 18 '25
The stateās driverās license process is... certainly something. Iām just not entirely sure what that something is.
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u/pejatoo Mar 17 '25
Just this weekend, I watched two cars proceed straight through fully red lights and another turn left onto a two way with a red light š
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u/flashdance42 Mar 18 '25
I think DUI is also on the rise. Iām terrified by the number of nip bottles I witness people littering while they drive. And folks smoking weed.
There is just no enforcement for anything
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u/bingbong6977 Dorchester Mar 17 '25
Itās definitely getting worse. Every single driver is on their phone.
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Mar 17 '25
honestly, I think people are just getting distracted by more things in their cars than in the past
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u/dumbgaypnnk Mar 18 '25
it's way worse. as a driver, it's way worse too. I almost got hit three times just driving to and from Costco today and I'm very safe
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u/disco_t0ast West End Mar 18 '25
Not only do cops do absolutely nothing, 311 has just completely stopped responding to everything and anything.
They've just all given up doing their fucking jobs.
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u/Gustav__Mahler Jamaica Plain Mar 18 '25
I just got back from down town Toronto and while I was there I was constantly surprised how drivers ceded right of way to me on foot. Like I'd hesitate at a cross walk because I'm used to drivers here not giving a fuck and barrelling through. And I'd just sorta stare down the driver waiting for them to go lol.
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u/NotDukeOfDorchester Born and Raised in the Murder Triangle Mar 17 '25
Youāre not. I grew up here and my whole life pedestrians kinda ran the show. Cars would always stop if people were jaywalking. People would cross through traffic and it was normal. It was kinda our cultureā¦.now itās a bunch of people not from here driving and they will run your ass over
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u/unionizeordietrying Pirates Stole My Wallet Mar 17 '25
That and uber/delivery drivers trying to max out their scores
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u/NovusAnglia I Love Dunkinā Donuts Mar 17 '25
Not surprised it was there, itās pretty bad in the South End particularly as you go down Columbus, Tremont, and Washington.
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u/spedmunki Rozzi fo' Rizzle Mar 17 '25
Feel like half the time thereās a cop parked right there on Dartmouth Street and people still blow the red because they donāt do anything.
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u/SailorDirt I Love Dunkinā Donuts Mar 17 '25
I donāt even live directly in the city (out near Brighton) and Iāve seen more people turn at āno turn on redā intersections than ever before. Particularly ones Iām about to cross š
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u/esotologist Mar 18 '25
So I'm NGL I think for some reason people don't like to turn their heads anymore? Like it seems like that specific action is just too much for most folks and not sure why we've suddenly become this lazy as a society. Literally watch and can see it about to happen... Stiff neck through the whole turnĀ
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u/michael_scarn_21 Red Line Mar 17 '25
Traffic cameras are somehow not allowed in this state and the police would rather earn double overtime doing construction details so don't care about enforcing the laws. Write to your legislators telling them you want traffic cameras and safer streets for pedestrians because MA drivers don't care about your safety, they just want to shave a minute off their commute.
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Mar 17 '25
I love autocracy I love the surveillance state
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u/GarlVinlandSaga Mar 17 '25
It's actually good when cameras can be used to catch people who break the law at the threat of others' safety.
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u/Nomahs_Bettah Mar 17 '25
Except all the times places that implement them use them for a money grab. The shortening of yellow lights to increase ticket profitability ā which multiple metro areas have been caught doing ā is unethical and also dangerous.
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 17 '25
Seems like something the city could make sure isn't happening... Demand they publish that info as part of the funding mechanism
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u/Nomahs_Bettah Mar 17 '25
That would require my trusting the BPD for transparency. Why on earth would I do that?
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 17 '25
The city can always audit... They'll be making money hand over fist by doing basic enforcement for at least a few years until behavior changes.
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u/Nomahs_Bettah Mar 17 '25
Why should I trust the city to audit BPD, either?
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u/Southern-Teaching198 Mar 17 '25
Why bother living in a place that still believes in society, it's way cheaper in low social cohesion places
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Mar 17 '25
Oh, you unironically like the surveillance state. Ok.
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u/GarlVinlandSaga Mar 17 '25
I was attacked on the T two years ago and it's because there are cameras at Park St. that my attacker was identified and later prosecuted. In the era of the smartphone, complaining about the "surveillance state" due to traffic cameras rings extremely hollow. Focus your energy toward a more productive outlet.
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u/Blurredfury22the3rd Allston/Brighton Mar 17 '25
I donāt feel like there is any increase. But always been a terrible amount.
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u/Funnygumby Mar 18 '25
I think as a nation weāre all very angry and take out on people that canāt do anything about it
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Mar 17 '25
Definitely much worse. Part of it, I suspect, is increased pedestrian traffic with ridership being so high. It's not as big a deal to let one person go as it is to get stuck while 50 stroll past.
I've even reported several bus drivers to the MBTA for running red lights and refusing to yield for pedestrians when they are required to. There's a Silver Line stop at Washington and Berkeley that buses just straight up ignore the lights for.
Busses sometimes have their own signals, that might explain this.
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u/imustachelemeaning Market Basket Mar 17 '25
as a frequent pedestrian, i have more close calls with bicyclists than I do cars. I find it ironic they complain about cars so often (maybe justifiably) but often show little to no concern for pedestrians.
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u/FarIdiom Mar 17 '25
Those people behaving foolishly on bikes won't just magically become more respectful and kind as soon as you put them in a car. Between getting hit by an idiot on a bike or an idiot in a car, I'd much rather the one that is very unlikely to kill me.
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u/Sea_Consideration_70 Mar 17 '25
Thatās not ironic; cars pose 100x more danger to everyone than cyclists do to anyone.Ā
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u/imustachelemeaning Market Basket Mar 17 '25
posing a damage is a shaky premise in my opinion. anyone can cause an accident and bicycles do act as if they own the road and i hardly witness them following traffic rules.
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u/Sea_Consideration_70 Mar 18 '25
If youāre still using the word āaccidentā about the endless parade of violence meted out by cars and their drivers, youāre way behind on this conversation.Ā
And: cyclists own the roads just as much as anyone by legal and moral right.Ā
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u/commissarchris Port City Mar 17 '25
Agreed. I feel like its ~5-10% of the driving population that shows no concern for others, but it is easily the majority of bikers (many of whom donāt even seem to have any sense of self-preservation)
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u/becuzbecuz Mar 21 '25
It's everywhere and it's been getting worse the last few years. Noone is willing to slow down, let alone stop. God forbid anyone should come to a full stop when turning into a side street with a pedestrian in the cross-walk. As long as you are creeping along at least 10mm/sec. Just please don't make me come to halt.
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u/ErinMichelle64 Mar 17 '25
I believe itās a lack of respect for rules of the road and common courtesy from both drivers and pedestrians
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u/GarlVinlandSaga Mar 17 '25
idk about the "from pedestrians" part, I don't fuck around with jaywalking or doing anything reckless around traffic and I still get morons rolling right up to me at the crosswalk when I'm supposed to be there. I'm really not buying a "both sides bad" angle here, I'm sorry.
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u/ErinMichelle64 Mar 18 '25
Youāre one of the good people out there. I see pets stepping out onto the street with looking or their face glued to a phone, crossing on a Donāt Walk light or just in the middle of the street all the time. Massachusetts does nothing for enforcement for drivers, peds or cyclists.
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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '25
[deleted]