Is This Boise Facebook Group the Most Hypocritical of All Time?
I’m prepared for the potential backlash on this but I have to believe I’m not the only one who feels this way about arguably one of the most popular Facebook groups in Boise. The group is centered around one thing that annoys us all: bad drivers. The Facebook group ‘Boise – Bad Driver Spotted’ is a private group on Facebook and currently boasts nearly 23,000 members. According to the group’s ‘About’ section, the group is intended for people to share “their DIRECT experience with a “Crazy” driver.” There’s just one glaring problem: a majority of the posts are hypocritical.
When you scroll through the group, you’ll come across posts about “bad drivers” complete with photos that were taken… by the driver. Most of us are (or should be) familiar with Idaho’s Hands-Free Device law which essentially says any use of a mobile device when driving is against the law. Does that thought ever occur to the people posting from the driver's seat? Who knows? Either way, it’s incredibly ironic considering the group is centered around bad driving when you have people left and right openly sharing that they’re breaking the law.
Does anyone else feel this way?
In one post the other day, I couldn’t fight the urge to bring this point up when I saw a user post a photo of a truck in front of them (complete with their license plate info) and complaining that they were driving “too slow.” Mind you, this person was in the fast lane, so I somewhat understand the frustration. However, it’s also important to note that this person took this picture while driving in the rain, tailgating a truck, and clearly wanting to drive “faster.” Does no one else see the hypocrisy here?! Now, when I did comment asking the member of the group if they thought about this, others were quick to defend her complaint by suggesting that the photo was “taken from the passenger side.”
Is that how that works? Do drivers hand their phones over and ask their passengers to take photos that they can then use later in their complaint? Are they having the passenger send them the photos they told them to take? Would someone go that far out of the way to do that so they can feel like they “caught” the bad driver to share with the group? These are questions I and so many others have.
Now, are all of the pictures being taken by the drivers who are posting? Maybe… maybe not, but we truly don’t know and it’s unlikely someone would admit to breaking the law on social media. Again, is this everyone? No, there are still some great useful posts in the group that come from dashcams, crazy things that are spotted on the road, and heck, even photos that are in fact, actually posted from the passenger side.
The comment section is a whole other animal and so much so that admins have ‘Featured Posts’ pinned reminding people to not be toxic. Unfortunately, this is the internet and the rules never apply. Some of the comment sections in the group become battlegrounds and debates completely with people doing their own in-depth traffic law research. In some cases, the comment section appears to trigger members and their “inner road rage.”
I can't be the only one who feels this way... right?
I know that this article might put me on the bad side of members of the group and that’s okay, I get that and invite any feedback directly to my email here. I also understand that groups like these are made for “venting” and even having a good laugh. What I don’t get, however, is how so many are failing to see their own hypocrisies when posting in this group or how some seem to take joy in tearing down others in the comment section?
Bad drivers will always exist; it’s just the way it is. I believe we can all agree that anyone who willingly (and regularly) breaks traffic laws could also be categorized as a “bad driver.”
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